I got the chance to learn a little about my astrological sign from a friend. As I struggled to understand why Pluto in my 12th house was scary, I realized I’d been led to an infinite storehouse of inspiration…for writers anyway.
A look at my horoscope from a single day provided enough deep questions about my reality to keep me writing. Whether you believe in horoscopes or not, Astrology is a valuable supply of journaling prompts that’s been building for centuries.
Those quick questions about our feelings and check-ins on the parts of our lives we often ignore can lead to powerful, introspective thought experiments and entries.
Ancient Wisdom In Our Journals
We may not believe that the constellations are guideposts to the future, but belief isn’t necessary to harness the prompts from the stars. Those stars have had a long time to develop their research. The findings ring true whether you belive in the supernatural or not.
The stars have witnessed humans go through the same life beats, make the same mistakes, and ignore important aspects of life since the dawn of apes.
The heroes in our stories (ourselves) commonly face the same joys and sorrows along the path of life.
It would be helpful if someone or something kept track of those milestones we all seem to reach at different times. An early-warning system. Get us thinking about these life events before they sucker punch us at age 25, 30, 40, or 50.
More than fortunes in cookies, horoscope forecasts can be jarring and leave us to consider things we have shied away from for too long. Horoscopes generally don’t tell us what to do, but they tell us where to focus our energy and what’s important. Just like a great idea for journaling should.
A Constellation of Journaling Prompts
With the help of my expert guide, I found a website instructing me on the types of challenges I should expect when Saturn Transits Opposite Venus.
I don’t know what that ominous and NASA-like term means, but when I looked at my horoscope and natal reading, I found four incredible cues for deeper thought. I realized that these ideas belong in journals. Check mine out and see if they speak to you. If they don’t go google your own horoscope or natal reading to discover more.
Prompt One: YOU WILL BE BECOME AWARE OF MANY THINGS THAT BOTHER YOU ABOUT YOURSELF AND OTHERS. It seems like a fairly obvious statement. But what truly bothers you about yourself, and how does that affect how you interact with others? They say we get upset with people the most when they display the bad traits we are afflicted with ourselves. It’s taken me a long time to understand this concept, and journaling has helped. Maybe it’s a topic you can kick around on your pages.
Prompt Two: THESE TIMES CAN PRESENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE DECISIONS REGARDING AN ARTISTIC CAREER. Do I have an artistic career? What would my life be like if I did? The thoughts flow out of this one and even instill me with some hope. But be honest in this fantasy. Every career has its challenges. Document the good and bad. Such as the attention of the world I might gain if my blog suddenly went viral. Not all good.
Prompt Three: WHAT OLD DEBTS SHOULD WE REALLY REPAY OR CLEAR. What a loaded and illuminating question. How many old debts are secretly exerting gravity on our wellbeing? What can be cut loose? Who are the people we owe and should pay back financially or emotionally? Can we find freedom from chains we didn’t know were holding us back.
Do I Need to Believe in Horoscopes to Use the Prompts?
Whether you believe in the spiritual or not, the ethereal sciences can be an important part of our healthy physical and mental journeys. I believe they are a useful tool, even if you aren’t sure about their validity.
At the very least, things like prayer, meditation, yoga, and ghosthunting get your brain to consider itself and the body. Your brain can get distracted by the outside world, virtual and real, and lose its connection to your body and soul.
Spiritual and psychic pursuits help the brain focus on things it might skip over.
I believe when we highlight and focus on things bothering us mentally and physically, our brains take notice and start to work towards healing from within. Sometimes our mental energies are focused in the wrong direction and we need a physical ritual to illuminate a problem.
People may say that horoscopes are so vague they could apply to anyone’s life. But as writers, a journal entry or online content can start with a very basic premise. It’s how we interpret it that makes it transcend.
If you look up at the stars and receive more static than inspiration, don’t panic. Take a look at your horoscope. Those forecasts may not be magic, but it’s probably a safe bet that at least one idea in your chart will hit you in the feels and send you rushing to your journal.
A planet’s obtuse position may leave you wrestling with some topic you hadn’t pondered before or had tried to avoid for too long. END.
I wrote about releasing your most private, toxic thoughts into your journal. It’s all about opening your Yeti Door.
I also discovered a prompt about Black Holes. Try this mind-bending topic if you need to escape our solar system for a while. Meeting Ourselves in a Black Hole.
I wrote about perching over your brain like a bird over a pond to pluck out tasty ideas from the still surface of your brain.