Aquarius, the Star, & the Optimist

Journaling to tap into the energy of Aquarius & the Star

Our Journaling with Astrology & Tarot Meditative Journaling Series continues this month with Aquarius & the Star. First, I’m sharing a personal story that came up for me as I explored these themes and that may help you spot these challenges or friction points in your own life.

Paid subscribers, access the full series here.

Why won’t she go to bed?!

I was on the floor of my baby’s playpen at 2 AM, head in hands, tears in my eyes.

“I just want to sleep!” I wailed, myself acting like a child, as my husband came over.

“It’s okay, it’s not that late, she could be asleep within the next half hour.”

“But her wake window is three hours!” I snapped. “By the time she gets back to bed, the other one will be up within two hours, and I’ll have barely slept!” (By the “other one” I was referring to our toddler, who was also struggling with several night wakes that my husband was dealing with.)

“Yeah, but you don’t know that’s what will happen. Sometimes at night she doesn’t stay awake that long. You’re assuming the worst. Don’t speak it into existence!”

I knew logically he was right, but his positivity wasn’t jiving with my angry vibe, so I said nothing and continued pouting on the floor. At this point, my baby was behaving much better than I was, just rolling around and chewing on a teething toy.

Thirty minutes later, the baby did get tired, and she did go to sleep. I went to bed not long after, and I got roughly four patchy hours of sleep—and that, these days, really isn’t so bad. It’s basically the bare minimum I need to function. So, in the end, it didn’t turn out as bad as I assumed.

After nights like these, I’m always a little embarrassed the next day by my over-the-top anger and frustration with something that is so obviously completely beyond my control. And while I often assume the worst, the result almost always ends up being somewhere in between the worst- and best-case scenario.

Currently Seeking Optimism

As much as I wish this wasn’t true, I am not a naturally optimistic person. I wish I had an attitude or approach closer to my husband’s. And especially as someone who writes about what I write about, I feel like I should be much more optimistic. But alas, my brain seeks out the worst-case scenario first.

I saw a cartoon from Natalie Dee floating around social media years ago with a girl wearing a cape that said, “Anxiety Girl: Able to jump to the worst conclusion in a single bound!” And of course I laughed. If I were a superhero, this would be me.

But as cute as that cartoon is, that’s not exactly who I want to be. Going to that negative place is tiring on the nervous system (and on top of me already being so very tired). Of course, I know I can’t just completely snap out of this mode, but I’d love to stop the spiral sooner so I can be kinder and more compassionate toward my children and myself.

Featured Star cards in order of appearance: The Light Seer’s Tarot by Chris-Anne, The Cozy Witch Tarot by Amanda Lovelace, The Journey Tarot by Cassie Uhl, and Mystic Mondays Tarot by Grace Duong. All of these evoke a sense of hope, inspiration, and wonder, though I love that The Journey Tarot showcases that the light is held within, rather than somewhere far off or outside of us.

Aquarius & The Star

And that’s why this Aquarius Season, I very much welcome in the energy of the Star Tarot card, which is the Major Arcana card associated with Aquarius. The Star comes after the Tower, the card where everything you thought you knew or everything you built comes crashing down or falls apart (and not always in a pleasant, easy-to-process way). But usually this is a necessary crumbling, one that makes way for the Star: hope, new beginnings, and inspiration. The light is waiting on the other side of the mess the Tower left behind.

This is like me in those anxious, spiraling moments—I think all is lost, nothing is going my way, everything is falling apart—but on the other side is a new day (or sleep). But to make it through without losing my cool, I have to trust the light will come.

I think a lot of people are feeling a little lost or even hopeless right now. The beginning of the year perhaps hasn’t felt wildly inspiring, and maybe you haven’t been as excited to act on your ideas. But that’s why we NEED this Aquarius energy, and we still have a little more time with it (Aquarius season ends February 18 this year).

Aquarius energy calls on us to innovate and push boundaries, to go beyond our comfort zones. And, if we lean into this energy, we may find ourselves inspired by those ideas that put our unique gifts to use for the greater good.

And that’s the key—to focus on the bigger picture. While it is wonderful to be excited about our ideas, it’s even better to dream of the impact they can have beyond ourselves. If we follow these hits of inspiration, how will it serve our communities? How will our actions, done in support of the greater good, create a positive ripple effect?

(My source for this information and many things Astrology-related is the Seasons of the Zodiac: Love, Magick, and Manifestation Throughout the Astrological Year by Stephanie Campos.)

Connect to Your Soul

A full visualization and Soul Journaling prompt for Aquarius & The Star is written out below, but you can also move through it with me in the recording above. I leave three minutes after I read the Soul Journaling prompt for you to write.

Ground yourself.

Imagine there are roots growing from beneath you. These roots travel deep down, connecting you to the center of the Earth. Perhaps there is a glowing ball of light or even a crystal at the center of the Earth that you are connecting to.

Thank you, Mother Earth and Ancestors for being with me today, and helping me hear the wisdom of my Soul.

Connect to the Universe/Divine

Imagine now that there is a beautiful rose gold light flowing down like a waterfall from the sky/the Universe above you.

Thank you, Spirit Team, for protecting and guiding me today. Thank you for helping me hear the wisdom of my Soul.

Focus on the light now as it illuminates the crown of your head. This beautiful, warm light activates your inner wisdom, connecting you to your Higher Self.

The light then travels to your third eye. Your intuition is activated.

The light settles in your heart space. Here, you feel and connect to your soul.

Thank you, Higher Self, for guiding me and allowing me to hear my intuition and inner wisdom.

Thank you, Soul, for speaking your story through me, and allowing me to hear your wisdom.

The light continues to flow. It moves down your whole body, washing away and releasing anything you do not need to bring with you into this practice.

Thank you, Higher Self, Soul, and Spirit team for helping me release what doesn’t serve me or this practice today.

Focus again on that light within your heart, and take a deep breath in.

Exhale, sigh it out, letting that light shine outward, opening communication with your soul.

Perhaps you even see this light reach your hands as you prepare to write, the wisdom it carries ready to flow through you and your writing.

When you are ready, gently return to your space, blink your eyes a couple times, and then gather your journaling materials.

Your Soul Prompt for Aquarius & The Star

Soul, what inspires you?

Journaling with Astrology & Tarot: Aquarius & the Star

If you’re in need of a little extra inspiration, join us for the Journaling with Astrology & Tarot: Aquarius & the Star meditative journaling series this month for paid subscribers. (And if you are an Aquarius, let me know! I’d love to give you a little birthday gift: 30 free days of the Soul Journaling Sessions paid subscription, so you can try out this series. Just leave me a comment below.)

The three meditative journaling sessions in this series focus on:

• Hope & Inspiration

• Change & Innovation

• The Greater Good

You can listen to the course intro here for a bit of a preview:

Paid subscribers, you have access to the full series here:

Aquarius, the Star, & the Optimist

Feeling Optimistic?

Let me know how you’re feeling these days, and if you’re open to it, share what this practice brought up for you. And know if you aren’t feeling so optimistic, you aren’t alone! Perhaps we can all support one another in getting our inspiration back.

With love and gratitude,

Marcy