Welcome to an interplanetary edition of The SASS EDIT. If you thought (as I did) that astrology was just about star signs and whether or not your character matched up with your zodiac alter ego then you need to keep reading! I’ve been chatting to Master astrologer, herbalist and shamanic homeopath Ann-Louise Holland about how astrology can influence your life, your future and help you find out what the stars really do have in store for you. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to have an in depth consultation with Ann-Louise to learn about my personalised birth chart. Now this is very complex and whilst I didn’t grasp the mathematical lines I was able to find out incredibly detailed information about my past, current and future life ‘missions’. I also realised there’s a lot more to star signs than simply the date you were born. Whilst I’ve actually always felt I am a true Pisces I learned that your rising sign has a huge influence too- mine’s Scorpio (as is SASS BOSS Sophie’s which I learned means we both are able to ‘read’ people well) Ann-Louise was able to advise me on timings that are best for me to achieve my goals and help me feel like I’m heading in the right direction in careers and relationships. I was also given a little insight as to what possible past life influences have affected me in this life - I feel this needs further investigation! Ann-Louise records the session so there’s no need to worry about remembering everything and I’d definitely recommend a reading as it really did resonate with me and also reinforced that there are aspects of myself I need to focus on more. Let’s find out more….
How did you first become interested in astrology?
I taught myself astrology from Julia and Derek Parker’s ‘Astrology Compendium’ when I was about 12 or 13 years old, so quite young. But before that - I feel like it was fate - I was playing in a sandpit at about 5 years old and I found this little silver disk and on one side was Virgo and on the other side was Leo. I asked my mum ‘what is this? What does it mean?’ and she explained it was astrology and everyone has a star sign, so I asked her what I was and she said I was either a Leo or a Virgo. I thought ‘Wow! I’ve got this Leo and Virgo thing’. My mum said she thought I was more of a Virgo than a lion (Leo) and I agreed with her! But that sparked the interest from such an early age - finding a little thing in a sandpit! I then crocheted a necklace for it and used to wear it. So that was my opening… it was like the Gods put it in the sandpit!
How has astrology impacted your outlook and lifestyle?
Astrology really draws you into the cycles of the planet and understanding that we are on a process that connects us to the universe and understanding that the moon cycle is so important to us, it connects you to that earthly programme that we are part of. I think that’s the main thing, understanding that we are part of all this big planetary cycle and they are there to help us. So that’s how I feel and I think people that don’t understand that there’s a disconnect. I do also see clients on the homoeopathic and herbalist side who have been completely disconnected from the earth’s cycle and the homoeopathic remedies just bring you back in. Like silver- because silver is connected to the moon and is the moon’s metal, we need that so much right now. The moon and the sun are vital - forget the rest of the planets! But then having that understanding of what makes people tick really puts you at a better advantage as to what is going on and why. I’m mercury rules so every time there’s a mercury retrograde - computer crash!! But understanding ‘this too shall pass’- I can expect some of this and it’s clearing the way. It’s like knowing when the weather is going to happen so I feel like it’s giving you peace so that you understand the process, you’re going through cycles all the time. So it gives you a prior ‘head’s up’ as it were and I like that!
Was it daunting to leave the corporate world and develop your own business?
Yes! Oh my god it was like pulling myself out of sinking sand! I had done so much training - I had trained to be a homeopath, to be a senior yoga teacher and I had all these other skills and yet I still wouldn’t leave the safety net of the corporate world although it really was not feeding me emotionally. I felt like my time was done and I still didn’t leave so it took me a while. Some people leave fantastic jobs and dive right in. I knew my job was not serving me in any way at all in the end - it had served me brilliantly and had been amazing but in the end my heart wasn’t in it. But it was the only way I could see that I would make enough money to survive so it really was a long drawn out process when it needn’t have been.
What kind of information can we expect to learn from a personal birth chart reading with you?
I can see pain and I can see the opportunities and often I’ll touch on a pain and they don’t recognise it but then later on will start talking about their mother (for example) and I’ll say ‘I just asked you about that!’ but they completely didn’t understand what their life’s pains and issues were. So you can expect to learn about how you can deal with your pains, the phases that we go through and understanding on a deeper level that some of these pains we go through we can learn and grow from. Also learning about creative impulses within the chart and opportunities - people don’t realise good things are coming up and it’s again like knowing the weather. Telling people you are going to have a summer, these are the opportunities, these are the good days. Also knowing these are the times to hibernate and work on yourself. So I think knowing that astrological weather is a lightbulb moment for some people, especially if they’ve never had their chart read before. Learning about your soul’s mission and perhaps what’s happened to you in a past life and the past life energy that you’re bringing in - that’s something the chart does show and give an inkling to. Some people are wowed by this - not that they know what happened to them in a past life but that it might be exactly what they’ve been resonating with. It’s a big thing to know where you might be giving your energy away, where there are energy leaks and the mission in this life to resolve that.
What do you wish people understood more about astrology?
I mean, I don’t care but some people say ‘oh you believe in that do you?’ and I say ‘well I just made a career out of it!’. Some people can be so patronising but I don’t care about those people. But I wish people knew about how helpful it can be, how helpful it is knowing the astrological weather - that’s what I want them to understand. And also that this is part of who we are in the solar system, we’re made of stardust. We’re made of what they’re made of and therefore we are all one.
How can we all connect more to our spiritual selves?
Understanding your chart and what your mission here is and also wherever Neptune is in your chart is going to help you connect to your spiritual self. But I would also say having the understanding that you are a spirit and your physical manifestation is only a small part of yourself. You’re not a physical person who may or may not have a spiritual self - you are a vast spiritual being and you are having a human existence. Making that change in mindset and also applying it to meditation where we’re asked to ‘quiet the mind’ but who can do this? I think it’s about connecting to something divine either by a mantra or intention within the meditation, that’s why I do Moon groups where we do a shamanic journey to go and meet these things within ourselves and so I feel opening that doorway within meditation and not just attempting to quiet the mind but having a mantra and a purpose to it and then listening in return for the answers so there becomes a dialogue. That’s what I think!
Can you share some of your astrological predictions for the coming months?
We’re in a period right now where we’ve got all of the planets going in one direction, none of them are retrograde - ATM (all planets going in direct motion). So things are happening fast and we’re going to come across some quite explosive moments, especially as we’ve got eclipse season coming up. We have a full moon eclipse on the 25th March and it’s at 5 degrees Libra. The eclipse is bringing big changes and new energies, stuff we have to deal with - karma. Then on 8th April we’ve got a new moon eclipse, a solar eclipse in Aries and that’s super powerful like fire and ignition so if you’ve got stuff to do or want to launch or start something then that’s the time. The shadow of this goes across America so that could be quite phenomenal to watch. Also in April we have the conjunction between Jupiter which is the planet of abundance and expands everything it touches and crazy-ass unpredictable chaotic Uranus which is sending down lightning bolts to us. On one level this is like a nuclear explosion in the global sense but in another sense this is telling us we have to bring about some phenomenal change in ourselves and use these energies as a massive creative force. Understand there will be things going on that might be quite disruptive around that time (mid April). So March and April we’ve got quite a rollercoaster to go through but I think it will be hugely creative for us if we can use that energy and not let it use us.
Is manifestation something you believe can help us achieve our goals?
So I look at people’s charts and make sure they know they can manifest. We are creator beings and we haven’t really understood that, everything we are and what we think. The 12th house of astrology is subconscious and if you’ve got lots going on in your subconscious you can use that. Understand that it might sometimes need a bit of a clear out and you are constantly creating, the things that you think are constantly happening. Your world develops around what you think, what you speak, your habits, etc. I do believe in the law of attraction and astrology can help you understand where you’re going to attract things and where you’re going to cut things off - for example the Virgo Moon we’ve just had has been clearing the way so something good can come in too. Where you have your north node (destiny point) and career point can tell you where you’re heading. So yes I do believe in manifestation and especially every new Moon - dialling up something you want to happen for the next month as it’s such a refreshing, igniting new energy. That’s why I mentioned the new Moon which is a solar eclipse on the 8th April in Aries which is the start of the Zodiac. Aries loves to start things so put that one in your diaries!
You’ve developed your own nutritional supplements to address the issue of thinning hair. Who would benefit from taking these?
I developed thinning hair and a trichologist at Harley street diagnosed androgenetic alopecia and said I had it not only at the front but all the way through to the back. I was basically horrified, and because I knew so much as I was working with acupuncturists, chinese herbalists at that time, I also knew the drugs he was giving me would just mask the problem and not mend it so I had so I had to go down quite a few avenues to find the answer or answers. It’s a multi-layered approach when you’ve got thinning hair. If you just want to feed hair then biotin is great and I do have a product just to feed hair which is damaged or needs strength. But I worked with an American chemist to specifically address thinning hair which I think is a growing problem because a lot of issues come from the gut. We’re also taking far more medications, binge drinking much more, we’re eating far more processed foods and therefore ingesting more chemicals. So that’s why I developed Kansha Alchemy
Keep a lookout on our socials for further info as SASS Boss Sophie will be chatting to Ann-Louise live very soon! Let me know if you’ve had a birth chart reading and what you found out about yourself - I’d love to know.