We Can Do Hard Things

Astrology for Skeptics: Sonya Renee Taylor Reads Our Charts

December 16, 2025

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  • Astrology, as interpreted by Sonya Renee Taylor in this episode of "We Can Do Hard Things," serves as a map of the soul's purpose, where suffering is defined as the gap between one's true self and learned personality. 
  • The path to lessening suffering involves aligning more closely with one's soul purpose, which is revealed through the evolutionary quality of each planetary placement in a birth chart. 
  • Astrology is presented as a reclamation of ancient wisdom, suggesting that systems of power historically suppressed practices like herbalism and astrology, which were once inherent to human connection with the cosmos. 

Segments

Introduction to Astrology Reading
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Astrology charts are presented as a map of the soul’s purpose, where suffering arises from the misalignment between one’s true self and learned personality.
  • Summary: The episode introduces Sonya Renee Taylor reading astrological charts to illuminate the soul’s purpose. Suffering is defined as the gap between who one truly is and their learned personality. Lessening suffering occurs by aligning with what the soul came to do.
Astrology’s Importance and Connection
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(00:03:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Life and humans are made of the same chemical compounds as the stars and planets, implying an intrinsic, teacher-student relationship with all of life.
  • Summary: Sonya believes life happens intentionally and that humans are inherently connected to the cosmos because they share the same elemental materials as the stars and planets. Every aspect of life, including celestial bodies, serves as a teacher guiding human journeys. The efficacy of astrology is confirmed by its clear reflection of one’s life experience.
Reclaiming Ancient Wisdom
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(00:05:25)
  • Key Takeaway: There is a historical pattern where established powers co-opted ancient wisdom, such as astrology and midwifery, repackaging it as dogma and selling it back to the people.
  • Summary: The practice of reclaiming ancient wisdom, often associated with women utilizing herbs and stars, is crucial for emerging into the new. The 12th house in astrology, historically called the house of death and prisons, actually represents the spiritual and ancestral realm, which systems once controlled through fear of heresy.
Astrology Chart Mechanics Explained
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(00:11:31)
  • Key Takeaway: A birth chart is a dynamic harp where the universe plucks some strings (uncontrollable events), but individuals co-create the music by choosing which energetic strings to pluck through conscious choice.
  • Summary: The lines on a chart represent the simultaneous conversation between planetary energies at birth. Life is like a harp where choices determine whether one plucks harmonious or discordant strings. Astrology offers the opportunity to consciously select which energetic strings to activate, emphasizing that choices matter in this dynamic process.
Glennon’s Sun, Moon, and Rising
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(00:13:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Glennon’s zero-degree Aries Sun signifies a brand new soul assignment to initiate action based on personal desires, leaving behind the absorbed energy of Pisces.
  • Summary: The Sun represents life force and the authentic light one gives to the world, urging one to stop trying to shine and simply be. Glennon’s zero-degree Aries Sun indicates a brand new initiation, leaving behind the energy of losing oneself to others (Pisces in the 7th house). The invitation is to start again based on personal desires, treating this new journey with the gentleness afforded to a preschooler.
Glennon’s Moon and Rising Insights
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(00:20:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Glennon’s Sagittarius Moon seeks security through knowledge and mental understanding, which can avoid deeper emotional terrain, while her Virgo Rising calls for welcoming all parts of the self to achieve wholeness for service.
  • Summary: The Moon reflects the internal emotional landscape and the search for security, which can sometimes lead to avoiding necessary shadow work by relying on mental constructs. Capricorn Moon energy can be harsh on itself, demanding structure, but the Cancer Rising calls for learning to mother the sensitive, vulnerable self first. True service to the collective is only possible when all aspects of the self are welcomed home.
Abby’s Sun, Moon, and Rising
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(00:37:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Abby’s Gemini Sun in the 12th house indicates a challenge in being seen, requiring her to integrate a disavowed twin aspect of self rather than relying on mental performance to prove worthiness.
  • Summary: Abby’s Gemini Sun, ruled by Mercury, represents mind energy and duality, requiring the integration of an outcasted aspect of self. Shining in the 12th house means being seen only by those who have eyes to see, suggesting that full self-expression is not a function of the mind but requires trust. Her Capricorn Moon seeks emotional structure and can be harsh, contrasting with her Cancer Rising, which demands she learn to mother her own deep sensitivities.
Abby’s Current Tensions Explained
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(00:57:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Abby is currently experiencing intense pressure due to the North Node transit activating her Virgo placements, forcing a shedding of old reliance on perfectionism and hypercritical communication in her daily life.
  • Summary: The current nodal transit places tension on Virgo placements, requiring a shedding of energy that relies on perfectionism and over-analyzing details to feel secure. This intensity is magnified by Saturn (restriction/work) and Mars (action) in the 3rd house (communication). The way to lessen this intensity is by listening to the wisdom of spirit (Neptune in the 6th house), which counters the ego’s insistence that the mind knows better.