The Eclipse Ate My Job

On Friday morning, my boss called me into a meeting and blankly read a script from her screen, to shield herself from the pain of looking at my face while she fired me. The company is “restructuring,” and they are cutting off my entire department, effective immediately. I was not allowed to send any emails, finish the project I was in the middle of, or save any work. I was able say goodbye to a few coworkers on my way out, but my access to the enterprise was cut off immediately. I learned from a co-worker that the rest of the department was also let go throughout the rest of the day. It was a March massacre.

If I hadn’t been an astrologer, I would have been shocked. However, I have seen this coming since December. I was looking at the transits for the year ahead, and I noticed that the two eclipses for March and April both affected my 10th house, which usually relates to career. The lunar eclipse (which happens tonight!) lands on my natal Mars, which co-rules my 10th house. (My MC is at the end of Pisces, and my 10th house contains nearly all of Aries.)

The solar eclipse in two weeks will land in my 10th house. Thankfully, my natal Moon and MC will barely be spared from the orb of the malefic conjunction of Saturn and Mars.

To me, this looked like a major event affecting my career. You never know exactly what will happen with transits, but I thought it looked pretty likely that I would lose my job, so I got my resume in order and started applying for other jobs, just in case. And sure enough, just days before the lunar eclipse, my suspicions were confirmed.

Since December, I have not had any “bites” on the other job applications I’ve sent out. So I’m unsure what I’m going to do next. I have a severence package that will only last two months, so I need to figure this out, quickly.

I will admit, my job was quite toxic and soul-sucking, so when I found out I was let go, and I realized that my astrological prediction for myself had been correct, I was giddy for the rest of the day! I felt liberated from a weight that has been burdening me for several years! I did a happy dance and celebrated with friends. I drank coffee from one of my favorite mugs:

But the glee wore off, and yesterday I woke up with the yawning terror of an unknown future staring me in the face. What do I do now?

I have always known that my long-term goal is to run my own business full-time… eventually! But while raising children I wanted the security and predictability of a salary. My plans were to continue working a “normal” job for at least two more years. At that point my oldest child will graduate from high school, and I will have more cushion to take on the risk of being self-employed.

However, since I haven’t had any luck with job searching so far, I am wondering if the Universe is bumping my plans forward. Should I do astrology and herbalism full time, NOW? Am I ready?

Part of me says “hell yeah, let’s go!” This is a Mars and Aries activation, after all. But an equally loud part of me says, “no freaking way.” What I really need is just one (or two, or ten) more certification(s), to really prove that I know what I’m doing. I should probably wait for the assurance from at least one more client that my words were helpful. I definitely need someone to come along and help me with the parts of running a business that I’m terrible at (namely, marketing and branding). I’m not remotely ready. Plus, I have children to support and bills to pay. My house needs major repairs. I need stability and security! Forget Mars, my beloved Saturn is calling the shots here.

I will confess, dear readers, I am torn. I am itching and rearing to gallop out, full force, into a career that feels meaningful and delightful and helpful to folks. The thought of going back to a tedious office job, while continuing to work on my passions only in stolen moments of evenings and weekends, feels stifling and sad. But I am realistic… I can handle stifling and sad if I have to! A true Capricorn, I live by Westley’s motto:

My vision has always been to wait for 2 more years; that’s what I had prepared myself for, psychologically, anyway. But I can’t help feeling that maybe this is the time. I don’t know.

I’ve decided to run a test. I have two months of severance to serve as a cushion. I will pour all my efforts into building my business for a month. The website will be overhauled, new services will be launched, I will figure SOMETHING out for marketing (ugh), and the home office will be organized. Herbal recipes will be crafted and tested, blog posts will be furiously written, and so much more. I have many ideas! If, by the end of April, I can get enough clients to earn enough to pay my mortgage and groceries (bare minimum for survival), I will take it as a sign that I should proceed full-time. The number I have in mind is less than half of what I actually need to earn monthly, eventually, to be comfortable, but it’s a good starting point. If I can’t get close to that number, I will revert back to the original plan of doing this part-time for two more years. I will spend the second month of my severance applying for “normal” jobs in earnest. Nothing will have been wasted— at very least, I will have a better website, a better set of services, and many lessons learned. Don’t worry— whether it’s part-time or full-time, I will still be here for you either way!

It might seem like it’s kind of asking a lot to expect to break even in just a month, since most businesses take awhile to get off the ground, but that’s not really what’s happening. I have been doing astro-herbalism part-time for a few years now. I have a small group of followers who know me, and a modest but useful history of accurate chart readings and client success stories. So I’m not asking the Universe to help me hit a success milestone in an unrealistic amount of time. I already have some momentum.

If you’re reading this, please send a prayer my way! And do let me know what you think! Am I being reckless?