25. Body Astrology with Claire Gallagher

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And they're often surprised that I turn it back on them. Because what I really want is for people to know themselves and I believe people have those answers within them.

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People do look at it as, well, astrology is telling me who I am. Well, nobody can tell you who you are. That's for you to decide.

Not everyone's there yet. Not everyone's looked at themselves.

Not everyone's looked in the mirror. They're like watching the news and I'm like, you want the news, dude? look in the mirror. look at your freaking chart. Look at the transit. that's what's going on right now.

When you look up at the stars, you're actually looking at a mirror of what's inside your body. Let the planets be your guide in your own body and inner wisdom. As we discuss body astrology, a cosmic guide to health healing and harnessing the power of the planets. Before we dive in, I sincerely want to thank you for having the bravery to face your shit and heal yourself by listening to this show.

Because we're talking about very real shit on this show, it's exposure and it's reach are being censored and limited. So thank you for liking this video, sharing it and subscribing on YouTube and Spotify to my channel to help this information, reach the people who need to hear it.

Most facing your shit and healing yourself is more than just this podcast. It is a movement. You can join this movement with a one off donation or become a member for as low as 5 a month, receive exclusive art, be featured on the show, submit questions for guests, and more.

So who am I and why did I decide to create this show? after unraveling all of the medical and pharmaceutical lies I had been told about my endometriosis, I was able to educate myself and I was able to heal myself after 17 years of debilitating pain. My experience inspired me to actually live my art.

So I created an ongoing art series about it called every phase where I create artwork that illustrates how I healed myself living by the phases of the female hormonal cycle. just look for the every phase vlog episodes on the podcast as I recreate select pieces of the series as an animated mini series.

The artwork shows what's happening in the brain and the body during each phase and reveals how to biohack and leverage this energy in your life. I am actually living the art, so it's about way more than just healing. The writing and the art discuss freedom, truth, our current financial and healthcare system, slavery, and the way out of it.

Learn more by subscribing on my website at MeredithOchoa. com. So all of that to say, even though I was lied to for years by doctors promoting big pharma, I was able to find experts and modalities that helped me achieve what I thought was impossible. This show introduces those people

and practices to you. Today, we are chatting with author, astrologer, non diet nutritionist, certified eating counselor, and certified strength and conditioning specialist, Clare Gallagher. Clare has been a professional astrologer for over nine years with a focus on presence instead of predictions.

She uses astrology to help people feel better today instead of future tripping about tomorrow. Whether she's doing a reading, moving with the moon, or teaching planetary journaling, Claire's mission is to help others hear and follow their inner wisdom. She's the author of body astrology and the host of the podcast, third house gossip.

You can find her at www. astrologywithclaire. com.

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[00:04:37] Meredith: here.

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[00:04:41] Meredith: Yeah. They did a great

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[00:04:46] Meredith: Yeah, it's beautiful. And that just further complements just the extraordinary.

information in here. look at that. Hold on. I got to look at that. So yeah, I got to do a shout out because I'm an artist and I truly appreciate it. It's like the paper, the, embossing and like the foil. I love it.

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[00:05:17] Meredith: Yeah.

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It was really fun. Very special thing. And I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. So,

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And it's like such a missed opportunity. that's such a huge part of the show and like what we're even talking about it's such a missed opportunity for healing for a deeper understanding and a deeper connection to what you're even looking at and feeling and discussing, it's not just words.

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[00:06:32] Meredith: Yes. Oh, it could have easily gone, could have easily gone there to, to a textbook in astrology is I've been obsessed with astrology since I've been a child, I was just naturally drawn to it. And even for me,it's really hard. It's overwhelming. It can be at least it's one of those things that, there's so many layers and levels.

To talk about something on from like the bigger picture, like chart level down all the way to the degree. And that has a meaning and the second and all of that. So for those of you who don't know, I would love for you to just share a little bit about who you are. And how you came to face your own shit with astrology.

How's it helped you?

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And when you can see yourself, With clarity, you can offer yourself what you need to thrive and you can make better decisions, more authentic choices, and also treat yourself with more kindness. And that to me is astrology's greatest gift. I don't care if people predict the future. I like, that's not my jam.

I really use astrology to be with how we are now and to love that. So

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I've learned that, very recently it's come up. We make it so complex, but it's at the end of the day, are we even clear? On like, why the hell we're doing this,

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so for me, it's really a guidance tool, a clarity tool, and it helps. we hear about alignment a lot in astrology, but I feel like it's a tool that helps you align with yourself instead of aligning with something outside of you. so

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Cause we were talking about how like really can't be out of alignment.which I totally get. And then I kind of think of it too, as like just being an integrity with your values and your, what's your value at the time, what your boundaries are. And those change as we learn more about ourselves and more about people in the world around us, our values change.

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So, I love astrology because it's descriptive of the now and how we evolve over time.

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rather than we're just kind of on this, like every day we are experiencing it. It's both right. It's both. We're experiencing it as linear, but in reality, it's like all of it's happening right now, all of it's happening at the same time, just like different levels. So. Really interesting, and we could spend hours talking about that as well, but I know your book, which I was hyping on earlier, it has been, I just want to go there again, because it's just been such a critical resource for me, and it holds so much wisdom, especially when I found your book, I was like, And I had healed myself of endometriosis and done a lot of heavy lifting and I found your book after and healing, like I say, it's a journey.

It's not a destination. You're never going to get it all done. Like you're at a different level. And at that level you had, you have options now that you couldn't have even conceived of when you were younger. Sick or when you were unhealed or when you were just like hadn't integrated that part of you yet So I'd love for you to just share because when I found medical astrology, I was like, holy shit Like maybe i'll just quit being a photographer to become a medical astrologer But I so i'd love for you to just share a little bit about Just medical astrology how people can start utilizing this modality Not only for the connection to the cosmos, but the connection to their bodies and their health.

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So instead of looking at the chart as a map of your personality, it is looking at the chart as a map of your vitality. And so very basically, the zodiac signs like Aries through Pisces represent different parts of the body. And, this is a simplification, but the planets tend to represent forces or actions within those body parts and systems.

So, a medical astrologer looks at the. Birth chart and is able to see strengths and weaknesses in the body based on where those planets are placed in the chart. And if they are in a happy or sad position. and so from there, if they have other, credentials to do so can make recommendations in terms of lifestyle choices that a client may want to consider in order to bolster or buffer their chart.

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but at least in western astrology I knew okay the house six house the house of health and I had a stellium my six house but then really diving into that in your book and looking at, okay, I have a stellium there and then I have, which a stellium is I believe, three or four planetary body.

Yeah,

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[00:14:45] Meredith: There we go. And then also my 10th house, which is a house of, career. And so it's very appropriate that we're having this conversation on a podcast and that, my healing ended up being a large portion of what I do and my work and having this message out to the world, going through that process.

let's say someonehas some kind of chronic disease autoimmune doesn't have to be endometriosis, but just like anything What are some ways or some things they can look for? in their chart to further Clarify what is going on and discover like remedies through that.

What would you suggest for someone kind of just starting looking at this?

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So when we think of astrology, we typically think of your sun sign. What's your sign? are you a Capricorn or you're an Aries, whatever, but in medical astrology, we are looking at the body, not the psyche or the personality and in ancient astrology, which is what I practice, the body is represented by the moon.

The moon is a very physical planet. It's a very animal planet and it represents our physical form. So if you want to just dive in and start with something accurate, I would start first with knowing what your natal moon sign is, and then grabbing a copy of body astrology And looking up that sign and reading about the body areas that are associated with that sign.

And that'll give you a really good idea in terms of from a day to day wellness routine perspective, what to nourish and focus your time on, because those are the body areas that are probably going to be the most, Well, it's like a doorway into your highest health, if you will. those are the things that are gonna need the most attention.

It doesn't necessarily mean they're in ill health or good health. That's a totally different conversation, but it is a part of your body that has a lot of energy running through it. And the second place to start, and this is a little bit more advanced, but if you have any astrology nerds out there, the second.

The planet in your chart that really represents your body is your chart ruler. So what's your rising sign?

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[00:17:27] Claire: look at the sun. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you for playing along. You would look at the sun and where that is located and those associated body areas for a secondary, for secondary information.

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Just the different like approaches to this really big, beautiful mandala that is us because we hold all of the signs within us. We hold all of it. it's just like in varying degrees, if you will. but one of the things that Also struck me totally the moon conversation. I have my moon in Scorpio and Macquarie.

So, so my big three. So traditionally people say, okay, no, you're big three. So for those of you that don't know your son and then your moon and you're rising determined by the time and location, and that's something you can. Look up. just there's tons of calculators out there.

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[00:18:50] Meredith: Yes. Yes. And when I, got further into astrology years ago and started looking at my moon and my rising. And because my rising is the sun, so Leo is my rising, because my rising is the sun, the transits of wherever the sun is.

So the sun being all the sun signs is like, what is affecting me currently? So it's kind of another way you can look at it in this cyclical seasonal way of like, where is that planet now? and because that really determines a lot of our day to day health is not just okay, we are this way.

And that's like a period at the end of the sentence, no, it's a whole story and seasonally changes. As you know.

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And that's something you can easily Google. But for example, I'm a Sagittarius rising, so I'm ruled. By the planet Jupiter. And so I'm more affected by where Jupiter is and if it's going direct or if it's retrograde and what sign it's in and what aspects it's making. So you can get really granular if you want to.

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At least I feel. What are your thoughts on that?

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Yeah.

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And then Algal was formed basically from that, hell have no fury, like a woman scorned. So it's unbridled rage, but I associate it definitely with like feminine rage. but it is interesting, the things that have really pissed me off, like even starting this show, writing my book, I've always been inspired by things.

That I first get really mad about and then that becomes a catalyst for something really positive. So it,

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[00:22:08] Meredith: it's weird.

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[00:22:14] Meredith: Yeah. I'm just saying, if you have it somewhere weird and like unfavorable, it's not, just look deeper because. It's okay, anger and things like that don't bring a lot of blessings to a lot of people, but in my experience it has.

So

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[00:22:31] Meredith: something unique to be found in everything, really.

yeah,

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[00:22:56] Meredith: totally and another one of the really powerful aspects of body astrology medical astrology is The connection with our fitness routine or movement as well, and the lunar cycle, those two things have definitely helped me.

just navigate a lot of pushing against something when it's not necessary. So I, and I feel like this inherently ties obviously to the female hormonal cycle. Can you share just a little bit about some of the different phases of the moon and then the movements associated with each?

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And the darker the moon is with the less light it has, the less Willing or desiring we are to do those very high output, high energy, outward facing tasks. It's more an inward, slower, lower energy type of time. And so instead of dividing the lunar cycle into four phases or eight phases, I think the easiest thing to do.

Is to divide it into light phases and dark phases. So this is even different from waxing and waning. This is just focusing on if the moon is light and bright or if it's dark. So the dark phases are the new moon and the last quarter moon, as the moon is dying and the bright phases are the first quarter moon as the moon is gaining size and the full moon.

And I'm putting a lot of other phases within those, but in terms of movement, it's not necessarily about. What movement you do, it's more about how you do it and how you approach it. So when the moon is dark, let's say when it's brand new and when it's dying, when it's darkening and moving towards the end of its cycle.

It's a time for us more so to work on, recovery. So whether that's active recovery, taking a gentle walk, doing yoga, maybe some Pilates, doing restorative movement, all of those things are wonderful for darker moon phases. And similarly, if you're an athlete or you have something that you focus on, that's like maybe you're a cyclist and that's what you love to do, dark moon might be lower intensity, but longer rides, for example.

So something that isn't going to push you at your threshold, but something that's easily maintained, maintenance work, if you will, for lack of better term. And then when the moon is bright and light, this is a really wonderful time to play with challenge, to flirt with challenge a little bit, to add on to our routines, to play with intervals, to play with high intensity, to play with.

Play with higher breath rate and higher heart rate. If you choose, the full moon, especially as the culmination. And that's a great time to do something that might be a little bit out of your normal comfort zone in terms of movement. what I love about moving with the moon cycle is that there's a time for everything.

There's a time for deep rest and there's a time for challenge if you want. So that's the basics.

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Not every day is the same just by experiencing seasons. there's seasons of our body. And I love that you said this whole thing about, it's not, doing this movement on this moon, like on the new moon, do X, Y, Z. It's how you do it because not all the time, like your cycle is going to match up with what?

Is going on with the moon, especially for me, right?

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So align with your body first and astrology would be next in line, right? If. If you want to use astrology at all, so yeah, if your body doesn't sync up or bleed with the lunar cycle and many of us don't, and that's normal and okay, align with yourself first and you can use the same wisdom, no matter where you are in your cycle in life.

with the lunar phases. Yeah, same concept, just different time.

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So it just doesn't always necessarily translate physically. And of course my body is like recovering, but I'll do yin yoga or like you said, just like a longer, maybe practice, but it's like super nourishing. So it's like that balance of strength, but also being super grounded at the same time when you have like opposites like that, which is really cool that you can discover that through the chart.

Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of nuance that astrology can hold. And that's one great example. Yeah.

Totally. Well, speaking of challenges, what would you say are some challenges people may face when they start working with these cycles? obviously, okay, not everything's going to line up. But when they start looking into, their chart, their body astrology, their own unique makeup, what?

the different signs represent as far as areas of the body. What is your advice, as when people come up to these challenges that they may face?

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That's another one. Yeah. so. Again, I think it's best to start small and accurate. And so if we want to be accurate with this vein of astrology, we want to start with the planets that represent your physical body. So that's going to be your moon and your chart ruler. And Just start observing those planets out in the wild.

So what I mean by that is before I was astrologer many years ago, the way I started doing this was by keeping a moon journal, a moon symptom journal. And it's really easy. All you got to do is at the top of the page, right? What phase the moon is in, which you can get from a weather app. You don't need anything fancy.

And what day of your menstrual cycle you're on. If you're a menstruating person, and then. Write down anything noticeable, specifically energy, mood, any symptoms that you're tracking. And from there I was able to draw patterns and that's how the whole lunar cycle fitness thing evolved was from my symptom journal and from observing that also in my clients.

So I would start with that, especially if you're, living with an illness or a condition that can be a really eyeopening thing to do. and. The second would be to buddy up to your chart ruler, get to know who it is, and then figure out where is that planet in the sky right now? And what can I learn from that?

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[00:31:41] Claire: just keep it simple You have plenty of time to add on the bells and whistles like

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[00:32:13] Claire: It would say something that my mentor always says over me, kind of like a blessing, and that is, you are your own authority.Thank you. I am a really big believer in agency, personal authority, aligning with yourself and yourself first. And it's interesting as an astrologer, people come to me looking for answers a lot or wanting me to tell them what to do.

And they're often surprised that I turn it back on them. Because what I really want is for people to know themselves and I believe people have those answers within them. So it would say you are your own authority, or some version of that.

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It is knowing everything. Knowing yourself is like from the inside out. That's how we treat everything. And I, it's, I'm so glad you brought that up because. People do look at it as, well, astrology is telling me who I am. Well, nobody can tell you who you are. That's for you to decide.

And then it goes into the whole free will and. Fate conversation. And it's both. It's there's not just one thing. It's like this and consciousness, you know, of course we have free will. And then there are events that it's feels like destiny or that are fated. But the way that we come about those and the way that we approach those and the journey towards those can be so different and actually change like our entire perception of it itself.

So I'm so glad that you. That you brought that up because it's I'm such an advocate for that as well and people are like then why do you like astrology if you're like nobody can tell you who you are and I'm like, because that's the whole point. It's no one telling me. It's like me incarnating here and learning more about myself and then me making decisions.

Based on my own experiences and what I've discovered.

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Personality wise. I'm more of a fan of astrological journaling because that actually brings up who you are and how it relates to astrology, if you will. and that's a whole Another topic. but yeah, I'm not really an astrologer. That's you are this. And if you hear an astrologer say you are this way, that's kind of a red flag.

and I would look elsewhere, honestly.

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Not everyone's looked in the mirror. They're like watching the news and I'm like, you want the news, dude? look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. That's, look at your freaking chart. Look at the transit. that's what's going on right now.

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[00:36:10] Meredith: Awesome. Well, it's now the finale.

my most favorite time of the show, the biohacking with art finale question. Are you ready? I'm so ready. Yes, I think. Hell yeah, you are. You got freaking Jupiter as your chart ruler. Let me tell you. Born ready. Born ready. Totally. If you had to describe your unique. Astrological perspective with any art medium, how would you make it and what would you choose?

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And so if I were an artist, that's what I would do. and it would express in some way, again, to align with yourself first and thento look outward.

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It's like, why be limited to just one? Right? Exactly.

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[00:37:50] Meredith: Yeah. You want to put it all on there and then it becomes something else, on its own. So I love that interpretation. It's so fitting to with astrology, with what you do. With body astrology specifically because there's so many moving parts and they all come together and form one piece, right?

yeah,

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[00:38:16] Meredith: Hell. Yeah. Well, it's been so real Chatting with you today in this galactic conversation Tell us where people can Find you connect with you learn more about your work. We'll have this stuff in the show notes, but where can they connect with you?

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It's called Third House Gossip. And so if you want to get astrology insight, that's a fun way to do it.

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For sure. Yeah. Well, I hope everyone is able to take away something from this absolutely tremendous conversation we've had today with Claire to help them go out, face their shit, therefore healing themselves. And remember, as always, the truth will set you free. We will see you all next time. Bye. Bye.

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YouTube or on Apple Podcast and pick up a signed copy of my book about how I healed myself from endometriosis on my Instagram at Meredith w Ochoa. Thank you so much for listening and for having the bravery to face your shit and heal yourself.