Making astrology trading cards is a creative way to do arty things and learn some astrology as well.
Anyone who is interested to explore astrology in a fun way will enjoy crafting and trading with their Astrology Trading Cards.
Other ways of getting arty with astrology are through my astrology Wheel of Fortune.
The Inspiration for Astrology Trading Cards
Astrology trading cards are a twist on the famous artists trading card when an artist would do a large painting and then make several tiny copies on these cards to give to prospective buyers, galleries and other artists in an effort to promote their craft.
The cards would be swopped between others. You don’t sell them but you give one and they give you one back.
Over time you will have a vast collection of a variety artist’s work without spending a penny. At the same time you have distributed your hard won work to people who may be interested
Size
Each card is 64mm x 89mm or 2.5″ by 3.5″ which is a standard card size.
Astrology Theme
At a group meeting each person will be given a blank copy of the trading card template. You can download a PDF copy below.
[purchase_link id=”13940″ style=”button” color=”green” text=”Download Your Template” direct=”true”]
The leader, or moderator will offer you a hat, or jar, with pieces of paper containing one word indicating an astrology feature or theme. You take one piece of paper and the word printed on it is your theme for the day.
The pieces of paper will have either one planet, house, sign or aspect as your theme for you to work on. These are the starter words and are used in the groups I guide.
1st House, 2nd House, 3rd House, 4th House, 5th House, 6th House, 7th House, 8th House, 9th House, 10th House, 11th House or 12th House
Conjunction, Sextile, Square, Trine or Opposition
When I have a more advanced gathering or class I can have more advanced themes like; anticia, moiety, contra-parallel or transits.
Astrology Trading Card front and back
What you do
Say you get “Jupiter” as your astrology theme.
You write your own name in the by line on the back.
You will write the word “Jupiter” in the top block on each card on your sheet of six cards. You do this on every trading card on the page so in the end you have six Jupiter named cards with your name as your by line.
This is the fun part.
You draw the glyph and write keywords or draw images of what this theme means for each card. You can make each card the same or each one different. It does not matter how you embellish your cards but what is important is that you make something nice because you will be trading them with the other people at the end.
When you have finished you will have six detailed and coloured Jupiter trading cards.
The Trade
When you are happy with your designs and have completed the cards you cut them out. You may keep one for yourself if you like otherwise you will trade these cards with the other people who have various themes and will have made different cards.
That day you will go home with six original works of art signed by people you know and they will all be special and unique.
If you meet again the next week you can redo the hat/jar theme pull with the remaining theme prompts and over time you will grow a beautiful Astrology Trading Card collection that spans all the planets, houses, aspects and signs.
That is at least a total of about forty handy dandy astrology trading cards.
Show Us Your Cards
You may decide to make more cards you can buy actual cards in better quality cardstock and thicker thicknesses (available at Michael’s craft store) to make better cards.
As the interest in making these little cards grabs you, you can develop your style and the way you present your astrology through cards.
Every astrologer is different and each one will work with the energy of astrology in their own way.
When you finish a card take a photo and put it on Instagram or other social media with the hashtag #astrologytradingcard and we will love to see your work.
Grow Your Collection
This can be used as a learning resource for beginners and seasoned astrologers as well.
Getting Clever
In reality, the artists write their name and the title of the piece they have created on the back. You can get creative here as well. This is also a place to put your website and contact details.
More advanced astrologers who get into Astrology Trading Cards collection will make individual cards to trade with other astrologers.
In Vancouver?
Follow me on Instagram for more updates or direct message (DM) so we can get started if you are in Vancouver. I am up for a trade as soon as you are.
Join In at Conferences
I was at Calgary in September 2017 and at NORWAC in March 2018 and I had had some of my Astrology Trading Cards to trade with you.
I believe that all women are creative. Each and every one of us has something to offer and it can be big or small.
I find that if you bring your talents forward and make time for interesting things it establishes a balance in your life between what has to be done and what you like doing. It is the action of creating that makes the process satisfying.
We all have responsibilities such as having to work for someone else, commuting, launching our kids into the world and maintaining a social life and meaningful personal relationship.
Daily you may face a to-do list and if you don’t do them who will? If you tap into your creativity it can mitigate many of the mundane details of life.
As Women Evolve
Many of the women I see in my astrology practice are in the forty- or fifty-something age group.
They have already brought up their children and made a home for their family. At this point in their lives they want something more. They ask me, “Is this all there is?” or words in the same vein.
After the efforts they have put out for years that are now not needed, they have a good look at their life. The kids have gone their partner now may, or may not, measure up and an uneasy feeling of dissatisfaction has crept in.
Other women relish their newfound freedom and seek ways to make the most of the next phase of life. Either way women want a new direction, purpose and meaning for their life.
Enter Astrology
This is where an astrology consultation can help. Astrology is the study of the influence that the stars and planets have on life on Earth. Thousands of years of analysis have shown that particular traits are inherent in each zodiac sign.
A professional astrologer can cast your unique birth chart and provide you with a life map for your journey.
Your natal chart is original and contains many combinations of planetary energies all flowing at the same time in different directions. It is the skill of the astrologer to sort through the themes shown in your chart and present a clear picture for you.
I look at all the planets including your Sun and Moon signs and find the message in your chart. It is different for each one of you. Some will call it your soul purpose, others your life path.
Whichever words you choose to use your birth chart shows all the potentials, urges and opportunities that you have and that need to be satisfied in this lifetime.
We cannot all be rocket scientists, and indeed it would be a very different world if we were, but every woman owes it to herself to be what they truly want and not have to bow to what society, or your mother-in-law, or anyone else, thinks you should be.
Reading for Mari
I had a client recently a woman we will call Mari. She came to me in mid-life for a reading. I think initially she was simply curious as she had never consulted an astrologer before. We exchanged pleasantries. I offered her tea and we settled down in a comfortable environment for her reading.
She started off by saying, “What can you see?” and I began discussing her chart and spoke of how I interpreted her chart and who I saw her as through reading her chart and the eyes of astrology.
I had never met her before and soon I was chatting about her motivations and how her nativity was suggesting a certain path. She stopped me then, and said, “I wanted to do that when I was a girl, but I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it.”
I asked her, “Do you still want to do it?”
She thought for a moment and said, “Well I did once but that was a long time ago, I’m a different person now, I have responsibilities.”
Hmm…
I shall break from the story here and tell you that this response is common. That what we wanted to do as children or young people has been shelved in favour of a life that is an existence but pays the rent.
Yes, I know providing a roof is important but to my mind having your dream come alive again is a most desirable state of affairs.
Astrology can help you focus on what is truly important in your life and, to be honest, it could simply be continuing down your present path. But for many women it is a way to re-ignite ideas or passions that have been left to wither on the vine.
Let Your Ideas Breathe
Going back to Mari’s situation. I urged her to consider changing what she was doing, not all at once as transformation can be daunting, but that she let the thoughts of following her long lost passion mull in her head for a while and give her ideas space to breathe.
Two months later I met with Mari again and we discussed how things were going for her. She told me she had signed up for a class to refresh her desired activity and would be starting in the New Year.
She also informed me that she has changed her attitude towards herself and her view of what she wanted her life to be.
Although this was still a work in progress the small changes she had made had improved her overall perspective and brightened her outlook.
This year my main plan to improve the presentation of astrology for your understanding and pleasure is a little different.
I am working on the development of astro art or creative pages to help aspiring astrologers or anyone and everyone learn more about our art.
In the astro art section so far you have posts on a binder cover page to colour and a wheel of fortune to make for yourself.
Creating an astrological journal supports the multiple input method of learning and is a good way to build a resource that you can use later.
How To Use Your Astrology Journal
A Journal can be used in several ways:
To plan your day for things you have to do (pick up the kids and take the dog to the vet etc.) and this works best as a bullet journal.
It can be a “dear diary” style for capturing what did happen and how you felt about it, whatever it is.
Or it can be used to build a personal resource to learn and remember information and build a knowledge base that you can use for years to come.
It it the third one that we will talk about here.
How to make an astrological journal that becomes a personal resource to learn , understand and appreciate the little pieces in your chart.
Things like signs, planets and houses meanings that go to build a comprehensive chart reading.
The Benefits of Journaling
Your brain remembers things easily if it knows them via more than one means of input.
Teachers read aloud, or make you draw pictures, or glue a collage from dried macaroni, or do a play like astro drama to reinforce your knowledge.
The variety or ways to learn is important because the information arrives in your memory through different channels.
This is why just reading books makes it harder to learn stuff.
In the multiple activity way of gaining knowledge, what you know can be retrieved in snippets through thoughts like, “Oh gosh, now what do I know about Jupiter in Virgo?”
You will get better at remembering the many things that you need to know to read a chart by writing and drawing in your astrological journal.
Which Journal to Choose?
There are a few points to consider and choices to be made for a journal that is good to use for astrological journaling.
If you are going to invest your time and energy creating a beautiful astrological journal you might as well get a decent journal in the first place.
Size does matter
The best size is A5 or about 6″ x 8″ because this is easily carried in your bag and can be whipped out on a plane or at dinner. Who does that?
If you choose a size smaller (say 3″ x 5″) it will work as a pocket journal, but will get full quicker.
You can think of this one as your on-the-go journal, or field journal, which is best to jot down ideas while you are out and about or at a conference or lecture.
When you get home you can transfer the gems of knowledge to your main A5 journal. This process serves learning.
Paper quality
Can you see through the pages in your journal?
If you can, the paper is too thin and too cheap.
Get a better quality book.
I like the Moleskine A5 plain paper journal and the Leuchhturm1917 dotted bullet journal.
Each year I buy a few new journal books and I have one for each year but that’s another story.
How to Use Your Astrological Journal – Basic Layout
Title page
You will have a title page which is usually the very first page in the main body and not the inside flap page which is thicker than normal.
State your journal name.
Typically this will be “My Astrological Journal” or “My Journey into Astrology” or something in that vein.
Contents page
Open to the first double page.
This will be a contents overview and here you can specify the deeper level of detail that you want. The choice is yours.
This will help you gauge the number of pages you need between each section.
For instance if you have 12 signs you may need 12 (or 24) pages.
This depends on how large your journal is to start with.
How to plan your astrological journal with sections and segments
For each main section like natal signsyou will make a title page on the right hand side.
You will do a section title page for each main section in your contents page.
It is best to add a tab sticking out at the right for your main sections and perhaps your segments.
Signs Summary Journal Pages
This is a summary page to note things about the zodiac signs.
Signs Journal Page
This signs full spread shows the signs in the natural wheel and some main keywords for each sign.
The ruling planet is shown in the inner wheel for each sign.
Elements and Modes Journal Pages
See how this element and mode table can help you work out each sign.
You can perhaps draw this table and place your planets in their corresponding signs from your chart to show which planets your have in each sign.
You can do as much detail and depth as you wish. If you are just starting out with astrology I suggest the following sections, natal and forecasting and keep it simple.
Going deeper means a page for each planet in sign and house and deeper still is nice-to-haves about astrology like eclipses or the oriental planet.
Tree of Life
The tree of life is a symbol of the full cycle from root to tip.
Trees are leaned heavily on for our survival.
They convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.
If you are stuck on a desert island you can build handy items like boats and shelter with the wood from trees.
Paper that we used every day often comes from trees.
Art Tip
Make sure to center your circle on the page not like mine which is a little off to the left.
Herb Garden Layout
This is a classic herb garden layout with a central circle and four quadrants adjacent and larger gardens in this pattern have more quadrants.
Here I drew the four main beds of herbs.
Medicinal herbs
Aromatic herbs
Indigenous herbs
Culinary herbs
If you cook with herbs make sure that your fertilizer and mulch is organic and not synthetic.
The aromatic bed has plants for pot potpouri and perfume basics.
Indigenous herbs are local to your area they different for everyone.
Medicinal herbs are where traditional healing herbs come from, so know what you are doing here.
The Four Elements
The four elements align with the compass points
Fire – South
Earth – North
Air – East
Water – West
Polarity
The symbols relate to the active (masculine) and passive (feminine) polarities.
The upwards pointing triangle for masculine elements is symbolic of an erect manhood.
The downwards pointing triangle for feminine elements is symbolic of a woman’s pubic area.
Spring Poem
Pippa Passes by Robert Browning.
Summer Poem
From A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.
You can learn a lot about your spending habits by looking at your star sign.
Each of the twelve zodiac signs has a different approach to retail therapy. Next time you go shopping with your friends see their spending characteristics at play.
Check out each sign’s buying instincts below and see if you recognize yourself.
Aries
Aries rushes in where angels fear to tread, and in their hurry Rams want to be in and out of the shop. They buy with cash and online so as to grab the new stuff and be wearing the latest colors of the season.
This sign likes the challenge of hunting for a bargain and may easily tackle you to the ground at a fire sale.
Taurus
Taurus takes their time deciding on what to spend their hard earned cash. Bulls prefer to shop in stores, and not online, because they want to touch and feel the goods before buying.
After a day of trawling the shops they are just as likely to bank the money and go home empty handed. Sometimes parting with the cash is the quandary.
Gemini
Gemini likes buying on eBay and sniping the auction at the end. They order books and magazines, apps, games and puzzles. Twins are the best traders in the zodiac and will happily barter for stuff as the real fun is the actual deal.
You are more likely to see Gemini selling to you, than buying for themselves.
Cancer
Cancers like to feather their nest and will splurge on home furnishings and tableware. They like pretty cutlery and plates to match the occasion, whether for a barbecue outside or a Sunday lunch.
Every meal is important and this means the props as well. Crabs like home shopping and will spend on friends, family and will remember to take the office a box of chocolates.
Leo
Leos buy the best they can afford and that goes for luxury items as well. Lions take pride in their purchases and will enthral anyone who will listen about what they bought to adoring oohs and aahs. They will shop in groups and make sure each person has a little something to take home. Leo’s are generous and may spring for lunch as well.
They will shop in groups and make sure each person has a little something to take home. Leo’s are generous and may spring for lunch as well.
Virgo
Virgo spends in small increments and can drive the shop girl wild with their bag of small change for a fifty dollar purchase. They like to collect and will slowly attain the things they want.
Virgo likes things in patchwork, marquetry and paisley patterns. Virgins are more likely to go to the stores several times a day than do one big shop all at once.
Libra
Libra spends on themselves as much as their partner because there has to be a fiscal balance in their relationship.
Libra men may only buy one big item a year, like a car, but its cost will be equal to what their wife spent over the years. Shopping can be agony for Libra as they are not good at deciding and every transaction choice needs to be called.
Scorpio
Scorpio pays cash so there is no paper trail. They like acquiring things and surround themselves with items that mean something.
Scorpions will to remove price tags and hoard some attractive items of value. They like to buy things that others desire and may become a collector of rare books or surgical instruments.
Sagittarius
Sagittarius likes to buy when away from home. They are the ones for whom the souvenir shops were made. Archers seek out things that are difficult to find like a seed pod from a baobab tree or exotic spices from Asia.
This sign arrives home and flings the bags in a corner not even opening them, already planning their next excursion to the mall.
Capricorn
Capricorn invests. When the Sea Goat goes shopping the items they buy have to earn their place. Not for them trivial trinkets.
Capricorn likes quality and will pay whatever it takes to get items perceived as status pieces. Expensive handbags for the women and watches for men. Over the years they can amass a very respectable wardrobe or collection of goodies.
Aquarius
Aquarius like to buy a variety of goods. They love snapping up music and books online and gadgets. They get bored with their stuff and will move on to the next fad as soon as it takes their fancy. Water Bearers have basements full of old things and should invite Scorpio around to rummage through it all.
Water Bearers have basements full of old things and should invite Scorpio around to rummage through it all.
Pisces
Pisces enjoy art and soft and beautiful things. They are happy to tag along with the other signs on an outing to the shops. Fish like to buy only what is needed and can be frugal to the extent that they will “do without” when they should be buying things. Fish don’t like the crush of the malls and will shop late in the evening to miss the crowds.
If your client does not know their birth time (and they are not interested in rectification) how do you cast their chart and find some information that you can use?
Here are some simple steps to overcome this issue.
The Noon Chart
It is best to erect your client’s chart for noon on their birthday. Then you can only be twelve hours out.
Clearly this is not an ideal situation but better than twenty-four hours off the birth placements.
Experience will tell you that many people’s birth information is suspect at the best of times and you have to constantly be on the lookout for incorrect data and the chart results when face-to-face with your client.
The Moon in a Noon Chart
The Moon travels about twelve to fifteen degrees each day. With this movement halfway through the day (at noon) it will be six to seven and a half degrees out either way and may or may not be of use.
However you could ascertain the lunar sign because if the Moon is between seven and a half degrees and twenty-two and a half degrees of a sign at noon, then you know for sure it is in that sign in the birth chart.
Because the Moon would still be in the sign for a birth first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Natal Noon Chart
With a “noon chart” the planets in the signs and planetary aspects are correct (except the Moon) but there are no angles or houses.
This means of the possible 100% information shown in a normal chart you only have 60%. The point is that the 60% you do have is still 100% correct.
There is less quantity of information available, but it is still quality information when you interpret a “noon chart”.
Planets on Sign Cusps
You do need to watch out for other planets near the cusps of signs and weigh the possibilities of them being in the next sign or the previous sign for retrogrades.
Planetary Stations
If a planet is stationary on the birthday you can bet it is in that position dead-on in the natal chart.
Forecasting with a Noon Chart
Forecasting with transits and solar returns (by planetary sign position not houses) can be used as well as secondary progressions and solar arc directions the latter two with care.
There are many ways to rectify a birth chart but that is a discussion for another day.
