How You Can Get Help Using the Ancestral Zodiac

When I was writing Ancestral Tarot (release date: March 2021 Red Wheel/Weiser) I did some ancestral zodiac work, just for fun. But instead of it just being a throwaway exercise, I realized how important it was for me to see an ancestor’s astrological chart, and then use Tarot to compare that ancestor’s life to my own. I didn’t know it at the time, but using an ancestor’s chart was genuinely useful when it came to asking for help.

I choose a grandfather who passed away when I was only a few months old. The only thing I knew about him was that he was a flashy dresser, a great storyteller, and a fun guy to be around. He helped his daughter hide her smoking from his wife, brought home bottles of homemade wine from clients, and once got robbed on the road because he was wearing a big (fake) diamond ring.

What did I learn from running his astrological chart? Because I didn’t know his time of birth, I couldn’t look at the houses. But I did see that he had Mercury, the Sun, Saturn, the North Node, and the asteroid Juno (marriage stuff)  in Leo – the sign of the outgoing and fun-loving Lion.  That put his South Node (the place he knew well and was comfortable in) in Aquarius (my rising sign). Interestingly, his Mars and Jupiter were in Scorpio, the Sun sign of my grandmother – his wife.

So what does this have to do with Tarot?

Using Tarot With Astrology

Gramps had about as much Leo as I have Virgo. He was a fun-lover, I’m a workaholic. He wanted an endless vacation, I occasionally take one when I’m not writing.

What can gramps tell me about leaning more into his Leo and leaning out a bit from my Virgo. Since I love doing three-card readings, my only question was this:  What steps can I take to be more fun-loving, like you were grandpa?

And why am I not surprised at his answer? (Sometimes they can be so damned funny!)

The Hermit IS the card for Virgo. Reversed, I’m being told to do a lot less of the Hermit thing. Okay, okay, I’m trying!

Second, have fun with friends and/or family. Go play miniature golf, go to Happy Hour, do a picnic, walk and talk, share backyard coffee. Be with people you really like.

And third, (I heard this one) ‘For God’s sake, celebrate!’ You’ve accomplished so much – blow your own horn, buy a bottle of Prosecco, show off even if it’s just a little.

Thanks Gramps!

How to Do an Ancestral Zodiac of Your Own

If playing with a combo of astrology and Tarot intrigues you, it’s really simple to do. Here’s how to run a chart:

1.  You have to know the birth date and place of the ancestor from whom you want help. Knowing the time is even better, but not essential.
2. If you have an astro app, plug in the birth data and run the chart.
3. If you don’t have an app, go to astro.com, click on Free Horoscopes, then Natal Chart, Ascendant.
4. Put in the info for the ancestor and Astro will create a chart for you. You can email the chart to yourself.

This service is free. You can generate a chart as a Guest user, but go ahead and create a free account. That way you’ll have info for everyone stored in one place.

Once you have a chart, do a little astro-sleuthing to see what stands out, then using that information formulate your question/s.  If you use an astrology app, it will generally do an interpretation for you. Otherwise, use Google and search for something like: ‘meaning of Jupiter in Cancer’. You’ll find a lot of information just by googling.

If you do this exercise – leave a comment and let me know what you learned!