Back in August I had the privilege to sit down with Talisa and discuss all things astrology and its meaning in our day to day lives. To gain a deeper understanding of this holistic modality was eye opening, to see the relationship that we can have to the celestial world, if we feel inspired to explore this area.
Talisa is the founder of Two Wander and Elysium Rituals. Offerings range from Astrology readings, Tarot and Rune readings and mystical guide and workbooks plus more through her blog and instagram platform; the common goal being to provide 'grounded cosmic guidance for coming back to yourself'. Grace Cummins: Can you introduce yourself, telling us a little about you and Two Wander x Elysium Rituals? Talisa: I’m Talisa, an intuitive Tarot reader and Traditional Astrologer. I’ve been using these healing modalities for 6 years now with my brand Elysium Rituals x Two Wander, to help bring people greater self-awareness, acceptance, and clarity through my 1:1 readings, courses, guidebooks, workshops, and membership. I’m an Italian born and raised in London, and travelled the world for 10 years with my husband, deepening my own spiritual practice along the way, before now finding home in sunny Andalusia. I work with traditional Astrology to bring about awareness and acceptance. I believe that there are lessons to be found in everything, and that we have the innate capacity to manifest the reality we desire. GC: What is Astrology? T: Astrology is the practice of observation of celestial objects and how these may affect us here on earth. It has been studied for over 3000 years now and brought guidance to potentially millions of people across all cultures. The way that I personally engage with Astrology is by looking at it as a mirror — it reflects back to us potentials; everything exists on a spectrum and it is up to us how we choose to harness these energies or not. I approach it in a non-fatalistic way — the Planets don’t cause anything to happen, just like the clock doesn’t make it 12 o’clock — it simply tells us that it is. Ultimately, it is a tool for awareness and empowerment. Astrology can have a myriad of meanings and I believe that we can chose the meanings that we want to use, but knowledge is also power, the more you learn the more you will be able to understand yourself and your life. GC: What does astrology tell us about a person? T: Everything! It shows you what makes you, you — your strengths, weaknesses, family, money, career, beliefs, children, and so on and so on. GC: How can Astrology be of benefit to us? T: In so many ways! Namely for me, is the self-exploration and validation point, but it is also extremely empowering for timing — knowing what themes you may expect and when, can bring great support in our lives. The self discovery you go on brings greater self awareness and through that we are then able to feel more empowered to be our authentic self. GC: Your work supports people with self discovery and alignment; what are your definitions for these terms and why are you driven to provide support in these areas? I think the two are so important and we can’t have one without the other! Self-discovery is where it all starts, in bringing this awareness — this chance for pause, musing, and perspective — we can then come to validation, and then alignment. It essentially helps give us permission to be ourselves (not that we need it of course but sometimes we feel like we do). I’m driven to help support people in these areas because it’s what I always needed, not be told by the outside world who I was or who I should be, but fully able to wholly accept myself as I am. It was then tremendously empowering for living my life unapologetically in an authentic way. GC: In the media we see a lot of talk about Zodiac Signs, Mercury and Saturn. Do Zodiacs and planets tell us different things? T: Yes, pop Astrology often focuses on the Zodiac Signs but Astrology is really about the Planets. These are what we are observing and show us what action is taking place. They can be seen as the main actors in the play. Then the Zodiac Signs are the costumes they wear — how they enact their actions. So for example Mars is always the Planet of drive, ambition, action, and anger; but when it is in Aries this looks very different to when it is in Cancer — one is bold, fast action; the other is soft, heart-centred action. The Zodiac Signs are points in space, they are created by the division of the elliptic — which is the Sun’s apparent path around the earth — into 12 equal parts (this is important because many people think Western Astrology is constellational when really it is based on the Season, the interplay between light and dark). GC: For a beginner wanting to dive into Astrology where would you suggest someone start? T: The Astrology Podcast! This will really give you everything that you need to know, be prepared though it has a lot of information in it so be ready to learn! Also the Chani app is great, and this uses your rising sign to read your horoscope which is the focus I always recommend using for readings. And of course, my website twowander.com. We see a lot of coverage of Astrology on all the various platforms, but I would always recommend taking these platforms with a pinch of salt, as they are not in-depth pages so take it lightly. Find someone who you resonate with and stick to them to avoid getting tangled in conflicting information. When choosing someone to work with and follow, do a deep dive and discover their background, who did they learn from, and where did they study? Remember that you are the expert on your life, and that in taking in and applying the knowledge that you learn you are empowering yourself more and more. GC: Are there specific planets/zodiacs/houses or aspects we could focus on rather than getting overwhelmed by all of them at once? T: Start with your main luminary of sect, which is the Sun for Day Charts (which most people are already aware of as their “star” Sign); and the Moon for those born at night. Then look at your other luminary: Ascendant and it's Traditional ruler, followed by your Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Midheaven. I always recommend using Whole Sign Houses. GC: What do the above symbolise and mean in our day to day lives? T: Your Ascendant is the Sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon at the moment you were born, also known as your Rising Sign (the Ascendant is the exact degree within your Rising Sign). This is how you show up in the world and represents your body, vitality, and core temperament— this is people’s first impression of you. Your Ascendant ruler complements your Rising Sign and completes your picture (so a Virgo Rising with Mercury in Pisces will be very different to a Virgo Rising with Mercury in Gemini). Your Sun is your core characteristics, identity, and where you can shine - which you may identity more with if you were born during the day. Your Moon is your emotional needs, body, maternal archetype, intuition, and subconscious - which you may identify more with if you were born at night. Your Mercury is how you take in and process information and express it in return. Your Venus is your desires, what you need out of a partner, what you are attracted to and attract to you, as well as your attitude towards money, style, and your general values. Your Mars represents how you go about your actions and speaks to your drive, ambition, and anger. GC: How can Astrology bring more self awareness, clarity and alignment into our lives? T: It is essentially all about this! In discovering the unique pieces of your Natal Chart you will naturally experience so much self-awareness, clarity, and alignment! Astrology is something that can be conversed with and once you're open to it, it is there for a discussion; it's about an open conversation and learning from your discoveries. We can see traditional astrology as that which tries to make the ineffable effable. GC: If you could tell everyone one thing what would you say? T: On a practical level — read horoscopes for your Rising Sign only, it’s how they are all written and focus mainly on the sensitive personal placements to you mentioned above, (Rising, Ascendant, Ascendant ruler, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars). As a Traditional Astrologer I would also recommend using Whole Sign Houses and Traditional rulerships. Beyond Astrology, one thing I would like to tell everyone is to live in self-alignment in a way that is authentic to you — your life is too short and precious to live it restricted by boxes or labels placed upon you by others. For more In Conversation with.... articles click here to read more interviews.
