Back in May, by a serendipitous event, I received Messaging and Astrology Coaching from Jackie Johansen. You can read a little about my experience here, where I learned to keep it simple and reconnected to my main message of exploring Potential!

I was eager to interview Jackie about her (unique to me) approach, as it worked so well for me and I thought it may be of interest to you.
Here’s how the interview went.

Using astrology as a means to define your personal/entrepreneurial message to the world is an intriguing idea. How did you come to it?
It was a personal journey for me. I had got so caught up in the ways I felt I should be doing things, or talking about my work, that I lost myself in the process. I have taken tons of courses, read lots of books, but they didn’t truly move the needle. However, really anchoring into myself, and focusing on alignment, did shift things. Astrology is an amazing tool to see ourselves clearly. We all have different purposes, ways of working, creative inklings, people we naturally connect with, karmic intentions, etc. I felt it was a disservice to leave this part out of my work with clients. I believe we are here to become fully expressed and our businesses are extensions of ourselves. My work is all about empowering women to settle into their truth–and get clear about what that is–so they can work from a place of deep alignment.

You’re also a life-coach and a writer. What made you decide to combine astrology, messaging and your life-coaching into this one-on-one course?
I started as a copywriter and what I had found over and over was the women who hired me were natural writers but didn’t know how to get the words on the page. They struggled to see their own ability. I found that getting clear on the core message was so empowering because the rest fell into place. My work shifted to helping guide them to find this keystone. Astrology naturally fit in this process. It provides us all with an individual map to our creative expression. My clients found it helpful and it was so much fun for me.

Having had the unique opportunity to work through your Astrology and Messaging Course, I was very impressed from the outset. I was looking for clarity in career direction, and during our first session you led me on a visualization of different paths, which proved very informative. What impressed me more was that you seemed to intuitively know what I required. Is this intuitive approach your usual method, or do you have set meditations, processes, and other tools for different situations?
Yes! My intuition is such a guiding star. My hope when working with someone is always to be a conduit for what wants to come through in service of their highest good. Also, it keeps the work fun and exciting for me because there’s the element of surprise and unfolding. There’s a basic structure to how I work, and we create a roadmap based on the person’s goals, but there’s flexibility and spaciousness for when something else is needed. It’s always neat to see how the process naturally unfolds.

I enjoyed the astrology sessions, and received a lot of reminders as well as new perspectives on myself from your reading and sharing of my Western birth chart. What was really interesting, and revealed awesome synchronities, was your expansion on transits of asteroids, and aspects to my main planets. This goes way beyond a reading of my zodiac sign and those main planets: Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars that we’re so used to. Can you briefly tell us why the asteroids and aspects of certain planets influence our message to the world—our purpose in life—beyond the usual we read in horoscopes?
Transits really bring the chart to life, and can anchor us into cycles we are working with in our own evolution and growth. The asteroid goddesses are beautiful teachers. They help us see our creative expression, how we nurture, stand in our sovereignty, and connect in relationship, amongst other things. The asteroids and transits add more clarity and pieces to the puzzle when exploring our work and what’s on our heart to share.

Towards the end of the course, we worked on my main message, helping me define and refine what my core message is. I gained a lot of insight on myself in my past, present, and hoped for future. In fact, this defining of my core message was a healing for me. It is usual for people to begin your coaching course thinking they’re going to identify this thing and end up resolving or healing other issues, too?
In my experience this is common, I know it has been true for me! I believe that these questions around purpose and the core message we’re here to share, connects us to a deep part of ourselves. If there are parts of us that have been dimmed, or needs transformation, this can surface for healing. These questions connect us to something bigger and evolutionary in our own becoming. It can be so powerful to give these parts of ourselves attention and for them to be witnessed by another.

Now, as our chart is moving through the heavens with time, I was wondering: does our core message change as we grow older? And are there people who have more than one core message to share with the world?
I believe we have core questions and themes that run through our lives. These come out of our charts, our experiences, and own healing journeys. However, as we grow and change, as well as experience different transits, we may see things from different perspectives and our message changes and grows with us. I think it’s important to get clear on what those messages are. They often evolve, or how we share them may change, but the heart is still there. There will still be golden threads that run through our lives.

What would you say is the main belief or issue holding us back from realizing or identifying our core message, and indeed, our self truth?
I’d say a big challenge that gets in the way is over-complicating things and not trusting ourselves. If you’re an entrepreneur, especially online, there’s so much noise and shiny objects pulling you in different directions–all having an opinion on what you should be doing. This makes it difficult to tune in, go inward, and really see our own magic. I believe it’s so important to slow down and cultivate a relationship with our own cycles, our unique creative processes, and expressive self. It’s so easy to look to social media, experts, courses, and templates for clarity. Sometimes these things are great, especially when we want to develop a skill or interest, however we can lose sight of our own inner compass and really what works individually for ourselves.

You’ve also looked at my rather (then) chaotic and cluttered blog, and gave that all important advice to ‘Keep It Simple’. What, in your opinion, most clutters a person’s core message?
For me it can be two fold. One, we are all multi-passionate beings with so much to share. This is a beautiful thing. The challenge is simplifying, getting to the root, and presenting it in a way that others can really get a sense of what we are all about. We need to find the through-lines. 

And secondly, I think our message can get cluttered by all the shoulds, expert advice, and trends that pull us in certain directions. We can lose sight of our own uniqueness and what’s at the heart of what we do.

I enjoyed our time together immensely, and appreciated your integrity and the easy-going, safe space you created for me to share and discover what I needed. At the end of your course, what do you hope your seeker retains from the sessions?
That they can trust themselves and their path. That they feel empowered and connected to the work that they are here to do for the greater healing of the world. That they feel more themselves and connected to their gifts. That they can see themselves more clearly for the beautifully unique and creative soul that they are.

Thank you!

About Jackie

With a background in copywriting, depth psychology, women’s circle, and astrology, Jackie helps women step into their voices and fully expressed self. Through her messaging guidance, she helps her clients see themselves, and their message, more clearly to build their business from a deep place of alignment. She lives in Northern California with her partner, and can often be found studying the sky, cooking colorful vegan meals, and dreaming of her next international adventure.

Find Jackie online:
yourwordselectric.com
instagram.com/yourwordselectric