Zodiac Wisdom and Yoga
Bring the Wheel of the Zodiac into your practice and discover how the symbolism of the signs inspires new and exciting yoga sequences. The Yoga by the Stars book and this website showcase the amazing connection between astrology and yoga. Ancient celestial wisdom can elevate your yoga practice to new heights and give you a greater sense of peace, power, and wellness.
In the Yoga by the Stars book you will find zodiac inspired yoga practices, meditations, visualisations, affirmations, and meditation questions. The book presents a fascinating approach that connects the symbolism of the zodiac to a year-long cycle of yoga practice. Aries empowers your inner warrior in the spring. Libra helps you create balance in the autumn, and Capricorn shows you how to transcend your limitations in the winter.
The Wheel of the Zodiac provides us with an infinite treasure trove of sparkling gems to draw upon and use as inspiration for our yoga practice, and to enrich our life. In this section we look at some of the elements to be found in the zodiac treasure chest and used in the Yoga by the Stars approach.
Zodiac Symbols
The twelve zodiac symbols are very rewarding to work with. For example, Leo’s symbol, the lion, connects us to the exceptional capacity for cooperation displayed by lionesses, and the power of the lion’s roar. Or for the zodiac sign Cancer, there is the crab symbol. We observe how the crab withdraws back into its shell when threatened, and we can use this as a starting point to explore ideas around privacy, the public versus private, so pertinent in today’s world of social media. Gemini’s symbol, the twins, gives us the opportunity to focus on duality, such as light and dark, active and passive etc. When studying Sagittarius, its symbol the Archer calls us to find out more about archery and to relate that to the power of intention. As you can see it's inspiring and fun to explore the zodiac symbols, which in turn we can relate back to our life and our yoga practice.
Zodiac Glyphs
Each of the twelve zodiac signs has a pictorial symbol called a glyph. These ancient symbols probably precede any known writing, and their potency and power comes from the wisdom and knowledge encapsulated within them. A glyph can be used as a yantra (a visual symbol used to aid meditation). For example, in the Aries chapter of the Yoga by the Stars book, we use the Aries glyph as a yantra. When contemplating the Aries glyph, the image that arose in my mind was of a green shoot pushing up through the soil; a sense of new growth, grounding, rebirth, and renewal, and it was this image that formed the inspiration for the Aries yoga practice.
Planetary Influences and Archetypes
There is immense benefit to be gained from working with planetary archetypes, which contain encapsulated within them the ancient wisdom of the myriad cultures who have projected their lives and wisdom onto the celestial canvas of the night sky. We can all recognise the planetary archetypes, with their canon of gods and goddesses, which evoke a response in us from deep within our subconscious. It can be transformative to explore these energies playing out within our own person.
Planetary archetypes, such as Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods, can be great fun to work with. In the Gemini chapter of the Yoga by the Stars book you’ll find a yoga practice inspired by Mercury, which uses the imagery of winged feet and helmet to give a buoyant and uplifting effect to the practice.
Working with the planets in this way can also be thought provoking and revealing. In the Pisces chapter we explore the planet Neptune, which is characterised by that which is veiled and hidden. Working with Neptune’s energy allows us to plumb the depths of our subconscious and to uncover veiled and hidden forces at play in our lives. Once we have shone the light of day upon these hidden influences, we can make conscious choices about how to work with them which enables us to move forward with our life.
The jovial Jupiter teaches us about enjoying life and being expansive. Saturn teaches us about gravitas. Uranus evokes the wisdom of extreme old age. Pluto enables us to take advantage of sharp, sudden, eliminative energy. Mars empowers us to assert ourselves in the world. Venus enable us to appreciate beauty, uncover our hidden talents, fulfil our potential, and to blossom.
The Zodiac and the Elements
Each zodiac sign is assigned an element: fire, earth, air, or water. This element determines the characteristics of the sign. The elements are also called the triplicities, because there are three signs assigned to each of the elements.
Fire: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius
Earth: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn
Air: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius
Water: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.
Active and Passive Qualities of the Zodiac Signs
The signs are designated as alternately active (+) or passive (-) starting from Aries, which is active. The Fire and Air signs are active, while the Earth and Water signs are passive.
Active: Expressive, outgoing, extrovert, energetic, assertive, expansive, confident.
Passive: Reflective, introverted, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful, contemplative.
If you are familiar with the concept of yin and yang, then active corresponds with yang, and passive with yin. Active is energising and expansive like an inhalation; and passive is relaxing like an exhalation. Although it’s traditional to label active (+) as “masculine”, and passive (-) as “feminine”; I don’t use this gendered form of categorisation because I don’t like the way that it reinforces limiting gender stereotypes.
The Zodiac Wheel and the Chakras
Each zodiac sign is associated with a chakra. Both astrology and the chakra system have a poetic symbolism that we can draw from to inspire our yoga practice. Astrology teaches us the poetry of our relationship with a vast mysterious cosmos, of which we are a minuscule, but important part. And inversely the chakras map out a poetic, symbolic map of our inner Solar System, helping us to locate the constellations of our own subtle energy system. No one can define exactly what the chakras are, or where they are located; so, each time you work with the chakras, you are an explorer of inner space.
It can be rewarding to work with. the bija (seed) mantras associated with each chakra. They are so simple… and…you don’t even need to have a tuneful voice to join in! I’ve integrated the bija mantras into several of the zodiac inspired yoga practices in the Yoga by the Stars book.
Planning Your Journey Around the Wheel of the Zodiac
Now that you are familiar with the astrological approach used in the Yoga by the Stars book, you’re ready to dive into the rest of the website. First, I’d suggest that you take a look at the Sun and Moon page as this will help you to orient yourself ready for the zodiac sign pages. After that it’s up to you where you start with the twelve zodiac sign pages. You could either go through them all in order. Or dive into whatever time of the year you are in; for example, if it’s February start with Aquarius. Or start with your Sun sign. It’s entirely up to you. The book and the website are circular, and each chapter or web-page is a complete, independent, entity, as well as being in relationship with every other web-page or chapter in the book. Remember, regardless of your sign, each of the zodiac signs had a healing potency that can be used by everyone, trust your intuition to guide you to the sign that will contain the most learning and healing power for you.
In the Yoga by the Stars book you will find zodiac inspired yoga practices, meditations, visualisations, affirmations, and meditation questions. The book presents a fascinating approach that connects the symbolism of the zodiac to a year-long cycle of yoga practice. Aries empowers your inner warrior in the spring. Libra helps you create balance in the autumn, and Capricorn shows you how to transcend your limitations in the winter.
The Wheel of the Zodiac provides us with an infinite treasure trove of sparkling gems to draw upon and use as inspiration for our yoga practice, and to enrich our life. In this section we look at some of the elements to be found in the zodiac treasure chest and used in the Yoga by the Stars approach.
Zodiac Symbols
The twelve zodiac symbols are very rewarding to work with. For example, Leo’s symbol, the lion, connects us to the exceptional capacity for cooperation displayed by lionesses, and the power of the lion’s roar. Or for the zodiac sign Cancer, there is the crab symbol. We observe how the crab withdraws back into its shell when threatened, and we can use this as a starting point to explore ideas around privacy, the public versus private, so pertinent in today’s world of social media. Gemini’s symbol, the twins, gives us the opportunity to focus on duality, such as light and dark, active and passive etc. When studying Sagittarius, its symbol the Archer calls us to find out more about archery and to relate that to the power of intention. As you can see it's inspiring and fun to explore the zodiac symbols, which in turn we can relate back to our life and our yoga practice.
Zodiac Glyphs
Each of the twelve zodiac signs has a pictorial symbol called a glyph. These ancient symbols probably precede any known writing, and their potency and power comes from the wisdom and knowledge encapsulated within them. A glyph can be used as a yantra (a visual symbol used to aid meditation). For example, in the Aries chapter of the Yoga by the Stars book, we use the Aries glyph as a yantra. When contemplating the Aries glyph, the image that arose in my mind was of a green shoot pushing up through the soil; a sense of new growth, grounding, rebirth, and renewal, and it was this image that formed the inspiration for the Aries yoga practice.
Planetary Influences and Archetypes
There is immense benefit to be gained from working with planetary archetypes, which contain encapsulated within them the ancient wisdom of the myriad cultures who have projected their lives and wisdom onto the celestial canvas of the night sky. We can all recognise the planetary archetypes, with their canon of gods and goddesses, which evoke a response in us from deep within our subconscious. It can be transformative to explore these energies playing out within our own person.
Planetary archetypes, such as Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods, can be great fun to work with. In the Gemini chapter of the Yoga by the Stars book you’ll find a yoga practice inspired by Mercury, which uses the imagery of winged feet and helmet to give a buoyant and uplifting effect to the practice.
Working with the planets in this way can also be thought provoking and revealing. In the Pisces chapter we explore the planet Neptune, which is characterised by that which is veiled and hidden. Working with Neptune’s energy allows us to plumb the depths of our subconscious and to uncover veiled and hidden forces at play in our lives. Once we have shone the light of day upon these hidden influences, we can make conscious choices about how to work with them which enables us to move forward with our life.
The jovial Jupiter teaches us about enjoying life and being expansive. Saturn teaches us about gravitas. Uranus evokes the wisdom of extreme old age. Pluto enables us to take advantage of sharp, sudden, eliminative energy. Mars empowers us to assert ourselves in the world. Venus enable us to appreciate beauty, uncover our hidden talents, fulfil our potential, and to blossom.
The Zodiac and the Elements
Each zodiac sign is assigned an element: fire, earth, air, or water. This element determines the characteristics of the sign. The elements are also called the triplicities, because there are three signs assigned to each of the elements.
Fire: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius
Earth: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn
Air: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius
Water: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.
Active and Passive Qualities of the Zodiac Signs
The signs are designated as alternately active (+) or passive (-) starting from Aries, which is active. The Fire and Air signs are active, while the Earth and Water signs are passive.
Active: Expressive, outgoing, extrovert, energetic, assertive, expansive, confident.
Passive: Reflective, introverted, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful, contemplative.
If you are familiar with the concept of yin and yang, then active corresponds with yang, and passive with yin. Active is energising and expansive like an inhalation; and passive is relaxing like an exhalation. Although it’s traditional to label active (+) as “masculine”, and passive (-) as “feminine”; I don’t use this gendered form of categorisation because I don’t like the way that it reinforces limiting gender stereotypes.
The Zodiac Wheel and the Chakras
Each zodiac sign is associated with a chakra. Both astrology and the chakra system have a poetic symbolism that we can draw from to inspire our yoga practice. Astrology teaches us the poetry of our relationship with a vast mysterious cosmos, of which we are a minuscule, but important part. And inversely the chakras map out a poetic, symbolic map of our inner Solar System, helping us to locate the constellations of our own subtle energy system. No one can define exactly what the chakras are, or where they are located; so, each time you work with the chakras, you are an explorer of inner space.
It can be rewarding to work with. the bija (seed) mantras associated with each chakra. They are so simple… and…you don’t even need to have a tuneful voice to join in! I’ve integrated the bija mantras into several of the zodiac inspired yoga practices in the Yoga by the Stars book.
Planning Your Journey Around the Wheel of the Zodiac
Now that you are familiar with the astrological approach used in the Yoga by the Stars book, you’re ready to dive into the rest of the website. First, I’d suggest that you take a look at the Sun and Moon page as this will help you to orient yourself ready for the zodiac sign pages. After that it’s up to you where you start with the twelve zodiac sign pages. You could either go through them all in order. Or dive into whatever time of the year you are in; for example, if it’s February start with Aquarius. Or start with your Sun sign. It’s entirely up to you. The book and the website are circular, and each chapter or web-page is a complete, independent, entity, as well as being in relationship with every other web-page or chapter in the book. Remember, regardless of your sign, each of the zodiac signs had a healing potency that can be used by everyone, trust your intuition to guide you to the sign that will contain the most learning and healing power for you.
