What Connects Us
Astrology is a framework. And sometimes, a new one helps you see your own more clearly.
My mom and I went to Kripalu in the Berkshire Mountains (only 35 minutes from my house) for the day. I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place that a day off feels like a vacation. Just to breathe and stretch and walk through something slowly. It was my mom’s birthday, and we both needed something nourishing. So we went for our third? fourth? visit. (We once went for a mother-daughter retreat for a week!).
What You Get with a Day Pass
I signed up for the day pass at Kripalu to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I get a special rate for being an educator, but my mom also got a discounted rate for being a senior (call to learn more as it’s complex how/when they allow discounted rates). I spent $137 and that includes three meals, access to wellness and yoga/movement classes, a walking trail system, meditation spaces, a small beach at the lake with guided kayaking, and use of the whirlpool and sauna.
It’s the kind of thing that feels luxurious without being wasteful. You show up in your leggings, drink water from your reusable bottle, and spend the day slowly. It’s not a spa with robes and slippers. It’s a place where people are trying to listen more carefully. To themselves, mostly.
There’s something beautiful about how little is asked of you there. No one is selling anything, and no one checks your pose in yoga. You get to be exactly where you are, for once, without apology.
Your day starts with breakfast, which is silent. If that’s not your thing, many people take their food and go outside.
Connecting the Dots
After breakfast, we took a class on Zi Wei Dou Shu, a system of Chinese astrology I’ve always been curious about. You get to choose from a list of a few offerings, or you could just relax and explore yourself. There’s also some spa/wellness treatments (for an additional fee).
Back to the astro: Zi Wei Dou Shu is more structured than Western astrology, with fixed “palaces” and placements that don’t shift in the same way as houses and signs. It uses the hour, day, month, and year of birth to generate a chart that is deeply layered and logic-driven.
You might think something so different wouldn’t have much in common with the way I work. But the moment we began comparing placements and timing, I could see how things align and connect.
In this system, the chart highlighted the same parts of my life that show up in my Western chart: responsibility, pressure, timing of major life shifts, and the areas where I tend to carry weight that isn’t mine.
When two systems, with different cultures and traditions, describe the same rhythm in your life, it feels like it’s unlocking something that we have learned over thousands of years. It’s evidence of something patterned and real, from people who were far more observant of the natural world than we are now.
That’s what I do with Charted. I work with Western astrology, yes. But more importantly, I work with patterns. I build tools that help you notice what season you’re in and how you can best choose an adventure that meets you there.
I’m not here to make astrology your identity. It’s just a lens that shows you something that might shift how you plan your next trip or make your next big decision.
The Shop
If you’re someone who likes a good gift shop, Kripalu’s is worth a visit. It’s not overwhelming, and it’s curated with care. You’ll find herbs, teas, essential oils, books you’ve never seen before, and some yoga gear.
I picked up a few things for gifts and a tiny treasure to remember the trip with my mom. What I appreciated most was that none of it felt performative.
Yoga Class
The yoga was a gentle flow and offered as an invitation, not instruction. This was great, so my mom and I could do it together at our own paces. It was the kind of class where people actually close their eyes, because no one’s watching.
As someone who attends yoga classes regularly, sometimes you don’t need to be pushed. You just need room to BE without judgment.
Lunch, the Labyrinth, and the Lake
We ate lunch after class —huge bowls of salad with southwestern veggie burgers and homemade dressings. The Ginger Turmeric Ice Tea was also delish! You clear your tray when you’re done. There’s no background music. Just the sound of people chewing quietly, looking out the windows at the hills.
Afterward, we walked the labyrinth. It was in full bloom, wildflowers everywhere.We may have cheated and stepped (carefully) over a row or two on the way out. (Shhh)
We made our way down to the lake. They have an afternoon guided kayaking group that was out so we sat and watched the geese (plus one interloper duck). Then wandered back up to the café before heading home.
Why It Matters
For the rest of the week, I have been thinking about that astrology class. Not because I need another system, but because it reminded me that truth shows up in many forms. Sometimes it’s just a subtle sign of confirmation. Especially in times of transition. Anything could have been scheduled in that block (I’ve taken Tarot, Somatic Movement, and Gut Health— to name a few). Yet here it was on astrology as I’m starting this business. A subtle nod? I say yes.
This week wasn’t viral. But it was meaningful.
I got to:
Connect with a travel podcast host who’s interested in bringing me on to talk about how astrology actually works in planning.
I scheduled a meet-up with a fellow Village Yogi and local business owner.
I spent real, grounded time with my mom, which both of us needed.
And I booked a trip for August to visit one of my favorite humans — a soul-sister and fellow badass — right in time for the Lion’s Gate and the full moon.
No fireworks, just forward motion that builds.
And that’s what I’ll keep doing here. Offering ideas, building tools, showing you what’s possible when you pay attention to the timing, the rhythm, the pattern underneath it all.
More soon. And thanks, always, for reading.
— Cat
Excerpt from "Consider the Hands that Write this Letter"
For years, I have come to sit this way:
one hand open, one hand closed,
like a farmer who puts down seeds & gathers up;
food will come from that farming.
Or, yes, it is like the way I've danced
with my left hand opened around a shoulder,
my right hand closed inside
of another hand. & how I pray,
I pray for this to be my way: sweet
work alluded to in the body's position to its paper:
left hand, right hand
like an open eye, an eye closed:
one hand flat against the trapdoor,
the other hand knocking, knocking.
Gotta stay connected!