Small Tweaks I Made That Changed My Life
My mental health, career, and confidence got a total overhaul — and it wasn’t from hustle or hacks.
I’ve been running some form of this mystical business (tarot/breathwork/astrology) for five years. It’s been slapdash and experimental and full of fits and starts.
But the way I would describe a lot of the time spent on my business — and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit this — is the sensation of spinning my wheels. Doing a lot of things and getting nowhere. Throwing everything and their mom at the wall and seeing what stuck.
Exerting a great amount of effort for a reel that gets 5 pity likes from my friends and my parents’ friends (why are they even here?).
Watching the unsubscribes roll in every time I tried a “marketing strategy” (honestly this is a #blessing, but that’s for another day).
Spending way too much time on social in exchange for somehow even less visibility.
It’s definition-of-insanity-level nonsense — doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
And even more embarrassingly, I feel like I was in this exact state about two weeks ago.
Stuck in that same old loop, feeling the anxiety of “I need to do something, but I don’t know what because I feel like I’ve done all the things."
Turns out, it wasn’t about pushing harder or finding the next strategy … it was about understanding and tending to the quiet, unseen parts of myself. Getting into all the gross, gunky old beliefs clogging up my systems.
And getting into the dark corners of my natal chart (of course we’re gonna talk about astrology, bish!).
You don’t need to burn it all down to change your life — just look at your dark houses.
In astrology, the 2nd, 6th, 8th, and 12th Houses are considered “dark” — the ones that aren’t clearly visible from the 1st house of identity, but deeply shape how we live.
Call ‘em your blindspots.
These aren't the “fun”1 houses in your chart — but they are the most transformational.
Working with the hard-to-see parts of your chart will change how you live, create, and relate.
Like spiritual/energetic Drano!
I started creating my workshop Hidden Houses: Astro Portals for Reality Creation because this is medicine I’ve been working with for years, but had a new level of awareness about. I could feel a major shift in my own capacity and energy and knew I needed to make sure my foundations were tight and right.
And because I’m a 3/5 Manifesting Generator with ADHD, I quickly became obsessed with my own experimentation process and knew I needed to create this for myself and share it with others in REAL TIME.
So in the spirit of the Wounded Healer, let me give you a BTS of the small shifts and tweaks I’ve made over the past couple of years (and some in the past couple of weeks!) based on my work with the dark houses that totally shifted my outlook and approach to life.
And outlook and approach create whole new realities, if you think about it.
The below is about my chart specifically, but if you wanna get all the tea on your chart and the tweaks YOU can make, check out the Hidden Houses workshop.
6th House: Work, Habits, and Health
Sign in the 6th: Sagittarius
Planets in the 6th: Uranus
The vibe: Sagittarius is dynamic, loves movement, meaning making systems, storytelling, and big ideas. Uranus likes to disrupt, innovate, and revolutionize.
What wasn’t working: Routines felt stale, felt “stuck”, I was doing the same things in the same ways and it felt mid. I would try to escape routines by rebelling or searching for a quick hit of dopamine (online shopping, Insta scroll) instead of doing what intended to do, perpetuating the “stuckness”
What I shifted:
I took my love of astrology (my preferred meaning-making system) seriously and completed a two year course of study to confidently offer readings as my day-to-day work.
I started basing my systems and routines around astrology‚ like using the planetary days of the week to create my schedule and shifting focus during different zodiac seasons.
I let adventure into my life again - cue: two-and-a-half-month Europe trip and move to Australia with my fam.
I blended movement + learning - walking and listening to books, classes, or podcasts is the way I learn best!
I built in daily novelty: Things like walking new routes, switching up routines, and working from cafes/outside the home at least once a week to mix things up.
The result: My days got lighter and more inspiring — less burnout, more joy.
8th House: Shared Resources, Intimacy, and Transformation
Sign in the 8th: Aquarius
Planets in the 8th: Jupiter
The vibe: Aquarius in the 8th House takes an unconventional approach to money, trauma healing, intimacy, and transformation. Jupiter here reminds me that the more I lean into my Aquarian innovator side in these areas of life and the more I nurture emotional reciprocity, the more abundance I’ll find.
What wasn’t working: Avoiding talking about money or getting involved in money decisions with my partner, hiding my witchy weird side, letting old inherited money traumas repeat.
What I shifted:
I let myself go full-on freak flag mode about witchiness, astrology, tarot, etc and crucially stopped worrying about the people who didn’t get it.
I started talking openly with my partner about our shared finances and financial fears.
I do a regular somatic and journalling practice gently healing my money trauma.
The result: I felt freer, more seen, and more powerful in my relationships. My exploration of the occult and esoteric healing modalities has revolutionized my life and changed me for the better.
12th House: Dreams, Isolation, Mental Health, and the Unconscious
Sign in the 12th: Gemini
Planets in the 12th: Chiron (yes, not a planet, but significant)
The vibe: (this one needs a whole ass list)
The Gemini of it all felt like Jack of All Trades, Master of None syndrome. I low-key and high-key gave myself a hard time for having so many interests, certifications, and careers. I thought it made me flakey and also like I didn’t have real authority or knowledge to share.
The 12th House isolates but Gemini is about the twins, an intrinsic belonging. I warped it and made myself out to be an outsider in every situation I found myself in — even when it made no sense.
My anxiety/depression/moods/energy were totally out of whack (lol, two young kids and a fledgling business will do that to you)
What wasn’t working: Silence, self-censoring, closing myself off from others, hiding my thoughts and ideas, a paralyzing fear of being misunderstood, my mental wellbeing after having kids.
What I shifted:
Using my voice - Talk therapy, podcasting, voice noting friends, talking to camera on insta, and exploring connections and ideas through writing
Starting a SSRI - I had a lot of beliefs around my mental health and medication that ultimately weren’t serving me (namely that I could “figure it out” on my own with every wellness practice and supplement under the sun/that I could just white knuckle it for as long as it took). After years of talk therapy, I decided to try medication for my anxiety and depression. The only thing I would change is doing it sooner. Forever grateful for medicine and good therapists.
Daily journalling practice (tied to the somatic money trauma work I do for the 8th House)
Teaching: I committed to sharing my knowledge here on Substack, Instagram and (after over a year off) started teaching live classes again — which feels so good!
Get a front row seat for my teaching in the Hidden Houses Workshop
The result: The more I voice or articulate things, the more I’m able to understand the hidden beliefs that have been running the show. And the more I do the things I was previously afraid to do (namely speak up, share my knowledge and stories, reach out) the more connected I feel.
2nd House: Money, Value, and Your Natural Gifts
Sign in the 2nd: Leo
Planets in the 2nd: Sun, Mercury Rx, Mars
The vibe: Leo in the 2nd Houses ties resources and possessions to self-worth, they can be either a joyful expression of this (light) or something you think you need to appear a certain way to others (shadow). Leo in the second house attracts wealth through self-expression, warmth, and generosity. Focusing on the feeling of luxury over quick fixes is magnetic.
What wasn’t working: Believing confidence is cringe. Or worse, self-centered and vain. Trying not to attract too much attention or float under the radar. Worrying that real attention would make people hate me.
What I shifted:
I focused on the fun — in work and life. (That’s what Cosmic Style was born out of!)
I took up more space, lovingly - I started dressing for me and what felt joyful, letting myself shine. I was dressing for my Leo, wearing fun, colorful things, and opening up a whole new avenue for my creativity to flourish.
I recognized that my confidence is my currency — and started strengthening it by doing scary/brave-to-me things (sending out pitches to ppl I admire, making small talk, driving lol.)
I focused on what would feel like a luxurious experience instead of trying to force something or discounting myself.
Embraced my cringe. It’s the realest power move there is. I know you don’t want to hear the A word, but damnit if authenticity isn’t important. Be yourself wherever you go! Be enthusiastic about the things you love! Be silly and weird!
The result: I stopped shaming myself for wanting to be seen and appreciated. I started to feel proud of the things I was creating. I felt rich, even before the external proof. My magnetism entered the chat.
If you’re ready to stop bypassing your magic and start partnering with your weird and wild depths, come to:
Hidden Houses: Astro Portals for Reality Creation
📅 July 9th at 7pm Eastern U.S. / July 10th at 9am Australian Eastern
💻 Live + interactive on the internet
🎧 Get a bonus mini reading from me
👉 CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SPOT
Let’s flip the script on the things that are keeping you in the same old patterns🚪 🗝️⛓️💥🌀🪄🦄
Hit that little heart 💜 button as a spell of good vibes or tell me about the tweaks you’ve made that made a huge difference to your life. And if you really liked this, please share it with a friend!
But I’d also argue, like the great Michelle Pellizzon Lipsitz says (I’m paraphrasing), “If you’re not having fun, that’s on you.”