Astrology Planning for Busy Witches and Babes: Organizing Your Time Using the Stars Without Becoming an Expert
- Shanae Smith
- Feb 2, 2023
- 11 min read
Updated: Mar 10
How and Why to Use Astrology for Planning - Without Becoming an Astrologer
Astrology is a powerful tool for self-discovery and planning, but not everyone wants to spend all their time studying charts and transits. If you’re someone who wants to use astrology without becoming an astrologer, this post is for you. In this post we'll explore how you can integrate astrology into your life without the overwhelm.
But why might you want to do that? Even if you don’t know much about astrology, it can be a surprisingly effective tool for structuring your time. The movements of planets represent distinct energetic cycles—some ideal for action, some better for reflection. You don’t need to memorize complex astrology to use it—you just need a few simple tools to sync your plans with natural timing.
Why Should You Read This Post? - Astrology Planning 101 - For Beginners
Recognize your personal cycles of productivity and rest so you can plan your energy effectively instead of working against your natural rhythm.
Distinguish opportunities and challenges in your life so you can navigate changes with confidence and know when to consult with an astrologer for major decisions.
Anticipate when key life themes—like finances, relationships, and career—will become active so you can gain clarity on when these areas may require attention, reflection, or action
Track past astrological cycles and recognize patterns so you can understand how different planetary shifts have influenced you before, helping you make better future decisions.
Use astrology planning tools easily—even as a beginner so you can start benefiting from astrology today without needing deep technical knowledge.
What Astrology Can Offer Without Deep Study
Astrology gives you a bird’s-eye view of your life. Astrology helps you step back and see life’s bigger patterns—like when to push forward, when to slow down, and when certain areas of your life naturally become more active.
For example, astrology can help you:
Recognize your natural cycles of productivity and rest (so you can plan your energy effectively).
Understand financial trends in your life (so you can work with, not against, money flow).
Identify the best times for major decisions (so you can launch, commit, or pivot with clarity).
See how relationships and partnerships evolve over time (so you can navigate them with awareness).
Align career choices with your strengths and long-term purpose (so you can stop second-guessing your path).
Once you understand your chart’s core message, a few easy but impactful techniques, and how to use the most helpful tools on Astro.com 😅, you’ll be able to map out your life with clarity and strategy. With just a little knowledge, you can stop guessing and start planning in a way that actually works with your energy.
A Practical Example: The Everyday Astrologer
My grandma used to keep a fancy planner—not to plan ahead, but to record daily events in her life. I assume she did this for sentimental or record keeping purposes, since she was not interested in astrology.
That inspired me to try something similar—but with astrology in mind. Instead of just noting life events, I began tracking how major astrological shifts lined up with what was happening in my world.
I realized that tracking past transits can be just as valuable as planning future ones. By keeping simple notes on major planetary movements—like a Venus Return or a Mercury Retrograde in a specific sign—I started noticing patterns in how these energies affected me.
To make it easy, I use the Journal It! app, which allows me to tag posts like “Sagittarius New Moon” or “Mars Retrograde”, making it simple to review past experiences. If you prefer a physical planner, you can jot down key astrology events alongside your daily notes—but you don’t have to tag everything.
Why? Because when reviewing past patterns, you’ll research past time-frames based on what’s happening now.
For example, if Pluto is currently activating a personal planet, this influence unfolds over several years. Instead of tagging every journal entry with "Pluto conjunct Sun," I’d simply check the time-frames when Pluto was at key degrees near my Sun—allowing me to connect past events with its long-term cycle.
For those who want a structured astrology planner, the Honeycomb Almanac is a fantastic resource. But even a basic note-taking system can help you recognize patterns, making astrology feel more personal and intuitive over time.
The Burning Question: How Much Time Does Astrology Take?
The good news is that astrology doesn’t need to consume all your free time. Here’s a reality check:
Do you need to keep a detailed life history?No, but tracking the timing of major events accurately is helpful.
Should you constantly check the astrological weather?No, astrology is most impactful when you focus on relevant moments.
Do you need to watch every general forecast on YouTube?Absolutely not! Beginners can often get lost in general predictions. Instead, focus on what applies to your unique chart.
Two Approaches to Using Astrology Without Overwhelm
Professional astrologers can guide you as needed. Whether you’re navigating major life transitions or refining your goals, a skilled astrologer offers clarity and direction. Many astrologers offer hourly consultations or packages for long-term support. I offer both, check out my services here.
When to book consultations:
When life feels chaotic or unclear.
To refine goals and strategies periodically.
For personalized guidance on significant life events.
For a great "crash course" on how to use your own chart effectively and to ask questions directly.
2. Learn Key Techniques for Independence
With a little foundational knowledge, you can reduce the frequency of professional consultations while still leveraging astrology effectively. Here’s what to focus on:
Understand Your Chart’s Message: Learn your key placements and what they reveal about your strengths and challenges - I recommend this tool to get started on this.
Master Simple Techniques: like tracking transits or using astrology apps can help you anticipate patterns.
Use Trusted Tools: Platforms like Astro.com can provide reliable insights with minimal effort once you know what to look for.
Either way, you will periodically want to book consultations with an astrologer to ask questions and refine your understanding of the cosmic clock and the big picture of your lifestyle
Learning your astrology chart on your own, through piecemeal and free internet resources is fine and how everyone starts, but you should expect there to be a long and arduous integration period. Check out this post for more information on Life After Your First Astrology Consultation to manage that integration more effectively. There is limitless free information online. Some of it is good and some of it is noise. Some of it is scholastic and some is esoteric. But it is truly limitless.
How will you sort out what is helpful for your lifestyle without periodic help and guidance? People study astrology for decades - truly for their entire adult life. There is so much, and you don't know what you don't know.
How to Start Astrology Planning: Quick Tips for Busy Witches and Babes
If you want to incorporate the stars into your daily life without becoming an expert, here are a few simple steps to get started:
Before you start using astrology for planning, you’ll need access to your free natal chart. If you don’t have yours yet, don’t worry—it’s easy! Follow this quick-start guide to generate your natal chart in just a few minutes.
(Update February 2025 - I intend to create a full "quick start to astrology" guide someday, but don't currently have one. Please subscribe to be notified when more content goes live!)
Once you have your natal chart, the next step is understanding how the current movement of planets (called transits) interacts with your personal placements.
Transits show when certain life themes will become active—kind of like a weather forecast for different areas of your life.
For example, if Mars (motivation, drive, and conflict) is moving through your 10th house of career, you might feel extra motivated to take action in your work life, but you could be exposed to more conflict as well.
If Mercury (communication, learning, commutes) is about to go retrograde, it’s a great time to back up important files or double-check plans to avoid miscommunications, and have your car maintenanced.
Track Your Personal Transits
How do I use this in daily life?
Keep it simple. You don’t have to track transits every day—just checking in once a week can be enough to spot patterns.
Make it a habit. Stack it with your morning coffee or a journaling session to get a quick insight into what’s coming up.
Skip it if it feels overwhelming! You don’t have to do this every day to benefit from astrology. If it feels like too much, just move on to the next step.
Keep it Simple with Moon Phases
Follow the lunar cycle:
set intentions during the New Moon
take action during the Waxing Moon
reflect on results during the Full Moon
release during the Waning Moon and remain open to what new intention should be set during the next New Moon
Focus on major planetary movements (e.g., Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, or eclipses) rather than all the details.
This will give you more context for your longer term goals and challenges.
Example: If Mars is transiting your Mercury (usually takes a couple weeks), that is not a great time to try and have a difficult conversation, but know that difficult conversations could find you! If Saturn is transiting your Mercury (usually takes about one year) you could find yourself getting more disciplined about how you communicate, or what you're learning.
Take notice when faster moving planets like Venus, Mars, or Mercury are activating key parts of your chart for quick insights into shorter term opportunities and challenges.
Tip: memorize what degrees are most important for your chart so you can easily see if planets are making connections.
Bonus! - Check out this incredible tool from Astro-seek for your personalized transit calendar; I recommend you make it a short cut on your phone's home screen so you don't have to constantly enter your birth information.
2. Identify Your Key Areas of Focus
Look at your chart and consider which houses or placements are being activated - in this post toward the end I discuss how to tell if a house or planet is activated.
If you’re unsure about house meanings, check out this beginner-friendly guide to astrology houses - this is the same post as the previous point, so you should obviously check it out. :)
Prioritize checking out areas like career, relationships, or self-growth that are most important to you right now.
3. Use Astrology to Align Your Goals
Astrology can help you time your actions so you’re working with the natural flow of energy instead of pushing against it. Even if you don’t know transits in detail, you can start by following these general timing principles:
✨ When to Take Action:
New Moons → Good for starting new projects, setting intentions, and fresh ideas.
Waxing Moon Phases (New → Full) → Energy is building, making it easier to gain momentum.
Jupiter transits → These often expand opportunities and bring growth (e.g., a Jupiter aspect can be a great time to launch something).
⏳ When to Slow Down & Reflect:
Full Moons → Time to evaluate progress and release what isn’t working.
Waning Moon Phases (Full → New) → Energy is slowing down, making it better for refinement rather than new beginnings.
Mercury Retrograde → A great time for revising, editing, or returning to unfinished projects—but not ideal for launching something new.
Mars Retrograde → Pushing forward too aggressively can backfire—use this time to strategize instead of forcing action.
If you’re not sure how transits affect your personal chart yet, don’t worry! This is something you’ll be able to explore more deeply as you get comfortable with astrology. My live Year Ahead Consultations or my recorded personalized Year Ahead Overarching Themes and Processes can give you personalized insights into the best timing for you.
5. Experiment and Reflect
Write down your experiences during transits or phases in a journal or planner.
Reflect on what worked and what didn’t to refine your approach over time.
You cannot learn astrology transits without taking the time to live your life and see how transits manifest in real time. That is just part of learning how astrology works!
What’s Next? Your Step-by-Step Guide to Using Astrology for Planning
Feeling overwhelmed? If you’re brand new to astrology, planning your life with the planets can feel like a lot at first—but don’t worry! Here’s the best way to build your knowledge step by step:
Step 1: Get Your Natal Chart
If you haven’t already, start by generating your free birth chart. Heres the link to the Birth Chart Quick Start Guide.
Step 2: Learn About the Astrology Houses
The Houses show where different life themes play out. Understanding them will help you track which areas of life are being activated by transits. Read this guide to Astrology Houses.
Step 3: Learn About Transits and Start Noticing Transits in Real Time
Once you’re familiar with your chart, you can start observing how planetary movements affect your life. This will help you plan more effectively over time. Check out Astrology Transits for Beginners to start learning how transits work.
By following these steps, you’ll build a strong foundation for using astrology as a practical tool—without getting overwhelmed.
Want to go beyond basic planning and actually use astrology to structure your energy levels? Check out this guide on using astrology for productivity and rest.
If you’re already a bit more advanced, take your astrology planning deeper and map out the entire year ahead, check out this guide on Astrology Year-Ahead Planning.
Make Astrology Work For You, Not Against You
Astrology shouldn’t feel like another task on your to-do list—it should make your life easier, helping you move with the natural flow of energy instead of fighting against it. The trick is knowing how to apply it in a way that aligns with your personal rhythms.
That’s exactly what my 5-Day Creating Aligned Goals Mini-Course is designed to do. In just a few days, you’ll learn how to use your natal chart to set realistic goals, plan with astrology efficiently, and create a system that works for you—even with a busy schedule.
👉 Join others who are ready to make astrology a natural part of their goal setting and planning rituals and take advantage of the Mini-Course here!
And if you want a personalized roadmap for how astrology can support your unique lifestyle, a 1:1 consultation can help you build a plan that fits seamlessly into your daily routine. Whether you need structure, clarity, or just a fresh perspective, we can tailor an approach that actually works.
No more overcomplicating astrology. Let’s make it simple, intuitive, and effective for you.
Bringing It All Together
Astrology planning isn’t about adding more to your plate—it’s about making life flow better. Whether you follow the Moon cycles, track planetary transits, or simply use astrology for insight when you need it, the goal is to support your life, not overwhelm it. Take what works, leave what doesn’t, and trust that even small shifts can make a big difference.
Now, let’s break it down—here are the key takeaways:
Key Takeaways
Astrology helps you plan with intention. Understanding your natal chart and tracking planetary cycles allows you to work with natural rhythms rather than against them.
You don’t need to be an astrology expert to start. Simple tools—like checking the Moon cycle, noting major transits, and reflecting on past patterns—can immediately improve decision-making.
Tracking past experiences is just as valuable as planning ahead. Keeping notes on transits helps you recognize repeating cycles and gain confidence in using astrology in real life.
You can integrate astrology planning in whatever way fits your lifestyle. Whether it’s through a dedicated planner, a digital journaling app, or casual check-ins, astrology can be adapted to your personal workflow.
Want to take this further? Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can deepen your understanding by exploring astrology houses, transits, and long-term cycles to refine your approach.
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