How to Find Your True Self with Astrology: Choose Your Path to Self-Discovery
- Shanae Smith
- May 5, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 5
Self deprecation isn't doing anything for you.
It isn't cute. It isn't funny. It isn't original.
It's repellent and in fact - it's insulting the people who are totally butt-crazy in love with the real you.
Recently, I saw someone say that disliking your chart is just intellectualized self loathing.
You're a unique and perfect organization of separate but united components coming together to create an interesting concoction of intoxicating 'je ne sais quoi'.
Don't withhold your certain something.
Have you ever felt like you’re living a life that doesn’t quite feel like your own? Maybe you've followed expectations—of family, society, or even your past self—only to realize you don’t truly know who you are. Astrology isn’t just a tool for personality insights; it’s a map to uncover the version of you that’s been buried under ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts.’
Astrology, however, gives you the tools to step out of the self-critical spiral and into self-understanding. Let’s explore how you can use your natal chart to reconnect with your true self and embrace the beauty of being you.
Why Read This Post? - How to Find Your True Self Using Astrology
Reading all of this post will give you insights to:
Recognize and Undo Conditioned Self-Doubt: Understanding your Mercury, Venus, and Mars placements helps you see where you've been taught to filter yourself, suppress your desires, or hesitate to take action—so you can unlearn limiting beliefs and express yourself with confidence.
Break Free from Subconscious Sabotage Patterns: Your Pluto, Chiron, and 12th House placements reveal hidden influences that shape your self-image—so you can stop reinforcing old wounds, confront your deepest fears, and reclaim your personal power.
Align with Your True Path Instead of Staying Stuck: Your North Node calls you toward personal growth, while your South Node shows where you may be stuck in old patterns—so you can step into the version of yourself you were meant to become, rather than repeating cycles that no longer serve you.
Use Astrology as a Tool for Self-Mastery, Not Just Self-Discovery: Astrology isn’t about labeling who you are—it’s a framework for transformation—so you can work with your chart to make empowered decisions, set aligned goals, and live a life that truly reflects your essence.
Step 1: Recognize the Harm of Self-Deprecation
When you say things like, “I’m just a mess,” or “I can’t do anything right,” you’re not just joking—you’re reaffirming beliefs that aren’t true. These words cannot come out of your mouth if your subconscious isn't on board with them. Don't worry, you can work with your repeated self-deprecating thoughts and retrain your subconscious! Here’s how to break those patterns using astrology, and how to align your beliefs with actions for lasting change.
Astrology teaches us that every single chart, every single placement, is valuable. You’re a unique and perfect combination of energies, all working together in ways that no one else can replicate. That means you’re not a mistake. Miracles and tragedies happen every day, no matter what the astrology charts are saying - and the same thing is true for each individual. There is no perfect chart, and no perfect person.
Step 2: Understand the Core of Your Natal Chart
Your natal chart is a snapshot of the sky at the moment you were born, and it’s the key to understanding who you are. The three placements that help define your core personality are:
Your Rising Sign: How the world perceives you and the energy you project.
Journal it out: "Do you feel like the way people perceive you matches who you really are? Where is there tension between your inner and outer self?"
Your Sun Sign: Your core identity, your steady center through all stages of life.
Journal it out: "What values and traits feel most authentic to you, even if you’ve suppressed them?"
Your Moon Sign: Your emotional self, including your needs, fears, and inner world.
Journal it out: "What emotional needs do you consistently struggle to honor, and how does this impact your self-expression?"
Beyond the Big 3 - Other Key Placements for Self-Discovery
The Personal Planets – Your Mind, Inner Desires & Action Style
Mercury – Your Thought Process & Communication Style
How do you process information, make decisions, and express yourself?
Does the way you think and speak align with your inner truth, or do you filter yourself based on external expectations?
Many self-deprecating thoughts start with Mercury. If your Mercury placement has been conditioned to doubt itself (perhaps by critical authority figures or societal pressure), you may unconsciously reinforce false beliefs about your intelligence, decision-making, or ability to communicate effectively. Understanding your Mercury helps you break out of mental loops that undermine your confidence.
Venus - Your Values & Personal Enjoyment
What do you truly love and value?
Do your relationships (and more broadly, how you spend your free time) reflect this?
Many of us have been taught to devalue our own desires, especially if they don’t align with external expectations. Venus shows where you’ve been conditioned to believe certain preferences or pleasures are 'wrong' or 'selfish.'
Mars- Your Drive & How You Take Action
How do you assert yourself, and does it align with your authentic ambitions?
Do you act on your desires, or do you hesitate due to fear, doubt, or conditioning?
If you've internalized beliefs that you're ‘too much,’ ‘too aggressive,’ or ‘not assertive enough,’ your Mars placement can reveal where and why you've learned to hold yourself back. By working with Mars, you can take action in a way that feels natural and aligned with your true drive.
North & South Node – The Path to Your Most Fulfilling Self
Your North Node's sign and house placement represent where you are meant to grow.
What fears or habits are holding you back from embracing it?
Your South Node represents where you have innate talents in this lifetime.
TIP: Usually you will use these skills to achieve the growth indicated by the North Node. While these talents come naturally, relying only on them without stepping into your North Node’s lessons can eventually lead to stagnation.
Many of our self-sabotaging patterns come from clinging to our South Node—what feels familiar, safe, and ingrained. If you've been conditioned to believe that stepping into your North Node path is unrealistic, irresponsible, or even dangerous, you may unconsciously resist growth. Understanding this polarity helps you break free from outdated patterns and embrace a life that feels fully yours.
Each of these placements reflects a different layer of your personality. When you learn to interpret them together, they reveal a powerful story about you.
Expanding the Depth: Subconscious, Wounds, and Deep Transformation in Self-Discovery
While the Personal Planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Rising signs) form the foundation of your identity, deeper astrological placements reveal the hidden forces shaping your personal growth.
If you’ve ever felt like parts of yourself are still waiting to be uncovered, these placements hold the key to understanding your life path, emotional wounds, and subconscious patterns.
Chiron – Healing the Wounds That Hold You Back
Chiron is known as the “Wounded Healer” because it represents the deep emotional wounds you carry—often from childhood or past lives (if you believe such a thing)—but also the areas where you have the power to heal and guide others.
Where Chiron is placed in your chart reveals the area of life where you may struggle with self-doubt or recurring pain, yet through working with these wounds, you develop wisdom and strength.
Reflection Prompt: What emotional patterns or limiting beliefs keep resurfacing for you? How can you begin shifting your perspective toward healing?
Many self-deprecating beliefs stem from Chiron wounds—areas of life where we feel inadequate, unworthy, or perpetually struggling. But Chiron doesn’t define what we can’t do—it shows where we are meant to heal and grow. Your deepest wounds can become your greatest strengths once you stop seeing them as limits and start viewing them as portals for empowering yourself and others.
Example: Chiron in the 5th House might indicate wounds around self-expression, creativity, or feeling seen, while Chiron in the 10th House could reveal struggles with career confidence or public recognition.
The 12th House – Your Hidden Self and Subconscious Blocks
The 12th House is often called the house of the unconscious, spirituality, isolation and hidden patterns. It rules what you cannot always see about yourself, including subconscious fears, past-life themes, and unprocessed emotions.
If you find yourself repeating certain behaviors or feeling drawn to isolation or escapism, 12th House placements might be at play.
This house also represents spiritual awakening and deep inner work. The more you embrace the lessons of your 12th House, the more you can step into your true self without fear or resistance.
Beyond fears and subconscious patterns, the 12th House also holds deep wisdom. Many people with strong 12th House placements find they have intuitive or creative gifts waiting to be uncovered—if they learn to trust themselves
Reflection Prompt: What fears or hidden emotions have shaped your self-perception? How can you work with your subconscious mind rather than against it?
The 12th House is where society, past experiences, or even past lives have conditioned you to believe things about yourself that may not be true. If you have placements here, you may struggle with self-undoing behaviors, imposter syndrome, or self-doubt that feels unexplainable. But the more you bring these hidden influences into the light, the more freedom you gain over your own subconscious mind.
Example: Someone with Venus in the 12th House may struggle with patterns of hidden love or self-sacrificing relationships but can learn to establish boundaries and self-worth.
Pluto – The House of Your Deepest Transformation
Pluto’s house placement shows where you are meant to undergo intense personal evolution, shedding old versions of yourself like a snake shedding its skin. This is where life forces you to face power struggles, fears, and deep transformation—but it’s also where you can tap into incredible resilience and personal power.
Where is Pluto in your chart? That’s where you’re meant to release control, face uncomfortable truths, and step into your true strength.
Reflection Prompt: What themes in your life seem to keep forcing you to transform? Where have you experienced cycles of destruction and rebirth?
Pluto represents deep psychological conditioning—the kind that operates in the background, shaping how you see yourself without you even realizing it. If your Pluto house placement has been a source of trauma or struggle, you may have developed false narratives about your worth or abilities. Working with Pluto means confronting these ingrained beliefs and rewriting your personal power story.
Example: Pluto in the 4th House may indicate deep transformations around family, home life, and emotional security, while Pluto in the 10th House suggests major rebirths and power struggles in career, reputation, or authority figures.
Step 3: Integrating These Insights into Your Journey
Finding your true self isn’t about fitting into a pre-written mold—it’s about understanding the layers of your chart that reveal your unique growth path.
Your personal planets help you express your identity.
Your North Node points you toward purpose.
Your Chiron shows where healing creates empowerment.
Your 12th House and Pluto holds the subconscious keys to deep transformation.
If you're ready to dive deeper into these placements and uncover what they mean for your personal journey, book a consultation where we’ll explore how to align with your authentic self.
The more you uncover, the easier it becomes to step into your authentic self—free of self-doubt or negative talk. You'll see that "find your true self" is a process of uncovering, exploring and seeking what aligns and resonates, not a black and white answer.
Why Self-Love is the Key to Alignment
When you stop beating yourself up for who you’re not, you can finally embrace who you are. Astrology is about uncovering your unique strengths—not changing you, but helping you work with what’s already there.
If you've spent years trapped in self-doubt, self-sabotage, or feeling like you're ‘too much’ or ‘not enough,’ your chart holds the blueprint to undoing these false beliefs. Astrology isn’t about defining you—it’s about freeing you from the conditioning that has kept you small. Every placement in your chart tells a story, but you get to decide what happens next.
Ready to Explore Your Chart? Choose Your Adventure:
Who are you, really? Astrology isn’t about putting you in a box—it’s about helping you understand your true nature so you can live with clarity, confidence, and alignment.
New to astrology? My Natal Chart Tour gives you a beginner-friendly breakdown of your chart so you can start exploring what makes you uniquely you.
Want to align your life with astrology’s cycles? My 5-Day Mini Course: Setting Aligned Goals That Work for You helps you use astrology as a tool for growth—so you can live in alignment with your chart instead of fighting against it.
Need deeper insight? A one-on-one astrology consultation can help you explore your core strengths, challenges, and life path—so you can step into your true self with confidence.
You don’t have to find yourself—you just have to reconnect with who you’ve always been.
However you want to more forward from here, I'm always here to help you figure out whats best for you - just send an email over, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can to help you know whats the right path forward.
Key Takeaways
Your astrology chart is a tool to unlearn self-sabotage and break free from limiting beliefs. Many of the thoughts that hold you back aren’t your own—they’ve been shaped by external expectations, past experiences, and unconscious conditioning.
Your personal planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars) show how conditioning has influenced your mindset, desires, and ability to take action. Understanding these placements helps you rewire negative self-talk and stop filtering your authentic expression.
Deeper placements like Pluto, Chiron, and the 12th House reveal hidden fears and subconscious patterns that keep you stuck. By working with these energies, you can stop unconsciously repeating harmful cycles and instead move toward healing and empowerment.
Your North Node is your guide to personal growth, while your South Node represents your comfort zone. Learning how to balance these two helps you avoid stagnation and step into the life you’re meant to live.
Astrology is not about fate—it’s about choice. Your chart provides a map, but you are the one who decides how to use it. The more you understand your placements, the more intentional and aligned your life becomes.
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