“I don’t have a therapist, but I have an astrologist,” Dua Lipa said in May on the Dish podcast. The clip went viral, in part because the sentiment rang true for so many people. There’s been a surge of interest in cosmic guidance over the past few years, with one study suggesting nearly three-quarters of Americans aged 16 to 34 turn to astrology to make important decisions.
I grew up in a cauldron of spiritual modalities, where after-dinner activities included my grandmother’s automatic writing, my grandfather as a hands-on healer, and my mother holding séances at our dining room table — which was a DIY Ouija board. She used astrological insights to understand how to best raise me, a Gemini, which in turn, helped me learn more about how I operate.
These techniques are all considered metaphysics, an umbrella term for the exploration of consciousness, which also includes tarot, meditation, past life regression, crystals, and energy healing. In 2018, I created Finding Your Magic, a metaphysical toolbox that includes interviews with practitioners, city guides, and a Rolodex of spiritual experts.
As a result, Dua Lipa’s statement didn’t take me by surprise. In fact, when I’m at a crossroads, in a swirl of confusion, or just down bad, I schedule appointments with both my team of spiritual advisors and my hypnotherapist — a legitimate form of treatment, according to the American Psychological Association. For me, healing is like a smoothie: therapy is the base, and the add-ons (like collagen powder or spirulina) are a spectrum of metaphysical offerings.
Curious about their value? I asked some of the experts in my Rolodex to explain.
The Case for Spiritual Work
“I help people get to where their blocks are or why they do certain things,” says Kimber Allen, a psychic medium who previously worked as a real estate agent and nurse before leaving her career (and unsupportive husband) to work with private clients. “It's just a faster process [than therapy],” she argues.
Metaphysical work can also illuminate a broader context for your stress, says Rosie Cutter, a former child therapist who now works with astrology, human design, and the destiny card system. Her clients include several psychologists, plus Dua Lipa.
Traditional therapy is a wonderful tool, but it often disregards the spiritual components simmering in the background of turmoil.
“Sometimes in talk therapy, people can demonize parts of themselves and think they have to fix them,” she says. “[They might say] ‘I'm melancholy, I'm depressed, it must be my job, it must be my marriage.’ But I can look at the astrology and it says that in the last two months you would be depressed, indulging in negativity, and facing the deepest parts of yourself, but you will come out a more free, cleansed person. That insight helps, and my suggestion is: ‘Why don’t we watch sad movies and have a good cry?’ You don't need to fix it.”
“Working in Tandem”
Jo Anderson, an intuitive reader and certified peer support specialist who volunteers with Crisis Text Line, advocates for a more complimentary approach.
“Traditional therapy is a wonderful tool, but it often disregards the spiritual components simmering in the background of turmoil,” she says. She pursued her metaphysical practice full-time after a series of terrible losses in two years and now feels that by combining the two, people can get to the root cause of their troubles.
Many therapists agree. “I love working in tandem with legitimate metaphysical teachers and healers and I often do,” says Oprah-approved therapist Laura Berman, Ph.D. “My clients often bring information from psychics or astrology readings into our sessions. It usually dovetails beautifully with the work we are already doing, often reinforcing it or even providing some new additional direction that might be supportive.”
Berman’s own exploration of metaphysics began in a deeply personal way. She credits her medium friends for helping her through the passing of her 16-year-old son Sammy. “A good reading will help so much with grief,” she says. “It can help us understand the truth: that our loved ones are still there, right behind the veil.”
She now hosts grief retreats that include sessions with what she calls vetted metaphysical practitioners — in other words, evidential mediums who either have verifiable proof of their communication that has been fact-checked or who have given Berman accurate readings. (Vetting is common amongst metaphysical fans. Christian Dior vetted his psychic, too. He consulted his go-to, Madame Delahaye, about whether he should open his own house, and asked a friend to explore the same question with her own medium. The second spiritual guide confirmed that he should. I use this system, too; I call it “cross-checking.”)
This respect between therapists and metaphysical practitioners often goes both ways. “I consistently work with a therapist, and we do mutual referrals,” says celebrity astrologer Darryl Gaines. “She sends me many of her clients.” He believes the practices work well together because “astrology practiced correctly is [similar to] the cornerstone of psychotherapy — understanding [ourselves] and our place with others.”
If you find something that works for you, does it really matter if it’s unconventional?
In fact, according to Cutter, therapists might be looking at the stars of their own accord. “I have lots of clients who are therapists and psychologists and they're using the charts, even if they're not letting the client know, just for their own understanding if they're not quite comfortable broaching it or bringing it up,” she says.
Know Your Limits
Even a convinced practitioner like Berman offers a note of caution about expecting metaphysical work to solve everything. “The issue is when people use [spiritual] tools as a Band-Aid,” she says.
A good expert, she adds, will also know their profession’s limits. “An ethical metaphysical practitioner will not pretend to be able to heal you from trauma, a relationship crisis, or repetitive habits that don’t serve you,” Berman says. “They will give you invaluable insight and information, and refer you to someone who is trained to help you do the deeper work necessary to heal.”
From my own experience, I know that spiritual guidance is not a wave of a wand. Neither is it a Magic 8 Ball, helping you predict the future. It takes time and real work to be beneficial, though I find the kind of acceptance and self-love it encourages invaluable.
Cutter agrees. “There is no bad astrology,” she says, adding that some of “the most powerful people in the world have very difficult charts.” She continues: “It’s more like, ‘Hey, here are your strengths, here are what you perceive as your weaknesses, but they're not weaknesses, they don’t need to be fixed.’ You can look at these sides of yourself and you can try to balance them, just like a bodybuilder would, so that you are whole and grounded.”
If you’ve ever been in talk therapy, much of this language will sound familiar. Self-discovery and growth are often uncomfortable, whatever the method, but if you find something that works for you, does it really matter if it’s unconventional?
Experts from my Rolodex:
Kimber Allen, psychic medium (contact via email only: allen.kimber@gmail.com)
Jo Anderson, intuitive reader
Laura Berman, Ph.D., therapist
Rosie Cutter, astrologer, human design and destiny card reader
Darryl Gaines, astrologer
