The Luminary Hermit

The Luminary Hermit Professional Astrologer | Educator | Mentor. Applied Astrology for Family Systems and Personal Development. Founder of the Central Illinois Astrology Community.

09/06/2026

Meeting Kira Sutherland felt like a dream come true. She seems like such a wonderful person and her dedication to medical astrology is incredible.

I hope to take her whole program (and get a full reading from her) in the near future.

Today, I had the pleasure of seeing a presentation on Chronic Illness. For those who don't know, Leisa Schaim is an astr...
09/06/2026

Today, I had the pleasure of seeing a presentation on Chronic Illness.

For those who don't know, Leisa Schaim is an astrologer I've followed for years, watching hours of her research and contributions to the field. I really admire her knowledge and work.

Today, I got to see her exceptional presentation on Chronic Illness. As someone who struggles with chronic illness, my daily life has a lot of struggles that others often don't understand. It comes with waves of grief, shame, pain, nebulousness, misunderstandings, trial-and-error... even blatant misogyny and ignorance from some medical providers. I work hard to be a fierce advocate for myself and others, especially in terms of health and medicine. You know your body better than anyone.

Seeing her compassion today, and the immense research was overwhelming for me. It's truly hard to describe how it feels to be surrounded by other astrologers who have first hand knowledge of chronic health issues, or care enough to learn for their clients.

I know the research she was able to share today only scratched the surface, but it feels like the start of something immensely beneficial to a group of people who often feel unsupported or misunderstood.

I was fortunate enough to speak with her afterwards and share a little bit about my own journey. I feel so grateful for this experience and I can't wait to see what further research she has to offer us in the future.

For those who aren't familiar, please check out Leisa's work. I can't wait to share more once the dust settles.

Day 3 of UAC today. πŸ’™ Come say hi! I'm hard to miss with my bright, neapolitan hair. My Ta**us Mercury (in the 12th) alw...
09/05/2026

Day 3 of UAC today. πŸ’™ Come say hi!
I'm hard to miss with my bright, neapolitan hair.

My Ta**us Mercury (in the 12th) always needs a little while to sit with everything I have learned. As a Gemini Rising, I love socializing and sharing everything I learn with all of you, I just need time to synthesize all of the information first.

Now that I've had a little bit of time to process the last few days, I wanted to take a minute to share.

1. My outfits every day are "themed." I've picked 6 of my favorite placements in my chart, one for each day, and have an outfit/accessories to represent what that placement is. I'm having so much fun with it! This is something that felt very "me," and very Uranus transiting the first house. I need to shake things up and revamp my image. Gemini is my Ascendant/ 1st house, so I love duality and being adaptable. I don't have one set style, and this was a great way to express my creativity and weirdness.

2. People are incredible. This is my first real astrology conference. Of course I had to pick the biggest one to start with. There truly is no better feeling than being surrounded by so many incredible astrologers and enthusiasts.

3. I'm always over prepared. In true Capricorn Moon fashion, I have a bag full of everything I could need and haven't touched 80% of it. My Ta**us Sun has a massive bag full of food and snacks. πŸ˜…

4. For someone who doesn't prefer to be overly emotional, especially around people, my Progressed Pisces Moon (in the 10th) is really overwhelming. I feel so grateful to be here, to see and speak to so many incredible people, and to have my little support system encouraging me to do this.

I love and appreciate all of you who have shown up for me as I have navigated starting my own business, needing breaks for my health and family, and learning to overcome my own imposter syndrome. To each person who has purchased a reading, left me a review, taken an intro course, or supported my work in some capacity, I'm so grateful.

I can feel a huge pull to show up more... I have such a love/hate relationship with social media, but I hope to have many more insightful things to offer you in the near future.

As always, readings are available on my website. I'm unable to do it while I'm at UAC, but I will be back to business soon. πŸ’™

-The Luminary Hermit ✨

08/26/2026

Welcome to Virgo season! My first few days have been spent cleaning and reorganizing my house, revamping my daily routine, and prepping for UAC next week! How are you working with this new Virgo energy?

Virgo energy is often associated with systems, organization, practicality, and fine-tuning things. Because Virgo is traditionally placed in the 6th house, Virgo also has a lot to do with our daily routine, health habits, mundane tasks, being service-oriented, and even domestic animals!

This can be a great time to start a new exercise routine, eat a little healthier, make routine medical appointments, clean out the closet, etc.

Where is Virgo in your chart? Do you have any placements there?
Feel free to drop your chart or questions in the comments.

I have a few slots available for readings this week for anyone interested, but I will be out of commission next week

08/11/2026

Your rising sign is our unique perspective of life. It is often described as a lens that we filter life through. It also determines what our first house of "self" is, and lays out the rest of the chart.

What is the "flavor" of your rising sign? There are several things we can look at, but one is the planetary ruler of your rising, and where it is placed. (Each zodiac sign has a planet associated with it. That planet is the Planetary Ruler).

As a Gemini Rising, I often view life through a very Mercurial lens, because Gemini (and Virgo) Risings are ruled by the planet Mercury. However, each Gemini Rising can be different in nature.

For example, like most Gemini Risings, I talk a lot when I am excited about something. I'm fairly extroverted in most situations. I love to learn new things, ask questions, and often come off a bit curious and bubbly.

However, my unique "flavor" is that my Mercury is in my 12th house of Ta**us. I need social breaks, time to study quietly, and moments to recharge my social batteries. If I don't know the answer to something, I like to take my time studying and finding the answer. I like blending the "unknown" and spiritual concepts with a practical, grounded approach.

What is your rising? Who is your Chart Ruler? Where is it placed?

If you need help, feel free to message me or post your chart below!

08/07/2026

As a professional astrologer, I have now had the pleasure of looking at hundreds of charts over the years.

One of my favorite topics is how childhood development shapes us into adulthood. In astrology, we can look at several placements to see what circumstances could have been like as a child, and how they directly impact our future.

Here are a few of my favorite things to look at:
1. What type of chart do you have in terms of Sect? Basically, this means, do you have a Day Chart or Night Chart? An easy way to tell is where is your Sun in your Chart? Is it above or below your horizon line? A Day Chart will have the Sun above the horizon line (ASC/DSC line). A Night Chart will have the Sun below the horizon line. This tells us which Luminary is more impactful in your chart.

2. Where is your moon in your chart? This is often more impactful for my Night Chart people, but kids often act the most like their moon signs until age 7. What sign is it in? What house? What aspects is it making? All of those qualities paint a bigger picture, especially in terms of nurturing and emotions.

3. Your 4th house and IC. The IC can float through a few of the houses in the bottom half of your chart, but they have similar themes. The 4th house represents our home, roots, foundations, ancestry, and family patterns. The Imum Coeli, or IC, is an important angular point in your chart. At the moment you were born, this was the lowest point or "bottom of the heavens." Your most private life. Things often hidden or unseen from the public eye. Things that happen "behind closed doors."

The IC directly correlates to our Medium Coeli, or MC. This is often referred to as the Midheaven. In simple terms, our Midheaven is the highest point in the sky at the moment of our birth. This correlates to our public image, our legacy, and often our career.

4. Rulerships. The zodiac sign of your 4th house has a ruler. I often hear, "my 4th house is empty." While it may not have any planets placed there in your natal chart, you will always have a ruler. For example, if you have Virgo in the 4th house, but it is empty, we can find Mercury in your birth chart to give us more insight.

5. Zodiacal Releasing. For childhood, I enjoy looking at the Lot of Fortune. The Lot of Fortune has to do with things that happen to you, your circumstances, or as Leisa Schaim says, "things that befall you through no fault of your own." During childhood, we often get little say or control over our circumstances or environment.

The fascinating thing with the Lot of Fortune is seeing the "phase" that a child is in when they are born, and how long it lasts. For example, someone born into a Capricorn period will have many experiences that help shape them and mature them. We often see themes around responsibility, maturity, hard work, and more. Looking at where Saturn and Capricorn are placed in the birth chart gives us more information. This phase lasts 27 years!

However, a child born into a Level 1 Libra or Ta**us period can be very different. Libra and Ta**us are both ruled by Venus and these periods last a total of 8 years. For the first 8 years of life, a child may experience themes around love, art, beauty, and more. Again, this is a fairly simplistic description, but we can gain more information around where Libra or Ta**us are placed in the chart, along with the conditions of Venus.

If you are hoping to learn more about yourself and your astrology chart, I do have natal chart readings and forecast readings available. I also love helping parents understand their children through an astrological lens. If you would like more insight into your child's chart through an astrological lens, I have "Parenting Through Astrology" readings available on my website. πŸ’™

I do currently offer sliding scale and mini readings for those interested in a reading, but not able to afford my usual rates. Please message me at [email protected].

08/04/2026

What is one of your favorite movies or television shows? How do you feel like it relates to your astrological placements? If you aren't sure, feel free to tell me your favorite movie/show in the comments and let's discuss your placements!

For example, my Pisces Venus loves a good Rom-Com. They can be so cheesy and predictable, but every now and then, it is nice to watch a cheesy romantic movie, laugh a little, and be able to "turn off" my brain enough to relax.

Another of my favorites is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In particular, the Spider-Man series (especially with Tom Holland), is my favorite.
I have several placements that fit so well:
12th house Sun
Gemini Rising
Capricorn Moon (8th house)
Strong Jupiter/9th house placements.

He's still a kid/ young adult that is dealing with school, preparing for his future, a crush - normal teenage things. That is something many of us can relate to. His bubbly, curious nature feels so relatable for my Gemini Rising.

The amount of responsibility he has on his shoulders is intense, and I love seeing his character development. Despite being a superhero and so intelligent, he has very human/young adult moments where he makes mistakes or questionable choices, even though he has good intentions.

People with the Sun in the 12th house often relate to being our own worst enemy. We can self-sabotage or struggle with imposter syndrome. Despite wanting to be seen or heard, we may hide in the shadows or enjoy the comfort of being behind the scenes. Spiderman's hidden identity and mask feel very 12th house coded to me, especially in the newest movie when no one remembers who he is.

I love the character development and overarching themes. Very Jupitarian/ 9th house in nature. Jupiter is tied to morals, ethics, belief systems, and justice. How do we define what is good or evil? It's rarely a cut-and-dry answer. When it comes to the darkness within ourselves, do we ignore it or try to make peace with it? Is it a strength or a weakness? How do we define what responsibility we have in regards to others? When are we being self-destructive? What would we do for the people we love? How do we handle grief and loss?

As someone with a Capricorn moon, I've often been "mature for my age," but faced criticism when I was human, made mistakes, or actually acted my age.
My Saturnian nature takes responsibility and my duty to others very seriously. My 8th house moon also loves sentiment, analyzing details, and understanding why people are the way they are. The nods to previous MCU movies are beautiful touches that give me "all of the feels."

The scene with Jean Grey in Peter's memory broke my heart as a Capricorn Moon. If you know, you know. It's tough to make us cry, but that will do it. πŸ˜‚

"With great power comes great responsibility." πŸ•·οΈβ™₯️

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Decatur, IL

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