The symbolism in “Wisdom Gained” is a metaphor for breaking free of restrictions imposed by a strict Catholic upbringing, of trusting in the Universe and the energy of Higher Powers that guide us to achieve our goals for this lifetime.

Some of the symbols in this work are obvious: the owl is a traditional representative of wisdom. The keys…keys open doors, and in this case, the doors opened was my understanding of how the Universe supports us all. The stars within the sphere are the constellation Leo, my natal sign, and of course, the astrological glyphs in the corners are from the Zodiac.

My journey to ‘self’ was along a complicated path: first through adhering to my beliefs taught to me since birth; to psychotherapy to untangle why I was making such a mess of my life; to studying astrology, which finally filled in the blanks on the answers I needed. Belief in a power greater than myself, psychotherapy and astrology…all three together gave me the tools I needed to finally break away from destructive patterns, and to put to rest those parts of my religious beliefs that were not only limiting, but which never made sense, and therefore, never worked.

My eyes were finally opened to the hypocrisy within the Catholic and Christian religions after the systematic sexual abuse by clergy was uncovered. And rather than those churches work diligently to route out the abuse and dedicate itself to healing its believers, it, instead, became active in supporting corruption in politics, especially in the MAGA movement. That, for me, was the final straw.

Understanding how astrology affects us all, especially world events, has given me hope to know that we are being flooded with positive, life-altering energy, especially due to the first Pluto return of the USA. It is changing every single aspect of our lives, our government, our institutions and will usher in the Age of Aquarius, an age of peace, kindness, equality for all. Energy from the major transits are truly a gift from our Creator.

I am grateful to have this wisdom.