Tarot.com Spotlight: Getting to Know Astrologer Mecca Woods
Astrologer, mother, author, and podcaster
Photo credit: Schaun Champion
Mecca Woods' cosmic guidance has made her a tour de force in the Astrology world. She writes horoscopes that are seen worldwide, shares astrological insights on her ever-growing social media accounts, astro-coaches clients, hosts a podcast, and writes books on Astrology for a broad audience. There isn't much that Mecca doesn't do.
Her passion for Astrology stems from her passion for helping others. As a professionally trained astrologer, she uses the power of the stars to help people unlock their innate gifts so that they can start living the life they truly desire.
We sat down with Mecca to learn more about her work and the story behind this Sagittarius Sun, Aquarius Moon, and Leo rising...
What first drew you to Astrology?
I was at a crossroads in both my professional life and my romantic life, feeling stuck and like I was running into the same problems over and over again, especially in my dating life. I kept running into the same type of guy, so I started asking myself, "What is happening?"
I picked up a book by another astrologer who goes by Kiki T. called The Celestial Sexpot's Handbook, and I liked what she had to say so much that I decided to do a couple of readings with her. It was with her that I was able to learn about my birth chart and what it represented, and I think that that was Pandora's box in a lot of ways. I was able to see how Astrology put me in the driver's seat when it came to my life. I was able to unpack why I was going through certain situations, dealing with certain people. It really showed me that I essentially had everything that I needed in order for me to create the kind of life that I wanted.
I would say the other thing that drew me to Astrology as a field is that it's so vast! You know, even though I've been doing this professionally for over 10 years now, I still feel like I'm learning something every day.
What did you do before becoming a professional astrologer, and when did you realize this was what you wanted to do as a career?
I feel like I didn't find Astrology -- Astrology found me. I never thought I would be able to make this a career. I went to college for Creative Writing and Literature and worked for a literary agency, but I didn't really like it because I wasn't feeling like I was utilizing my gifts the way that I should. From there I went to social services. I was helping people find employment and work through barriers like coming from low-income or immigrant backgrounds, but I got burned out quickly. I also worked in customer service, so there's always been a running thread of helping people.
I think where it started to click for me was being introduced to other professional astrologers. Rebecca Gordon is a really good friend and a very talented astrologer who I also consider one of my mentors. She was able to show me that I could make Astrology a real career and that she'd show me how. For me, having that support was huge.
I definitely needed to get over the fear around being taken seriously and being respected in terms of what I do. Then I started to meet other people within the field, like Jason Fleming, who goes by Sagittarian Mind. He was another Sag working in this field and a Black astrologer, which was kind of rare. At the time when I started, I didn't really find many Black astrologers. Having that community, especially as an Aquarius Moon, was really the thing that helped me to get over the hurdle of "Can I really do this? Should I be doing this?"
How do you feel your overall birth chart indicates your path to becoming an astrologer or has contributed to your career as an astrologer?
I think that as a Sagittarius, one of my missions is to answer the big questions in life. I also have an Aquarius Moon sitting in my 7th house, which has to do with relationships and other people, so my Moon wants to nurture other people, to show up and support them.
And then with my Saturn, it's in Virgo in my 1st house, there's a part of me that is always driving -- the self-motivation is there. I think there's a lot of desire to want to help or to improve in terms of "How can I make the world better? What ways can I impact the world and do my part?" It's very Saturn because I want to feel like I'm working towards something and being a productive member of society. How can I use that in the best way possible? I think a lot of that has to do with wanting to support folks.
Then I have a lot of Leo in my chart too -- I have a Leo rising. So, it's helping people by doing it in my own, original, unique way. It's also about being inspiring. Because when we talk about the element of Fire in a birth chart, like Sag, or Leo, or Aries, Fire's purpose is being creative and creating something, and it also has a lot to do with inspiring other people. We inspire because we dare to create and dare to just be our own selves and live authentically. That kind of spreads out like wildfire into other places and encourages other people to see that within themselves.
What do you feel is the most powerful gift that Astrology gives to people?
In addition to agency, I definitely think self-awareness. It's learning when you need to, for example, be more confident or more self-assured -- or when you could stand to be a little more humble or thoughtful or considerate of other people.
When I think about the birth chart, you have all these different pieces that are coming together. People, especially newcomers to Astrology, get shocked when they find out we have all 12 signs somewhere in our birth chart. We have all these houses and all these other planets. So, if there's a sign you don't like or that presses your buttons, it's kind of like you still have that within you somewhere.
So, it's learning how to make all those bits and pieces fit together, right? Learning how to balance all those different parts within us. I think that Astrology really helps us to do that. With the awareness, it's really about recognizing what you're working with in terms of what your gifts are, but it's also looking at where you need to shift a little bit or where you need to grow or develop a little bit more. That's one of the biggest gifts that Astrology brings to people.
What does an Astrology reading with you involve, and is there a specific part of a person's chart you like to emphasize?
A lot of times I find myself focusing on Venus-related issues. Venus is the planet in Astrology that has to do with what we value, including ourselves. So usually when we're struggling with our Venus, or when there's a Venus issue in the chart, that can show up in relationship stuff or feeling taken for granted or unappreciated, or it can be dealing with a challenge around low self-worth or low self-esteem.
And so, a lot of what I find myself talking about with clients has a lot to do with ways that they can work on having better self-esteem and living more closely to their values and feeling valued. Not only in terms of the work that they do or the relationships that they're in but also looking at how they value themselves and how they can improve that.
One of my other favorite things to talk about are the nodes in Astrology. The nodal axis kind of encapsulates our life story in terms of where we've come from, which is the South Node, and where we're headed, which is the North Node. There's a lot of history in terms of the South Node, and I think sometimes with the South Node it tends to drive our personal narrative in terms of where we've come from -- and it can be hard to break out of that narrative! My job as an astrologer is kind of validating people's experiences, you know? And saying, "Yeah, that made sense," or "No, you were right to feel this way." But also, "Here's another way to look at it" or "Here's another way to write this story for yourself so you don't have to stay stuck in that space." Family dynamics is also a big one.
In your online bios you mention being a mom to an amazing Aries daughter. How do you feel Astrology has helped you connect with and parent her?
I think it definitely gives me a bit of a different approach in terms of the parenting that I had growing up. My parents did try to give my brother and I more freedom than they got growing up -- if you wanted something, then go for it. But I will say that on some level my parents were a little stricter with certain things. And I think that there was definitely a long stretch of time, especially during my teen years, where I was just completely rebelling against all that. And my poor mom -- I'm sorry, Mom!
But for my daughter and I, there were times when there was friction between us, but I knew her birth chart, and I knew how to respond to certain things. It made me come from a parenting perspective of being firm where I needed to but not iron-fisted. She had room to develop her personality and make her own little choices and decisions. My thing was more about trying to educate her around certain choices and decisions.
It definitely helped knowing her chart -- it helped me to be the mom that I needed to be without it becoming unhealthy or toxic. We have a really, really strong and really great relationship, and I would attribute Astrology as being one of those tools that helped me to craft that kind of a relationship with her.
You are a published author, and you have a new book titled, The Astrology Journal: A Celestial Guide to Recording Your Cosmic Journey coming out August 2021. Can you tell us a little more about what readers can expect?
This book is going to be more reader-driven than any of my books have been thus far. What I'm giving readers are the basics in terms of transits and planets and stars and signs. Basically, what to look out for when it comes to any sort of planetary transit that may be activated in their chart and giving them a space to journal about it so they can recognize how patterns and transits show up in their life in real-time. It also gives them the space to journal through it as a means of being able to unpack something or to navigate a challenge or take advantage of an opportunity.
I'm really excited about this book because I feel like as someone who has a large social media following, a lot of the questions that I get, especially if I'm talking in general about a transit, are: "What does this mean for me?" "What does this mean for my chart?" And I think this book is really kind of teaching readers how they can, in a way, be their own astrologer.
You launched a podcast, Stars on Fire, with fellow astrologer and Sagittarius Janelle Belgrave in 2020. What made you want to dip your toe into the podcasting pool and what kinds of topics do you cover?
So, our launch last year was actually kind of a re-launch, because we had been doing the podcast since 2015, roughly. But sometimes we struggled, I'll be honest. We were doing it, but we weren't doing it as consistently as we would have liked. Demetrius Bagley is our producer and is another superstar in the Astrology community. He's currently working on a documentary about the history of Black astrologers. He approached us because he had listened to the show and was like, "You know, I would love to give you guys resources to be able to actually do it." So, we brought Demetrius on, and from there, we've just been churning out more content regularly. It's just been such a help to have Demetrius onboard.
When we first started the podcast back in 2015, it started because we went to go see an Avengers Marvel movie. We thought it would be really cool to talk about the Astrology of the movie itself. You know, how different astrological themes were showing up in the film. And also, the birth charts of the actors, because Janelle and I have noticed that when it comes to actors, they tend to gravitate to roles that are reflected in their birth charts.
We're also talking about a lot of the political stuff going on. We wanted to show people how Astrology works in real-time. The feedback that we get on the show is usually people being like, "Oh my god, thank you. That makes so much sense, thank you for putting it into words."
Speaking of that, we have a big transit coming up, with Saturn squaring Uranus on June 14 and again on December 24. What can you tell our readers about what they can expect from this event?
With Saturn-Uranus, it's really about looking at where you know you need to change within an area of your life -- but also where you've been too afraid or resistant to make that change. Ultimately, Saturn is the planet that wants us to build systems and structures that will support us for the long term. But Uranus is a planet that wants to create change and kind of break up those structures that either are not working or feel too oppressive or restrictive.
With the Saturn in Aquarius story, it's looking at where you need to build a support system for yourself. Where do you need to be more considerate to other people? Where do you need to overcome any fear or resistance around change? With Uranus, it's pointing the way to where you need to liberate yourself or need to make that complete overhaul.
I think the thing for people to keep in mind is that this is not a time for certainty. It's not a time for having plans that are set in stone or for getting too attached to a specific outcome. The changes that we're making both on an individual level and a collective level are changes that are going to carry us into the future and into years to come. We have to be very intentional about the things that we're giving energy to and what we're investing in. And so, Saturn and Uranus's job right now is to show us where we need a complete overhaul, where we've become too rigid or too stuck or too fixated.
Change is stressful and change is hard, but it's not impossible. As long as we are willing to do it together and willing to let go of things that we've been holding on to for too long or be flexible where we've been too resistant, I think that we can move forward with as minimal stress as possible.
When you're not helping people navigate their lives through the use of Astrology, what do you like to do for fun?
I definitely love to go out and explore things. It's funny because right before the pandemic started, I was taking archery lessons, and I hope to be able to go back and do that. I'd love to be able to travel alone and explore different places, even if it's someplace local. I'm also a big nerd. I love DC, but I think I love Marvel more for the movies. DC for the animated films and cartoons. I'm a big sci-fi and comic book nerd. I love disaster movies!
I just love to have a good time and I love to do it with the people that I love. I feel like the me that I am in my practice and in my work is pretty much the me that I am in my daily life, and I think that that's why people resonate with me, and I am really grateful for that.
To learn more about Mecca, her projects, or to book a reading, please visit the following sites: