In 2010, at the ripe old age of 48, and in a last-ditch effort to land myself a high-ticket job that would set me up for retirement, I returned to university to get a law degree. Within 6 months of starting my part-time study I landed an admin role with a small law firm. I couldn’t believe my luck. I’d be studying and learning on the job. What could be better?

As it turns out, pretty much anything would have been better. Even unemployment. I was with that small law firm for 15 years and by the time I walked out on 30 June 2025 I was bullied, broken, and suffering from C-PTSD. I made so many mistakes in that 15 years I couldn’t begin to list them here. But far and away the worst two things I did repeatedly throughout that time were:

• I ignored my intuition every time it screamed at me to get the f*** out of there.
• I lost touch with my own astrology.

I tell you this tale not to garner sympathy. No one made me stay in that toxic environment. Like many people tied economically to a job or a relationship, I convinced myself that it wasn’t so bad that I had to leave. Some days were even okay. But most were not. And the cumulative effect of 15 years of most days not being okay was that I was being boiled alive, like a frog in a pot.

Thankfully, as Neptune and Saturn made their first foray into Aries, the sign of will, motivation and courage, I walked out of that toxic workplace, leaving behind not just the bullies, but also people who I thought were friends but turned out to be enemies.

Healing

When I left I expected to feel an immediate relief, a lightening of sorts. Like that way you feel when you finish an exam. You heave a deep sigh, gather your pens and paper and emerge into the fresh air and sunlight, having done your best and knowing there’s no more you can do.

But I didn’t feel that way at all. I was tense, angry, beaten down, beaten up, and in a first for me, depressed. The knot of tension in my stomach was palpable. I tried everything to shift it. I sat in meditation, I took my dog on long walks, I did extra workouts, I read books, I picked up a knitting project I’d become too depressed to complete. But nothing worked.

Finally I turned to my chart. And like a cork bobbing up in the ocean, the astrological wellbeing model I’d been tinkering with since a 2014 positive psychology lecture struck my consciousness like a bolt of lightning. Over the years I’d used parts of it with clients, and was always pleased to see the concept and practical tips resonate. But for some unknown reason I never performed a full analysis of the wellbeing model on my own chart.

So I did one. And two incredible things happened:

• I saw that I had travelled so far away from my own soul blueprint that I wanted to cry, and

• I intuitively saw the value of the practical application of my astrological wellbeing blueprint in my every day life.

I began by taking small steps every day using my astrological wellbeing placements. I wrote every day which kept my Gemini Moon happy. I began planning to take my astrological business online which kept my Capricorn planets occupied. And I brainstormed ideas for a series of books that reflected my own unique view of astrology which satisfied my Aquarius placements. 

Since then I have installed my astrological wellbeing pillars as the foundation of my life. When deciding whether to start a new project, I check in with my pillars to see if they will be engaged. If so, I move ahead. If not, I set it aside. Perhaps a more aligned version of that project will present itself one day. But today is not that day.

Here Is Where I Save You 15 Years

When I began aligning my daily activities with my wellbeing placements I started with my Moon. Perhaps this was because my Moon is in my 6^th house of daily routines and schedules. Perhaps it’s because the 6^th house is the zone of health, and with Gemini on the cusp my mental health was very much my focus. Or perhaps it was intuition. Regardless, I soon discovered that I could not have engineered a better way to begin my astrological wellbeing journey.

The Moon is you where feel safe, nurtured, and comforted. And it’s impossible for our nervous system to regulate itself if we don’t feel safe. It wasn’t until after I began working with my Moon placement that I realised how closely it is tied to my nervous system.

And yours is too.

My Gemini Moon in the 6^th needs daily rituals, routines and schedules to be happy. I committed to writing (Gemini) every day (6^th house). In those early days when I still felt tense, bullied and beaten, I wrote my PERMAnent Wellbeing guide which is now available as a free download on my website. I also engaged with a wonderful psychologist and we began picking our way through the accumulated trauma of my past. I still remember the moment, a full three and a half weeks after I walked out of that dark, horrible workplace, when I took a deep breath, a true deep breath, one that travelled all the way to my belly, one that tingled in my toes, and felt that tense ball finally unravel.

15 years of torture, released in three and a half weeks. It felt like a miracle.

And yet it wasn’t. Because there is both science and mysticism behind what I did. And that’s how I see my PERMAnent Wellbeing Astrological Model, as a blending of psychology and astrology, a merging of science and mysticism.

Beginning Your Own Wellbeing Journey With Your Moon Sign

Events transpiring around the world have world leaders, oil prices and share markets on edge. And with that, we’re all on edge too. It might seem trivial to ask you to do one small thing to lower your stress levels when the world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket. But from an energetic perspective, we all have an impact on the collective. So your one small act of tension release, and nervous system regulation is a transformational step that can have a big impact on the collective.

So start working with your Moon sign to lower your stress levels and re-balance your nervous system. Here’s how:

• Do one thing each day to engage the highest qualities of your Moon sign.

If you need tips on the activities that keep your specific Moon sign happy, download my free Astrological Wellbeing guide. And note that I encourage you to engage the highest qualities of your Moon sign. Every sign has shades of light and dark. My Gemini Moon can just as easily engage in gossip as it can sit down to a daily writing schedule. A Capricorn Moon can stand in judgment of everything and everyone as easily as it can work slowly and steadily toward a heartfelt goal. And a Scorpio Moon can be vengeful as easily as it can be honest. Always engage in activities that express the most highly evolved nature of all your placements.

• Listen to your intuition.

Don’t get too hung up on different astrological interpretations of your Moon sign placement. Don’t get too hung up on my interpretations. If my suggestions help you, fantastic! Have at it. But if your intuition is telling you to start or engage in an activity that isn’t included in any astrological list for that sign, then go do it anyway. Your intuition always rules the day. And the Moon is one of your most intuitive placements. If your intuition is speaking loud enough for you to hear, don’t ignore it.

• Restrict the time you spend on social media and news networks.

This is just general good advice but it’s particularly relevant now. Need I say it? Don’t get your news from social media. It’s designed for engagement. It’s generally click bait. Choose one or two news sources that you trust and stick with them. Check back daily, or more often if that’s right for you, but don’t waver from your chosen trusted sources. That will only increase your stress levels and that’s not what we want right now.

Navigating these times can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. Focus on what you need to calm your nervous system, and encourage those around you to do the same.