#25 - Celestial Alchemy, Pleasure, and Personal Seasons with Tenae Stewart

This week on The Astro Study Room, Jordan and Ember talk with Tenae Stewart, the Witch of Lupine Hollow, all about her journey with astrology, pleasure, and even an astrological technique that she developed. This a great conversation about desire, seasons, and all the feel good nourishing things we need and love. This episode is JUICY AF and you don't want to miss it!

We will see you back in the study room on May 26th with our deep dive into Gemini!

Make sure to follow Tenae @lupinehollow and check out all of her offerings on her website: https://www.lupinehollow.com/

Pleasure Summit available here: Empowered Modern Witches Summits — Witch of Lupine Hollow

Transcript

Welcome And Community Invitations

Ember 0:19

ASTAR students, welcome back to the Astro Study Room. I'm Ember Faye, your friendly neighborhood Fire Fairy Witch.

Jordan 0:25

And I'm Jordan, a university librarian by day and a dedicated astrology student by night. And yes, welcome back to the Astro Study Room.

Ember 0:33

Our goal for this podcast is to feel like a group of badass students of all levels gathering to explore, reflect, and connect with the cosmos. No matter where you're at in your spiritual or astrology journey, learning is a forever game and curiosity is sacred. So we are thrilled that you are here to wander around the universe with us. If you'd like, grab your notes, pens, or just bring yourself in an open mind, especially to this conversation. You might want like a little glass of wine or some herbal tea and come hang out with us because it's a great time.

Meet Tanae And Her Big Three

Jordan 1:04

So whether you identify as an astrologer, a witch, a wizard, a mystic, a spiritual seeker, or simply a curious human, you belong here. This is a study room for everyone and for all of it. Every other Tuesday, we'll be exploring different astrology and spiritual topics, sometimes teaching, sometimes reflecting, sometimes interviewing, sometimes just chatting and wondering out loud together. If you're into it, we'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, and just know you can always come hang out with us in the study room. And don't forget about our Patreon, which is currently free and we are still figuring out the best ways for us to utilize it. But signing up now will make sure you are the first to get any of the study guides and the fun tools that we put out.

Ember 1:38

We are absolutely thrilled to have a special guest with us for this episode, the witch of Loop and Hollow, Tanae Stewart. Yay! I'm so excited to talk to her. Yes. Tanae Stewart is the Dark Moon Priestess, as well as a practicing cottage witch, a certified astrologer, and a spiritual mentor devoted to helping modern witches reclaim their power through pleasure, shadow work, and intuitive living. Blending astrology, ritual, and embodied practices, Tanae's work invites people to trust their desires, embrace their full emotional depth, and create lives that feel aligned and magical. She's also the author of three books on magic, astrology, plants, and self-care. And I am so lucky to have mentored one-on-one with Tanae. I'm in her groups, and I know for a fact that her communities and offerings like excel at creating a space where you just you don't feel like too much. You can talk about whatever you want. You can truly like be your authentic self. And just like you'll see in this conversation, we truly can talk about anything. So I highly recommend um checking out Tanae's work. And we are gonna be so excited for you to listen to this.

Jordan 2:47

Yeah, in this episode, we're gonna talk to Tanae all about her journey with astrology, some of her spiritual journey, where she is now, what she's up to, what her business is like. And I think we're just gonna jump straight over to the interview.

Ember 2:58

That's right. So buckle up star students, class is officially out, and the study room is in session.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Thank you.

Jordan 3:29

So something I think we are making the habit of asking all of our guests, and if you would like to share, we would love to hear what your big three are or any other placements that you would like to share.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yeah, so I am a Taurus Sun, Aries moon, and Virgo rising. Um and I have a lot of things going on in Aries as well, including my Mercury and I have Venus retrograde there too.

Jordan 3:50

So then I'm curious with all the all the transits we are having through Aries, how has that been feeling for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah, Aries has been really getting it for a minute now, um, and for the foreseeable future. You know, I really find that so far this year, now that things are like kind of settled where they're gonna be, um, especially now that we're like on the other side of even Uranus moving into Gemini, you know, it just feels like okay, we're kind of we're in the new era. And I'm so glad that we got a preview of that last year because particularly with Saturn, you know, it's funny because when Neptune first moved in to Aries at the beginning of last year, um in early 2025, that felt like I had a lot of inspiration and there was a lot of like that felt great, honestly. Because it pretty much hits my Venus, is right at the beginning of Aries. So right when things move in, it it starts hitting my Venus there. Um, and so that felt great. And then when Saturn moved in to Aries in May 2025, that I had a really hard, I had I I'd already been having a hard time to be fair, but it it felt internally really hard. Um, you know, I think that both Saturn moving into my eighth and touching my Venus, like those were both really challenging transits. And when it first started last year and we had that preview of a couple months, I was really struggling with it. And then, you know, it moved back into Pisces, um, which I certainly felt Saturn move through my seventh house. Um, that was a very significant, very significant transit, but it's also an empty house for me. So it was much more external. I was definitely a little apprehensive about Saturn moving into Aries because of how hard last year was. So far, it has been so different. Like it's just felt so much more grounded and integrated than it did last year. And so I really find that like those, we don't always get that, but we often get it with outer planets, you know, that when they'll they'll move in and kind of preview the next sign for a little while before they retrograde back. Um, and I think it's such a gift that we sometimes get that, um, particularly with these like really long-term transits that you can feel a little anxious about, you know, like oh, like what's gonna change? Um, and yeah, I think last year it was challenging. Um, but this year so far, I think it's been much more, much more integrated.

Jordan 6:04

Yeah, that made me think too. I I had a similar experience with Saturn moving into Aries. It actually Saturn ingressed right into Aries on my birthday, and that last year in 2025, and that was a bit more of a difficult summer. Uh, this time around, it has been a lot more constructive. And then I have a day chart, so Saturn is more constructive. And I guess with um with the sun in your ninth house, uh you also have a day chart. So I think hopefully this will be a more constructive eighth house experience for you.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Fingers crossed, yeah. Those eighth house transits. You know, I I do find that when you have like a natal, a natally strong eighth house, like those eighth house transits in some ways aren't as difficult for you, right? Because it's like I love hearing that.

Jordan 6:44

I have my son and chart ruler here.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Fair. So I so feel you. Um, and you know, I do think that it's somewhat less challenging because we're so accustomed to things being challenging. Um, you know, it's just part of who we are. And so those eight post transits, it's like they hit all the planets when you have a strong, you know, eighth house. So that can be really intense. But I also think it's like, yeah, but you're equipped to deal with it, you know.

Wildfire Loss And A Spiritual Return

Jordan 7:09

I love that. Can you take us back to the beginning of your journey with astrology and how you got into it and what drew you to it, and just what has it all been like for you?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yeah, so I don't have a great question to this or great answer to this common question. Um, because I don't really know. Like everyone always asks, how did you get into astrology? And I'm like, I don't actually think I could completely tell you. But the the story is so I definitely always resonated with my son sign, even as a kid. Um, you know, always kind of knew my family members' signs, and they always made a lot of sense, which now that I understand, like I know all of my family's charts, it's like, wow, my family really are their signs, that's for sure. Um, but you know, always resonated with that, but really never knew anything beyond that. Um, and I practiced, I started practicing as a witch um when I was in my like late teens, early 20s. And then when I was in college, I like actually set my practice down intentionally for a period. I just didn't have capacity, I wasn't being consistent, and so I like decided that I was gonna set it down and then if I ever came back to it, great. And then about 11 years ago now, um in 2015, I lost my home in a wildfire. And I was not practicing at the time. It was in the period where after I had set my practice down. Um, about eight months or so after the fire, it's actually 10 years ago this month. Um I know it's a crazy month for me actually. Um, I came back to my practice. I decided that I needed, you know, some kind of a spiritual anchor. And I started practicing again. And I started a blog that was just supposed to be like a personal accountability thing, eventually became my full-time work, was not remotely the plan or like even fathomable at the time. Um, but I came back to my practice and at some point after that, I learned about the rest of my chart. I have no idea when or where or how or who or I really don't know, um, which is so funny. But I do know that sometime that year, probably I signed up for like the first like program that I ever took, which was um, it's I think she still runs it. It's called the Lunar Apothecary. And the creator, her name is Alexis Cunningfolk. Um, and she's wonderful. She actually happens to be somewhat local to me, which I didn't know at the time. Um, but she's wonderful. She's a wonderful herbalist and astrologer. And it's possible that I first learned about my chart through her. I don't actually know. Um but she taught a lot about astrology and particularly about the moon and of the moon in your chart. And what I do know is that that was the first thing that I really learned about was my moon. That really was just like transformative in a lot of ways for me to learn about, you know, I'd always resonated with my son and Taurus, but I'm very much exactly on the cusp. And so I knew I was a Taurus. Um, even though some things disagreed and tried to tell me I was an Aries, I always knew I was a Taurus. Um, but so much of the Aries like other people seemed to see in me, um, or you know, I felt in some capacities, and then, you know, I learned that it's my moon and then eventually learned that it's everything else. Um so that, but you know, learning about my moon really changed not just my perspective on astrology and got me into learning more about it, but also really changed a lot of my perspective on myself. You know, one of my favorite things about astrology is that it really gives you so much permission to be who you are. Um, and that felt like a lot of what I learned about my moon. First, learning that my moon was in Aries, um, and then a little bit later on adding in learning that my moon was in the eighth house and has that Scorpio energy as well. Um, that really just like I think that was the thing that really pushed me over the edge of like, okay, astrology is my thing. Um, because the Aries moon I resonated with so strongly, but also was so resistant to. It was like, this is the thing I don't like about me. This is the thing that nobody likes about me. Um and then learning about the eighth house aspect, it just felt like, oh, there's this other aspect, this other depth that I've never really gotten a lot of credit for.

Ember 11:10

I I really love when somebody is like, I don't know, telling me their sun sign because people just do that. They're like, oh yeah, I'm like a Scorpio. And they're they follow it up with, but I don't, I don't have those personality traits. Like, I don't feel like a Scorpio. And it always gets me so excited to like look at the rest of their chart because it's like, well, like let me tell you about this part of your chart. And does this feel accurate? And it's it's so funny how people just see sometimes astrology as this very like flat um tool when it's really, oh my gosh, the layers and layers. And the more Jordan and I have been doing this, the more I've done like in your containers today, it just keeps going. And I feel like you could just keep cycling through those layers and like peeling them back and learning so much more. And it's really, it's just such a beautiful art and divination tool and um science. Like it's really cool.

Jordan 12:07

I love when people tell them when they start talking about their sun sign and they do it like so casually. I was at uh a work event like a couple weeks ago, and I was doing a tabling event, and a couple tables over from me, I overheard someone say, like, oh, I'm a Virgo, blah blah. And I was like, Do you know your birth time? Like, I don't know. Do you do you want to like talk about it? I don't know what I'm I don't know.

Moon Sign Breakthrough And Early Readings

Ember 12:26

So today I I know a little bit of this story, so I but I'm asking because I think it's really cool for our listeners to know like when did astrology really start to come into your business when you started? Were you calling yourself a witch at the time? Were you using it like a lot as a tool, or did like business come first and then your your astrology kind of like came with that?

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Yeah, that's a good question. Um, so I was using Witch and Cottage Witch specifically for all the way back, um, since I was about 18 or so. Um so that was always present and that was always like what I led with when I first had the blog and even when I first started my the business side of it, right? So I had the blog for I'm not really sure, maybe about six to eight, nine months or so before I started like actually selling anything. Um, because that wasn't even the original intention, right? It was really just like a journal for myself, basically. And then I just realized like, oh, actually I could be doing something with this. You know, I had a little bit of a following, um, some of which existed from an earlier blog that I had had. So I had a little bit of a start. Um, and so I was like, I feel like actually I could start doing like workbooks or, you know, something like that. That was what you did in 2016, it was you sold down for workbooks. Um, and so that's where I kind of started. And then at some point, I don't, I honestly don't know when, but I guess it was sometime in 16 or 17. Um, I started doing moon sign readings, was like the first astrology thing that I did. And I really did not identify as an astrologer at the time. And I had a lot of like big feelings and imposter syndrome about it, but I just had this like real pool to have more people understand their moon. Like it had been so transformative for me that I just was like, this is something I feel so compelled to share with more people. And so I was doing like really small, inexpensive like moon sign readings for a while. Um, and then I guess it was in like 2019. Um, I really wanted to like solidify and formalize my astrology knowledge, which on the one hand, I really don't think people need to do. I think that astrology is highly intuitive. Um, and a lot of programs and certifications and things are like unnecessary. And I also think that astrology is so technical that it can help you like dispel a lot of the imposter syndrome to know that like I learned about this from a person who knows what they're talking about. Um, and that was how I felt about it. And so I started a program that's not not available anymore. But my astrology mentor, um, her name is Daphna Romanoff. Um, and she just had a really great, like very spiritual approach to astrology, very modern approach. Um, and I had was already learning from her in a few different capacities. So I was like, I'm just gonna do this program to kind of like feel like I have the, you know, the official knowledge. Um, and so I did that, I think it was in I started in 2019, maybe finished it in 2020, and then eventually created my own astrology program. Um, because I was like, I also there's a lot of things that I learned piecemeal from various places that I wish I could have just learned in one place, you know. Um, so I put together my own program eventually. I think that started in 2022.

Ember 15:34

And you still run that program too. I do. So our listeners know.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Yes, I do. I have an astrology certification. Um, and I'm actually getting ready to add on um a probably priestess certification. Um so that's coming probably later this year, which I'm really excited about. Um, but yeah, I started off, you know, doing definitely the moon sign readings, and then for a long time I was an astrologer. I did readings, you know, some lots of readings every month. They were always written readings, which I find to be the most, the most useful for people. I think most of the time, you know, when we jump on a call with somebody, we learn all sorts of cool things about ourselves and then we don't remember it ever and we don't go back and watch the video because nobody likes to listen to themselves. Um so I always offered written readings because I find, you know, if you come, I occasionally if I have a written reading that I've had done for me and you stumble across it in your files and you read it, you know, and it's three years old, you're like, wow, like this is still, there's so much here. Um, versus I find like you're never gonna do that with a video. Um, so I do, I do audio readings with transcripts or I do written readings. Um, and that was a big part of what I did for a long time. I don't do many readings anymore. Um, you know, it's in terms of the business side, it's like being a therapist or a massage, you know, whatever you're trading time for money, right? So it's not the most practical way to make a living. Um, so mostly I teach and I have groups, but I do love to read a chart and it is my first language, I think.

Jordan 17:03

So I at one point I had downloaded, I think it was one of your monthly reports or something along those lines. And I remember that you had talked about, I don't know if it was a technique, but it was uh something to do with the seasons and in relation to your rising sign. So can you share what this is in general? Does it have a name? Is it something you developed or how did it come about?

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Yeah, it is actually something I developed. So it's like kind of a core part of the method that I teach, which I call celestial alchemy. Um and basically the idea is that when you so back then, like 16, 17, 18, nobody was really talking about the seasons through the lens of astrology. Um, people would talk about like Taurus season, Gemini season, but they weren't relating to that being like springtime, for example. They also were not talking about it with the moon really at all. Like no one was teaching how these things actually work. And so when I first learned, I think it was it was around that time, like let's say 2017, I had technically I had been a practicing witch for quite a few years at that point. I had taken a break, but this was not new to me, right? Like the astrology piece was more new, but none of the other stuff was. Um, I'd been working with the seasons and the moon forever. And somewhere along the line, I started to realize I was like, wait a second, like there's a pattern here. And I'm like not following that pattern. So I like dug into it and realized that there was absolutely a really powerful pattern that at the time no one was talking about, which is not really true anymore, which I'm really glad for because like it should be taught this way. But basically the idea is that when you layer the seasons and the moon phases and astrology together, they all work together for one thing. Like they are all actually the same system. And at that time, they were really always being taught as very separate systems, right? It was like either you were learning astrology in like a very technical way, or you were like working with the wheel of the year, or you and or you were working with the moon phases. But those things were never taught as actually all the same cycle, um, which they very much are in both the northern and southern hemispheres, although they're a little bit flopped. Um, and so the idea with celestial alchemy in general is that we don't just work with the astrology, uh, we also work with the signs that the new and full moons are happening in, which is very specifically tied to the wheel of the year as well. That was really mind-blowing for me when I first learned it and it really changed my practice in a lot of ways that it was like, oh, I don't have to like pick and choose from these all very overwhelming cycles. They're actually all the same thing and they're much more potent when you work with them all together. So that was kind of the first layer. And then I realized I remember like sitting at my kitchen table in my apartment at the time and like having this like brainstorm because I was working with some clients who were talking about like just really struggling with like the summertime, that it was just a season that they always had a hard time in, like they always had lower energy. And I was like, I'm very much that way too. And I never really knew why. Um, and in fact, I was also it it sort of emerged because this was in the couple of years after the fire, and you know, I was still really processing a lot of my grief and trauma. Um, and I started to associate like that time of year, like the late summer, early fall, which is when the the fire was, um, it's when most fires in California are, um, with this like, you know, traumatic experience. And so, but I was like, but I've also always felt this way, like this has never been my season. And so I started just kind of like mulling it over, like trying to find a pattern, trying to find like a reason. And what I started to realize, and I saw it in my chart and I saw it in a few clients' charts, and so then I just started like digging into it, and now it's been many, many years, and I've seen it in many, many charts, is that when you look at the like quote unquote natural chart with everything in its home placement, right? So Aries in the first house at the rising sign, and then all the signs in their natural houses around that, it places the spring equinox at zero degrees of Aries, um, and zero degrees of the first house. And so I got this sort of idea that I was like, what if we experience the seasons through the lens of our own chart? What if zero degrees of Aries is the collective spring equinox in the northern hemisphere? And what if zero degrees of the first house is the spring equinox in your own experience? And so if you layer the wheel of the year and particularly the equinoxes and solstices onto the chart, it put it basically divides the chart into four seasons that the first, second, and third houses are like your personal spring when you feel the most like, okay, I'm starting something fresh. It's like new, energized, you know, fresh, fresh start. Um, the second quadrant becomes summer when you kind of have the most energy, you're doing the most things probably, you're the busiest. The third quadrant becomes your personal fall, which is sort of there's still energy, but you're starting to go more within. You're starting to do more of that spiritual work. And then the final quadrant is the personal winter, which is when you tend to have the least energy. It's interesting because it doesn't line up with how. We interpret the houses per se, but it does line up with our experience of the planets and the sun, in particular, moving through those houses. And so I mostly I've noticed it with my personal winter that I was like, particularly when the sun is in my 12th house, that is when I have the absolute least energy for the year. Um, and I noticed it with the moon too, that when the moon would be in my 12th house every month, that would be when I had the least energy. And so yeah, I just started kind of experimenting with this idea. Um, and I find that it resonates for the vast majority of my clients. And often if someone is like, ah, it doesn't line up, usually it's one of a couple of things. Either they have, for example, like their sun is in their personal winter. And so they have more access to joy and energy in that time naturally, right? Whereas maybe most of us don't, or something else that's, you know, highly energized in that way. Um, but particularly the sun. Or um they have, like I do, they have very particular experiences that also layer on top of the chart, right? And it's so important that we do take that into consideration. Like for me, my personal spring would be Virgo, you know, the late summer, early fall. The fire literally happened during Virgo season. Um, it doesn't affect me as much as it once did, but there was a time when that trauma sort of overrode the fact that the back to school New Year vibe was very much my natural programming. Um, so there's a lot of layers to it. But yeah, I definitely find that working with the seasons, how they're actually how we're actually experiencing them, how they show up in our own charts and our own lives, how the moon does, and like layering all those cycles together is so powerful.

Jordan 23:30

Yeah, that's really interesting. I think I wasn't into astrology in 2016 in that era of I guess no one was connecting with the seasons, but I do love hearing about it with the seasons, and it's been interesting. I guess I did understand that this was a bit newer, that people are not only just talking about seasons with astrology, but also talking about the ancient history of astrology, but also connecting it to the Southern Hemisphere and how it's all flipped. Um, and you know, in ancient times they weren't talking about that at all. So it's something that in modern time we've had to make sense of. And I'm definitely gonna think about my own chart with my own seasons.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, and the Southern Hemisphere piece is really important, you know. Like I definitely have Southern Hemisphere friends who just like reject the any connection between seasons and astrology. And I'm like, I love you, and I understand why you reject this. Um, but also to me, they really are they are the same thing that, you know, for example, you know, Beltane in the northern hemisphere is in Taurus season, but it is also inherently within a few weeks, and this year was on the full moon in Scorpio. Um, and Sawin is in in the northern hemisphere, is in you know, Scorpio season, but is inherently cannot be more than three weeks away from the full moon in Taurus. Um, and vice versa in the in the southern, right? So no matter what, we're always talking about those axes of energy.

Jordan 24:45

Everything is always on an axis, yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

It's always on an axis. Um, and it's true with the moon, it's true with the seasons, it's true with the hemispheres. Um, and it's just it's always true. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Ember 24:58

I think learning that and and coming to realize that during my early studies in astrology was so mind-blowing. Um, that axis and how things I mean, there's still times we talk about, you know, I remember that first time realizing that like the new moon in this season is like the full moon in that season, and and how it just made astrology so much more accessible as well to realize this like pattern recognition. And that's why I loved, I I think when I first started working with you today, or maybe it was even in your talks, I heard you um talking about this, like these personal seasons, and it resonated with me so well and my own personal chart that I I was like, I need to listen to this woman more. Like, this is so interesting. I've never heard this before. So, yeah, thank you so much for sharing that um with our listeners because it is. I think I still think it is being incorporated, but I don't hear it talked about that often, Jordan.

Jordan 25:59

Do you like her the specific technique or like seasons with astrology?

Ember 26:04

Um, less more about like the personal seasons. Like, I that seems that I haven't heard anywhere else before. So I think it's really cool that that's something that you were able to like pattern recognize and then like put out into the universe and then collect data like via your clients. That's so cool.

Pleasure Magic And A Business Pivot

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Yeah, it was really fun when I first kind of created it. You know, I noticed it for myself. I noticed it in my chart and was like, well, this is definitely true for me, and it makes it make sense as a way for me to interpret my experience of the seasons. And then I was like, you know, I wonder if this applies to clients. And like I said, I had been having conversations with clients where it seemed like it did. Um, and then yeah, over the years I just sort of kept putting it out there and being like, hey, this is a thing that I think is true. Like, how does it resonate with you, you know? And also taking into account like when it didn't resonate, what we saw on the chart that made that make sense or in their own life or whatever. And yeah, I mean, at this point, it's been like, I don't even know how many years that I've been teaching that that idea. Um, and it's true, I've never seen anybody else really talk about it from that particular perspective. Um, and I definitely do it with the with the moon as well, you know. I think that tracking the moon around your chart and understanding, you know, the energy that you have on any given day based on that, where the moon is, you know, what sign it's in and how it's activating you, like that to me is like equally as important with the personal seasons. Um, and that those two things together help us really manage our energy and understand ourselves and know that, like, oh, when I, you know, because I my energy is very inconsistent the way that my chart is. So, you know, from day to day or from season to season, my energy might be very different. And that was something that I always struggled with, you know, and then having this sort of like permission slip from my chart to be like, yeah, you don't have as much energy today and you'll be back tomorrow, you know, and that that is just how you're programmed, it's just how you're coded. Um, that was such a life-changing thing. Um, and so yeah, I mean, that was a big part of like where I started. Um, and it's also true that all of my work has always been that way, you know, that's like, oh, I recognize something for myself and it's helpful, and then I share it with my my people, you know. Um, and that's been through many different iterations. But yeah, I think that the the seasonal and the lunar work is like it's so core and foundational. It's also so built into me at this point that I like don't even think about it, you know, it's not even conscious anymore.

Ember 28:17

So I think I am going to segue us into uh actually you gave me the perfect segue by talking about how you experience things first and then you know teach about them. And that that tends to be so valuable for listeners, for clients, and people that you work with. And so um, we know you just finished an incredible summit that I was lucky enough to speak at called The Lover Within. And it that summit was incredible. Um, is it still available? Like can people go and purchase the summit? Um, it will be. In fact, let me make a note.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

So by the time this airs, you'll be able to purchase the summit. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. So you'll be able to go on and get the replays of it was 20 classes. Um, right now it's it's to have been taken down, but I'll put up the the classes again to download.

Ember 29:06

Yes, because that summit just was so powerful. Like, you know, we've talked about this that it felt like it was truly like a a coming out for you in this new way and and in in your business. And so now your work has been centering a lot on pleasure and desire and embracing authentic truth. And so I wanted to ask you uh to speak a little bit to how your path has evolved from this space of like teaching astrology, teaching the seasons to now going, I think honestly, into this like deeper level of work, um, talking about like pleasure magic and sex magic and desire um and how that sort of transition has been going and maybe like what you're excited about.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Yeah, totally. So, I mean, like I said, I basically started my business, even though it wasn't intentional at the time. Um, but I started my business 10 years ago this month, and which feels like such a big milestone. For one thing, you know, I have a friend of mine who also started her business right around the same time. We were laughing about this a while ago now, that we're like, you know, this is the longest job I've ever had. In fact, for me, even my being full-time in my business is the longest job I've ever had, um, which is just wild to think about. Um, and so, you know, you go through a lot of evolution when you do something for a long time. You know, when I first started and when I first really started being more intentional with my business, my work was very much about knowing your energy, all of the things we were just talking about. It was about uh creating your own rituals. Um, and like particularly self-care rituals, like rituals that made you feel really nourished and safe and supported and like being able to give yourself all of those things. Um, definitely incorporating your astrology to do so. Um, and like at its core, like what I said for many, many years, like the the thing that I helped you do was to have consistent spiritual practices or consistent rituals. And that was what people came to me for was like, I want to have daily rituals, I want to have a morning ritual, you know, I I want to stick with it this time. Like that was what I did. And it's funny because I think at the core, that's still like that's just something I'm good at. It's something that is is easy for me and that I'm good at teaching. So I think it will probably always be there under the surface. But yeah, about a year and a half ago, um, a little more now, but maybe we're we're going on two years now. Um, I had well, I was going through a big shift in my in myself. So three years ago, my long-term partner and I broke up. Um, and that was a very, it was a very significant breakup. Yes, it was right when Saturn moved into my seventh class.

unknown 31:43

Like, literally.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Like literally. Um, which I was so grateful for at the time. I was just like, at least I have a language to explain what the hell is happening in my life right now. Um, so I went through this really significant breakup and kind of went on my own journey around pleasure and sexuality and relationships and just all of that. That I really didn't know where it was taking me. I was like, I was very heartbroken and I was just like going through the motions for a long time. Um, but about two years ago, I like really kind of settled into that journey of like, okay, like it's you know, that relationship is done. It's in my past and like I'm moving on. And what do I actually want, you know? And I also just got like a little bit of an inspiration to talk about some like sacred sensuality kind of practices um in my work. And so I planned a class. I I used to plan like a monthly workshop. I kind of do things a little differently now, but I used to plan a monthly workshop for my my members. Um, and I would just plan them for the whole year. And so I had like planned to have a class in Virgo season on sacred sensuality, and it was just like earmarked in my calendar that I was doing that. And then I also did a masterclass. I ended up doing a masterclass that same month in August that was about it, it was not intentionally about pleasure sexuality, but it was about witch wounds. I was talking about there being five core witch wounds that a lot of us carry. And one of them was about pleasure. And I started doing these polls just to like market, it was like a I think it was a free class where it was like it wasn't very expensive. And so I was marketing it, you know, Instagram, whatever, all the places. And I started doing a couple of polls to market the program or the event. And I was like, which of these wounds resonates most with you? And I would like list out what the different wounds were, and one of them was pleasure. And every single time I did the poll, no matter where I did it, no matter how many people answered it, every single time pleasure got like none. Everyone was like, no, that's not that I don't resonate with that. And I was like, you fucking liars. Yes. I was so inspired because I was just like, oh my god, clearly we are so repressed, we don't even know that we have issues in this area. And I was like, how do I know? Because I didn't know I had issues in this area. Um, and so I just got really fired up about it and started teaching more about it and like did a couple of classes, just it just kept coming up. Um, and then that was very, as Ember was saying, that was very simultaneously with my own journey of coming out as bi, dating Polly, um, and really getting very anchored into that. Um, and just being on like a whole sexuality journey that went to a lot has gone to a lot of different places. Yeah, in the last year, I've like really made a big pivot um towards the pleasure, sacred sensuality, sexuality, sex magic, like all of that, all of that stuff. Um, and the Lover Within Summit that we just wrapped up was not the first time that I'd talked about these classes. I've done several classes on pleasure, and even summit-wise, like I've done a few that were like in this direction, but they were much more like tempered and palatable. Um, and this one I was just like, no, we're just I just need to say the thing out loud. Um, and so we are talking orgasmic offerings, baby. Yes, yes, we are. Um, and so we just went full bore with it and it was really successful, um, which makes me really happy that, like, okay, we're doing the thing. And astrology is still 100% there.

Jordan 35:19

I'm curious for my own database. Where is your Jupiter?

SPEAKER_01 35:23

It's in Libra.

Astrology Tools For Desire And Intuition

Jordan 35:24

Okay, and that is six years. Second house. Okay. Interesting. That yeah, that I'm gonna file that away from my own database. I'm curious too, how do you see astrology supporting or deepening someone's connection to their body, to their desires, and to their intuition?

SPEAKER_01 35:40

Absolutely. Um, so a couple of the ways that I talk about this, for one thing, you know, obviously we look at Venus, right? And the moon, but it's particularly Venus. So Venus tells us so much, and uh that that definitely also comes from not just it's the obvious answer, but also from my own relationship with my Venus, because my Venus is as unhappy as she could possibly be. Mine too, baby. She so she's not, she is not happy in my chart. Um, she's in detriment in every way she could possibly be. She's retrograde. She's just she hates.

Jordan 36:12

I've never related more to anything else ever.

Ember 36:15

I love this bonding moment.

Jordan 36:16

It's so I have I have Venus in Aries in sixth house conjunct Saturn.

SPEAKER_01 36:22

Yep.

Jordan 36:22

I feel you, I still feel you.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

I feel you. Yes. Very unhappy Venus. Um, and so it makes so much sense to me that not only that I have ended up doing this work, but also that I've sort of ended up where I have in my relationships, which speaking of personal databases, um, I have a little database that is I I temper it that I'm like, it's a small sample, you know, it's not very scientific, but it's not that small. Um I have a database of like probably almost 20 people who are all polyamorous in one way or another. Um, and like something like 37% of us have Venus retrograde, um, which is astronomically insane. Like no group of people has 37% Venus retrograde. For what for what you will for what you will. It's not scientific, but yeah.

Jordan 37:16

Um I think it's really interesting too that your Venus, you said is conjuncture Mercury, right? And this is the ruler of your tenth house, so your house of career. So it makes perfect sense that this has become your career. Totally.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Yes, absolutely. Um and as Saturn is crossing it too. Um makes sense. Um, but yeah, it's for me, my Venus has been such a journey, you know. When I was younger, I had just a lot of a lot of shame around pleasure and sexuality um that doesn't even really make sense. Like I grew up in a like, I think a sex positive family as I possibly could have. Um and I had my own, you know, certain experiences, but for the most part, like it feels like it's something that was mine, you know. Um there are there are certain things, you know, lineage. Um, it's complicated. But, you know, for the most part, like I feel like I was given a pretty solid chance to just be who I wanted to be, and I'm really grateful for that. Um, and nonetheless, it was something that was really hard for me and did not come easily. Um, and that my experience of relationships is not is that actually in some ways I would say is very similar to the experience of relationships of women in my family, but I've like chosen to express it in a very different way. I don't want to say I've chosen to be more authentic because I think that a lot of people in my in my life have been very authentic to themselves, but I think I've been given a lot of opportunities and have also created a lot of opportunities for myself to be as authentic as I can be. Um, and I think so much of that is reflected in my Venus retrograde. So for me, it's like Venus, which I very rarely come across clients who share my Venus retrograde. Obviously, I come across a lot of people in my personal life, um, but not in in my professional life, which I always also think is interesting. Yeah, nonetheless, I think that having that Venus retrograde really and in as uncomfy as she can be too, you know, it just it has really informed so much of my experience of these topics, um, that I've had to work really hard at them and I've been pushed by my like my my coding to be to work really hard at them. Um, so Venus, of course, is is such a big source of so much of this. Um, and I think that she can tell us so much about like the big picture of how we experience pleasure, you know, both on the sensual side, on the sexual side, on just like how we receive. Like she tells us so many different areas. But then there's also a lot of ways that we can drill down much more specifically in the chart. Because for me, Venus is so important, but she's the big picture, you know, she's the umbrella of this topic. Whereas there are so many other things that get so much more specific. And so I definitely have worked with the asteroids for as far back um as I've been doing astrology, pretty much. I came across them um from another somewhat local to me astrologer, uh, Rebecca Ferrar, who was the first person who really introduced me to asteroids, and I was like, where has this been for the last like however long I've been doing astrology? Not very long this time. Um, and was just so drawn to them because I think they complete the chart in so many ways. They add so much nuance to the chart. Um, so the ones, the asteroids I work with most around pleasure specifically are Ceres, Vesta, definitely Vesta, Juno. I don't do a lot of relationship astrology. I don't do sinistry readings or anything like that. Um, but I do still think that Juno can tell us a lot about how we connect with other people and what intimacy looks like for us. Um, so those three definitely also Black Moon Lilith, not an asteroid, but such a significant one. And I like some of the more obscure ones too, like Psyche and Eros and Persephone, and some of those um I think also have a lot of interesting things to like layer in about our unique expressions of pleasure in different aspects of our lives.

Ember 41:04

Yeah, we haven't talked a lot yet on the podcast about asteroids, but we're that's like we talk about Black Moon and Lilith a little bit. I was waiting for you to say Black Moon Lilith. Jordan makes fun of me because I'm always like my Black Moon Lilith is at zero degrees Aries.

Jordan 41:19

She'll say it like she's never said it before. Like she's saying it like I don't already know this. And I just want to get a t-shirt that says Ember's Black Moon Lilith is at zero degrees of Aries. You can like a hundred percent thank Tanae for that.

Ember 41:33

I feel like me and Tanae talk about it. I have harped on her Lilith so much. I love really wearing my Lilith necklace right now. I have like a Lilith necklace with the symbol. I'm just like all in. Me and Lilith, like oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 41:51

No, I love her. I love Lilith so much in the chart, particularly in the chart. Like, I don't really work with her um in more of the like deity spirit work side as much, but in the chart, I just I've worked with her for so long because for a long time, like my most popular astrology reading that I offered was like an inner witch reading. And so it was like looking at shadow work and witchcraft and magic in your chart, and we absolutely looked at Lilith for that. And now I work with her so much on the like pleasure and sexuality side, so she's always relevant.

Making Desire Feel Normal And Possible

Ember 42:19

I feel like we could do a whole episode on Black Moon Lilith, just filing that away for future, future options. Um, and so today I'm gonna ask like one last question, and then Jordan has a game. We always end with like a little game, and Jordan and I go back and forth on like the game. So I have no idea what Jordan's gonna ask us. It's like usually like this or that or something like really fun. Um, but I was wondering like if you had one thing to say to our audience for someone that might be feeling disconnected from because, like you said, I think this is so important right now, and I know we've talked a lot about astrology, but I would love for you to share a message to anyone feeling disconnected from their pleasure or their magic right now. Like, do you have any messages for them?

SPEAKER_01 43:04

I mean, I think that one of the biggest things is that's been really present in some conversations recently is that one is like normalizing and finding spaces to normalize whatever it is that you want, um, or whatever it is that you like, or whatever pleasure means to you, or whatever the topic is, right? Um finding conversations, putting yourself in conversations and in spaces where conversations are happening, that what you want is normal and that what you want is like possible is so important. Um, that was one of the biggest things for me was that I have absolutely always been poly. Um, have always been a lot of things that are really like just normal and present in my life now, but for a very long time, never considered a lot of those things to be like literal, right? Like it was like it was fun. Fantasy, or it was like something I was reading about in a book, or whatever, you know, it wasn't real life. Um, and if it was real life, it was like, you know, not not for me, you know, or not available to me, or not, I don't know, like there was just a lot of things that felt very outside of like reach, you know, or out of the available space, if that makes sense. Um, so I think that like getting yourself in conversations where things are normal. We had this um one example of what I mean by that is so a lot of my a lot of my friends are not by any means poly. I think I'm insane. Um very supportive, but still think I'm insane. And then a lot of my like, you know, I have another community that's very much poly. And I had one of my best friends over for dinner. This was like a month ago, maybe. He was over for dinner with his daughters. Um, and we had another mutual friend, and we're all, we're all poly. None of us are together, but we're all poly. And we were sitting around the table, and the girls all know that like this is a thing, but you know, they haven't fully wrapped their heads around it yet. They're like eight and ten. And one of our mutual friends said something in passing about like someone she was dating, and they also know of someone else that she dates, right? And they were like, huh? Like questioning. And so we like stopped and we were like, remember, you know, like we all date different people. And and they're like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. And we like moved on. And then after he and the girls had left, our other friend said to me, like, gosh, I hope it was okay that I like brought that up in front of them. And I was like, no, I first of all, I know the the family very, very well, and I can vouch that yes, it was fine. But also, like, I think it's really helpful to normalize with each other and definitely with like the the family members and the kids and the people in our lives that, like, hey, this is just normal. This is just how these particular adults in your life choose to live their lives. And I thought it was so, it was this really profound moment of just like, yeah, like we can just normalize whatever is actually normal to us, you know? And the only way we do that is by talking about it. Um, so that's like the one biggest thing I would say. The other thing I would say is like kind of related that so much more is available than and possible than you think it is. Um, like there are so many things that we think are like only fantasy, for example, um, or only a luxury. And that is not necessarily true. Like, there are so many things that I never would have imagined would ever happen outside of fantasy for me, and that are like honestly very normal now. I'm like, oh yeah, that was just Tuesday. Um and I feel very grateful and very privileged that I've gotten to that point in my life. But like there was a time when that was not the case at all. Um, and I think that like I've had several conversations recently with friends who are like the fact that you are a real person in my life, a real friend who has had some of these like real experiences is so validating and so normalizing. Um, and yeah, I think just like really getting grounded in and owning the idea that like whatever you want, not all of your fantasies are meant to come to life. And whatever you want can if you want it to.

Ember 47:15

Yeah. No, thank you so much for sharing that today. And I will say that if um you're listening and are more interested in hearing Tanae's stories, um, Tanae does have a podcast available where uh Tanae, what is the name of the podcast?

SPEAKER_01 47:30

The podcast is called The Empowered Modern Witches Show. And I have told some of these stories, like some of my like how I got into polyamory and like my ex and that crazy story and like all the things um I've done episodes on. I'm like, I'm toying with the idea of rebranding the podcast because it's been the Empowered Modern Witches Show for six years. Um, and I'm like, do we just go all in on the new brand?

Ember 47:52

I don't know, but I mean, you know what my vote would be?

Rapid Fire Zodiac Hot Takes

Jordan 47:57

Like, all in, all in. I always say, look at the chart. Yeah. So as Ember mentioned, a lot of times we do like this or that, or something we've been doing recently is like what would blank do like for the Zodiac? Today I called this game rapid fire hot takes. Although after I made the questions, they weren't very hot takes and they don't have to be rapid. So this is all for fun. Uh sometimes we play a little bit into zodiacal stereotypes, but do what feels right. So the first question is what is your favorite zodiac sign?

SPEAKER_01 48:50

Ooh. It's really narcissistic, but Taurus.

Ember 48:55

Oh, that's fine. I love Taurus. I was also gonna say Taurus. Like, I just love a Taurus.

Jordan 49:01

Like, they're just And then I also have to ask what's our least favorite sign?

SPEAKER_01 49:06

Uh I say this because it's my North Node, and so I'm always at war with it, but Sagittarius.

Ember 49:13

Oh, interesting. I I definitely like can't not say Aries. It might be Aries.

Jordan 49:21

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

It's a fire sign. We all agree.

Jordan 49:26

Okay, so then this next question, you can either choose a planet or a sign or just a specific placement. But uh the question is what placement is the most misunderstood?

SPEAKER_01 49:36

Ooh, the most misunderstood.

Jordan 49:39

I think it's Gemini.

Ember 49:42

Yeah, or Aquarius. I think Aquarius sometimes can be like misunderstood.

SPEAKER_01 49:48

Yeah, my first instinct is which I mean I have a tendency to contribute to this sometimes in my own in my own life, but I would say Venus in Gemini specifically.

Jordan 49:57

Ooh. That's me! I know, I was like Q Ember saying that's me! Which planet do you want to be wined and dined by? Which planet?

SPEAKER_01 50:13

This says a lot about me, but Saturn.

Ember 50:15

I said Saturn too! I also said Saturn. We all got some subgirlies up in here. That's incredible. That was incredible.

Jordan 50:29

Which planet would be your last choice?

Ember 50:31

Wait, wait, wait. I have to I have to say this, Jordan. So there in one of our episodes, we talk. Jordan does an incredible analogy with like Saturn when it was, you know, um moving into Aries and talking about like Saturn as this like grandpa, and it was just this archetype of Saturn being like a daddy Saturn is just like I love that.

Jordan 50:54

Yeah, the whole thing was like Grandpa Saturn uh uncomfortable in Aries and Aries being like the bachelor pad. So it's like the grandfather has to come say with his 18-year-old grandson, and there's like beer bottles everywhere, but this kid's an adult, and grandpa Saturn is like, I'm too old for this shit.

SPEAKER_01 51:10

So real. That's a great analogy.

Ember 51:14

But it's always made me picture Saturn as this like older, sexy. Anyway, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:21

No, it's not, you're not wrong.

Jordan 51:24

Tell me what to do, Saturn. When I wrote that question, I was like, they're gonna pick Venus, and I'm gonna be the weird one that says Saturn. I'm very excited that everyone picks Saturn. Tell me what to do, Saturn, okay? I know. I'm like, you know who's gonna pick up the chick. So which planet would be your last choice? Mars. I said Mars too.

SPEAKER_01 51:47

I would probably I feel like I would say actually Mercury.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:58

Because I feel like like you would have a great time, but I don't like at dinner, you'd have great conversation, and then you'd be like, I'm so sick of talking to this person.

Ember 52:11

I was like, who's who am I going home with after? It would not be Mercury.

unknown 52:17

Exactly.

Jordan 52:19

Which planet would you not want as your boss?

SPEAKER_01 52:29

Probably I also want to say Mercury.

Jordan 52:32

I said Jupiter. But it was a hard one.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

I was like kind of between Mercury and Jupiter.

Jordan 52:36

Yeah.

Ember 52:37

I don't know. I almost wanted to say like Neptune, like just somebody who's like so like out there and not like super grounded, you know. Like I feel like I need a boss that's gonna like know what the fuck's up and like you know. So I don't know. Yeah, Neptune's a good answer.

SPEAKER_01 53:00

I feel like Neptune and Mercury are like kind of similar answers where it's like this person is just gonna drive you crazy.

Jordan 53:08

And the last question: what is one sign you wish you had more planets in? Ooh. These are such good questions.

SPEAKER_01 53:17

I feel like my Mercury could have like done me a solid or my moon and like nudged forward into Taurus.

Jordan 53:25

I feel the same way. My Saturn and Venus at the end of Aries, I'm like, if you could have just gone a little farther.

Ember 53:30

Yeah, I was also gonna say Taurus because I have like nothing, nothing to do.

Jordan 53:33

I think I would have I have two planets in Taurus. I think I actually would have I was gonna say Sagittarius. I have Pluto and Sagittarius, but I wish I had I wish I had a little more Sag in me.

unknown 53:42

I do.

SPEAKER_01 53:43

I do too, because it would make that North Node a lot easier.

Where To Find Tenae

Ember 53:48

I do, I do love Sag. My dad feels like the very we've talked about this before, but my dad feels like a very classic Sag, and I just like love his energy. So oh my gosh. Oh, that was fun, Jordan. Thanks. Um, yeah, so Tanae, thank you so much for joining us. I was hoping you could like tell our listeners where they can find you. Um, because we I would 10 out of 10 recommend working with Tanae. I just I love you so much. I have so much love for you and the work you do.

SPEAKER_01 54:17

Oh, thank you. Same. So much love. Um, the best place to find me is my website is loopandhollow.com and I'm also at loop and hollow on Instagram. Those are kind of the two best places um to find like what am I doing currently, recently. Um the podcast is on there, even if we change the name. Um, and you know, summits that I'm hosting, I host a few every year. Um, so everything that I'm I'm doing that's current and upcoming, you can find on the website and Instagram.

Ember 54:46

Yes. And then I think this is gonna come out mid-May. So Tanae, I think you're are you doing it's a master class at the end of May? How do you know that? Me?

SPEAKER_01 54:58

Yes, I don't know what it's gonna be. Oh, you mean the retreat? Wait, also there's another thing. You just got outed. It's just my intuition, baby. Yeah, I am gonna be hosting, I'm gonna be doing some kind of virtual retreat um that's gonna be all about pleasure. Um, it's I think it's gonna be the last couple days of May. Um, so yeah, by the time this comes out, that should be on the website. So if you're interested in the virtual retreat, um, go to the website and I should have details.

Ember 55:29

Yes. Amazing. Thank you so much. Um that was so fun. We need to like do more interviews because I had a great time. Today is incredible.

Jordan 56:02

I agree. This was a great conversation, and I would love to talk to more people.

Ember 56:06

Yes, yeah, let us know. Hit us up if you uh want to chat with us. So whether you're just beginning your journey with astrology, starting to utilize it as a tool in your craft or curious about the universe or pleasure or sex magic, we are so happy that you were here to join us today.

Jordan 56:24

Yes, and if you have any comments or questions, we love hearing from you and we are loving this process of building a little community of astrology students. All of our social media and the ways to find us are linked in the show notes. We hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we did. Next time, we are going to continue our deep dive into the zodiac signs and we will be getting to know everything we can about Gemini.

Ember 56:43

Yes. Yay, I'm so excited. It's the first sign that's in my big three.

Jordan 56:56

Woo! Gemini moon, baby. This podcast is my practice of asking big questions, uncovering the hidden truths, and creating an accessible space for others to do the same. And I'm so excited to be learning alongside Jordan and all of you.

Ember 57:11

Are you okay? Cheeks just hurt. Sharing our resources and diving into what it means to connect with the cosmos. And we can just like if you're just feeling some tension in your jaw, Jordan and I have been laughing a lot in this episode. So just like give yourself a good face massage right now. And thank you all so much for being part of our community. And we will see you in the Astro Study Room every other Tuesday.