Get Answers Now with Planet Channeling
What’s my purpose?
What am I good at?
What’s happening in my life?
What’s the lesson here?
What should I do?
I get these questions a lot as an astrologer. But here’s the thing. You don’t really need me to answer them—although I’d love to help. You can answer them yourself. All you need is pen and paper.
You can get cosmic insight fast without needing to know anything about astrology. How? Planet channeling.
There are a million and one ways to do planet channeling, but what I describe here is my astrological spin on automatic writing—a practice where you allow spirit to speak to you through your pen. In planet channeling, the spirit you’re writing with is a planet.
Why would you want to connect with a planet? For the same reasons that you’d want to connect with your higher self or a higher power. For me, those reasons are typically clarity and comfort.
In planet channeling, you can view the planets in two major ways:
As external guides.
As different “faces” of your internal, higher self.
I use both, but let’s chat about each. If you’re already comfortable with the concept of spirit guides, option one may resonate with you the most. In the same way, you can view the planets as guides, helpers, or even assistants. You can also view them as different facets of God, Source, Universe, or whatever word is comfortable for you.
If spirit guides aren’t your thing, you can view the planets as different “faces” or “flavors” of your higher self. Think of it as your inner wisdom coming through ten different planetary mouths, each with a unique viewpoint and tone of voice.
In both approaches, each planet has its own perspective and set of skills to bring to any question you may have. Different planets are primed to guide you in different subjects. For example, the Moon may want to talk to you about your health, Venus may want to talk to you about your relationships, and Saturn may want to talk to you about your six-month plan. The planets are really generous with their wisdom. You just have to ask and they’ll come running.
One thing I appreciate about planet channeling is that it elevates my daily journaling practice into something more supportive. If I’m not careful, my journaling sessions can turn into complaining. Sound familiar? Planet channeling interrupts this pattern.
Don’t get me wrong, you can certainly vent in a planet channeling session. Planets are great listeners and will validate your experience. But planet channeling isn’t one-sided. It’s a conversation. After unburdening on the page, a planet will respond to you with a fresh perspective and practical advice so you’re not just swirling around in negative thoughts.
There are three basic steps to planet channeling:
Prepare
Write
Integrate
Prepare
First, gather your tools. Never underestimate the power of a trashy notebook. When you first start planet channeling, it’s common to feel a little self-conscious. I suggest removing anything that may act as a block, and that may be your cute little journal. If something is too precious and you’re afraid to “mess it up”, it’s probably going to keep you from having an authentic planetary conversation. When you’re first starting out, I highly suggest using loose paper or a cheap notebook from the grocery store.
Next, pick your writing spot. I live a bit of a nomadic life and rarely have the perfect space to do my planet channeling. But that’s no problem. A perfect space isn’t required. A quiet place with your favorite candle and a cup of something delicious is ideal, but I’ve been known to do my practice at a café, library, or even on an airplane.
I think what’s more important is preparing your internal space. No matter where you are, if this is dialed in, you’re ready to connect with the cosmos. Preparing your internal space means connecting with your body, quieting your thinking mind, and cultivating a feeling of safety and calm. For me that means imagining a container of protection around myself, wiggling my toes, rooting my feet into the floor, and taking a few deep breaths. If you want to do a longer meditation at the beginning, go for it. Make this process your own.
Write
Now it’s time to write. You can have really elaborate multi-planet conversations in planet channeling, but when starting out, I suggest just interacting with one. There’s probably a planet coming to your mind right now. Go with that one. (As a refresher, the planets are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.) There are really cool, astrological ways to pick a planet to work with, but intuition is my favorite. Trust yourself.
It might also be helpful to have a specific topic or question in mind. You can certainly keep things broad and just ask the planet what it is they want you to know, but I like to be more direct and focused in my sessions. Try both and see what works for you. I’ve asked planets for guidance on everything from where to move, to what to create next, to pricing a new offering.
Once you’ve picked a planet, it’s time to invite them to the page. I like to warm up my hand with a little cosmic gratitude. I’m pretty casual with the planets, so it might go something like this:
I invite Mercury to the page. Thank you, Mercury, for meeting with me today. Thank you, Mercury, for writing through me. Thank you, Mercury, for sharing what’s for my highest good.
Sometimes the blank page can be overwhelming, so I like to begin by describing a scene. It can be the space you’re actually in, your favorite place in nature, or another place you completely make up. For example, even if I wasn’t in my favorite café, I might write…
I sit down in my favorite café, latte in hand, fresh page open in front of me. The sun is streaming through the window, warming my face. Light classical music is playing. I take a sip and enjoy the plants scattered throughout the room.
Then, begin describing the planet just like you would a person. Give the planet a body. Imagine it has a unique tone of voice, a style, a personality, and interests. What’s it wearing? What type of bag does it have and what’s in it? If you’re at an imaginary (or real) café or restaurant, what did it order? Describing the scene and planet’s appearance not only breaks the writing ice, but it begins to set the tone of the conversation.
Keeping with our Mercury example, I might write…
Mercury parks its bicycle and walks into the café. It gives me a smile and a quick wave as it walks up to the counter to order an espresso. Mercury’s trusty, beat-up messenger bag is slug over its shoulder, no doubt filled with books and calendars. Mercury grabs its drink, walks over to my table and takes a seat.
Then, just capture the conversation. There’s an infinite number of ways to structure your conversation, but a script is my go-to. For example…
Mercury: Hey, Claire. It’s great to see you. How’ve you been?
Claire: Hi, Mercury. Thanks for meeting with me today. I’m feeling a little scattered and disorganized to be honest. I really want to talk to you about my schedule. I’d love your insight on how to structure my week.
Mercury: Oh, absolutely. You know I love all things organization. I’ve actually been thinking about you and came up with three strategies that I want to share.
Claire: Awesome! I’d love to hear them. Thank you.
Mercury: Ok, here goes. Number one…
And so on and so forth. Just let it flow. If you get stuck, you can always rewrite your question or go back to describing the scene until something else comes through.
Integrate
When your session organically ends, thank the planet for showing up and sharing its information with you. If you can’t wait, go ahead and reread the entry right away. (I can’t wait. This is my favorite part.)
Then, take a little space and let the words settle as you go about your day. If you wrote in the morning, I suggest reading it again in the middle of the day or before bed. The words often take on a new or deeper meaning. You might pick up on something you missed the first time around.
Planet channeling sessions are powerful and their messages ring true for a long time, if not always. Entries will speak to you months and even years after you’ve written them. I still reread some of my earliest planetary conversations. They always encourage me and offer something relevant for my present life.
And finally, if you were asking for specific guidance—follow the guidance! I think it’s respectful of yourself and of your planet friends to follow the instruction you received before asking for more. Of course, you’re welcome to do so, but you’ll probably get the same information said in a different way.