The Healing Touch: How Epigenetics Explains an Unexpected Healing

Meet the Astrologer: Cassandra Aasenberg on Saturn, Purpose, and the Path from Tarot to Astrology

Paul sits down with Cassandra Aasenberg of Saffron Sage Astrology for a candid conversation about her winding path into the craft — from getting sober at 15, to teaching English in South Korea during her Saturn return, to spending years reading tarot professionally before astrology "clicked" for her. Cassandra shares why she prefers astrology's detachment over tarot's emotional immersion, especially as a sensitive Pisces Moon, and breaks down her approach to helping clients find purpose — looking beyond the North Node to the Midheaven and 9th house for a fuller picture. The conversation dives deep into Saturn as her favorite planet to teach, the importance of facing fear rather than avoiding it, and how her own Mercury in Sagittarius (in detriment) shows up as big-picture thinking that sometimes misses the details. She reflects on the ethics of one-on-one spiritual work, the risk of projecting personal issues onto clients, and why astrology readings work best as a two-way conversation rather than a one-sided forecast. Know thyself. Balance your energy. Takeaways: * Cassandra's path moved from getting sober at 15, through Reiki and tarot, to discovering astrology in 2020 — finding tarot emotionally immersive but astrology more detached and structured * She emphasizes looking beyond the North Node for purpose — the Midheaven for career potential and the 9th house for a sense of meaning * Saturn is her favorite planet to teach because facing fear (including fear of death) creates freedom rather than avoidance * Good one-on-one spiritual work requires inner work from the practitioner, since unresolved issues can get unconsciously projected onto clients * Her Mercury in Sagittarius (in detriment) shows up as big-picture storytelling that sometimes skips over practical details * She stresses that astrology readings work best as a conversation — listening to a client's experience, not just delivering a monologue of predictions Links referenced in this episode: * iamastrologyreadings.com [https://iamastrologyreadings.com] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Iamastrologyreadings * PayPal * Venmo * Cash App Support the mythic classroom: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support] Book a Reading: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading] * #astrologyrideoftheday

Big O Reading Part 3 — Trauma, Karma & the Scar That Becomes Wisdom | Astrology Ride of the Day

This continuation of the Big O reading works through the Five of Cups, a Scorpio-ruled tarot card tied to mourning and loss, connecting it back through Death (Scorpio's card) to the Tower — destruction that precedes transformation. The conversation explores whether people ever change without a "Tower moment," concluding that most growth requires suffering, discipline, and focus to move forward from destruction. This opens into a deeper metaphor: trauma is compared to a wound that must be properly closed into a scar (experience) rather than left as an open, festering bandage (unprocessed pain) — because an unhealed wound left too long can turn into "cancer," or rancor, that binds a person to their pain indefinitely. The group debates whether everyone has equal access to intuition and the four elements, landing on the idea that access exists for all souls, but many choose — consciously or through conditioning — to ignore it. This leads into a provocative discussion on why good things sometimes happen to people perceived as "bad," questioning whether karma is actually shaped by each person's own perspective and justification of their actions rather than an objective moral ledger. The group ultimately agrees that on a soul level, trauma may actually be a gift — forcing necessary change that comfort never would — even though on a human level it's painful and unwanted. Once processed and transformed into lived experience, trauma can become genuine wisdom, allowing someone to guide others from a place of knowing rather than empty words. Know thyself. Balance your energy. Takeaways: 1. Growth and transformation, symbolized by the Tower card, typically require destruction — most people don't make real changes without going through a painful breaking-down moment first. 2. Trauma is compared to a wound: if properly processed into a "scar" (integrated experience), it becomes a source of strength; if left as an open, unprocessed "bandage," it can turn into lasting rancor and toxicity. 3. Everyone has access to intuition and the four elements, but many people choose — consciously or through conditioning — to ignore or suppress that access rather than losing it entirely. 4. The idea that "good things happen to bad people" is reframed as a question of perspective — karma may be shaped by how a person justifies their own actions to themselves, not by an objective universal standard. 5. On a soul level, trauma may actually serve a necessary purpose despite its human-level pain — and once properly processed, it can transform into real wisdom, allowing a person to guide others from lived experience rather than empty advice. Links referenced in this episode: * iamastrologyreadings.com [https://iamastrologyreadings.com] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Iamastrologyreadings * PayPal * Venmo * Cash App Support the mythic classroom: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support] Book a Reading: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading] * #astrologyrideoftheday

Big O Reading Part 2 — Feeding the Wolves, Confronting the Bully & Living in the Gray | Astrology Ride of the Day

This continuation of the reading with Big O digs into why responsibility feels like such a heavy burden — tracing it back to childhood, where he was bullied for growing up poor as the child of a journal seller, in a class-conscious environment. His climb to success and power was driven by a need to prove himself to those who bullied him — a motivation he admits was fundamentally the wrong reason, trading one trap for a bigger one. The conversation explores whether this makes him a bully himself, drawing a Robin Hood-like parallel: taking from the powerful to defend the weak, an eye for an eye. This opens into a broader philosophical debate on morality — is it wrong to steal to survive, is it wrong to kill to protect others, and can one person's life ever outweigh a thousand? Returning to the two wolves story from the Moon card, the reading argues that defeating a "villain" or bully requires being willing to access the same ruthlessness, using David and Goliath as an example: David couldn't have won without being willing to swing the rock. The conversation lands on a final truth — morality isn't purely black and white, but full of gray areas, and people often resist seeing that gray because acknowledging nuance threatens the clean separations tied to belief systems, creed, and identity. Know thyself. Balance your energy. Takeaways: 1. A drive toward success and power built on proving worth to former bullies is revealed as fundamentally the wrong motivation — trading one psychological trap for a bigger one, even after achieving success. 2. The reading draws a Robin Hood parallel: taking from the powerful to protect the weak, questioning whether this makes someone a bully themselves or a necessary counterforce to injustice. 3. Philosophical scenarios around stealing to survive and killing to protect others illustrate that morality resists simple universal answers and depends heavily on context. 4. Using the two wolves story and the example of David and Goliath, the conversation argues that defeating a "villain" or bully requires being willing to access the same ruthlessness they bring. 5. The core takeaway: morality isn't black and white but full of gray areas, and people often resist that nuance because acknowledging gray threatens the clean separations tied to belief, creed, and identity. Links referenced in this episode: * iamastrologyreadings.com [https://iamastrologyreadings.com] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Iamastrologyreadings * PayPal * Venmo * Cash App Support the mythic classroom: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support] Book a Reading: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading] * #astrologyrideoftheday

Reading Big O — The Hermit, The Lovers & Breaking Free from the Devil at Work | Astrology Ride of the Day

This one-on-one tarot reading digs into a card pull of the Lovers, the High Priestess, the Magician, and the Eight of Pentacles for a guest named Big O — building a picture of someone emotionally driven to communicate through material creation, but caught between two life paths symbolized by the Hermit and the Lovers. The High Priestess (the Moon) represents Big O's emotional body, currently sitting in the sign of the Hermit — pointing to a need for solitude, self-study, and freedom from outside influence in order to communicate authentically, versus the temptation of the Lovers' path of choices between vice and virtue, symbolized by his past struggle between studying and going out. Big O reveals he's chosen to relocate to Rome specifically to embrace this Hermit energy, escaping the judgment and boundaries of his small hometown, which he describes feeling like the Devil card's chains. The conversation turns to his professional life, where he manages eleven employees who depend on him and love his surprising, generous gestures — despite Big O admitting he sometimes "acts like the devil" at work, creating a codependent dynamic where his team can't function without him. The reading closes on a pointed question: why does responsibility feel like such a burden, and what would it take to break free from that chained, devil-card dynamic both professionally and personally? Know thyself. Balance your energy. Takeaways: 1. A four-card pull (Lovers, High Priestess, Magician, Eight of Pentacles) reveals a person emotionally driven to communicate through material creation, with the Moon (emotions) sitting in the sign of the Hermit. 2. The Hermit represents solitude and self-study as the healthier path to emotional balance and authentic communication, contrasted with the Lovers card's tug-of-war between vice and virtue — represented here by past choices between studying and going out. 3. Relocating to Rome is framed as consciously embracing Hermit energy, escaping the judgment and restrictive "devil card" boundaries of a small hometown. 4. At work, managing eleven employees who depend on and adore him creates a codependent dynamic — his team believes the system would collapse without him, tying directly into seventh-house themes of business contracts and codependency. 5. The reading closes by questioning why responsibility feels like such a heavy burden, and what breaking free from that "chained to the devil" dynamic — both professionally and personally — might actually look like. Links referenced in this episode: * iamastrologyreadings.com [https://iamastrologyreadings.com] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Iamastrologyreadings * PayPal * Venmo * Cash App Support the mythic classroom: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support] Book a Reading: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading] * #astrologyrideoftheday

The King Walks Into the Throne Room— Jupiter in Leo

What next year holds has already started. Creative output — self-expression, entertainment, music, independent media — gets a tailwind it hasn't had in twelve years. Confidence returns to the collective, making people more willing to launch something, perform publicly, teach what they know, and finally step into leadership they've been circling for years. Individual creators keep becoming institutions in their own right, the distance between one person and a global audience shrinking. Jupiter in Leo favors those willing to stand behind their own name rather than hide behind someone else's brand. The image to carry through the next twelve months: a king walking into a throne room. Not because this transit is about ruling anyone — because the moment that figure enters, every eye goes straight to the throne, whether they meant to look or not. Some will inherit the spotlight, some will seize it, some will actually deserve it, and some will only perform deserving it. That's the question Jupiter in Leo puts in front of everyone for the next twelve months. Know thyself. Balance your energy. Takeaways: 1. This transit brings a real tailwind to creative self-expression and independent media, restoring collective confidence to launch, perform, and step into leadership long circled but avoided. 2. Individual creators continue becoming institutions in their own right, shrinking the distance between one person and a global audience — Jupiter in Leo favors standing behind your own name. 3. The central question of this transit is whether the spotlight is genuinely earned or merely performed — some will inherit it, some will seize it, but only some will actually deserve it. Links referenced in this episode: * iamastrologyreadings.com [https://iamastrologyreadings.com] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Iamastrologyreadings * PayPal * Venmo * Cash App Support the mythic classroom: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/support] Book a Reading: https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading [https://i-am-astrology-readings.captivate.fm/book-reading] * #astrologyrideoftheday