No one is exempt from astrology.

In fact, when I first began studying astrology, one of the most useful practices was to look to the past, to situations that played out when I knew nothing about astrology. I’d research where the planets were at significant moments of my life. Big changes. Conflicts. Emotional breakdowns. It was a way of learning how each planet affected me, but also validating that the themes of the planets and signs were playing out in my life, whether I knew it or not.

I love astrology. It’s a useful tool, and when engaged with, it can provide a narrative arc and thus a sense of purpose to life’s otherwise random ups and downs.

But if someone doesn’t follow astrology, can it affect them? It makes me giddy when I find an example of astrology playing out, on cue and on theme, for the blissfully ignorant.

What Is Spiritual Formation?

I’m a former evangelical, and most of my family members are Christian. I love this because it saves me from ever falling too far into any single echo chamber. I get access to multiple subcultures with its respective point of view. In a recent conversation, my mom told me that members of her church were into something called “spiritual formation.”

We could certainly Google it, but I find it more interesting to recount how she described it—because this tells us the components that are making this practice spread. She said it was a new Christian practice that originated with the Catholics. After going through a training, a mentor can then receive messages for you, from God. They can charge for this service (my note: this is unlike a pastor, who provides spiritual leadership but gets paid indirectly through church membership and tithes). Also, there is an emphasis on emptying your mind.

These characteristics seem to be the criticisms to what some members of the church consider a “New Age” practice that’s infiltrating Christianity.

Spiritual Formation and Buddhism

My first reaction was, this sounds very Buddhist. I’ve attended a 10-day silent meditation retreat, and the practice taught there is observing thoughts and letting them go. From this empty state, what’s called an “insight” can come in. I’ve experienced this, and it always feels a little magic. It’s like sudden clarity and knowledge that doesn’t stem from any sort of logic, but just appears.

The second reason that spiritual formation sounds Buddhist to me is the emphasis on submission to a mentor. In most forms of Buddhism, you choose a teacher, called a guru or sometimes a “spiritual friend.” Some of the reading in my Buddhist teacher training exposed me to more fundamentalist versions of this dynamic where the student’s autonomy was broken down in service of spiritual growth.

Astrology and Spiritual Formation

Because I’m a practicing astrologer and interact with other spiritual folks online and in-person, it’s typical to hear people associate current events with astrology transits. Technology troubles are caused by Mercury Retrograde, and politics is a reflection of Pluto in Aquarius.

This could be confirmation bias.

But, when churchgoers with zero interest in astrology get wrapped up in a movement called “spiritual formation” at the same time that Saturn is in Pisces … that’s breathtaking.

Let’s break it down.

Each planet is like a character in a cosmic screenplay, and as they move through the sky, they impose their personality traits on the area they’re in (and any fellow planets they pass).

Saturn represents: Time, structure, tests, limits, pressure, solitude, the hermit, maturity, and authority a la “the man.”

Each of the 12 astrological signs reflects a motivation that then gives a particular flavor to the planet, while the planet is in that sign.

Pisces represents: Imagination, intuition, spirituality, dreams, transcendence, confusion, escapism, mental health, and subconscious.

No planet or sign is good or bad. With Saturn in Pisces, we experience the themes of each, combined, but we all have free will to express that combination in both healthy and unhealthy ways, as individuals and as a collective society.

So I’m not surprised something called “spiritual formation” is on the rise. Pisces = spiritual, Saturn = formation.

The idea of bringing a mentor into an already existing spiritual path feels like it pairs perfectly with Saturn’s arrival in Pisces (which will last roughly until Feb. 2026).

One of the common astrological predictions about Saturn in Pisces was that people would be looking to spiritual authorities to make sense of the loss of control over the past few years. The risk is that people would outsource their own agency as a trade for a sense of security (that may or may not be real). There is a risk of a rise in cults. When the future is uncertain, people are more likely to outsource their own power.

My Verdict on Spiritual Formation

I don’t consider myself a Christian, but I do believe we are each on our own soul journeys. Spiritual growth can be found anywhere. Having been a devout evangelical for my first 20+ years, and more recently a practical mystic, I like the emphasis on listening. To me, prayer was always missing something, it was always requesting. Even as a Christian, I had practices that involved just getting quiet, sometimes during worship music, or quiet time in nature on a retreat, when I would just listen. I love to hear this is becoming more mainstream. Whether you call it God, the Universe, or your higher self, there is a loving, all-knowing presence available to us and willing to help.

I also love how spiritual formation brings one-on-one spiritual support into a Christian lens.

As a spiritual person, I’ve hired astrologers, energy healers, and intuitives to help me make sense of my life and make choices. These people have used their more developed intuition to help me see past my own fears and blocks. I was paying them (usually, quite well) for their time, but I knew ultimately I had to be responsible for my own life, and if they offered anything that didn’t sit right with me, I could reject it.

So ultimately, what worries me is the relationship with a trained mentor. Let’s not forget the Reformation and the choice to translate the Bible into everyday language. Let’s not forget that each of us is a direct conduit to God.

Yes, if you want to grow at anything, whether it’s writing fiction, growing your business, or developing intuition, you’re going to move a lot faster and with less pain if you work with a mentor (ideally someone really talented who you pay well). But spirituality is ripe for abuse.

Once Saturn completes its cycle through Pisces, we will have a much clearer perspective on the changes made in our spiritual development.