Success

A word, a story, an unanswerable question.

I wrote this a week ago. I often don’t find courage in the moment I write anything. I usually have to get to the “fuck it, do it anyway” point before I hit send/publish/delete. So, here we are.

This one may fit into the Decan Walk in hindsight, but it is a needed sidestep.

So, bear with me, dear one. I promise, there is astrology here.

Once upon a time, in a dining room not so far away, a married couple argued over their individual meaning of success. Their story is less fairy tale and much more HOT MESS than anything you’d want to read.

But it is an ever tested and enduring relationship. There is a lot of love, a little friendship, even fewer things in common. Certainly, a mutual respect and the admission that the other holds a genius the individual cannot see in themself.

The 10th house (place of public image) Venus (connection), Taurus (fixed Earth, ruled by Venus) rising BULLHEADED husband needs to be seen at work. He is fair, thoughtful and honest. He works hard and coaches those around him. He truly believes that raising the bar for everyone around him is the only way to better himself. He is the oldest son in a divorced home, the middle child expected to step up and fill in the gaps. Even to this day, if someone calls, he makes the time. It’s admirable, kind and infuriating all at once. I know our child will never have to wait, because he will be there every time the phone rings. If only there was as much effort shown within the relationship.

The 8th house (place of karmic debts) Moon, Cancer (Cardinal water, ruled by the moon) on the rise wife makes logical all of the feels… hates to feel them and thinks if we freeze them out as only Saturn can, there will be no hurt. Jokes on her! She is the abandoned child. Parents incapable of caring for her and becoming a ward of the state for most of the formative years. In survival mode, feelings are the enemy, trust is the enemy, and pain is anticipated if not expected. She found survival mode just to stay alive. Queue the BeeGees… ah ah ah ah… (did you sing it?)

He works hard. Focuses all efforts on striving to climb the ladder expecting his loving family to greet him at the door. She strives to get the child to school on time and relatively clean without arguments in the morning, while preparing lunches and clothing and showering while trying to get to work on time herself. When she finishes that work, heads home late to be greeted with the question, “What’s for dinner?”

She wonders how she has never made it out of survival mode.

He wonders why she seems unhappy and stressed all the time.

That’s a lot of wondering, and very little talking.

That said… I wondered (and googled through the flow of tears) what the meaning of that aforementioned word truly is because it seems like such a faraway concept.

Success. (And the reason for this god forsaken story.)

So originally, “success” didn’t mean achievement or victory the way we think of it today—it meant a sequence of events, especially one that follows or comes after another. Somehow the word “success” began to take on the meaning of a favorable outcome or the attainment of wealth, position, or honors—which is what most people now associate with the term. If we think of “success” in its older roots, it’s less about winning and more about what comes next—a continuation or a consequence.

If we see success not just as achievement, but as a process of unfolding, we’re invited to:

• Let go of rigid endpoints.

• Value progress and transformation.

• Recognize that every phase leads to the next.

In this light, success becomes less about status and more about momentum or response.

In astrology, things unfold in cycles and phases, not trophies.

A few examples:

• Saturn Returns (around ages 29ish, 58ish)
  People often ask: “Am I successful?” But a better question might be:

  • “What is emerging now as a result of my past choices?”
    This fits the etymology of success: the succession or consequence of time and effort.

• Progressions & Transits
  Success isn’t usually shown as a moment—it’s a curve, a turning point, or a culmination and reaching the next step. Think:

  • A progressed Moon moving into a new sign.

  • A Jupiter return opening a door.

• 10th House Themes (Career/Public Life)
  Often thought of as “success,” but it’s really the visible consequence of what’s been built over time (4th house roots, IC). It’s not a finish line—it’s what follows your internal work

SOOOOOOO…. What I really need to do, or wait this couple from the story (cough cough) should do is:

Try to redefine SUCCESS as:

• Being in conversation with what comes next.

• Responding in alignment with what’s unfolding.

• Living into the next true step.

I’ve decided I do not know how to live true. Figuring out what that means to me is my next step.

Big love,

Shawna