Important travel advice from my mother, the astrologer

When my mom discovered she was pregnant, she quickly did the math in her head and realized she was due to have a Libra. Characterized as easy-going, loving and peace-seeking, she was excited to have a calm, sweet child to start her family with my dad.
But, with the same audacity and zest that’s defined my life, I arrived four weeks early, happily claiming Virgo as my zodiac sign.

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As an astrologer, my mom Kim Tigar was wary to tell me too much about my natal chart, an image experts can create based on the time, place and day you were born. She did, however, know a few things about me right from the start. One of the greatest ones? That I’m a lover. And of course, a traveler. As I’ve grown into a travel and lifestyle journalist who is currently globetrotting for a year, living in different countries for 12 months via Remote Year, my mom is always one of my first calls when I need advice booking travel or planning getaways.

Thanks to her guidance as the best mom on the planet (biased opinion, of course) and as an astrologer for more than 40 years, I fully trust her wisdom and expertise. Here’s is some of the most helpful advice I’ve gotten over the years as a digital nomad with an astrologer mom:

Mitigate mercury in retrograde

Ever heard it’s not a great idea to travel while Mercury is in retrograde? My mom says that’s only partly true, but that using the word “never” in terms of adventuring isn’t a phrase the universe supports. You should be aware when Mercury is in retrograde and allow more time to get to airports, or take a cab places instead of walking, or make sure your phone has a full charge,” she explains. “Mercury retrogrades just distract us because it is a time to turn inward and rethink, redo and recharge. So people aren’t paying full attention to what is happening around them. That’s why we have delays, miscommunication, coffee spills on new computers, computer crashes and more.”

Mars matters, too

She also says to keep a pulse on the phases of Mars, too—especially if you’ll be dealing with many people while traveling. The sign Mars can tell you about possible tempers, aggression and accidents as it moves through some of the signs or if it’s poorly aspected to another planet. Mars moves through a sign around 45 days,” she explains.

Get your chart done

Overall, though, my mom says having your natal chart read once—both for the fun of it and to fulfill your curiosity—could be a smart idea for travelers. Once you know how to track your own planetary cycles, you can be on high alert if your trip to Morocco or your beach vacation to Costa Rica could have some hiccups. After all, when my mom plans on visiting me next March to tour the Chilean and Argentine wine countries, she wants to make sure we have more sipping than slipping in our adventures.

Find your destiny in your chart’s recurring themes

When my mom first read my astrological birth chart, which shows personality, preferences, likes, dislikes, emotional nature and other important areas of life, she could pinpoint a wanderlust spirit. In astrology no one sign or planet stands alone. “Astrologers always look for common or repeating themes to interpret the chart,” she told me via FaceTime. My wanderlust is pretty obvious, according to mama. For example, I have the sun in the ninth house—the location that defines who you are—and for me, represents foreign lands and travel. My ascendant is also in Sagittarius, which my mom explains is the sign of the traveler. And with Mars in Aries in the fourth, it means that I have a pioneering, restless spirit that needs to make my home in many places.

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Know your gifts and your inclinations

Confidence comes from knowing your talents and your potential. In my case, astrology helped my parents to believe, too. Luckily for me, they’ve always been supportive of my life choices, no matter how risky they might have seemed. From choosing to major in journalism at a time when magazines and newspapers were crashing to moving to New York City with no apartment or job to traveling the world to write about what I experience along the way, they’ve never doubted me. In fact, my mom knows that thanks to astrology, I’ll have a lifelong passion for expanding my collection of passport stamps.

“Your chart indicates that travel will always be important to you, not just for the love to see new places, but because it changes you and opens your mind and heart to new ways of thinking, how others live their life, how they love and hurt, what changes them and so on,” she told me. “Your gift is to give others a voice through your eyes and you are doing it quite well. I hear the happiness in your voice, the awe and love in your eyes from your Facebook pictures, and I hear the love and joy and wonder in your words when I read your blogs and articles.”

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