Astrology and Gluten-Free Sourdough
Astrology and Gluten-Free Sourdough: Apparently, This Is Who I Am Now…
Mercury is in retrograde. The new moon is in Scorpio. I have several planets transiting my 10th house all of a sudden - woof! All the things!!
I’ve slowly found my way to astrology. Although, for years, I gave astrology little thought. I am technically a Capricorn born on the cusp of Aquarius. I occasionally read generalized descriptions of Capricorns and thought - yeah, no, I do not resonate with that. I was, however, fascinated by the Meyers and Briggs personality test, Enneagram number profiles, etc. I used to incorporate the Chinese element quiz into my healing practice, but I noticed that so many people answer the quiz questions as they think they “should be” or as they want to be versus how they truly are at their core. Therefore, I was getting inaccurate and unhelpful results from clients.
As time went on, I started to follow the phases of the moon and learned more about the influence the moon has over the tide, women’s cycles, parasitic activity, behaviors, etc. I began taking in more content over the coming planetary transits, learning about the frequency shifts those transits create, and the resulting earth and collective experiences. I soon witnessed unique happenings that correlated with the astrologers’ prediction of probabilities.
As I dove deeper, I learned that your birth sign is only part of a much bigger puzzle! There are houses, planets, angles, and degrees to consider! As an example, my Sun sign is in my 12th house at 29 degrees, which leaves me in a position to connect very little to my Sun sign. My Ascending sign is in Aquarius, and my Moon is in Scorpio in the 10th house. My North Node is in Cancer in the 6th house. All of these mean something, and I have only just scratched the surface. I don’t know what the step before scratching the surface is, but that is more like it! Essentially, astrology is a personality test on steroids, a blueprint for your soul’s journey in this life, and a forecast report for the weather you’ll face in the coming weeks, months, and years.
I have recently been diving into my client’s charts and transits to understand their health, life, and soul challenges, which has been a fascinating angle by which to view one’s current circumstances. There is a sense of peace, freedom, and compassion that comes along with this information.
A lovely client recommended a fabulous astrology book, I Don’t Believe in Astrology: A Therapist’s Guide to the Life-Changing Wisdom of the Stars, by Debra Silverman. I listened to it and immediately ordered a physical copy! It’s a tremendous reference guide, and it breaks down the psychology found in one’s birth chart. Needless to say, I highly recommend it!
I’ve been following astrologer, Pam Gregory, on Youtube for quite sometime. I am not sure if it’s her UK accent or wise, grandmotherly energy that pulls me into orbit, but I enjoy her take on the moon and new moon transits. She interviews several channelers and other esoteric guests, which may not suit all listeners, but I enjoy it.
Besides astrology books, I’ve dove head first into gluten free bread making thanks to the book that I am convinced my soul has been waiting 43.68 years for (ok, the fact that I legit calculated that figure does point towards the Capricorn aspect still hanging on in me…)! The latest cookbook from Aran Goyoaga, “The Art of Gluten-Free Bread,” is a DREAM! To say that I love this book is a complete undersell and understatement. I would be lost without this book from this point on in my life. Although, with all gluten free breads, there are a lot of ingredients that take a level of precision only a scale can achieve, and given that many ingredients with every recipe, it is easy to miss one. Unfortunately, all ingredients are key ingredients. With that said, it took me very little time to get used to the methodology, and I am in love. Move over hubby! I am cuddling up to this book at night, and it needs your pillow!
I have tried making standard sourdough starter a number of times, but I have always been hesitant given my wild swings with gluten intolerance to barely tolerable, and my youngest son’s complete intolerance to it. I’ve started the process only to have it ruined near the end by a weird turn of events. Clearly, the universe was putting up stumbling blocks for me as Aran Goyoaga was working on her masterpiece!
I’ve never truly understood the process - I get the feeding, but then what? What do you do to keep it all going? This book breaks it down in the simplest of terms. I am giddy at the thought of making just one more thing out of the book! The instructions are clear, pictures are beautiful, and above all - the food is effing delicious!
I’ve been making due without a bread proofing basket, but thanks to Amazon, the baskets should arrive today! This morning I made quick gf, sourdough crumpets, which were a modified version from the cookbook. I served it with cream cheese, everything bagel seasoning, and an egg from our little hens out back! Last night, I made my second sourdough loaf, and I am troubleshooting a lack of leavening, but given the advice in the book, I am anxious to try it again to see how it turns out. I’ve made an enormous amount of recipes out of the book and have gobbled it down with the expanded waistline to prove it! For the record, I’m embracing the extra girth until the New Year energy gives me the motivation to let it go!
I’ve shamelessly ordered her previous two cookbooks, Cannelle et Vanille and Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple, which arrived yesterday! I may get just a little too excited about cookbooks… But, we all have a thing right?
Aran uses clean ingredients that align with the values I live and breathe. Gluten - why is it a problem now when even Jesus ate bread? Good freakin’ question! The wheat in the US is a hybridized version of wheat for starters with a much larger gluten protein than its cousins. Often times, it is sprayed with herbicides in the beginning and glyphosate at the end of its lifespan to speed up harvest. It’s stored in large elevators for years where aflatoxins thrive, and moldy grain gets diluted by mixing it in with other non-moldy grains. Wheat is stripped of its vitamins and refortified for commercial bread, and flours have been bleached.
With glyphosate in the air, water, neighbors’ yards, and parks, PFAS, and the laundry list of other toxins our body is bombarded with along with our toxic culture, our bodies are too stressed and, yes, even reject biblical foods.
While I can point all that out, no one seems to agree on the root cause of growing gut dysfunction and reported gluten intolerances. All I can report from is my very own field research. Nearly 100% of my clients benefit dramatically from removing gluten from their diets for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of indefinitely. Their inflammation, pain, discomfort, headaches, heart palpitations - you name it, go away altogether! I have clients that experience this and want to run back to their doctor for blood tests, genetic testing, or some other “proof” of gluten intolerance. Why is the experience of improved health not enough?
I have come to believe in the essence of food having an impact on our health. I will dive more into that topic at a later date, but for now, I just want you to consider gluten being a sticky glue substance. Most of us feel stuck or are emotionally bogged down. We need more fluidity and release of weight or the weight of the world and worldly obligations. As an empath whose energy seems to soak up the energy around me, the last thing I need is food that allows those other energies to stick to me. I won’t even talk about the energetics of the US ag industry overall! Not right now, anyway!
Ok, I will leave you with that! In case you missed it, I have a killer cauliflower soup recipe for the winter days ahead, and I’ve been tuning out a lot more, which you can read more about here in a previous post.
*Please note that I am a certified functional nutritionist, and I am not a doctor nor am I YOUR doctor or dietician. Always use your intuition, first and foremost, and consult with your health care professionals to determine what is right for you!
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