In Conversation with Dr. Jennifer Freed

7 Questions on Writing About the Divine Feminine and Spirituality

Hello beloved reader,

I was first introduced to

Dr. Jennifer Freed

’s brilliant work through her book, Use Your Planets Wisely: Master Your Ultimate Cosmic Potential with Psychological Astrology, (published by Sounds True, January 2020) which approaches astrology through the lens of personal growth and evolution of consciousness. If you are a long-term reader of this Substack, you will know this is how I love to use astrology, i.e. as an incredibly helpful tool to learn more about one’s self and others, including all of one’s gifts and challenges, while recognizing that the challenges are simply opportunities for further growth.

For example in Use Your Planets Wisely, each aspect — say, Sun in Pisces, Moon in Scorpio, Leo Rising, etc. — each one has a description for its Primitive expression, in addition to its Adaptive, and Evolving expressions; recognizing how each expression changes as we grow and evolve.

The below image shows a sample of Dr. Freed’s books and cards, including a set of 80 Astrology Cards for Cosmic Parenting, which equips parents with insights to their child’s character through their unique birth chart, which Dr. Freed describes as “a snapshot of the sky at the exact moment of one’s birth and a powerful tool that can be used for self-awareness, personal inquiry, and growth.” Using astrology this way is essentially how my now 87-year-old mother parented her four daughters as we were growing up. To this day we all use astrology as a short-hand language to describe different character traits.

Dr. Freed also writes the wonderful Substack:

Dr. Jennifer Freed, photo by Studio Arna

The 7 Questions:

1. Why are you drawn to writing about spirituality and/or the Divine Feminine?

In my astrology chart, I have Jupiter and Neptune square to sun, and Venus, which calls me to serve the divine feminine.

2. How does writing about spirituality affect you, in your work and/or personal life?

Writing about spirituality is my spiritual practice. When I write, I channel oracular Wisdom and guidance for me and others. Writing is a portal for me to go beyond human intelligence and into the limitless creative source.

3. What is an experience you have had that is perhaps the most mystical and unexplainable in the rational/material realm?

I have had more mystical experiences than I could possibly catalog, but one sticks out. When I was in high school I was cuddling on the bed with my boyfriend and a shell flew across the room and landed gently beside us. That shell flew at least 12 feet, and that was the beginning of my understanding that there were many things I would never understand.

4. What is the first memory you have that there was something else besides the material realm?

From a very young age, I could see nonliving entities, and I had many psychic experiences. I grew up in touch with the unseen worlds.

5. What do you hope for, for your writing?

I write to inspire and nourish myself and others. I want to contribute love through my writing and permission to express.

6. Who is a writer or other creative artist who makes you feel inspired, helps you to remember we’re spiritual beings having a human experience, and perhaps makes you cherish Mother Earth just a little bit more?

I love the novelists Jeanette Winterson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and the spiritual writers Tosha Silver, Deborah Eden🙏🏻 Toll, Mory Fontanez, Ellen Vora,

Elise Loehnen

Bell Hooks, Ana Castillo, Matt Haig, and many more. I read constantly and love non-fiction and fiction alike.

7. What are the words of wisdom and/or spiritual principle(s) that you come back to time and time again that give you solace and uplift your heart?

I take solace in the fact that this is all a learning experience. We will all die, and that equalizer reminds me that there is no winning the game of life, it is just about playing as well as you can, and making a loving difference in the time you have. My intent is to inspire myself and others to live a fully expressed life. We have one go around in this body and these circumstances, and I believe each person can make the most of what cards they have been dealt. Every day I want to take a stand for the best people can be in any given situation. Loving deeply, passionately and loyally is an honor and to receive that love is a benediction.

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BIO:

Dr. Jennifer Freed is a best-selling author, psychological astrologer, and expert in social and emotional education. Author of Use Your Planets Wisely, she has over 30 years of experience consulting globally on psychological, spiritual, and educational topics. Dr. Freed has served as clinical director at Pacifica Graduate Institute and is a national consultant for EMDR therapy. A regular contributor to goop, she’s written extensively on astrology. She is Co-founder of AHA!, a nonprofit empowering teens and families, Dr. Freed inspires individuals and communities to realize their highest potential. Her newest offering aiguides.me is an ethical astrology tool revolutionizing the insights of astrology for the masses.

You may read more at her website here.

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Please also note: this series of interviews will live under the tab labeled “Interviews” on this Substack, with the intention that the space will become a kind of resource of writers collaborating in reclaiming the Divine Feminine. Perhaps each string of words each of us writes is a thread in a vast, intricate, and beautiful tapestry we are collectively weaving—each row of this evolving fabric moving us toward an evolution of consciousness, a deeper awareness of the spiritual dimensions of our ecological crisis, and the healing needed to restore a harmonic balance with Mother Earth.

Next week, I’m also thrilled to bring you

Susan J Tweit

’s responses to these 7 questions. I’m truly honored and humbled by the enthusiasm for this interview series. What a collection of heart-lifts🥰 perhaps necessary medicine for these times.