David Aronson’s journey into astrology and tarot, shared in his interview with MysticMag, is one of profound transformation and spiritual discovery.
Starting from a place of no religious or spiritual upbringing, his introduction to yoga at 18 set him on a path toward self-awareness and enlightenment. A life-changing experience during his early twenties awakened his deeper connection to the universe, eventually guiding him toward tarot and astrology as tools for understanding and healing.
Over two decades later, David now uses his skills to empower clients, helping them find clarity, embrace growth, and navigate life’s complexities with confidence.
What first drew you to astrology and tarot over two decades ago?
In order to answer that question, I have to give you a little backstory. I was not raised with any kind of religious or spiritual beliefs and had no interest in them one way or another. When I was 18, I started practicing hatha yoga because a friend of mine had recommended it as a good way to lose weight and stay in shape. I was always a big reader and I became interested in the philosophies and spiritual components of yoga and studied them.
When I was 21, I worked as a counselor at an overnight camp. I was an arts and crafts teacher so had several hours every day to myself and I would go to my empty cabin and do yoga. One day, I had a transformative experience: I finished my yoga session and I felt high – as if I had taken psychedelics. I felt an amazing oneness with and deep, profound love for all the people around me, like nothing I had ever felt before. This peak experience lasted for an hour or two, but when it was over, I had changed. I felt lighter; the things about the camp that had irritated me now just seemed amusing. I started hearing kind but authoritative voices of wisdom in my mind; what one might call the higher self. I realized that I was, to one degree or another, responsible for everything difficult that had occurred in my life, and that I now had the ability to actively create my life as I envisioned it.
Before this, I had seen myself as a powerless victim of life. I see this period as my time of spiritual awakening. So—to get to the astrology and tarot: one day, the voices of wisdom said “Go buy a tarot deck.” I had never really had an interest in tarot but I went and got a deck and found that I was a natural, perhaps because I am a visual artist who has always dealt with symbolism in my work. I spent many years learning tarot; I read hundreds of books, but my best teacher was just diving in head first and reading for people whether I felt prepared or not. I read for anybody who was interested and had never considered doing it professionally, but at a certain point people started handing me money because they were so pleased with their readings, so I decided to start charging and the rest is history. As far as astrology goes, I first became interested in it in my early 20s when I lived in a cooperative macrobiotic group house. One of the women there had a bunch of astrology books that her professional astrologer ex-boyfriend had left behind.
Up until that point, I thought that astrology was total hogwash, but when I read the serious astrology books meant for genuine practitioners, I realized that it all made sense and seemed like a very useful tool for analyzing and understanding human nature. My path to becoming an astrologer myself was pretty much the same as the one I took to becoming a tarot reader. I read a ton of books and did charts for anyone who asked me or would let me, and eventually, just like with tarot, people started handing me money so I went professional with it.
How do you approach creating a personalized birth chart reading for clients?
When I first started out, I calculated the math to draw up the chart myself which was difficult because I’m not very good at math. Luckily, I now have software to do that for me. I’ll start reading by examining the chart before the appointment and see what jumps out at me in terms of aspect patterns, an emphasis on signs or elements, or planets that seem to be focal points; really, anything that seems significant. I try not to be too definite about my interpretation because I need to speak to the client to see what these things mean for them specifically. When I do the actual reading with the client, I usually start by asking them what particular things about themselves or their lives they were wondering about or hoping to get insight on from the chart.
They tell me one or two things and then I look to the areas of their chart that would be significant and the reading starts there. The reading is a dialogue: I ask questions, they ask questions, and we try out different ways of interpreting the symbols of the chart until we get a picture that makes sense to the client and allows them to step back and see the patterns of their lives and selves more objectively. This, to me, is one of the greatest benefits of astrology; the way it allows you to remove yourself from your emotional blind spots and see the bigger picture of your life and being. As the reading progresses, patterns start to emerge, and the client will often see one or two major themes challenges, or areas for growth and learning in their life.
This can be very freeing because the client realizes that these things they’ve struggled with and despaired over their whole lives are really their most important life lessons, and this realization can lead to more acceptance and the ability to see things and confront them from a different, more empowered perspective. I also like to look into the chart for solutions or alternative strategies to the client’s issues.
Often I will see untapped potential, skills that aren’t being used, different ways of being and doing that they hadn’t considered but are actually natural to them and are able to be drawn out and applied. I do not place a time limit on my readings; they are finished when the client feels like all their questions have been answered and all the things they were curious about have been addressed.
Can you explain how transit readings help people prepare for future changes?
I see transits as windows of opportunity. They bring the concerns and issues of the planets involved to the forefront of a person’s awareness in order to be addressed. If you are willing to look at what the transit is showing you and attempt to take the actions being asked for, then the transit can be a great opportunity for positive change growth, and forward movement in your life. A transit reading can help to prepare you for these events, stay focused on what’s really important, and not get sidetracked or pulled into emotional reactions. Of course, I’m speaking of “difficult” transits here. I have found that the more self-aware a person is and the more willing they are, to be honest with themselves, then the easier and more rewarding the difficult transits can be.
Harmonious or “easy” transits are also good to be made aware of beforehand so that one can look for and take advantage of the positive opportunities that arise during them. As with birth chart readings, the important aspect is the dialogue I have with the client so that I can pinpoint what specifically may be arising for them and advise them on how best to respond. Another way that a transit reading can be useful is to validate what a person is going through. Often a client will be having a difficult time and not understand what is going on or what is happening to them. When they can frame their experiences in the context of a transit it helps them to step back and be less emotional and feel as if they have the power to act since they now have knowledge, information, and perspective on the situation. Knowing the time frame of the transit can also help the client to understand that the intense feelings they are having in the moment will not last forever. However, I always counsel my clients to try to learn the lessons of the transit and apply them, rather than just waiting it out.
What insights can relationship readings provide for couples or partnerships?
Relationship readings can show people the inner dynamics of their relationship: strengths and areas of harmony; areas of life where they work well together and naturally support each other, and disharmonious areas where there is the potential for conflict, misunderstandings, and blind spots. Much like a counseling session, a relationship reading can open up dialogue between the two clients and allow them to be honest with each other. The objectivity and emotional distance that the relationship chart provides can allow them to own their own behavior and stop blaming each other for problems in the relationship.
Other insights that can be gleaned from a relationship reading are understanding communication styles, emotional compatibility, potential for longevity, sexual dynamics, and romantic needs. Relationship readings can be good for a new relationship because I can advise the couple on potential danger areas to watch out for and how to best deal with them if they arise.
Just as with a birth chart, I look for strengths and positive areas of the chart that can be utilized to deal with potential conflicts. A relationship reading can also reassure a new couple that they are well suited for each other and remind an older couple of the good things in their relationship.
How does your background in energy healing complement your astrology work?
The energy healing work has benefited me more with tarot than with astrology. Tarot requires a higher degree of intuitive skill and becoming an integrated energy therapy master and the many healing sessions I have done over the years have greatly increased my intuitive abilities. It has enabled me to read people; pick up on their thoughts and feelings and often know facts about their lives without being told. It has also enabled me to make accurate predictions for the future.
Of course, intuition doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it goes hand in hand with insightful dialogue, good people skills, empathy and compassion, and a basic understanding of human psychology. The energy work has made me much more able to connect with the spiritual dimension of existence and this enhances both the tarot and astrology, enabling me to tap into non-linear sources of information and guidance.
I often feel as if I’m “channeling” for the client. Also, since the energy work has allowed me to heal myself to a high degree, I am more equipped to help other people use tarot and astrology as tools for transformation and healing.
What do you find most rewarding about guiding clients through astrology and tarot?
Being able to help people understand themselves more clearly and understand the events and patterns of their lives and then reframe them in order to be more at peace with who they are and what has happened to them is very rewarding. It’s great to be able to help people see that they have options for changing behaviors and how they react to things. It’s great to be able to validate and articulate things that people have only intuited about life situations and reflect them back to them in concrete terms to give them the confidence to take action and move forward. It feels good to be able to let people know that they are not alone in their struggles and that the things they have to deal with are common patterns of experience shared by all humans. It’s great to be able to help people unravel the threads of their life stories and see where everything began and so come to a place where they can let go of old painful and difficult patterns that they once felt controlled by.
It also goes without saying that it’s rewarding when I make an accurate prediction for a client and they are able to allay their fears and apprehensions. I imagine that a lot of these rewards are similar to what a good therapist feels when he or she helps their clients in similar ways. I really should have been a psychotherapist — maybe in the next life.
You can reach out to David this way:
267-272-2300
www.alchemicalwedding.com/astrology/
