Let the stars give your characters extra depth and sparkle 🌟
Tonight’s waning gibbous moon in Pisces is absolutely perfect for diving deep into our imaginations and fishing out some truly unique characters. For those of you who aren’t fluent in celestial speak, this means the moon is decreasing as it swims in the dreamy waters of Pisces. Pretty magical, right?!
That means that instead of just daydreaming today, we’re going to harness this cosmic energy to breathe life into our fictional friends. Because to me, this moon phase signifies the birth of something extraordinary within our stories.
So here I am, finally tackling that character development you’ve all been asking about. It’s a bit daunting, sure, but we can’t just sit back and wait for the muse, darling. Sometimes you have to write before the muse is ready.
A waning moon is what I call an editing moon – spiritually we continue the work from the full moon, which is releasing what no longer serves us. Practically, it’s a great time for going through our writing and letting go of those sentences that don’t make sense, those plot points we’re wedded to that don’t really work (pro-tip – keep a separate file just for these, so you can find them again if you want them), and the characters that we love but who don’t really belong in this story.
So why am I starting something?
Well, partly it’s because I don’t always take my own advice 😬. I definitely don’t always wait for the muse to strike, but if she does happen to throw me a glance, I’m not going to turn her away jut because of the phase of the moon. But the moon phase is giving us a helping hand, here, because Pisces is just perfect for imagination, for dreaming, for allowing the subconscious to work its magic on the weaving of our stories.
So here we are, on the beach. We’ve all gathered to brainstorm, creativity flowing like stardust – notebooks are open, pens are poised, and there’s an air of possibilities. Fairy lights twinkle around us, and there’s a gentle breeze rustling through the grasses on the sand dunes behind us, and before us, the waves shush in and out on the shore. We’ve got plush cushions to sit on and warm blankets nearby. The scent of lavender and sandalwood drifts from a nearby diffuser, promising relaxation and focus.
And there’s space.
Space to breathe, space to imagine, space to create.
Space to consider all the quirks and qualities of your characters and mull them over, space to ponder their big dreams and little fears.
And while some of you are totally vibing in this space, I definitely hear some of those voices saying whaaaaaat? I don’t even know where to start!
Don’t worry, I’ve got you.
I love helping writers discover their characters’ sun signs and explaining how that shapes their core personality. I love using tarot spreads to map out character arcs and plot twists (more on this in another post). I love chatting with aspiring authors about worldbuilding and magic systems and character growth, and I love showing seasoned writers how their protagonist’s rising sign can be a key to unlocking new dimensions in their stories. So here’s something fun that I do to help me get into my characters.
I look at their astrological birth chart!
Alright, we’ll back up a bit. Your birth chart – your personal map of the skies from the moment of your birth, the blueprint of your soul – tells you a lot about your self – your inner self, your outer self, your hopes and dreams, your needs and your direction in life. It can get pretty complicated, but we don’t need to worry about that now. (Unless you want to, in which case hit me up for a chart reading. 😉) You may or may not have heard about your Big Three. In astrology, this refers to the position of your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant, or Rising – the sign that was rising over the horizon at the moment of your birth. These three points/planets tell us where in your life your light shines brightest (sun), what things affect your emotional landscape (moon), and how you present (or think you present) to the world (rising).
This is simplified, but it’s all we need to get the first handle on a character.
When we know the Big Three for our characters, we immediately know these three things about them:
1. The heart that drives them (sun)
2. How they respond when they’re stressed (moon)
3. The face they put on to face the world (rising)
Next obvious question – how do we know what our character’s birth details are?!
Well, some of you may well already have your character’s details. You might know their date and place of birth, and could fairly easily choose a time of birth, too, in which case you can input their info into a website like astro.com, and their birth chart will pop up for you, giving you everything you need.
But for those of us who don’t know these things already, you can either pull tarot cards life I often do (I’ll do a post on this another time, so as not to be overwhelming!) or you can use the Magical Wheel Of Fortune!
It’s just a regular Wheel Of Fortune, but it sounds so much better with the word Magical in front of it.)
I set this one up here for you to use. Just spin it three times per character and note down each sign it lands on. This will give you your character’s driving force (sun sign), their emotional needs (moon), and the face they show the world (rising).Subscribed
Let’s break it down a little bit more.
Sun Sign
This tells us in which area of life your character shines most brightly. For example, if they’re a Libra sun, harmony and justice matters to them. Equality in relationships, fair treatment, also aesthetic beauty in their surroundings, good conversations and pleasant company. Those are the more positive qualities. If they’re manifesting negatively, this could mean that they’re unbalanced and struggle to pick a side, they talk without listening, they obsess over things being just so… A sun sign will tell us a character’s motives in life (this is in addition to their plot motives, and will often inform how their plot decisions manifest).
Moon Sign
A moon sign gives us the emotional blueprint, and tells us how our characters react when they’re up against it, highly stressed, or conversely when they’re super happy. It tells us what they need – which also, helpfully, allows us to withhold it from them, story-wise, and see what happens. For example, a Cancer moon characters holds family most dear, whether biological or chosen. They give and expect absolute loyalty, and have amazing memories, particularly for people, faces, and events. This can also be seen in some serious grudge-holding! Whether they’re stressed or joyful, you’ll know about it – their emotions emanate from them like an aura that’s almost visible. Their laughter is often infectious! However, you won’t always know why they’re upset. They feel deeply but don’t verbalise easily, which can make living with them… interesting!
Rising Sign
As the sign that was rising over the eastern horizon at the moment your character came into the world, this sign shows the first face they put on when they greet new people or situations, and how they think that everyone sees them. (Sometimes they’re right! It’s often not until we know people best that they see us in a different way, usually by the sign ruling the descendant – but that’s a tale for another day…)
If your character has an Aries rising, they will approach the world headfirst; open, honest, independent. They are fearless leaders, and unafraid to show who they are. Other people will feel a sense of authority, even from quiet or shy characters – these people seem to know who they are, and they embody a sense of newness, quest-seeking, and discovery. They want to do, see, experience things now.
When I did this with my new characters, it was illuminating and (for the old characters) reassuring! And also slightly eerie to see how a random generator gave me signs resonated so strongly with what my characters were already like… Very cool, though. I hope that has given you a little sparkle! Go ahead and draft out a few new characters or get to know a few old familiars a little better, and let me know how it goes – I’d love to hear how this resonates with you.
The sun is setting fast, and although I’d love to stay out with you and watch the stars rise, tonight I’m going to head in early and write up some of my own character stories while they’re fresh in my mind. I’m going to write a post about how the different sun/moon/rising signs might manifest in your characters so watch out for that! In the meantime, I’ll leave you with the sound of the sea and hopefully a renewed sense of excitement for discovering how your characters tick.
See you soon for more on sun signs and backstories, moon phases and plot twists, chakra balancing and character arcs – anything that opens your mind and makes your pen fly across the page and makes the physical world disappear for a little while.
I’m so thrilled you’ve joined our cosmic writing circle.
I’d be over the moon to hear what writing projects you’re working on, what drew you to our Inky Stars campfire, what unique characters are inside you waiting to be born in this safe space, and how I can help you bring them to life on the page.
Now, take a deep breath, centre yourself, and prepare to meet your characters under the starry sky of your imaginations…