How Astrology Can Make Your Branding More Impactful

In this article, we'll explore how astrology can elevate your brand's identity, messaging, and overall impact on your audience. I'm thrilled to take you on this journey as we discuss aligning your brand with the stars. And joining me is the wonderful Catherine Gerdes, a multi-certified wellness coach and astrologer, whose expertise in integrating astrology into her branding has resulted in a truly enchanting and effective online presence.

So, whether you're an astrology enthusiast or a branding aficionado, stick around as we delve into the fascinating world where the cosmos meet creativity, and discover how astrology can make your branding shine brighter than the North Star.

If you’d prefer to listen to the podcast episode, you can here:

Interview with Catherine Gerdes

Alex: Hi, Catherine. I'm so excited to have you here.

Catherine: Hi, Alex. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Alex: Of course, for those of you that don't know, I share pretty much like every project that I work on. But Catherine and I first connected, I believe it was a 2021.

Catherine: Yeah, I think it was in 2021.

Alex: Right around when I rebranded my own business, and we connected and we branded her business. And yeah, we've been friends ever since which is such a testament to how connected we get while working together.

But before we get into all that, I wanted to start by asking you how did you become an intuitive health mentor, can you talk about your journey with us?

Catherine: For sure, this process started back in 2018 2019. Really, before I even knew that, that's where I was going to be heading. My life took a pretty radical shift at that time, through a series of events that included my mom's health diagnosis and I end up returning to my hometown, and during this window of time for some added support, like physically, mentally, emotionally, and wound up signing up for a yoga teacher training.

And I feel like a lot of people can attest to what I'm about to say that that was kind of a jumping off point into something else for me. It showed me that I had a lot of tools within me. And it really was the start of me forming this toolkit for myself, to take better care of myself through the whole journey.

So from there, I went down rabbit holes with Ayurveda and I went and studied at Duke Integrative medicine for their health coaching program. And I think it was like the week that I graduated, the lockdown started in 2020.

And at that time, there was a lot around, you know, obviously bringing in tranquility. We were calling it work life balance, but it was kind of just keeping everything together when you were learning to work from home in a quarantine. And dealing with you know, a lot of moms and dads who were you know, locked in their homes with their kids and just figuring everything out.

Over the course of about a year, I was working with people around building healthy habits, learning how to cope with all of this and finding resilience. And along that journey, which I think we'll get into the astrology a little later, so I'll save all of it. But I started recognizing that I wanted to fold in more astrology and more spiritual well being into my coaching practice, but in a nutshell, that's how I got on this Wellness training.

Alex: That's so interesting. I know, I'm not actually sure if we've talked about this, but that's similar to my own journey to becoming your creative. My yoga teacher training completely opened me up to the possibilities within me. So that's so interesting that, you know, diving inward can lead to a change in path, no matter how that path ends up being.

Catherine: Totally. And I feel like people are looking for these massive shifts outside of themselves. And it can sound trite to say like, it all starts with them. But it truly does, like it starts by taking that viewfinder and like turning inside ourselves.

Alex: Totally, I completely agree. Gosh, I feel like that's really sound advice right there. Well, I know that it was kind of a windy journey to end up where you are, you ended up coming to San Diego, and I'm curious. How did you figure out who I am and how did you connect with me?

Catherine: Sure. So I came out to San Diego, I was in North County, which is beautiful. I think there's a little piece of my heart there now. And I started, you know, it was through Instagram, you started popping up and it was like the algorithm, you know, working in my favor, I think you started popping up, then I followed you. And I knew I'd eventually want to work with you. But I wasn't ready at that time.

And the more that I like, saw your content, you were sharing your clients work, you were also sharing, like some of your own personal beliefs around your business and around design and spirituality. And I just felt like everything was clicking with me personally, and for my business. And so yeah, that's how I came across across your profile, and just became more and more curious.

Alex: That's amazing that that's like the one time I've heard that Instagram actually working in our favor, you know what I mean? So often people talk about the negatives of Instagram, but you know that it has very positive associations to it as well. That's why we're all on there, you know what I mean?

Catherine: Absolutely. And I think when people are sharing their work, like you do, and unafraid to share their creativity and to shine their light and share their voice, that's how you find, you know, aligned connections too.

Alex: Yeah, absolutely. So we had worked together on a branding project. And we put, we went through the process and created a brand that I still love today so much, it's freaking gorgeous. But we didn't do a website at that time. We actually, I don't think it was, I am trying to remember. I think later that year is when I first published my templates, and you decided to purchase one, what inspired you to purchase a website template.

Catherine: So, this was kind of similar to working with you, I had felt the stirring within me to totally get a new website and I had actually designed my first website like done the 1.0 version. I had been feeling that stirring to redo my website and all of a sudden I don't think you actually told me you were doing templates, I think I just saw them online like I saw the the publication, the release of them. And I knew right then that that was exactly what I wanted to do you put out I think to at the beginning, now you have a lot more but you put out two and one of the two really, really spoke to me.

Alex: Yes, I remember. I think we met up in person and I was sharing that I was launching them and then you're like well, I have to get one now. And yeah, that's really special when I get that kind of validation from someone like I actually know in person, it's like wow what I'm doing is actually helping people so I am really glad that they resonated with you.

Catherine: Totally and it's such a good avenue for anyone who doesn't want to do like a custom or can't or is not in a position at that time to do something more custom. I like to get to work with you on some tweaks. Once I got the template. I did what I could do with it. And then I knew I needed just a little extra work but nothing crazy. Is that how it looks from your vantage point to?

Alex: Yes, that is something that I find really helpful and positive about having my template shop it really gives people an opportunity to have a custom website experience without, you know, paying for a fully custom website experience because I really pride myself on creating templates that don't look like templates. And then, you know. with just some simple tweaks with your branding your colors, your fonts, that kind of thing, switching up the photos to content, you that can really make a huge difference in taking a template from my shop, and having it look like everyone else's versus not looking like everyone else's. And I'm really glad that it was something that was accessible for you.

Another thing, it that happened while we were working together, like throughout the course of time, because we've worked together multiple times now is that, and you already mentioned this, that astrology has become a more important part of your business. Over the course of time, I would love to know how you became acquainted with astrology, and how that ended up like becoming something that you felt needs to be incorporated into your business.?

Catherine: For sure, so astrology was something I kind of dabbled in. I don't know if part of this was just being like an 80s, baby. But there was a fascination with astrology early on. And that became rekindled and as I started actually studying it more deeply, it was a language that I just clicked there was like I already understood it. Not to be like arrogant with it but it was a language that felt like, you know, just very easy to digest.

I started going more and more down rabbit holes, learning a ton. And I think actually, the pandemic and the lockdowns were a part of creating this cocoon that I could learn within, I could just dive down the rabbit hole and learn more. I started doing client charts and friend charts and basically, astrology supported the overall reason I wanted to coach anyway, to help people return back to themselves.

So, there are some tools outside of just working with someone around habits that can help us return back to ourselves, I think, in maybe a faster way. And I think astrology is one of these things that helps show us what's going on with us on a soul level, what's going on with our souls trajectory, what are our gifts, messages around our purpose? And you know, for the sake of healing, what are some like past woundings that you can dive into. So, having the ability to see all that through astrology, I think is so powerful. And I think it only made sense to start folding that into my coaching practice.

Alex: Yeah, as you were speaking, I realized I hadn't thought about this until now. But astrology is a tool to dive deeper into yourself. So, it's just one of many things that are available out in the world, to get to know yourself, on a more on a deeper level, I can't think of a better word, but that's really what it is. And that's so special, that you're not limiting yourself to like one way or this other way or like a particular path that you're open to bringing in all the tools that are resonant and effective to have the most impact on your clients.

Catherine: For sure, I think it's had such a great impact on my life. And I think it's a tool that gets to the heart of it gets past the de-conditioning and it really shows what's authentically going on with us. So, that's another reason that I really love it.

Alex: Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of that, when we first worked together, we work together on your branding and we were both really happy with the results at that time. But the more you were incorporating astrology into your business, it became clear that there was some room for improvement in the brand we had created. Can you explain what we ended up updating and why it felt right to make those updates for you?

Catherine: So that for me, I think I wanted something at that time, that was a little punchier. I knew I wanted like more saturated hues and jewel tones and I think there's something in that about, I don't know if I can fully articulate it. I think it was time to just have something that was more of a reflection of where I was headed.

Something that was bolder, a little bit more dynamic. Those jewel tones really spoke to me. And then, at that time, we did the Astro branding together. That was a super cool process. Because you brought in your Hellenistic perspective, and I had the opportunity to read what you were bringing to the table and how that mirrors a lot of what I've read in my own chart too and then use that to draw colors as well.

Alex: Yes, that's actually what I was going to bring up next. I, at least from my perspective, I feel like when we first worked together, since astrology wasn't a key component of the brand at that time, I personally have a tendency to work with a lot of spiritual clients. And then while I thought, just from interacting with you and getting to know you that you were a spiritual person, I wasn't sure if that was like a key component of the brand.

And I remember distinctly I don't know why, but I distinctly remember at the time, when working on your brand, I was like, I'm not going to use purple in your brand. Because you're not a spiritual coach. That's not what we're doing here in purple is the color of spirituality. And I just decided, like, that's not the route we're taking with this, because that is not the type of coach that you are.

But fast forward, you did start to bring spirituality into your practice, which ultimately affected those color changes that we did. I know you were talking about jewel tones, and punchier colors, which is something that we did bring in and purple was one of those shades that we brought in as well. Which makes perfect sense, given that astrology is a spiritual practice, at least in my opinion, it is. So, that's one way that I think that shift makes sense.

Catherine: Yeah, I thought the incorporation of purple was really important to. it's funny that you singled out that one color, because I thought the same thing. It's like I envisioned that with where it was headed.

Alex: Yeah, and I was just, I was just looking on at your chart, because we did do the Astro branding together and your midheaven is in Aquarius, I believe, which also makes sense for bringing in purple because purple, like the colors associated with Aquarius are like duochrome in my opinion, like turquoise, purples, stuff like that.

And with your midheaven being in Aquarius, it just like calls for aesthetics that are in line with that and also, Aquarius is ruled both by Uranus, and by Saturn in the Hellenistic tradition. And Saturn is very like unchi, like dynamic and bold. So, it just like actually fully aligns with your chart to move you in this direction, which is just so wild to think about.

Catherine: I remember one of the things from your Astro branding that I really appreciate it is something I see in my own chart as well and that was this like playful energy, which comes through with the Gemini energy. There's a lot of things I could point to right now, so I'm going to try to simplify.

The duality that exists between like the playful energy with the Gemini but then the ability to go down into the depths with the Scorpionic energy in my chart. And you also pointed that out with the Aquarius midheaven, with Saturn and Uranus, too in the writing. That write up was really cool to read through because I saw a lot of what I already, I think see what I already see in my chart, but to see it through someone else's lens, and through a different tradition was really cool.

Alex: Yeah. And then actually, now that you mentioned, the Gemini, I do think your previous color palette is like reminiscent of like what a Gemini would be attracted to. So, that's just interesting that we moved you from, you know, like your sun sign to something that's like a little bit deeper and a little bit more meaningful. Yeah, that's blowing my mind right now. Do you think that the Astro branding practice that we went through was helpful in moving through the transitions in your business and getting it to that next phase?

Catherine: I do. I definitely think it points to things that already exist within us right where we were saying about astrology in general. But also, it's another means of having a conversation because even before the Astro branding, there was a lot of conversation going back and forth, in person or through Notion, and really honing in on what what I was doing what I was offering people, and I think doing that through astrology, you're doing the same thing. You're coming to the same end goal, but you're doing it through this tool. Does that make sense?

Alex: Yes, it does. I'm really glad that it resonated.

Conclusion

Astrology has a unique and transformative role to play in the world of branding. It's more than just aligning your colors with your zodiac sign; it's about tapping into the deeper currents of the universe to infuse your brand with authenticity, purpose, and resonance. Astrology can help navigate your brand towards success in an ever-evolving digital landscape. So, whether you're a solopreneur looking to infuse your personal brand with celestial charm or a business owner seeking to connect with a broader audience, consider the magic of astrology in your branding strategy. Astrology can support your creative vision, and the possibilities are as boundless.

Catherine Gerdes is a multi-certified wellness coach and astrologer and she is accredited by the National Board of Health and Wellness. With a combination of integrative wellness and woo, she helps clients through the dark night of the soul so they can return to themselves. She has published many articles around the holistic health and metaphysical content in Well and Good, Medium, and Thrive Global and her chakra meditations are featured on Insight Timer. She's also a client of mine, and I am so excited to talk to her about what it's been like to go through my process and be on the other side of things from my creative business.

Connect with Catherine Gerdes on Instagram @iamcatherinegerdes

Website: catherine-gerdes.com