Approach & Methodology

Maybe you wake at 3 am with a restlessness you can't name. Or you're inexplicably bored despite being busy.

Perhaps you're experiencing a profound dis-orientation—that unmooring when familiar coordinates no longer guide you.

Life looks good on paper, yet you're dissolving inside, watching yourself go through motions that feel increasingly hollow.

Something essential is shifting, but you can't name it. Old meanings are draining away like water through sand.

A desire you'd buried so long you'd forgotten its shape now pulses at the edges of your days, refusing to stay quiet.

You're being "dis-ed"—dismantled, dissolved, dis-illusioned in the truest sense.

The life that held you yesterday can't contain who you're becoming.

These aren't problems
to fix.

They're thresholds announcing themselves.

Close-up of a snail shell showing its spiral structure on a rough surface.

The Spiral Path

Look at a nautilus shell and you'll see nature's blueprint for growth—not straight lines (those are for spreadsheets) but expansive spirals.

Each curve returns us to familiar territory with deeper capacity. This is how we actually evolve: circling back, integrating, expanding.

Life isn't about finding your purpose or waiting for heaven's memo. It's about noticing what wants to emerge through you—a collaborative unfurling between your individual soul and something larger that knows your edges and potentials.

This isn't like following a recipe where you measure precisely and get predictable results.

It's more like improv comedy with its "yes, and" spirit—building on what arises, staying curious about what wants to happen next, creating something that has never existed before.

Green valley with grass and rocks, two hills with rocky terrain on each side, and a sunset sky with clouds in the background.

The Threshold Territory

Every major transition follows a pattern, though each journey is unique:

The Death - Something ends—sometimes dramatically, often through a slow dissolving of vitality. What once gripped you no longer fuels you. Boredom arrives as herald (yes, boredom—that overlooked prophet of transformation). Restlessness disrupts your sleep. The life that fit yesterday feels like someone else's clothes.

This dissolution is necessary. Without death, there's no room for birth.

The Liminal - Here's where things get interesting. Old images and stories that once guided you fade like stars at dawn. You're stripped bare—think Inanna at each gate of the underworld, or that rom-com montage where the heroine's entire wardrobe gets tossed before her transformation.

In this burning ground, what can't survive the fire reveals itself before turning to ashes. The more we grip the old ways, the more painful this becomes. Yet we must honor and grieve what was. As U2 says, we can only carry forward "all that you can't leave behind."

New images begin glimmering in the dark. Stories you've never told yourself whisper possibilities.

The Emergence - New life rarely announces itself. It sidles up—a minor curiosity, a dabble, even what seems like a distraction. It grows almost imperceptibly, gestating in your soul's belly. Then one day you look back and realize that the small thread has become the rope you're following out of the labyrinth.

Person holding a glass ball reflecting a sunset over a lake with trees and colorful sky.

What I bring

Archetypal Astrology - Not fortune-telling but pattern recognition. Which gods are walking with you? What are they asking you to learn? When we struggle, it's often because we're not properly honoring the archetypes rising in our lives. Ignore Venus, get unfulfilling relationships. Resist Saturn's call for boundaries; meet the despotic taskmaster version instead.

Story Medicine - Your psyche speaks through the stories you tell about your situation. Every metaphor reveals the map. Fairy tales, myths, and even romance novels carry transformation instructions. We'll find which stories are living through you.

Depth Psychology - Symptoms are symbols. Dreams are letters from your future self. We'll listen beneath your described struggles to hear what your soul is actually saying.

Threshold Wisdom - Earned through my own crossings—corporate death, academic rebirth, plant medicine revelations, grief as liberation—I know this territory from inside. Not because I've mastered it, but because I keep walking it.

Half of a red onion on a white background.

What our work together feels like

This isn't traditional therapy (though it's therapeutic in the original sense—'therapeia’ meant tending the gods).

It's not consulting (though clarity emerges).

It's not life coaching (though your life will change).

It's more like having a midwife for your becoming—someone who knows transition is supposed to feel impossible right before the new life crowns.

I don't have your answers. But I'm excellent at helping you listen to your own knowing.

Together we'll:

  • Recognize boredom and restlessness as sacred messengers

  • Read the signs life keeps sending

  • Learn to dwell in the liminal without rushing toward false clarity

  • Honor what's dying so that what's emerging has room

  • Track the subtle movements of new life

  • Find medicine in what you've dismissed as meaningless

You bring your life and its beautiful contradictions. I bring tools, experience, and faith in your unfurling. Between us, we create space for what wants to be born through you.

Close-up of a polished nautilus shell showing its spiraled, layered structure with iridescent and pastel tones.

The Container

We meet via Zoom or phone—whichever helps you feel most present.

Sessions weave together based on what's alive for you in the moment.

Sometimes we'll work with dreams or creative projects between meetings.

Astrology appears when it illuminates, not as prescription but as perspective.

This work is as rich as you make it.

Your psyche sets the pace and rings the bells—I help you hear them.

The depth of transformation corresponds directly to your willingness to show up for what's calling you.

When you lean in, I match you there.

I work in both English and Portuguese, holding space for the fullness of who you are.

Ready to work together?

My monthly threshold guidance brings this approach into your lived experience, meeting you exactly where you are.

Threshold Crossing Guidance
  • Inspiration & tools to create fulfillment

    I would recommend Vanessa to anyone who enjoys visiting things on a deeper and philosophical level, who also enjoys symbolism, mythology and astrology, and who enjoys working on tangents as much as they do the thing they (think) they’re working with her for.

    I am emerging from our time together with a new inner peace and quiet knowing that I have the inspiration and tools I need to create fulfillment for myself and (hopefully) others.

    Tonia Jenny - Editor & Designer

  • A real departure from others in her field

    Vanessa describes the wisdom of a chart with rich, descriptive language, brimming with mythological imagery that makes her work both beautiful and relatable.

    She comes to the table with an approach that is both intellectual and poetically lyrical and which is grounded in the archetypes found in mythology, psychology, philosophy, and literature.

    Her methods have greatly demystified the journey and give me fuel for the fire of my creative dreams.

    Darcy Molloy - Healer, Channel, Personal Alchemy

  • Helped me clarify a vision for moving forward

    Vanessa helped me clarify a vision for moving forward into the next chapter of my life. Like the ideal midwife or doula, gently coaching through the birthing process, she knows exactly when to push and when to breathe.

    Her style of support is highly intuitive, intelligent, humorous, and very wise. I loved our time together and would recommend her to anyone questioning their next steps in their career and clarifying their purpose in life.

    Nikki Fenix - Creative, Women’s Mentor & Photographer

  • Renewed sense of joy and purpose

    I really enjoyed the way Vanessa supported my use of creative practices to take a deeper dive into my beliefs about myself and my relationship with the world.

    Vanessa is incredibly generous with her knowledge and experience. Every interaction was meaningful and deeply personal. She has a gift for tracking the details, large and small, of a person’s life and masterfully connecting the dots.

    If you are open to and curious about the intersection of astrology, mythology, art, play, and humor in your life, this powerful coaching approach is for you.

    Marta L. - Massage Therapist

  • A loving guide and a knowing teacher

    My work with Vanessa was not coaching for career or life plans because I have retired from my working career. I wanted to gain a sense of ease in my emotional life and a sense of ‘I am OK’ after going through big life changes.

    Vanessa coached me to see the big picture-the arc of my life- and to see that what I had done with this life was indeed coherent. She helped me remember with mythic story, intelligent astrology, and heartfelt wisdom and humor.

    She helped me remember myself and not get bamboozled with the emotional stumbling that veils our life’s path. And to have the weekly touchstone with Vanessa kept me feeling –oh yes, that is what I am doing. I am finding myself.

    She is a loving guide and a knowing teacher.

    M.S. - Teacher & Artist

  • Tie it all together to one's personal story

    Vanessa’s archetypal lens offers a tending of the soul, a deep unlocking of one’s potential. She is a skilled astrologer who guides you with joyful curiosity and finds ways to capture the soul essence of everything.

    Vanessa’s background as a compassionate educator brings in a fun approach that is very satisfying for the desire to understand the mechanics of it all.

    Her coaching abilities provide assistance during times of transition.

    Melanie C.S. - Sound Healer & Facilitator

  • Feel good about myself

    I’ve taken virtual classes/workshops with Vanessa, always appreciate
updates on her blog.

    You can learn a great deal but also feel like you’ve just spent an hour with a good friend. And her personal warmth and engaging sense of humor are gifts she freely shares at live events.

    She makes me feel good about myself and the world,
and I look forward to experiencing whatever she does next!

    Marianne Taylor

Ready to honor your threshold?


Share a bit about where you are in your journey, and I'll be in touch soon.