COSMIC PRODUCTIVITY: DOSSE-VIA ON WORKING WITH YOUR CHART, NOT AGAINST IT
Happy Taurus Season, everyone! I'm so glad to be back in New York and excited for the month ahead—especially because May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
I'm doing something different for this month's paid newsletter because I've been thinking more about how to use astrology to hack my productivity. I even used it to choose the date for my event, the moon will be in Pisces in my 11th house of community and friendships, conjuncting my Jupiter (the planet of good luck and abundance)—so it couldn't be more perfect. So, I've done a bonus conversation this month with an astrologer I've long admired, Dossé-Via Trenou, the founder of Know the Zodiac. You probably follow her account for your sun sign, @knowaries, @knowtaurus, @knowgemini, and so on.
As always with these conversations, it will be so helpful if you know your birth chart! You can get a free birth chart on astro-seek.com or astro.com. It's also difficult to make these conversations feel personalized because everyone has their very unique chart. So, I would recommend doing a little further research on google (or ChatGPT if that's your thing). You can search: what are the characteristics of Mars in Sagittarius? What does Mars in the 8th house mean? That's how I continue to familiarize myself with placements or certain transits.
You were probably one of the first people to start an astrology meme account on Instagram. You started Scorpio Mystique in 2011?
Dossé-Via: I feel seen. Thank you. I definitely feel like I'm one of the OGs. I'll say that one of the OGs. It’s thanks to Twitter, actually, that got me there. I was a freshman at USC in LA, and my friends were telling me all about Twitter. I started my own personal page—and then because I was so into astrology, I was like, why not do a Scorpio Mystique page where I talk about my sign and it's like a public diary. It grew exponentially. So many people related to what I was sharing and the rest was history. I started an Instagram page a year later.
Did you have any idea that astrology might be what it is today?
Dossé-Via: My inner child, yes. Because I was nerding out on askjeevs.com at the age of 10. I knew that it would come in and out of popular culture throughout the generation's way before I was born, in the seventies, the Hippies movement, the Age of Enlightenment switched things up a bit, but even Aristotle and Galileo, many people associate them as astronomers, but they were astrologers. Then, through doing research, I found out the African roots of astrology. So, on an inner level, I knew astrology was always going to be that girl, but to see the current modern era of astrology, I couldn't anticipate just how much she’d become that girl in this current age.
I want to take it back, what were you like as a kid?
Dossé-Via: Thank you for asking. I've been doing inner child healing because of all this Pisces and Aries energy activating my 5th house of inner children. So, what was I like as a child? Well, my birth story is connected. I was born as a C-section baby in France. My dad who is a Taurus, has an older sister who's a Scorpio, born October 24th, and he actually was into astrology, my mom as well.
Since the doctor was saying that my date of birth could be the end of October, they were like, let's honor my sister. Let's have our daughter born on October 24th. But a few days before my due date, he got in a fight with her. So he told my mom, nevermind, I’d rather our daughter have a different birthdate, so let's change the due date to October 23rd. Very Taurus. Petty and extreme. But what was hilarious is I still made the cut as a Scorpio at 0 degree Scorpio. The sun had just entered Scorpio.
Growing up at the dinner table, I was just myself. I didn't know astrology at the time, and my dad would tell me, Watch out, the way you're acting right now, you're being very stubborn. You're being very extreme. He would just basically tell me, you're being like my sister. Alll I'm doing is sharing my opinions, maybe not appealing to what everybody's saying, but I was a very passionate person. That's the best way to look at it…
So he piqued my curiosity. That's really what led me to start researching it for myself. Astrology made me feel so seen because of how emotional I always felt, how I was always journaling, and in my room getting lost in deep books about people's lives, and having my theater shows. I was a very creative, passionate, emotional child, very curious.
So, tell me how you discovered that you wanted to start studying astrology.
Dossé-Via: I remember signing up for different astrology newsletters that would tell me about the transits. That's really what helped realizing that astrology was more than just about our sun sign. Digging deeper and realizing, oh, we all have cycles and seasons of life, and the transits are reflecting back at me some of these dynamics that I have in my relationships and overall desires. I applied it so much as a tool for personal healing, self-acceptance, and self-confidence, it became natural to help other people.
I started off doing readings for friends and family. It was a very organic process. I studied narrative studies and French at USC, and then I went on to get my master's degree in English education at Columbia University in New York. I do have two West African parents who are very accomplished and came to America, for the American dream, so I was still resting with the part of me that's like, well, you still need a traditional path, and you went to university.
Everything is in divine timing. It needed to be more of this passion project first. Then I gradually started monetizing when my boyfriend at the time was like, you know, could sell readings. I had never made money on the internet, so I thought, Let me just do mini readings for a dollar each. I put that on Twitter, I got a hundred orders in a few hours, and I was staying up all night doing these readings and obviously overgiving because my moon is in Virgo and my Mars is in Cancer. Then I was like, maybe I should raise the price just a little.
It was a game changer. It happened organically to see that people really resonated with my work, and it was a natural exchange of energy to provide readings. May 2017, I decided to go all in growing Know the Zodiac and @ScorpioMystique, and that's what I've been doing since, in addition to Magic & Melanin, the tourism company.
I've always appreciated how inspiring your horoscopes are. I think as, I'm sure you've seen this, but as astrology has grown on social media, so has the fearmongering around astrology. It used to give me anxiety when eclipses were coming and this was going retrograde, and oh my God, I'm just starting to see this person, and now Mercury retrograde’s is going to ruin my relationship. I hear it from other people as well. Now, it's only because I started learning it that I know… it's like you almost take it less seriously in a sense like, okay, yeah, it's mercury in retrograde. That happens four times a year. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.
Dossé-Via: Exactly. It's just being in tune with the cycles of life that have happened since the beginning of humanity. I identify as an evolutionary astrologer, and that helps us see that even the way we describe each sign on top of the fact that we're more than just our sun sign and our big three, which has a capacity to evolve. We're constantly evolving. Evolution is one of the most constant aspects of life. So there's so much we're still going to discover about science, spirituality, astrology, so to prescribe people in boxes, the danger of astrology, which is why I don't get mad when people tell me they don't believe in it, is because mainstream astrology does do this fear mongering and it becomes overly capitalistic, which is literally the opposite of what it's supposed to do. It's supposed to be a tool for collective and personal ascension. Not selling dreams, because I'll be very honest, when there are difficult transits, but explaining how even that challenging transit is here to help us grow, it is a very big value at KTZ.
How can understanding our birth chart help us work more efficiently and effectively?
Dossé-Via: One of the reasons that I created the Know the Zodiac app is because since people aren't always as familiar with things beyond their primal triad, their big three, they can get caught up in what society has told us like make every quarter the best one, work hard when actually, the way you work depends a lot on your Mars sign and Saturn sign. The way you attract opportunities has a lot to do with your Jupiter sign.
It took a while for me to accept, even as an astrologer, that my natal Mars sign in Cancer, is not the strongest of the positions, and I'm a Scorpio rising. So my chart is ruled by both Mars and Pluto. Thankfully, I have Pluto in Scorpio, but even that, it's in the first house. It's a lot of slow self-evolution. It's a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Once I accepted that my Mars in Cancer, which is in the 9th house of publishing, travel, and entrepreneurship, had to do with my emotional moods because the moon rules Cancer. So, if I put myself in a good state of being, I feel good, then I can be productive. If I don't feel good, I can't power through a Mars in Capricorn, a Mars in Leo, even a Mars in Scorpio.
So I would say start off studying your Mars sign, the planet of action, magnetism, and what motivates you.
If you have Mars in an Earth sign like Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo: you're most likely (and it depends on the aspects that Mars makes to the other planets and the house placement) to be motivated by slow, steady, and consistent work. They have a long-term goal, breaking it down into achievable steps rather than feeling overwhelmed by the entire forest. So, they're trying to grow, start tree by tree, by planting the seed, watering it, tending to it, and repeating the process that helps the earth sign Mars feel structured. They need to have a structured and organized environment to thrive. At the same time, the danger with Earth sign Mars is getting too stuck in routine, too stuck in predictability, and being too afraid to take the leap into more exciting opportunities.
If you have Mars in a water sign like Scorpio, Pisces, and Cancer: the people they're surrounded with and the environment they're in deeply influence their productivity. So, if they're not entrepreneurs, and work a 9-to-5 job, they really need to protect their energy and make sure their coworkers are emitting energy, and that they themselves, as a water sign Mars, are emitting energy that will facilitate productivity. If they're overwhelmed with drama from their relationship or friendship, drama or family drama, it's going to be inconsistent. It's best to really ground themselves with the intention of what can I do today? Maybe I don't have the capacity or bandwidth to go through my entire to-do list, so what are the first two things I can ground myself and center myself? Then I can go take care of myself mentally and emotionally before coming back. So, having more compassion and grace is really essential.
If you have Mars in a fire sign, Sagittarius, Leo, Aries: they do really well in bursts of productivity on a passion project. They can really get that done. But if it has to do with consistently doing the same thing every single day? Absolutely not. There needs to be some variety and stimulation, so everything feels like an adventure. However, the danger here is getting too scattered, starting multiple projects, having too many things to juggle at once, and not being able to focus.
For Mars in Air signs, Gemini, Aquarius, Libra: it's really important for them to give themselves time to brainstorm the idea but not get so lost in the brainstorm. Writing down their ideas, writing down the list, even if they have so many ideas, writing it all down and then reading it again and circling maybe the top two or three that they want to work on, and then making sure that they're balancing work with movement. Air needs to circulate, so they're not going to do as well in staying in the same room the entire day, just focusing on it. They might do better with a walking desk or being able to even take meetings outside.
Now, what's good about knowing your Mars sign is if you work with community, if you work with other people, and you get to know their charts, you can balance that out. The Mars in Sagittarius can be the visionary, and they can work with the Mars in Capricorn, who's more of the actual consistent doer. So that really helps to know that you don't have to figure it all out by yourself. There's a group dynamics influence here.
Saturn is how you learn and how you deal with discipline. Even if you don't want to be disciplined, it teaches you how to be disciplined. Your Saturn sign teaches you almost what you want to avoid doing, but if you lean into doing it, that's where you'll feel more productive. That's where you're going to feel more confident. It's a muscle that you have to build. My Saturn is in Aquarius in the third house of communication. I definitely had to build the muscle of speaking unconventional truths, not necessarily saying what the status quo expects me to say.
That really helped as I built that muscle to find and grow my community and self-confidence. It's usually after your Saturn return that you really start stepping into your Saturn energy with greater confidence. So, if you're before the age of 29, it's normal to have insecurity when it comes to your Saturn placement and Saturn seems to kick your butt. It really wants the best for you. It's the tough love professor who helps you grow into who you're meant to be.
Finally, I would say look at Mercury and Jupiter. Mercury is the way you think and communicate. So it's like if you have a Mercury in Aries like you, in your case it's in the 12th House of Spirituality, even that's an interesting combination because Aries tends to be like a go-getter, a leader, an entrepreneur, and you definitely are that. But you definitely need to study the house placement, which is only possible if you know your exact time of birth. The house placement will show that you would be more productive after a meditation session or after you've taken the time to care for your emotional needs, clear your environment, sage your environment, set your intentions, and then your mind will be like, go, go, go. I got this. I can complete this project, and you'll get it done faster. There are layers and nuances, but studying those three placements.
Jupiter, in your case, is in Pisces in the 11th House of Community and Technology. Such a beautiful placement. So you're meant to work with the right intentional community that accepts you for who you are, pours into you, and doesn't dim your shine. I would definitely recommend that people look at their Jupiter placement to know how they attract luck when it comes to putting themselves out there.
The final layer: for more advanced intermediate astrologers or astro lovers, is to look at your transits. In your case, for example, Mercury and Venus in Pisces, along with the beginning of Aries season, all activate your 12th House of Spirituality. So, if you were trying to tell me, I'm launching a brand new project. I need visibility; everyone needs to know about it. I might say, You might want to wait until Taurus season. You might want to wait until your first house of self is activated.
Let's talk about the lunar cycle and how it affects our productivity, because I would say that’s something I pay close attention to. I'm very in tune with myself, so I've really started to notice how my productivity ebbs and flows depending on the moon sign. I love a Virgo moon day.
Dossé-Via: Yeah, I have a Virgo moon, so welcome to my life. That's why I'm so refreshed by Pisces season, because I'm like, oh, play as a norm, not as a reward. I like that. The moon is here to bring us what we need, even if we don't know we need it. A lot of people don't necessarily understand, beyond new moons and full moons, how the first quarter moon and the last quarter moon also impact our productivity.
New Moons are great for all Zodiac signs to use as an intention setting period if they've been off in terms of productivity, New Moons are just like your reset. It's best to view it as a six-month portal. Whatever seeds you plant around the New Moon, you can give yourself six months to see it manifest. Some are faster than others, like an Aries New Moon, you can already see it six weeks later. But the Taurus New Moon, is all about, when you plant that seed, also following up with bold action. So, it's not enough to just plant that seed and say, I want to be featured in a movie. You would then have to, after writing that intention, ideally writing it in the present tense as if it's already happening. “So, I just got invited to the movie premiere, and it was beyond my expectations. The film was incredible. I loved seeing myself on screen.” You would then, within 10 days of the New Moon, do some sort of action to show the universe how serious you are. So I literally did this because I also love acting, and I do it for fun.
For example, I want to be better at managing my money and setting intentions. Like six months from now, I'll have my emergency fund set up. One of the best bold actions one person can do is sign up for a high-yield savings account within the 10 days of the New Moon. Even if all they do is transfer $50, it doesn't have to be $500 or $5,000, even $5. It's telling the universe, I'm starting these habits of not overspending, not being careless. I'm actually going to set up this savings account. That's one of the best cycles of the moon: New Moons for setting intentions for renewal.
The First Quarter moon, which happens about a week later, that's where the first challenge might pop up, that makes you question, oh, no, is this intention going to happen? It's about you being calm enough to find a solution. Stay grounded. Some people tend to use first quarter moons to revisit their intentions because maybe what they thought they wanted has shifted. Something might come up, like this isn't exactly what I wanted.
The Full Moon, which happens two weeks after the New Moon, tends to be the manifestation of whatever intentions you set six months prior. It's also a period of often releasing what no longer fits in your life.
The Last Quarter Moon happens a week after the Full Moon. That's where you think of, okay, I've made it through this cycle. What structures do I need moving forward? What did it feel like a good fit in this past lunar cycle, and how can I reevaluate so that by the time the New Moon comes next week, I have more clarity about what I'm asking for?
If we're looking at it in general, we'd say, Aries Moon is the time to put yourself out there, be a go-getter. But it depends on everybody where Aries is activated in their chart. If it's in their 12th house, or in their fourth house during an Aries moon, someone might want to be closer to home or more introverted. If it's in their 5th house or their 7th house, they might just want to be dating and going out. So,, it's all different from case to case. But the New Moon, first quarter moon, full Moon, and last Quarter, moon applies to everyone when it comes to the energy that we're supposed to learn from it.
Yeah, that's really helpful. I don't pay so much attention to the moon outside of the New Moon and the full moon. I need to get a book and read a bit more deeply into the full lunar cycle. I'm just paying attention to what sign the moon is in and which part of my chart is being activated, or what the energy of that sign is.
Dossé-Via: Yes, that's very essential, and it's important to do so.
I find that to be quite helpful. I always love to do Q and A’s on Instagram when the moon is in Taurus, my first house, because I just feel like my personality really shines and comes out well. I usually feel a bit more energized.
Dossé-Via: That's very good and very intentional, and ideally, your friends and your community will understand the decisions that you make because some of the biggest celebrities, like Beyonce, have an astrologer. Politicians have astrologers. To make decisions, announcements, like album drops or even, unfortunately, decisions to start wars—astrology can be used as a tool.
Should we really avoid launching things around Mercury retrograde?
Dossé-Via: It really depends on when you first started the project. I relaunched Know the Zodiac app, which had originally come out as a free app in 2019. Then there was a lot of developer drama, which led to us having to put it on pause and then relaunched in 2025 on February 28th, the Pisces New Moon, which technically was the start of the Eclipse season portal, and it was already Mercury retrograde pre-shadow. So, if it has something to do with something you've worked on for a while, you've had in motion for a while before the retrogrades, absolutely, you can launch during that.
Triple-check your work, avoid typos, and be patient with little hiccups that might happen. If it's a brand new idea, it's not going to be the end of the world if you do it–but I would recommend, if possible, waiting for Mercury to be direct. There could be a lot of revisions or changing your mind, or misunderstandings when communicating with people, or misunderstanding from the public.
Mars retrograde if it's not a project that you've been working on for a while, it's so much better to wait until Mars is direct. It's a stronger energy. So for that case, I did wait, Mars was direct on the 23rd, and I intentionally chose the 28th because I was like, I'd rather, even though we're still in the post shadow, I would rather have Mars Direct Energy, especially since it was in cancer, which is not Mars's strongest sign.
What's bringing you joy right now?
Dossé-Via: Oh, I love your questions. With my 5th house energy, right now, it’s family. I poured so much these past two years into getting this app out ther,e and it feels like a baby was born. It's amazing to see the support of my family before, during, and after my two kids. My daughter's a Pisces and my son’s a Libra. He's six and a half years old with a Pisces moon, so such an old soul. My daughter, as well, has a Capricorn moon. It's in the 12th house of spirituality. So she told me the other day, mom, I want to learn everything. I want to learn exactly when the dates start for each season. She knows her primal triad and she's starting to explore her other placements. She's like, 'I want to be able to know everything the way you do quickly.
For more from Dossé-Via, check out her book: Signs & Skymates: The Ultimate Guie to Astrological Compatibility