Health / astrology
‘Feet on the ground, eyes on the cosmos’: moonology in Bristol
As I start chatting with Charlotte Lauren over Zoom on a rainy summer afternoon she reminds me that, later that night, there will be a full moon.
For a moonologer like Charlotte, that’s a big deal.
There are typically less than twenty full moons each year and, according to Yasmin Boland, an Australian astrologer who coined the term moonology in the 2000s, each serves as a reminder to “surrender to the rhythm of the universe and release what no longer serves us“.
is needed now More than ever
Moonology, the practice of using the phases of the moon to help shape your life, is an ancient practice which has roots in various religious traditions, including paganism.
However, over the past few years, moonology, and astrology more broadly, has become increasingly popular.
In 2024, a study of 2,000 people in the US aged 16-34 found that 80 per cent believed in cosmic guidance and 31 per cent would refuse to date someone who had an incompatible star sign.
Co-Star, a smartphone app which allows users to better understand their birth charts and use astrology to help make daily decisions, had 7.5m global users in 2020. Today it has 30m.
There are a handful of professional astrologers dotted across Bristol for people in the city keen to receive celestial guidance.
But, for people looking for lunar-based counselling, only one name pops up on an online search: Charlotte Lauren.
On the Downend-based practitioner’s ‘Cosmically Concious’ website, she describes herself as an astrologer, moonologer, holistic therapist and all around “astro mentor”.
Charlotte Lauren is a Bristol-based moonologist
Charlotte offers one-to-one birth chart and moonology sessions (which range from £65 to £195) as well as regular lunar retreats, the last of which was in Henleaze.
Charlotte also sells handcrafted wax melts, made with the support of MIF Soap Co in Fishponds, and runs the Cosmically Conscious Substack, which she started in September and now has over 2,000 subscribers.
According to her Substack, Uranus has just moved into Gemini, after having been in Taurus for the past seven years. “Uranus is a planet of breakthroughs and big ideas and Gemini is all about communication and connection so it’s going to be really interesting to see how that plays out,” Charlotte says.
Earlier this year, three “slow-moving” planets changed signs – Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter. Charlotte says it’s rare for “outer planets” like Uranus and Neptune to move signs within the same year, making “2025 a huge year for astrology”.
Charlotte has been interested in the stars, the moon and the planets since she was a teenager growing up in South Wales. She used to buy astrology booklets at her local newsagents each week and spend hours pouring over the pages.
She says: “I used to look up to the skies, because we didn’t have any light pollution, and just think ‘oh my goodness, we are part of such an amazing universe’.”
Back then, astrology was just a hobby. But, in 2018, after spending years working as a holistic therapist, moonology came into her life “in a big way”.
After experiencing post-viral chronic fatigue and not finding any respite from traditional medicine, Charlotte decided to start monitoring her energy levels in line with the lunar cycle.
This ultimately gave her the inspiration to learn more about moonology as a practice.
She signed up for an online moonology certification course with Yasmin Boland and then, during the Covid pandemic, set up a Facebook community group “for people who were a bit curious about working with the moon. I thought about 20 people would join,” she says.
“But then the group grew. Especially over lockdown: the one constant there was (during the pandemic) was that the sun would rise and the moon would be there each night.
“Fast forward a couple of years and a lot of study and I’m in a place where that’s what I do… I teach women and mentor women about astrology and moonology and how to work with it.”
Charlotte’s life mantra is “feet on the ground, eyes on the cosmos”
Over 700 people now follow Charlotte’s Cosmically Conscious Facebook page and she sees regular one-to-one virtual clients from across the UK and the US from her home office in Bristol.
Charlotte says clients tend to come to her “when they’re at a crossroads in their life or, for some reason, they’ve had a little bit of spark of inspiration around the cosmos or astrology and feel they’re ready to explore something different”.
She says her sessions tend to help clients “practice some brilliant self-reflection, encourage self-awareness… and grasp how their lives are always moving, just as the planets are”.
Still, before booking onto a session, it might be wise to check the fine print.
On the FAQs and policies page of the Cosmically Conscious website there is a short legal disclaimer: “The information I provide you, whether via this website, social media profiles, digital offers or during a one-to-one session is for entertainment purposes only.”
Charlotte has included the disclaimer to be on the safe side of consumer protection laws but explains firmly: “I don’t regard my work as entertainment. I take my work seriously. However, it’s also really important people understand I’m not the oracle. I don’t tell people how to live their lives. I’m just here to act as a bridge between the everyday life we lead and the gifts of something more intangible”.
Astrology, Charlotte says, “is not a science, it’s a craft”.
All photos: Cosmically Conscious
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2025 edition of Bristol24/7 magazine
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