In this episode of Wild & Waking, I’m joined by Lesley Brock, policy analyst, writer, astrologer, and founder of Smartt Takes and Smartt Strategies, for a conversation that brings together astrology, public policy, politics, power, grief, systems change, and collective awakening. With master’s degrees in Public Health from Harvard and Public Policy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, Lesley brings a rare interdisciplinary lens to the question so many of us are asking right now: what the hell is happening in the world, and is there a deeper pattern beneath the chaos?
Together, we explore astrology not as prediction or escapism, but as a powerful tool for pattern recognition, decision-making, self-awareness, and understanding the collective cycles we are living through. Lesley shares how her background in government affairs, public health, human rights, and policy analysis eventually led her to astrology as a framework for understanding the human psyche, institutional breakdown, political behavior, and the personal stories that shape public decision-making. Her perspective is deeply grounded, intellectually rigorous, and refreshingly expansive.
If you have been feeling the intensity of this moment… the crumbling, the awakening, the uncertainty, the anger, the grief, the hope… this episode will give you language, context, and a wider lens for understanding what we may be living through. This is a conversation about astrology, politics, power, collective change, personal agency, and the invitation to become conscious participants in the rebuilding of what comes next.
In this episode, we explore:
- Lesley’s path from public policy, public health, and government affairs into astrology
- How grief, loss, and her mother’s sudden passing reshaped Lesley’s work and worldview
- The connection between public health, politics, and the social determinants of well-being
- Astrology as a tool for strategy, decision-making, and self-awareness
- What astrology can reveal about political leaders, institutions, and collective decision-making
- The impact of COVID as a collective grief experience and societal turning point
- Pluto in Capricorn and the breakdown of government, financial systems, and old power structures
- Pluto in Aquarius and the shift toward collective power, people-led movements, and systemic change
- The tension between individual rights, government control, and collective responsibility
- The future of political leadership, personality-driven campaigns, and values-based leadership
- What it means to become a spiritual warrior in this moment
- How to stay awake, engaged, and aware without spiraling into fear or despair
- The invitation to participate consciously in the systems, communities, and future we are helping create
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Join Emily and Kelsey Anderson for VeilFall, an intimate Samhain and Full Hunter’s Moon women’s retreat happening October 23–26, 2026, at Blue Star Retreat Center in Columbia Falls, Montana, near Glacier National Park.
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