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A conversation with actor, somatic teacher, and astrologer Paton Ashbrook on Pluto, generational cycles, and why the mistake is the art.
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In This Episode
KP and Chelsea are joined by actor, yoga teacher, and astrologer Paton Ashbrook (Juilliard-trained, Shameless alum, Gabor Maté-trained in compassionate inquiry) for a sprawling conversation that starts with her own astrology origin story — reading her chart at eight years old — and moves through somatics, acting as shadow practice, and a long, generative dig into Pluto in Scorpio as the signature of a generation. Paton talks about training bodies to feel safe enough to be seen, why perfectionism has no place in art, and what it means to let a monster be a baby again.
A note before you listen: In the episode, Paton calls the Founding Fathers / Sons of Liberty "the last hero generation" in Strauss–Howe generational theory. She's since clarified — the Founders were a hero generation, same as her millennial parallel, but not the most recent one before millennials. That's actually the G.I. Generation (born roughly 1901–1927), many of whom carried Pluto in Gemini, activated during World War II when transiting Uranus was also in Gemini. We're leaving the on-air moment as it happened and flagging the correction here for anyone following the generational-astrology thread closely.
About Paton Ashbrook:
“I’m a filmmaker, somatic teaching artist & facilitator, and baby astrologer spreading my cosmic wings! I see the stars in everything: in processing trauma and healing generational cycles, in art as shadow work that transforms the Self and culture, and across our tumultuous political landscapes. My Patreon “StarBodied” combines all of these into a single community where I offer educational content, somatic and artistic practices, readings, classes, and workshops that help you embody the stars.”
Patreon: Paton Ashbrook
TikTok: @hollywoodinbk
Instagram: @patonashbrook
“Harvest” short film: harvestfilmproject.com
Key Takeaways
The chart doesn’t need to work to be useful. Paton’s stance on astrology: it doesn’t matter whether it’s “real” in a falsifiable sense — what matters is whether it helps you understand yourself and others better. The symbols are a discovery tool, not a verdict.
Squares and oppositions build agency, not doom. Harsh aspects (the Saturnian opposition, the Martian square) get read as threats, but Paton reframes them as the pressure that moves a person to actually build, choose, and act. A chart with no hard aspects isn’t cursed — it’s just less activated.
Benefics have a shadow too. Jupiter isn’t uncomplicated good luck — in Paton’s own chart (Jupiter in Gemini, 5th house, opposing Saturn) it shows up as too many creative directions at once, burnout from wanting to do everything. Ease can become its own kind of confusion.
The averse houses (2, 6, 8, 12) run in the background. In ancient technique, these houses don’t see the ascendant and receive less of the chart’s life-force. Paton’s own cadent, “backstage” placements — Moon, Venus, Neptune, Mercury/Mars — map onto a life that’s often working out of view before it becomes visible.
Acting is a rehearsal room for parts. Paton’s throughline: playing a villain, a griever, a monster requires locating empathy for material you’d otherwise reject in yourself. Somatic training (breath, movement, “warming up”) isn’t really about the voice or body — it’s about convincing the nervous system it’s safe enough to let more of you show up.
The baby-monster exercise. From Paton’s training with Kai Cheng Tom: take whatever “monster” lives in you — a harpy, a screaming thing — and ask what it needed as an infant. What would quiet a baby harpy? The exercise moves shadow material out of judgment and into care.
Pluto in Scorpio as a generational signature. Paton reads millennials’ Pluto-in-Scorpio placement (and its position in the 12th house of the U.S. Sibley chart) as a story about hidden labor, absorbed loss, and now — with transiting Pluto in Aquarius squaring it — a forced reckoning. Her read: the discomfort isn’t a sign something’s going wrong, it’s Pluto doing its actual job of excavation.
No one is coming to save us. The Uranus-in-Gemini return (last seen at the American Revolution and the Civil War) is framed as a portal, not a prophecy — available, but only realized through the Martian/Saturnian follow-through of actually walking through it.
Perfection isn’t the goal, integration is. Paton’s Virgo South Node history with perfectionism gets reframed through her Pisces North Node: leaning into mess, dropping over-preparation, trusting that flaws aren’t a departure from the art — they’re the art.
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Key Quotes
“Whatever’s in the shadow that you keep there will end up running your life.” — Paton, on the core ethos of her work
“The mistake’s actually a part of the art.” — Paton, on a lesson from her mother
“That part of you loves you so much that it doesn’t want you to lose the chance. It will go to extreme measures to wake you up.” — Paton, quoting A.H. Almas
“Not everybody’s meant for everybody else, so it’s all good.” — Paton, on friendship and Saturn in the 11th house
“Acting classes for everybody... that is empathy, and that is what’s gonna save the world.” — Paton
Resources & References Mentioned
* Paton Ashbrook’s astrology + somatics work: [Patreon link — TBD, launching soon]
* The Embody Lab — mind-body certification program; training with Kai Cheng Tom on somatic/shadow work
* Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry training
* Kepler College — astrology coursework
* A.H. Almas — quote on conflict and the self, referenced in-episode
* U.S. Sibley chart — referenced throughout the generational-Pluto discussion
About This Podcast
Parts & Charts is co-hosted by astrologer KP Kaszubowski and licensed therapist Chelsea Owens, exploring the intersection of astrology and Internal Family Systems.
For those applying to grad programs in counseling:
* Chelsea Owens pulled together a deeeeeep dive into all the practical elements of this decision, for the price of a cute cafe lunch ($25) — follow this link: https://chelseawow.gumroad.com/l/bfbiau
Chelsea’s Oracle deck, Outer Realms for Inner Archives :
a collage deck shaped by exactly this work, made the way she makes images of her own parts. Pre-orders coming; this email sign-up form gets you deck news only, nothing else. → subscribe here
Meet your Moon.
If the Moon is the tender spot for everyone, this is the guided audio course for meeting yours as an inner figure — KP’s active-imagination approach, on your own time. ($42) → https://kpkaszu.gumroad.com/l/meetyourmoon
Work with Chelsea.
If you’re in California and you’ve been looking for a therapist who will actually go there with you — the deep stuff, the weird stuff, the stuff you’ve never quite found the words for — Chelsea Owens is your person. Licensed therapist, Leo moon, first house everything, art supplies on every surface. She brings clinical rigor and genuine delight to the work in equal measure, which turns out to be exactly what the hard stuff needs.
👉 www.chelseaowenstherapy.com
Work with KP.
Astrology readings (written, voice note, or live; in person if you’re in Wisconsin),astrology readings “mommy and me”, Astro Parts sessions.
Book Doula — a monthly retainer for people serious about making the book real, three clients at a time, waitlist when full.
→ Book Doula Waitlist: forms.gle/3LwpmAinnBN2Q4aY8
Schedule a 1:1 session → https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22372975
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🌟 Credits
Music “Vape Juice Dave’s Bistro” composed by Scott Cary (Wild Western Avenue) for the feature film RINGOLEVIO (2020) directed by KP Kaszubowski — performed by Scott Cary, Max Wikoff, Else Albeck Gasparka, and Sarah Luther.
Collage cover art by Chelsea Owens.
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