Meet Vanessa Maria | Dharma Astrologer, Yoga Teacher & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vanessa Maria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor is how much time I have spent investing in understanding & getting to know my true self. When I say true self – I mean – who I am beyond the programming I received as a child. Who I am on an energetic soul level. Who I am without the societal structures. Who I am without the layers of “density” that keep us from connecting with our heart center. This is how we earn freedom.

I have always questioned the meaning of life since I came into this world. Why am I here? Why am I the way I am? Who am I beyond this body and the role I am playing? What can I say, I was a deep kid and still am (I’m a scorpio by the way).

Through years of learning from a psychotherapist & astrologer, exploring numerous healing techniques, traveling around world, and dedicating time to deepen my studies with incredible teachers –

I’ve been able to dive deep into who Vanessa is, and I still am. I am still learning as we are always evolving -and that is a beautiful thing.

True wealth is knowledge of thyself and my only hope is that this message transmits to my clients, students, friends, & inspires them to be curious about their own natures.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Astrologers are pattern seekers. We look for correlations between larger rhythms and smaller patterns. We study the correlations between the solar system with “events” down here on earth – on the micro scale (the individual human experience) and on the macro scale (collective, world astrology).

As above, so below.

All astrologers are unique.

I am a conduit of the spirit & and my medicine serves to awaken the ancient power that sleeps within the inner temple. I am here to simply guide through these tools that have been present since the beginning of times. But my true “goal” is to REVIVE the thirst for the understanding of the self. Not just give information.

A great teacher sees the master within you, but the student has to recognize the master within as well.

So, I help people understand the language of their inner universe and how they can translate it into the external world. Each universe is gorgeous and unique in its own way.

I have worked with so many people who are afraid to express their inner potentials they know are in them because to do that it would mean to be free enough to move beyond the family circle, the programming, the societal structures, the drama, the traumas (ancestral as well), etc.

Although my studies have been more focused on psycho-astrology – I like to call myself a Dharma Astrologer. Dharma is your life/soul purpose. The natal chart is a powerful energetic navigation system, which the more you understand the clearer things can become. I am currently continuing my studies here in India and learning Vedic astrology.

The natal chart is a screenshot of what the solar system looked like in perception to time, date and location where the person was born. The chart is also a roadmap of the persons unconscious mind. The chart can even tell you what things you came to transcend in this life that your ancestors couldn’t. It shows you what stories/ patterns could be repeating in the DNA. I guide people and walk alongside them through these pathways in the mind.

There are also other types of charts that could be studied like the solar return chart, lunar return, synastry between people, progressions, transits – the list is never ending. You can also create a chart for almost anything. Some clients ask for business charts. The chart shows the energetics of the “soul” of the business. Its so dope!

Astrology was a major tool in the journey of understanding myself and who I am, especially as a healer and empath, things could get a little overwhelming when you are a sensitive being. I am beyond grateful to have had master astrologers as teachers & sharing the wisdom with others truly is an honor. I am still a student. Still learning. It is never ending.

Now, getting to call myself a professional astrologer was a journey. I graduated from UCF and went straight into commercial real estate. I was just focused on being a business woman, a broker, and making money – no matter how hard I had to work. Each month that went by, the better I got at my job, the more disconnected I felt.

When we do not do our Dharma, we suffer.

I’ll be a mystical teacher when I am older I would tell myself. But I couldn’t ignore the feelings in my heart- that my day to day reality, was just not it for me. They hyper competitive environments, the hustle, the doing, the going….I couldn’t do it anymore. I traded the office for the stars, for my yoga practice, for the ceremonies and gatherings at the lunar temple, for my studies, for the things that sparked a “FUCK YES!!!” in my soul, and I have never looked back.

There was a lot of solitude. Moments of doubt. Learning to put myself first. Learning boundaries even if it hurt.
Heart break. Years of letting go of old versions of myself, so my true self can emerge I am constantly shedding skins. I do the internal work. I continue to do so. And my external reality and what I am creating is a testament to the divine. And I still feel like I am only getting started.

We have to enjoy the process. Every part is important.

Surrendering to life is not easy. Letting go of control is not easy. Especially since society is constantly telling us how to do things. And most of the time it’s about a logical sequence to follow. HERE IS THE EQUATION – PLUG IT IN AND FOLLOW AND YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL….I don’t think so.

how is this possible if we are all unique beings living a UNIQUE human experience.

YOUR STORY IS YOURS!!!! NO ONE ELSES!!!!

I learned through the trials that we can truly live by following our intuition. I believe that the purpose of life is to know yourself, love yourself, trust yourself, and BE yourself.

The biggest lesson – learn to trust life.learn to listen to your body, to yourself…. You ARE life itself. Things are happening for YOU. Life is also about timing, everything you come to know comes to you in the moment you were meant to know it. PAY ATTENTION. Listen to the universe. Listen to yourself. Learn to be still. Learn to be quiet with yourself. Connect with your heart center. We can learn a lot in silence.

You have to grow from the inside out & the soul is your greatest teacher. Astrology is simply a tool that aids us in this journey to the self.

When we let go of what we think we have to be, we can become what we actually are. There is no limit to what we can transform into. We are the cosmos in human form. And this is the message I try to convey to others through my story, my joy, my pain, my love, my human experience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am currently living in Mysore, India for a couple of months till who knows when – but O town has been my hub for more than 15 years.

My best friend and I are dinner people. We love a cute outfit, grabbing a cocktail and enjoying a great meal!!!

Hands down best places to eat and catch a vibe in Orlando –

Prato
Tako Cheena
Pom Poms
Hillstone
Santiago’s Bodega
Reyes
DOMU
Kadence
Kabooki
Hawkers
Mynt
Tori Tori
Oudum
Enzo’s

Robinson Room
Mathers
The guest house ( forever my favorite bar)
The grape and grain – owned by my dear friends!! Great wine spot

To Visit –

Leu Gardens for a nice walk

Elixir to listen to great house music – occasionally

East End Market

Of course – the parks! Universal/Disney

The hundreds of nature trails

New Smyrna Beach

Cassadega Spiritualist camp

Spiral Circle Bookstore and metaphysical shop

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ah!!! There are SO many people to give thanks to …every single human being I have ever encountered has been a teacher to me. Every moment, every experience, every conversation, every detail has formed the path. But of course there are a few whom I definitely have special soul contracts from other lives with.

My parents – Mariela Dubuc & Eduardo Avila – without their union, I would not be here.
My nanny – Rocio – she nurtured & protected me the first years of my life in Venezuela.
My ancestors & spirit guides from the other side – In me, I carry their love, power, stories, tears & wisdom.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears –

Marielena Obrenic, Psychotherapist & Astrologer – my first teacher. I met her when I was 16. I started personal therapy sessions with her when I was 18 years old, during a very hard time in my life – then later became her student of not only astrology but also a powerful tool called systemic constellations. She was the catalyst of great shifts within me then and throughout my 20’s.

Chonteau – Wisdom Keeper & Medicine Woman – the second great teacher that came into my life. Not only has she supported me through my grief journey after my dad passing last year, but has also introduced me to womb wellness, connecting deeper with my feminine energy, traditional folk medicine/way of life, and has handed me tools on how to integrate all of these different aspects of the self and REMEMBERING

Rocco Remo, Pablo Flores, Maria Blaquier, Jose Millan, Tito Macias – Incredible astrologers who I have learned from the past couple of years. Soaking up their teachings has been a blessing.

Every single book by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas on Psycho-Astrology

Mona Federeci – my Reiki Master

Mike Mcardle – Mentor

Azmi & Ajna, Maureen Dinkins, Ajay Kumar – my yoga/ashtanga teachers –

” The full ashtanga system practiced with devotion leads to freedom within one’s heart” – K. Pattabhi Jois

I had been going to flow classes for years. I was introduced to Ashtanga through my first yoga teacher training in Bali with Azmi & Yin with Ajna. Their way of teaching inspired me to teach yoga. I am forever thankful for the introduction to the depths of the practice. I came back to Orlando and continued my journey and began to teach yin. I didn’t know then how significant this experience would be.

Shortly after being back in Orlando my dad passed. Another catalyst of deep change & expansion. A brutal one.

I saw there was an ashtanga class being offered at a local yoga studio. Being in Maureen’s ashtanga class and practicing every week was one of the few things that kept me…let’s say grounded?…sane? during a very long rainy season of my life. Which led me to coming to Mysore, India!

I recently started practicing Ashtanga with Ajay and I am on the way to start a teacher training here in Mysore. It has not been long but I have already learned so much from him and the depths of this beautiful practice. The wisdom being transmitted….theres no words. I hope to share this with my students, clients, and friends.
It’s an honor to be here.

“A good student recognizes a great teacher”

Every woman who has been in my inner circle, my sisters. you know who you are. I have been blessed with the queens in my life. Without your love & support, I do not know where I would be. Having the support of these women has given me so much strength and courage through allowing myself to be truly seen, vulnerable, and supported.

I honestly used to have a hard time receiving.

Every single soul who has been a part of the Lunar Temple. From the beginning to present day. The woman who helped me birth her. A million times thank you. As she was birthed out of me, I was reborn out of her. She is a sacred space where I started teaching astrology, ancestral healing, and started sharing my gifts with others and through her I found a soul tribe ( & I continue find ! )

Instagram: astrochampagne , thelunartemple

Twitter: astrochampagne

Youtube: astrochampagne

Other: To schedule an astrology reading – https://AstroChampagneLLC.as.me/

Image Credits
Ceremony picture by – Dalia Kae @itspicturethismess Featured picture by – Oscar Huespe @huespe