We were lucky to catch up with Linda Hart recently and have shared our conversation below.
Linda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
The best investment I’ve made is the time and money spent with an international astrology Mentorship class. For the past twenty years I have called myself an artist -showing and teaching abstract painting to people of all ages and from all backgrounds. At the same time, I studied astrology and gave readings to friends and artists for no cost or for barter/trade. I realized that my true joy was helping people understand their own cosmic journeys based on astrological patterns. I was also trying to manage storage for twenty years of paintings that have accumulated and had started to resent shlepping art supplies to different classroom sites. I was ready to shift to doing readings (thanks to the convenience of Zoom!) and do art for myself instead of continuing to play the art gallery game in a city that has become a very competitive art market. But I didn’t know how to make the big jump to getting paid for the same thing I had given for free. It was time to receive fair compensation for the twenty years I’ve studied astrology along with the experience gained from reading so many different charts. The Mentorship class gave me tools I needed to build a website that shows my expertise and makes it easy for people to schedule and pay for readings. I learned the importance of liability protection, and the legal ramifications of owning an astrology business. I also gained support and insight from the Mentor’s feedback regarding my style and my strengths. It was wonderful to hear from women doing similar work around the world – I received motivation and inspiration!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Over the decades of my work life, I have pursued many heartfelt interests, including a twenty year career developing support and national training for families and professionals in early childhood special education, ten years owning a healing arts center for massage and acupuncture in southern Colorado and another ten years volunteering with a Denver art coop and teaching abstract painting to artists of all ages and from diverse backgrounds. The one thing connecting these different occupations was my continuing fascination and love of astrology. During my free time I have studied with a series of great astrologers and always enjoyed sharing my knowledge with family, friends and co-workers. Now that I am almost 70 years old, I find myself most interested in helping others learn the basics of astrology and how it reflects in their own lives. I have now created a legitimate business with a website where people can easily schedule a reading via Zoom or join a class for their own study of the stars. This feels like a natural evolution and a great way I can share and make sense of my own life learnings. And it’s fun!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
What has helped me survive and thrive in an ever-changing world? I’ve found that living a full life and not limiting myself to one narrow path has been beneficial. The richer and fuller my life is, the more opportunities arise and sometimes “following my bliss” has led me in different directions that turn out to be what’s needed at each phase. There have been several times in my life that I’ve needed to pivot and change course. First – as a young mother of a child born with Down syndrome I learned to make my way thru health care and educational systems that were less than supportive. I took these experiences and worked to help other young families find their way. Eventually I worked as a teacher and trainer with early childhood agencies and traveled the country to build better parent/professional relations. At the same time, I realized how important it was for me to take breaks from the stress of travel and academia, so I sought out massage and meditation centers when I traveled. .
Twenty years later, my son was grown. Early childhood systems and issues had evolved and so had I. It was time for a new generation to carry on the work. Time to pivot again! That’s when I followed my bliss and created a Healing Arts Center in southern Colorado to support the work of women who were massage therapists. During the ten years of running the healing arts center, I also started painting and studying abstract art with a group of artists nearby. When family changes pulled me back to Denver, I had to pivot once more. I wanted to continue to make art and work in a creative community, both of which led me to join an arts coop. There I was able to share my business and teaching experiences in a very creative way. After a decade of being in the art coop I realized that my “side” study of astrology was inspiring not only my art but overflowing into most interactions with colleagues and clients. Now I am building a business in astrology that I can do from home, thanks to the ease of Zoom and social media. In turn, building the astrology business has pushed me to once again stay flexible, open minded and connected to new communities.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I believe that artists, creatives and people who think diversely need places where they feel supported and inspired. So many of us can become isolated and lose our way without community connection. The idea of cooperatives is not new but it’s hard to even find a space where creatives can connect and safely support each other’s growth. It would be great if cities would encourage developers to add community centers when they build apartments and new housing. Public art, local art festivals, and multi-generational, multi-cultural events should continue to be supported with public funding.
Contact Info:
- Website: Moonlitastrology.com
- Instagram: Linda_hart64
- Facebook: Art of Linda Hart
Image Credits
Photos by Linda Hart