Dharma, Destiny & Divine Design: A Vedic Astrologer's Guide To Your Life’s Path

What if you came to Earth with a divine design and a map of your life already written in the stars?

This week, Gervase sits down with Carol Allen, a Vedic astrologer with 34 years of experience to explore how this ancient system can offer profound insights into your life's purpose, relationships, and spiritual path.

This isn't your typical horoscope chat. Carol shares how Vedic astrology—practiced for thousands of years in India—reveals your “celestial DNA” and why understanding your divine design can free you from the Western pressure to be something maybe you’re not meant for, and help you live in alignment with your soul’s true destiny.

Listen to this episode now to discover:

• Why Vedic astrology is different from Western astrology and how it works as “ancient technology” for understanding your soul's path

• How your chart is your celestial DNA, a snapshot of the Universe the moment you took your first breat

• Why Western hyperindividualism is making us miserable and how ancient wisdom shows us we're all interconnected frequency beings

• The concept of dharma and why you're not meant to force yourself into someone else's blueprint for success

• Why finding love isn't just about you, it's about both people's destinies aligning and what this means for taking pressure off yourself

• How to live at “the level of love” by being who you're truly here to be

• How vedic astrology can help you parent based on who your child actually is (as they come “pre-loaded at the factory”)

• How your chart reveals your natural gifts, relationship patterns, and even physical characteristics with stunning accuracy

• The cyclical nature of life and why expecting constant progression is making us miserable and exhausted

---

Follow Gervase

• 📲 Let’s hang out on IG: http://www.instagram.com/gervasekolmos

• ✨ Want to go deeper (and get juicy discounts)? Sign up to Gervase’s newsletter: https://www.gervasekolmos.com

Dharma, Destiny & Divine Design: A Vedic Astrologer's Guide To Your Life’s Path

Episode Full Transcript

So, I don’t know about you, but I can tend to lose myself in the summer because I find my routine totally in the shitter. I’m home working full time with three kids, and it’s easy to get sucked into old patterns of martyrdom or burnout or controlling—feeling like a shell of a human because I’m covered in children. If you’re a mother, you might relate.

I’m really excited—and it was very much by design—that I decided to run a mini mastermind for mothers in July. Starting July 15th at noon Eastern, for four weeks I’ll be meeting with a group of mothers so we can reclaim our wholeness, vibrancy, and aliveness, and plug into a space that’s just for us during the season when it’s easiest to lose ourselves.

I’ve been working with mothers for almost 12 years now. When I started my career 11 years ago, I became a mom coach and worked exclusively with mothers, talking about the juggle for a really long time. I have a lot of lived experience in this topic, but I haven’t done a program on it in a while. I’m excited to invite you to plug into Whole Mother Rising this summer.

Week one: the belief is “You get to be you.” The theme is enough—being enough, having enough, doing enough. We’ll unlearn scarcity: internalized systems, capitalism, patriarchy, programming, conditioning, trauma, and mother culture. Week one alone is going to be a banger.

Week two: the belief is “You get to.” The theme is permission, and we’ll unlearn the rules.

Week three: the belief is “Space is safe.” The theme is space—taking it, having it, occupying it, feeling it. We’ll unlearn guilt, shame, and the ways discomfort speaks.

Week four: the belief is “Fear is the mind-killer.” That’s a line from Dune—I’ve quoted it before. It’s profound; I feel it in my body. The theme is freedom, and we’ll unlearn micromanaging and analyzing fear versus feeling it.

This will be weekly group coaching with me. It’s a pretty high-touch container for a really low price: $399 for four calls. There’s intentional pre-work I’ve journaled out for you in a PDF at the beginning, plus bonus resources, and a Voxer group to connect between calls. I’ll start every session with a grounding visualization/activation (my signature thing from my hypnosis background). You’ll plug into a community of moms who are noticing how the pendulum has swung—from our mothers’ generation unconsciously passing stuff down to kids, to our generation taking everything on ourselves and deciding we, the mothers, are the problem. We put all the pressure on ourselves.

If you want balance—finding the murky middle where you aren’t living in either extreme—and you want to be in my energy and paradigm (the way I do mothering is, I can confirm, a little different than pretty much every mom I know), come join us. We start July 15th. All the links are in the show notes. It’s GervaseKolmos.com forward slash mother dash rising. I’d love to see you there. It’ll be a small group, so join right away so you don’t lose your spot.

We’re not told this enough, but I believe you can be you while raising them. This program is designed to return you to that truth, to that belief, and help you align with it in a group of women with tools, modalities, and coaching from me.

All right, my loves—welcome back to an interview on the Modern Phoenix Podcast with Carol Allen, who has been an astrologer for a casual 34 years.

Carol: Give or take a month or 12.

Gervase: We are so lucky to have you here. We had a one-hour conversation about a year ago that I just rewatched because I’d never had this type of astrology reading. I’ve only dabbled. It felt like a psychic reading. It was a big deal for me—and it looked effortless for you. You were so in your natural zone. I’m excited for you to share a little of your magic with the listeners. Everyone here is astrology-curious at minimum, astrology-heavy at maximum. We’re going to dive into the cosmos. Thank you for being here.

Carol: Thank you for sharing that you found it helpful. Astrology is so rich, deep, and amazing. I’m a little biased about the system I do—Vedic astrology from ancient India. Pretty much every ancient civilization had a system (over 50 kinds). Vedic astrology is the most consistently practiced with no interruption and the most fully integrated with a culture. It’s astonishing. I felt like you did at my first reading: the astrologer told me my life story, when I’d marry, what job I should have. I was on the wrong track, and he said I was supposed to be some kind of spiritual counselor. I thought he was crackers. In India, this is thought to be very spiritual—you come in with a divine design and a map of your life, working with something much greater than yourself.

I love helping people remove the noise—“Why don’t I have this? Why hasn’t that worked out? I should have more, be more, do more”—which is a very Western problem. It’s an honor and gift to do this work.

Gervase: Even hearing you talk about it, my whole system goes, “Oof.” I feel how ancient it is. It doesn’t feel new-age trendy, which is refreshing. It feels like potent, ancient technology and wisdom. Can you explain how it works? What is it? Why does it know everything?

Carol: Most of us come to spiritual stuff via “soundbite spirituality” that brings people into the tent—like “Hey, Aquarius, you’re good with Libra and Gemini,” or “What’s your Enneagram? Human design?” That’s fine; then you can go deeper.

I wish I could speak for the universe, but my human understanding is that we’re all frequency beings. We’re energy; nothing is solid (physics knows this). The ancient writings (the Vedas, among the oldest books on the planet) talk about emanations of light from the sun, moon, and planets. It’s not gravitational pull; it’s energy, frequency.

Once on a plane, a guy in a suit told me he measures the temperature off stars in the aerospace industry. He said it affects everything—plant growth, our bodies, life itself. I thought he’d be open to what I do—nope. The head of a major observatory near me—same. But Carl Sagan was open to astrology. He pointed out we didn’t believe in continental drift until we could measure it. Gravity worked whether or not you believed in it. That’s astrology: emanations of light. Vedic astrology is also called jyotish, “science of light.”

We take our first breath at birth—our first independent inhale—and essentially inhale the universe. That moment imprints us: the positions of the sun, moon, and planets. That’s your celestial DNA for life. Your chart is a snapshot of the sky at your birth, divided into 12 houses (life areas). The sun, moon, and planets represent different aspects of you and your life. I don’t know why it works—it just does. I’ve talked to thousands of people; it never fails. It shows talents, gifts, relationships, parents, bones you’ve broken, whether you need glasses, if you smoke, addictions, sexuality, all of it.

Westerners struggle with the idea of a predestined dance card or train schedule because we’re taught everything is up to us. But was your hair or eye color up to you? Your height? Your parents? Where you were born? Your citizenship? These aren’t your “fault.” We have parameters—a spectrum of possibility. We can’t go beyond that spectrum.

People in L.A. ask, “Will I be a movie star? A big director? A millionaire?” If fame and fortune aren’t in your chart, you really won’t want them from a true place. You’ll want them from conditioning, to please parents, or ego. What’s right for us springs from our authentic selves—those are the things that will happen. A true heart dream is meant for you.

There’s a beautiful word from ancient India—dharma. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. We come in with a destiny, a path, a way to express our life force. For some (think Elizabeth Taylor or Kim Kardashian), it’s to be beautiful, have jewelry, be wealthy. People judge that as less spiritual than praying all day, but if that’s your dharma, you’re being just as spiritual as someone praying all day.

Gervase: Thank you for explaining that so eloquently. I was giving a training yesterday in my Inner Knowing Mastermind on the soul. I don’t usually use the term God—I’m spiritual, not religious; I vibe with Glennon Doyle’s “God is the water; religion is the glass.” But I kept saying: “God doesn’t care.” Meaning, what we’re here to do is notice what’s authentic for you. What’s motivating you—conditioning, shoulds, shame, guilt, trauma, fitting in—or your true self? If it’s true, God doesn’t care. Thoughts?

Carol: I think of “God” as the consciousness permeating everything. If you’re a Bible person, chapter one basically says God is omniscient and omnipotent—in everything. Scientists, the deeper they go, the more they believe something else is happening—order, intelligence, consciousness behind everything. The solar system is mimicked by our cells: the nucleus is the sun, electrons spin around—billions of solar systems in us. We’re made of stardust.

It’s not everyone’s life path to partner, or to partner once for life. Society has expectations; thankfully some are loosening (and some tightening). Everyone can be who they truly are and have relationships that fit. I love taking the pressure off.

Gervase: Such a good point about partnering—it’s not just about you; it’s about them too. Western hyper-individualism has poisoned our ability to have harmonious relationships. We defer to degrees and science as the only truth. Hello—you’re a piece of stardust. We lack balance between our dimensions. It’s one-dimensional: “Science wins,” “It’s just me.” But to be successful, you have to be part of an ecosystem of individuals and work with that.

Carol: True science starts with a hypothesis and tests without bias. Certainty shuts science down—and it’s a great life metaphor. When you think you know, be careful. In relationships, thinking you know and being the smarter person—yep, I’ve caused trouble that way.

As Westerners, it’s “What do you want, little Billy?” Great, but everything being on you isn’t making us happy. The U.S. ranks about 35th in happiness. Countries with communal life are happier. Balance autonomy with support. In Puerto Rico, 17 people pile in the car for a doctor’s appointment. Here, my parents both got cancer diagnoses alone. There are problems.

Astrology shows some are hardwired to be introverted lone wolves; others get success through friends (that’s my chart). Any time I’m in a jam, a friend saves me. If your path is that good things come through fun, you’re not being indulgent to have fun. For someone else, it’s degrees, money, or moving abroad. I love telling people what opens doors for them—and when. Your chart’s also a weather map: money season, confidence season, season of loneliness, season of love. My marriage was predicted seven years in advance. I thought I’d beat it—nope. By the time the seven years passed, I’d calmed down. Three days into the window—there was my husband, right on schedule. I was happy single by then and actually thought, “You’re early in the window—could you give me another month?”

How did people respond when you talked about God and the soul?

Gervase: I actually needed that module. I might move it up next time. It felt so good to go there; I could just channel. One woman asked, “Can you say more about ‘God doesn’t care’? I feel a voice telling me there’s a right and wrong, and I should feel guilty.” We went into religious dogma. I’m careful because women in my world have faith backgrounds. I don’t want to make anyone bad or wrong. But if guilt and shame arise when I say “God doesn’t care,” let’s explore what’s there from conditioning and religion.

Carol: The Buddha, Christ, Muhammad—enlightened beings in unity and heart consciousness. Organizations formed around them, then beyond them, and lived on after them. Organizations need rules and structure. Over time, dogma can overshadow truth. If God is omnipotent and omniscient and benevolent, it’s in everything—even in judgmental people and negative rules.

On “God doesn’t care,” my teacher Ernst Wilhelm says the most incredible things. We think we should always be kind and honest. But what if lying saves a life? What if you need to be harsh in an emergency to get people to move? Respond to each moment with the right action that does the most good. Sometimes that’s you being a jerk. In relationships, once I said to someone, “You never listen; I’m sick of it; screw you.” He snapped out of it and was amazing. He could finally hear me. It was better for the relationship than polite “sweetie” talk.

Gervase: You’re making me think about parenting. There’s so much conditioning about the “right” way to mother and speak to children. It mirrors the macro: separation, right/wrong, shame if you get it wrong. People can’t hear their inner wisdom or feel what’s appropriate—what to say, the move to make, the relationship to choose—because of dogma around motherhood, relationships, religion, spirituality, government. As soon as we’re judging, we’re separate—from others, from truth, from our hearts. It’s ego trying to stay safe. The more rigidly people cling to right/wrong, the more insecure they are.

Carol: If God is in all of it, truth is in all of it—how can we judge? Even when something “bad” happens: the farmer with the horse—“We’ll see.” Then the broken leg—“We’ll see.” Then the war—“We’ll see.” We don’t know. Our job is to love every minute, be in our hearts, and do the next right thing the situation calls for.

I bow to parents. Your kid is your kid from day one. The introvert kid is an introvert; the loud, bossy kid is loud and bossy; the demanding kid is demanding; the easy kid is easy—at zero and at 50. Stop blaming yourself for how they turned out. They come preloaded at the factory—that’s what their chart shows. Parent based on each kid: some need hands-off; some need hovering; some need structure and discipline; some need you to say, “I trust you; you’ll do the right thing,” and lean back.

Gervase: I can hear someone listening who doesn’t live this way and has relied on rules to get to success or survival. Maybe that’s helpful for someone more controlling or Type A. Or they’re just Type A.

Carol: “Know thyself.” I love all systems that help us understand ourselves—psychology, personality typing, birth order studies, family patterns. Knowing who we are helps us be on our own side. When you’re aligned with you, there’s nothing you can’t do. You’ll be the best mom and the best version of yourself when you embody yourself and are on your own side.

I’ve learned how much noise people have in their heads—how mean they are to themselves—no matter who they are: aristocracy, wildly wealthy, drop-dead beautiful, talented, famous. The noise is the same: Am I enough? Am I a phony? Do people care? Am I doing it right? We’re hardwired to be accepted by the tribe or die. The most attractive thing that makes people accept you is already accepting yourself. The best way to accept yourself is to know yourself and cut yourself a break.

I’m a little sister, with the nodes of the moon prominent and a weak Mercury (technology, information). I’m goofy, chaotic. My office is a disaster. I’m not great with detail or planning. My sister is amazing at all that—two-time NYT bestseller, always ahead on tools and tech. I could think “she’s better,” but I don’t. That’s her. I’m me. I bring a different thing: reading charts, woo-woo, surfing the clouds, pulling stuff down. We all have different gifts.

Gervase: That’s the best example. We need all kinds of people and souls. My work is giving women space and permission to untangle and clear the cobwebs so they can even know who they are—and trust that whatever they find under there, even if it’s different than Karen or the big sister archetype, is still enough. How do you recommend people use their chart to support that unraveling-and-reweaving process—the phoenix moment?

Carol: I love the phoenix archetype—everything burns up, then you’re reborn. Western culture assumes life is a progression—better and better over time. By X age, we “should” have this or that. People come to me with self-imposed deadlines: “By 40 I was going to…” What astrology has taught me is life is cyclical. We oscillate. There are times of expansion and contraction—night becomes day; day becomes night. In more contracted times, it doesn’t mean it’s over or you blew it or God left the building. It may mean it’s time to pivot, reevaluate, go deeper, or wait for spring. You might be in a personal winter, but spring always comes.

Vedic astrology has cycles; the dark phases are always followed by light ones—and vice versa. If you’re in a low point, it will get lighter. Many are scared now—the world is changing. History shows flux leads to something better later. Do the next right thing and trust the bigger picture—your life and the world’s story.

Gervase: Beautiful. We’ve lost the honoring of the other, of the earth, of complexity—anything not “science and rules and prove it and be the best.” It’s hollow and exhausting—unsustainable.

Carol: A Rumi quote (he wrote love poems to his spiritual teacher; he was a Sufi): “What is this love that has made me forget my practices?” When you have a heart opening and you’re in unity consciousness, do you need to pray, meditate, or do yoga? You’re there. I teach something called living at the level of love. When you’re being who you’re here to be, you’ll love your life. Doing what’s true for you, you’ll love your life. I don’t care if you’re a dishwasher—if it’s true for you, your heart will resonate, you’ll emanate that to the world. This has been scientifically studied: they can image your heart’s energy field and monitor your vitals. When you’re connected to yourself, your heart becomes magnetic—you attract people and good things.

Follow the truth of your heart. Trust and believe it. It will never fail you, no matter what studies or rules say.

Gervase: That makes me think about living a life and making choices that don’t “make sense.” I’ve had many moments where others didn’t understand my direction, but inside I’d check in and hear, “You’re good.” Money is a big one—people say, “I need to make money.” Same. And it requires deeper trust: in oneself and something bigger; trust that if it feels right in your heart, it’ll be okay somehow in a way you don’t yet know. Astrology feels like a way to make it gentler and more manageable for the person feeling trapped in the rules—to see a map that explains why certain choices make sense in the chart.

Thank you for your wisdom. Before you share how to keep in touch and follow your work, I want to acknowledge you. You may be one of the greatest spiritual women I’ve had the pleasure of sitting with. Everything you say feels like someone finally speaking sense in upside-down land. I credit a lot of my own de-brainwashing for why it lands, but I truly want to acknowledge you for being such a wonderful spiritual teacher—even in this conversation. The reading you gave me made me want to join the “religion” of Vedic astrology. I’ve never felt so seen—ever. I’m a human design devotee; it’s been my map and wildly helpful. But the way you read my chart felt very different than traditional astrology; it felt like a psychic reading. Thank you.

Carol: Thank you, and thank you for the beautiful work you do. I’m grateful to be here and have a conversation at this level. It’s really fun for me.

Gervase: You’re so welcome—come back anytime. Tell everyone how to support and follow your work. Where can they find you?

Carol: You can find articles, my newsletter, and really accurate, helpful reports—compatibility reports, an astrology calendar with symbols for every day of the year for you, a timing report, a “capacity report” that shows what you need to work on to show up better—at soulmadestars.com.

Gervase: Soulmadestars.com. Thank you again for your time, Carol. It’s been lovely.

Carol: Oh, thank you, Gervase. This was great.

Gervase: Thank you.