Astrology is having a moment. Along with tarot and crystals, the ancient practice is lately being embraced by millennials and Gen Xers. Some may be in it for the aesthetic (a rose quartz crystal looks great on Instagram), but astrology can also serve as an alternative way to look at the world and yourself. When life feels uncertain, searching for patterns—scientifically proven or not—may offer comfort.
And yet mystic and metaphysical shops are still scarce in Dallas. Britten LaRue—an online art history instructor with the University of Texas at Arlington and one of the city’s few professional astrologers—is hopeful she can help change that. “I really think Dallas is primed for the demystification process,” she says.
LaRue realized her affinity for astrology during a yearlong sabbatical in Maui in 2016, where she began learning about meditation and intuitive healing. “Those courses really changed my life,” LaRue says. “When I got back to Dallas, I started getting more into astrology, wanting to understand all of it, like I do with anything when I’m studying. I started to see what different signs and planets represent, and how there could be meditations that could help people access them more clearly. Everything is all about possibilities and learning to hear yourself.”
“I know people are responding to this, and I know this is going to be fabulous.”
She discovered Chani Nicholas, a Los Angeles-based astrologer with a quarter of a million Instagram followers who sells her new moon workshop recordings online. “She was an example of an astrologer who felt really modern and of the moment,” LaRue says. “What she does is help people in masses, whereas I was visualizing something more boutique and custom. I could work with people individually and speak precisely to their chart.”
She began quietly honing her practice, offering free readings in exchange for experience. Last spring, after her friend and The Greenway Shop co-founder Hallie Lamont asked why she didn’t have an Instagram for her services, LaRue decided to go public. “Here I am, this Hockaday parent and alum, and a lot of people know who I am,” she says. “I know they have thoughts about what this is. I had to just totally come out of the closet. I’m going to do this and I don’t care, because I’m in my integrity. I know people are responding to this, and I know this is going to be fabulous.”
Today, LaRue offers custom recorded readings through her site, Working With Your Wheel, ranging from a one-hour personal growth session ($80) to Transformation + Renewal ($600), a six- to seven-hour reading spaced out over three to four months. “It’s just expanding really rapidly, because what people are saying after their reading is, ‘Now what?’ ” LaRue says.
Though she sends her readings to clients all over the world, LaRue wants to help destigmatize the practice in her hometown. She offered a reading as a benefit item at a Hockaday auction and has been buying tarot decks to sell at pop-ups around town. “They’re these gorgeous, small-batch decks by artists with massive Instagram followings,” she says. “They typically sell only to brick-and-mortar shops, but they’ll sell to me because no one is carrying them in North Texas.”
She has dreams of one day opening a Los Angeles-style metaphysical shop and teaching new moon workshops around town. “I’m just going to continue to do my soldiering to educate Dallas,” LaRue says. “I’m not asking anyone to believe anything. Astrology isn’t a belief system. I’m asking you to entertain the possibility that this might be helpful. If what I’m saying is resonating in any way, how can that be a bad thing?”
Metaphysical Made Modern Around Town
Set the Sage: Find pretty sticks like these at Society, Harkensback, and Magic Hour.
Work your magic. Molly Mathias’ Magic Hour in the Bishop Arts District offers a bright, decidedly nonwitchy atmosphere to shop for smudge sticks, palo santo, and tarot cards.
Listen to a star pod. SMU grad Heidi Rose Robbins, astrologer to celebrities such as June Diane Raphael, reaches a modern audience with her podcast, The Radiance Project, and daily new moon notes on Instagram.
Bathe in sound. From a small loft in Exposition Park, The Refuge offers reiki sessions, intuitive meditation, and sound baths.
Get read. Visit Britten LaRue’s website to schedule a one-on-one reading or personal growth session, or visit our site to find her monthly, locally focused horoscopes, all beautifully illustrated by Dallas artist Lauren Jopling.
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