Man, sometimes you just need something to blame, or maybe something to give you a little kick in the butt. Back in 2018, I was floating. Professionally, I mean. I had been clocking in and out, feeling zero movement, stuck in a routine that was paying the bills but definitely sucking the life right out of me.
You see, I never really put much stock into astrology. Never bought the magazines, never checked my daily doom scroll for cosmic guidance. But I was desperate for a change, and I was starting to try everything. And I mean everything. I was reading self-help books, listening to those motivational speakers who scream at you about hustle, and one day, purely as a joke, I Googled “Virgo career horoscope August 2018.”
The Setup: The August 2018 Experiment
I distinctly remember August 2018 being a crucial month because my main project at the time had just crashed and burned spectacularly. We spent six months building this thing, and then the client pulled the plug. I felt personally responsible, even though the decision was purely financial. I figured, okay, if I’m going to reboot, I might as well track whether some random internet prediction could somehow align with real-world outcomes. I decided right then and there to treat the horoscope prediction like a mandate for action, logging what I did versus what the stars supposedly suggested.
I printed out the horoscope snippet. I still have the crummy paper, yellowing a bit now, tucked into an old file folder. What did it say? Something about “unexpected connections being formed” and “a need to bravely step away from toxic environments to find true professional elevation.” Generic stuff, right? But I committed to making those words mean something concrete in my life.
My practice log started simple. I opened up a spreadsheet. Columns included: Date, Horoscope Mandate (the relevant phrase), Action Taken, Immediate Result, and Long-Term Impact.
The Detailed Process: Taking the Cosmic Leap
The first step the horoscope implied was networking. I hated networking. I’m an introvert. But I forced myself. The prediction hit on August 3rd, and by August 5th, I had dusted off my old LinkedIn profile, which hadn’t seen action since 2016. I specifically searched for five former colleagues I respected but hadn’t spoken to in years. I sent out five painfully awkward emails just catching up, asking what they were doing, and subtly fishing for whether their companies were hiring.
Here’s the breakdown of those actions:
- Email 1: Ignored. Completely ghosted.
- Email 2: Got a reply, standard ‘busy but fine’ response. Zero professional value.
- Email 3 & 4: Led to a couple of coffees, just friendly catch-ups. Nothing hiring, but they provided insights into industry shifts I hadn’t realized.
- Email 5: This one was the kicker. My former boss, someone I admired greatly but who had left the industry. He replied instantly. He invited me to an informal gathering he was hosting that weekend, introducing me to people in a totally different sector—the “unexpected connection” part seemed to be kicking in.
The horoscope also mentioned “stepping away from toxic environments.” Now, my job wasn’t exactly toxic, but it was stagnant. So, I decided to challenge the stagnation. I prepared a document outlining my value, detailing the work I had done, and I booked a meeting with my current manager. I didn’t ask for a raise; I presented a plan for a new role—a role that didn’t exist yet, focusing on project recovery, exactly what I was good at.
I walked into that meeting on August 21st, palms sweating. I laid out the facts. I demanded clarity on my career path. My manager, who usually just nodded and smiled, was visibly taken aback. He promised to review the proposal, but the meeting itself felt like a massive risk I took because some website told me to be brave.
The Payoff: Finding Out Here, Today
Did my career soar in August 2018? Not exactly. The immediate results were messy. I felt energized by the networking, but the job role discussion hung fire. I continued to log my life into that spreadsheet for another six months, comparing real events to the horoscope’s monthly suggestions. Mostly, they didn’t align.
But here’s the wild part, the long-term impact:
That initial awkward networking email to my former boss (Email 5)? That conversation planted a seed. He was launching a consulting firm, needed someone with my exact recovery skills, and by October 2018, I had accepted a contract position with him, doubling my effective hourly rate and getting me out of the stagnant office environment I was complaining about. I didn’t get the new internal role, but I got the freedom the horoscope suggested.
The real question is, did the stars make it happen, or did the simple act of having a clear, external prompt—even if it was a ridiculous horoscope—force me to execute actions I was too scared to attempt otherwise?
I think the answer is the latter. The horoscope was just an excuse. It gave me permission to email strangers and challenge my boss. It drove me to take risks. When I look back at that August 2018 prediction, I realize my career didn’t soar because of some cosmic alignment; it soared because I treated the prediction like a project brief, forcing myself to move when I desperately needed momentum. I used the superstition to conquer my inertia, and that, folks, is the real lesson I took away from tracking the whole silly thing. Sometimes the push just has to come from somewhere, anywhere, to get you moving.
