Julia Mihas is a professional astrologer and intuitive counselor whose spiritual outlook was influenced by a challenging illness. Through astrology and Neo-Platonic philosophy, she emphasizes the interconnectedness of life and the importance of free will in our spiritual journeys. Julia believes that divination helps us recognize life’s patterns, urging us to find the divine within ourselves and in everyday experiences. Her insights inspire others to value love and connection as pathways to enlightenment. Read all about her in this Psychics4U.net interview.
Table of Contents
- The Role of Divination in Spirituality
- The Impact of Illness on Spiritual Growth
- Plotinus and the Concept of Gnosis
- The Soul and Body Dilemma
- Divine Love and Connection
- Contact Julia Mihas
The Role of Divination in Spirituality
What does divination help us understand about our life choices and challenges?
Divination – whether its astrology or tarot – is just pattern recognition. If you can see where you’ve been and where you are, then you can anticipate where you are going. However, free will is a massive factor. High divination will always recognize your free will. It’s the lower stuff that sees everything as deterministic. And guess what? Those types of diviners are often wrong.
Astrology augments your perception. It gives you the most cosmic, bird’s eye view of what’s going on in your life. From this perspective, you gain a clear understanding of how powerful and transformative your free will is. Free will is your divine nature. And its purpose is to actualize you into your potential.
Since studying astrology, I’ve learned that everything – even the most mundane aspects of your life – are interconnected, and therefore meaningful. How else can planetary movements millions of miles away correlate with what’s going on in your personal life?
When you face problems – like a stupid fight with your boyfriend or wondering if you should leave your job – these are spiritually significant events. They are significant because dealing with mundane issues is navigating your spiritual path.
But life can be shitty. You can get sick or be broke or lonely. Being self-actualized doesn’t mean you experience bliss at every moment. It means that even when you deal with something rough, you have enough enthusiasm and purpose to still find a reason for getting out of bed in the morning. What is purpose? Anyone who inspires you to love. Anything that stimulates your curiosity, playfulness and passion.
The Impact of Illness on Spiritual Growth
How did your experience with illness change your view on personal growth and spirituality?
I was very sick for several years. I was housebound and often bedbound. Before then, I spent much of my 20’s traveling and exploring the outside world. Then my health crashed, and I was forced to stay inside. I hated being in my body because it tortured me. I remember spending every day in bed where I watched the light move slowly across the wall as the seasons changed. It was a painful experience that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I’m glad I’m not there anymore.
But something good came out of it. As my body waned, my spirit waxed. When I had nowhere to go, my body became a monastery. It’s hard for me to put the experience in words, but I remember lying in my bed and just going deeper and deeper and deeper into myself. Every time I thought I hit a limit; I found some hidden reservoir deeper below. Then, one day, I realized something astounding: I could just keep going and going forever. There was no end to what was inside of me. I realized that if there was no limit to me, then some part of me exists outside of time and space. Lesson learned, but ouch.
If each of us is endless, then on a long enough timeline, enlightenment will just happen. I’ve come to see ‘enlightenment’ as incidental. You don’t have to seek it; it will just happen spontaneously. Ok, so what do we do in the meantime?
Plotinus and the Concept of Gnosis
What does it mean to find divine understanding within ourselves instead of looking for it in outside beliefs or practices?
The Greek philosopher Plotinus says that gnosis, or divine understanding, ultimately happens within you. I see this as meaning that you are one with God, so you don’t have to go outside of yourself to seek it. This is why I’m skeptical of religions, superstitions and rituals that promote the idea that you must seek something outside. Lots of traditions and practices have a bunch of rules to follow, as though God is as legalistic as our human society. I’m talking about the practices that require you to earn Karma points or use magical talismans to banish evil. They assume the locus of transformation and power exists outside of you. If you are seeking empowerment and change, it implies that you feel disempowered and stuck. Maybe that’s something to address within yourself first?
The Soul and Body Dilemma
How do the ideas of Plotinus and Iamblichus shape our understanding of the relationship between the soul, body, and spirituality?
I agree with Plotinus in many respects, but he is also problematic. Plotinus thinks the soul is separate from the body, and I’ve found this to be a metaphysical fallacy because his notion creates a spiritual dilemma. If God is everything, then how can things exist which are not Divine, such as our material bodies?
Another philosopher I’ve read is Iamblichus, who addresses this problem. While Plotinus saw the soul as beyond the body, Iamblichus recognized that the soul descended into our body. This is a very important distinction, which has been confirmed to me by astrology. The spiritual is in the material, not outside of it. That’s also why dealing with the everyday and ordinary things in your life are part of your spiritual development.
Iamblichus said you can seek the divine through rituals and practices. For me, what he means is that ‘to understand God you must first become God like’. For Iamblichus, rituals are God’s behavior made physical, and therefore human. I love how Iamblichus solves the soul/body problem. It works well with what I’ve learned as an astrologer – that the material and spiritual realms are one. But what’s up with the ritualistic practice? Like I mentioned earlier, if everything is connected, then you shouldn’t have to go outside of yourself to seek the Divine.
So I agree with Plotinus that gnosis ultimately happens within us, and because we are eternal, it is destined to happen at some point. Though Iamblichus answers my earlier question of ‘what are we supposed to do in the meantime?’ I think we are supposed to behave like God. That may sound lofty but it’s actually quite mundane. Even the most ordinary parts of your life have mystical reverberations.
Divine Love and Connection
What does it mean to behave like God, and how can everyday relationships help us connect with the divine?
I have my answer, but I’m one drop in the ocean. Iamblichus wants us to perform divine rituals and practice theurgy. My answer is practicing astrology and loving everyone in my life as dearly as I can. For me, some of my greatest experiences of interconnectedness is loving my husband. Love is simple and accessible to everyone. You can love your dog, your mom, your child, your friend, your neighbor. If God is interconnectedness, then find a being that you feel deeply interconnected with.
And guess what? Some days you’ll fuck up. You’ll say something stupid. You may be short with your boyfriend. You may yell at your daughter because you’ve got a bad migraine, and she can’t stop making noise. That’s OK! When you’re ready, just align yourself with love again. Show your boyfriend or daughter or cat how much you love them – by telling them, by taking care of them, by being there for them. Challenge yourself to love more deeply with every day that passes. When you tap into something higher than yourself, something beyond yourself, yet through yourself, you are edging on the Divine.
To love someone is to be God-like, because love is divine transcendence. Find someone who makes you feel that flow. When you get off track, just get back on again. You’ve got enough time to make mistakes. Enlightenment will eventually just happen.