Welcome to the Unfolding Podcast, a space where we explore what it really looks like to trust yourself, say no without guilt, and live your life like it actually belongs to you. I am Erica Voell and I'm a decision mentor and Intertrust guide, and I help women in midlife trust that how they are uniquely designed to make decisions, reclaim their authority, and understand their unique strengths. Using human design as a lens, we clear the noise of conditioning so that their no feels powerful and their yes feels true and they can move forward without self-doubt, guilt, or pressure to prove anything. On this show, we have honest conversations about self-trust, boundaries, energy and identity, especially for women in midlife who are done living by the shoulds and second guessing themselves. You'll hear stories, insights, and tools rooted in human design. Coaching and real life. Not to tell you what to do, like another self-help book, but to help you hear yourself so that you can stop overthinking and start making decisions that feel clear, grounded, and true. I just got off a masterclass that I held for two days. And as I was developing this masterclass, my mind was getting blown. I was thinking a lot about cycles, and I was talking about cycles. And we're talking about the cycles we're going through collectively, and we are talking about the cycles we go through in our lives, and we all go through yearly and seasonal and monthly cycles as individuals with the moon, birthdays, holidays, the seasons. But we are also in the midst of a major era shift. We are all feeling it. Some days the news feels like the world is falling apart. There is a major shift happening. We are in a shift from an old era into a new era, and according to human design, we are moving from the era of planning that started in 1615 into the era of the individual, and it starts in 2027, but we've been feeling it over the last few years. We usually feel it for a few years before. I mean, sometimes it feels like the world is literally blowing up right now. But as we're moving into this new era in humanity, we are moving into an era that is no longer about the hustle and the logic and the structured systems. The era of planning started in 1615. It was about tructure structured systems, government, healthcare, education, gurus, monarchs, celebrities. That's who we aspired to be, and it was helpful to get us from that place to where we are now. But now we need to evolve. There's this sense of like, we needed to be logical at that time. We needed to solve problems. Science really started to evolve at this time, and there was a lot of external expansion, expansion through invasion. I mean, that's what's been going on for centuries. But there's been this expansion, especially in the United States of taking over land in a way that was not very respectful of the land or the people. I myself live on land that did not have white people on it even 400 years ago, and we were building the world through structure and strategy and expansion, and we are moving into the last year of this era. We are moving towards the era of planning, and it started last week, this era of the individual. We've been feeling it for a few years, but there's an overlap between the old era and the new era, and I think we're really, really feeling it. This new era is about creating space for self-expression. But people are pushing against that old structure 'cause they no longer wanna be told what to do. They're looking for something deeply personal. And we're moving into that era of trusting our own inner authority, intuitive decision making, self-expression, living more authentically, prosperity through alignment instead of just constantly showing up to make money in a very logical way. We're moving into an era that's very wisdom based with contemplation and spirit led things, we're going to be seeing more and more movement towards like-minded individuals, but not in a way that's like us versus them. In the old era, we needed to fit in, be part of this group. Here are the rules. That is not the way of the new era. We're creating a future of alignment and innovation and inner wisdom. There'll be a lot more autonomy and more resp, self-responsibility, a lot less looking to the guru for answers and a lot more looking within ourselves. It's about knowing what's right for you and not what someone else thinks is right for you. I mean, before it was, go to the doctor, they'll tell you what to do, they'll tell you what to take, and you'll be better. Right? But that's not how it is. Now we know that that's not the way we need to live our lives. For many of us in midlife, we built our lives around stability and responsibility. We were the responsible one, but this new era is bringing in a more feminine energy and it can be really exciting, but it can also feel a little lot really unsettling like we are losing. Something. The old era was about a very masculine energy, the structures and the rigidity of fitting into that structure or system. But where you've been in this era, in this energy for centuries and to move into a more feminine energy that's not about male or female, it's more of the yin and the yang. This different energy from masculine to feminine can feel like a real shift, and not everyone is okay with it. I mean, we are seeing that play out in real time with this grasping of needing to keep things the way they were or to force people to comply in a certain way of doing th certain things and being, and while we're moving into this new era, we're not just about making a big cut and throwing out the old. There are things that are good about the old era that need to come with this. They need to be preserved. They, there are people that are bringing that forward. And when we talk about the new era, there are. People who are locks, and there are people who are keys. There are, and that's not just the person. There are energies that people bring. There are people who are designed to bring that good information from the past into the future. And then there are people who have felt like they don't have a place in the old era, but they will start to see that they are a key to help us move as a collective into this new era. And there are people like me who have both lock and key energy. I have things that. I can share that will help us remember the past and also energies that will help people see and evolve in the new era. This is an area that I am just learning about from my mentor, Julie Ciardi, and it is freaking blowing my mind. I am so excited to talk about it with clients. I just am like, I want to know more. But that's so very much like me with my 5/1 profile in human design. So that's the human design part, and of this cycles that we're talking about, and you've probably heard that on February 17th, we're moving into the energy of the fire horse. I'm really excited about this, but then the more I've dug into it, the more I've looked up things, I'm like, oh, we are going to be in it. The last time was of the fire horse was in the 1960s, to be precise is when it came in. The energy of the fire horse is heat speed, movement, rebellion, and independence. And we are seeing this in real time all over the world. The last time in 1966, there was a cultural revolution in China. The Vietnam War was ramping up. There was the rise of the Black Panther movement, and Russia landed its first spacecraft on the moon. The fire horse is about sharp breaks, social unrest, and old structures collapsing, and we are feeling it. It feels very unsettling, but it is what needs to happen for us to move into this new era. We're also seeing some major shifts in astrology, and we've been feeling that for a few years. It started in 2024, which I find so fascinating because the new era. In human design is in 2027, and we start to feel it about three years ahead of time, which was 2024, and that is when these major shifts in astrology also started to happen. In 2024, pluto moved into Aquarius. And the last time it was in Aquarius was in 1777 to 1798, which was just after the American Revolution. That was also the time of the French Revolution. There was a movement from the monarchy into more of a power of the people. And then this past April, April of 2025, Uranus moved into Gemini, which traditionally signals major technological revolutions and shifts, but the last time it was in Gemini was during World War II 1941 to 1949. And if you think about the major changes that happened in modern warfare at that time, the technological changes, my grandfather was part of that. He was part of the communication, the secret communication between Churchill and Roosevelt. So that was a huge shift in 19 between 1941 and 1949, and in some previous cycles of Uranus being in Gemini. I could not help but notice it was during the American Civil War. It moved in in 1859, and then it was also in. Gemini in 1774, which was the American Revolution, so there was a lot of overlap, and then Neptune just moved into Aries This is really reshaping our beliefs and how to behave. The last time Neptune was in Aries was 1861. Which was when the American Civil War started. So we have three planets that are moving into times that were really, really pivotal for the United States. And I can't help but think that like what we are feeling now is shifting us into something different. It's really uncomfortable. It is really scary. And I keep thinking we have to go through the dark to get to the light. So all of these things are happening at the same time. We're all feeling it. We're feeling the collective shift in human design and how it's showing up. We're seeing it in astrology. We're also seeing it in the Chinese Zodiac, we, but there are also major shifts that are happening in the coaching world. And it's really an amazing thing. I'm really excited about it. I know that there's a lot of shifts that are happening that a lot of people are feeling very uncertain, but I'm just like, Ooh, this is amazing. 'cause we're moving from this era of the guru that they have to fix us, that they can give us, you know, this quick pill and it'll fix us. But we're moving into a more cooperative model, and that's where I have really felt called over the last few years in my coaching. Because we have a trust deficit in our society. And it's not just in business, it is not just in government, it's actually in ourselves and in our decisions. We're moving from an era of information into an era of integration with opportunities to process and integrate and learn new things that are invaluable. 'cause coaching is no longer hierarchical the way it used to be. And I've seen how walking alongside my clients in their journey is so much more transformative for both of us than for me being a guru. I wanna be a guide. I wanna be the person who is there to support you on your journey. And where I saw this play out. Recently for me was I sent out a survey to my email list and a number of people responded, and I was a little bit taken aback by the feedback I got because I had an idea of how I wanted my masterclass to go. I knew how I wanted my new program that I was developing to go, but based on the feedback I received. I completely shifted it and it's going to be a lot more interactive and it's gonna be a lot more cooperative. Like we will have a structure in place, but it's sort of a, a roadmap. It's not, you know, here's content for you to consume because we are going through these generational shifts. But it's important for us to lean on our communities now more than ever, to lean on each other with what we're experiencing because we can't go through these shifts alone. These are generational shifts that are huge, and as I was learning more about, in addition to these generational cycles, I was also learning about these lifetime cycles. Now, I've learned known about these for a few years. But the more I dug into getting ready for my masterclass, the more I was like, oh, oh my gosh. So we deeply feel these lifetime cycles. They're part of our design. We are designed to go through them. They're exactly what we need them to be. Our calling, our purpose, it develops over time because we need wisdom. We can't just go from our twenties to our fifties. We won't have the wisdom. We won't be able to do that. Our bodies and our energy can't handle that. I would not have the wisdom that I do now if I had not gone through some real crap in my thirties and my forties, I needed to go through those processes. So in our thirties, we are considered to be going through the experiential years. This is the first Saturn return. This happens around 28 or 29, and then we move into the next cycle around our forties, which is the Uranus opposition. This is the transformational years, and we tend to think of the forties of going through a midlife crisis, but I have started to see that it is not. A crisis at all. And then we move into our fifties, which are the wise years and the Chiron return, and I will talk all about these. So for me, these cycles brought up huge changes in my life when I look back at them. I wasn't aware of them until I looked back and I can look at those dates and I can see that the two years before and the two years after were major shifts in my life. I became a mom a few years before my Uranus opposition and I went through a major. Breakdown and burnout right before my Chiron return. So let's go into the 30 cycle. Most of you who listen here are probably beyond your thirties, so let's just think about what you felt like in your thirties. Like around 29. You are probably not living your values, but if you're not living those values. And your personal law, it can feel really painful. It can feel like a really powerful transition. This is moving from a kid to being a grownup. I have a cousin in this stage and she's like, oh my gosh, Erica, I feel like I have to be a grownup now and I hate it. And I'm like, welcome to real life, Annie. So in your thirties, you're forced to ask yourself what is important and what is not, and to be really discerning and maturing and asking yourself, what have I outgrown? You are probably having a lot more responsibilities. Some people starting a family around 30, maybe they're getting married, maybe they're in a serious relationship. There's also this sense of being more serious in their career, or they're changing jobs, they're becoming very matter of fact about life. And when you are going through this, Saturn return this 30 cycle and you start to talk to 20 somethings, you're like, oh, they're just so idealistic. They don't know how it really is. And in this 30 cycle, there's a lot of letting go. There's a lot of. Letting go of the dependence on parents that can feel like a really hard one. There's also a letting go of past identities that maybe you held onto. Like we all have these identities we've carried on with us throughout our lifetimes, but in the thirties it's like there are these kid identities that we had, like the tin cans on the back of the car when people were getting married and they're we're just dragging them along. And some of us are like, that's not me anymore. I don't want this. It's really about it being in an integrity with yourself and knowing that there are things that are ready to shift. This can be really painful for some, A lot of people talk about the quarter life crisis, but this is also time, a time that can feel. A relief for others when they're moving past that transition stage. There's this questioning of why am I suddenly like this and why have I become this way? We see a lot of people in their thirties start to get involved with personal development. And then the next stage that we go through is what so many people term the midlife crisis. It's the Uranus opposition. It happens around 43, 44. Maybe starts around 40. A lot of women start to wake up and are that somewhere in the back of their mind that says, I have done all the stuff I was supposed to do, but they still feel lost. And they're wondering like, is this all there is? But I find it so fascinating that that's around the time that perimenopause tends to come in and that they coincide so beautifully together. And in human design, the 40 cycle is about the roadmap to get back on track and to open you up and to allow you to become that elder that you want to enter in your fifties. I can trace back when I felt like I was really in the wrong profession. It was really when I started to feel a shift towards where I am today. I wanted to feel more connection with my body, with the earth, the seasons. I was a sponge for everything I could get my hands on, which led me. To meeting my first coach about a year later. The forties are transformational years. Like think about it as the caterpillar transforming into the butterfly, but you're in the cocoon, and if you're not living your true values, this can feel like a crisis. It's about shutting what is not you any longer and about making new discoveries for yourself. I've seen clients at this stage and they're like, oh my gosh, I just feel like I've got something bubbling up. I can dream about this. I can do it. It's also about coming to terms with where you are in your life and assessing what you have accomplished in your life. You're reevaluating your life, your work, and your relationships, and we find that so many women tend to get divorced between 40 and 45 'cause they're like, I'm done. This is not the relationship I want. And my mentor, Julie Ciardi says that this 40 cycle is your new direction in life until death. If you're not operating correctly, it's gonna feel like this major speed bump. You've reevaluated things times. If we're not living correctly, it becomes that crisis. We have women who have breakdowns because there's this sense of urgency that time is running out and I have to fix this problem. But it can also lead you to acting really impulsively and even disruptively. Because the bill of goods, we were sold by the patriarchal soci society, had no consideration of our inner being. Except to follow this chosen religion, and if most, if not all religions right now are male dominated, it was all external, all outside of ourselves, the idea that we needed these gurus, these experts, these politicians and these religious leaders to tell us what to do, we're moving into this new direction in life until death and that direction, the forties are preparing you. For your Chiron return, which is so beautiful. The Chiron return happens around 49 to 50. For me, it was 48, and the Chiron is the wise years. Chiron is a minor planet that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune, and it's not a moon and in astrology, it tends to be the wounded warrior. In human design. It is not. It is a cycle that comes at that time coming into your own. This is a true maturity of life, a new flowering. This is about living out your purpose. This is when there's a fulfillment of your purpose that starts to take place. And what happens is the first part of your life. Before 30, before 40 and the forties start to meet together and mesh into something absolutely amazing and something completely different. When you start to leave behind the constraints of the past and operate as an example of your purpose. I mean, we see it in real time right now. If you think about all these people, these Gen Xers who are like F this, I'm not going with that anymore. They're just done. They're like, I don't care what you think. If you have not looked her up, I want to introduce you to somebody that makes me laugh almost every single day. Her name is Melanie. If you follow her on Instagram. She has the Do Not Care Club. It is about what we do not care about anymore. And it makes me laugh every single day, every single time I look at it and I'm like, if I'm having a bad day, I am like, what is Melanie bringing up today? And I think, oh, I hadn't thought of that one. Oh, this one's, this one is great. I hadn't thought of that. And then I'm like, oh, but what about this one? This is what I no longer care about. The Chiron is your time, your wisdom potential coming up, you are becoming a role model for others. You are becoming this wise woman and for so long as women, we put ourselves on the back burner and over 50, you're no longer done. You're no longer washed up. We are seeing that in real time. We're like, Nope, we are not done. We're not washed up. We are just beginning. We are taking our power back and we are becoming that wise woman. We're no longer going to be seen as this old crone, this old woman. We are going to be powerful. And you can see this every single day. And I saw this yesterday and I just, I had to bring it up because it just really. Oof. I was so excited about it. Research shows that after menopause, women's brains hit the prime of their life, and I was like, Ooh, I am ready for it. I mean, right now the brain fog is real, but I am looking forward to being in the prime of my life. The cycles really invite us to assess our patterns that we've carried for years. And one of my mentors, Julie Ciardi, said something that really shifted things for me. I was listening to a podcast about her human design and business, and she was talking about the cycles, and what she said on the podcast really stopped me. She says, "midlife is not a crisis. It's a calling." I had to rewind. I was like, wait, what? What'd she say? And as soon as I listened to it again, I was like, oh my gosh. And I have followed her ever since because I i'm here for it. We are here for it. But when we start to move into this Chiron stage, we can also start to feel some rockiness. These shifts help us see where things are not working. The old way is not working anymore, and we decide when we're done of doing things. The old way. The Chiron return is really when the soul review happens 'cause you're coming to terms with your mortality. You know that you have fewer years left than you have lived. And what happens during your Chiron return is your personal development and your growth roadmap for the rest of your life. You don't change. It tells you what you are here to learn, who you need to be around the skills and the perspective that you need to develop. In order for your purpose to flourish. So as we enter the stage of our lives, as women, we decide to make conscious decisions that we are in charge of our lives. And part of that taking charge is understanding why things in your life have unfolded in the ways that they have, and also understanding that our minds and our bodies trusting them more and knowing that others don't have the answers for us. So you might be wondering, okay, so Erica, what do these cycles have to do with decisions? Actually, they have a lot to do with decisions. 'cause when we lean into these energies, we can see what gets activated in our human design chart and what energies may be influencing us in the background to bring a deeper sense of our inner knowing and trusting ourselves more fully. In midlife, we are more conditioned now than at any other time in our lives. This isn't a bad thing. We've just had decades of practicing. Practicing all these old patterns in an old way, and somewhere along the way those old patterns get in the way of us making clear decisions. We feel stuck or we have a breakdown because we don't know what to do when the ketchup we buy at the grocery store for our kids is out. I mean, there are 35 different varieties to choose from, but that decision fatigue can just break us. And we're ready for a shift. We can feel it within ourselves. We can feel it within our society. We're feeling this new era shifting and it feels really unsettling. But as bad as things feel, I know that we need to go through the dark. To get to the light. I absolutely hate that people are losing their lives in these dark times, but I know that my job in this time is to be a light for others. So please know that there are reasons we're going through this. We just can't see the why. We can't see where we're going. I am not trying to sound airy fairy, but there are larger forces at play. We're seeing them in human design. We're seeing them in astrology and in Chinese astrology. Changing the cycle to the fire horse, the more I learn about the cycles. About the greater year cycles, the season cycles, the generational cycles, the more I want to dig in and to learn more. So this episode is just a tip of what probably will be coming in, just like that last episode where I talked about the energies of the first few weeks of January. From a human design perspective. I'm gonna be bringing to my client's weekly energy weather report. So don't think I'm done talking about it on this podcast. There's probably going to be a lot more coming. So thank you for being on this journey with me. If this episode resonated with you, I would be so grateful if you would click the plus sign to subscribe or share it with a friend. I will see you next time. Be well.