Dr. Nicole Rawls
Anthropologist Astrologer Artist
~An Anthropologist Committed To A Liberatory Humanity
To Support Dr. Rawls Work
TIP JAR
In-Person & Online Events!
Queering Chaos Conversations:
“Queering Spirit & Spirituality”
October 21st
7pm
Dorothy Downstairs
2500 W Chicago Ave
Chicago
“Who Are You Praying To? Queering Spirit & Spirituality”: Chaos invites uncertainty and in uncertain times many people fall back on their faith system. But who/what do you believe in and why? What does it mean to work WITH Spirit through a queer lens outside a heteronormative understanding of the sacred? Let's discuss! In this first of five (5) “Queering Chaos” conversations, we will explore spirit and spirituality through a queer lens by talking with various Queer spiritualists on what it means to be embodied in this moment. This is part of a larger “Queering Chaos” project, led by Dr. Nicole Rawls about Queers who dare to Queer with the Chaos Man at the steering wheel of the American Empire. Join us every 3rd Tuesday of the month from October (2025)-February (2026) for a Queering Chaos Conversation on various topics!
Join me online in October for 2 seminars I am teaching through Big Liz Conjure
October 23rd
“Death and the Ancestors: Working w/ Pluto”
We start with death for it is through honoring, respecting, and learning to work with the energy of death, and our dead, do we then understand what it means to live. It is more than just creating an Ancestor altar and giving them food every week. Instead, what is our relationship to death in the everyday? Do we know how to die so that we can start to truly live? In this seminar, we will go over the concept of death, grief, veneration and the ancestors, and how knowing death and its various components can help us better imagine new worlds where we can embody life. Participants will walk away with a ritual to help with their own death and rebirth process. No prior work with the Ancestors is required for this class - this is for all folks interested in the death and life cycle. However, everyone should create their Natal Chart HERE prior to class.
October 27th
“Understanding Your Spiritual Gifts w/ Astrology”
Our bodies are magic, we just have to learn to turn them on. This is where astrology can help! In this workshop I will help participants learn more about their spiritual gifts by examining the dark houses (4-8-12) and nodes of the chart. Working with the modality of those houses, along with the zodiac signs and planets in those houses, participants will learn more about how to turn on and activate their spiritual gifts.
ASTROLOGY SPECIALS!
ASTROLOGY SPECIALS!
Use code FALL for 35% off an “Understanding Your Spiritual Gifts” AND “Graduation/Life Transition” Readings till October 31st!
It is time to tell new stories so we can create the futures we say we want. So it is a time of the storytellers and story weavers to tell and weave new stories for our humanity.
To tell new stories we need to embody our humanity and believe the reality we are in so we can dream and create the societies that can actually hold and support life.
How do we learn to embody the knowledge we have learned?
What does it mean to strategically dream as a way to world-build the societies we say we want to live in?
Can we allow ourselves to play in the dreamscape(s) and bring those dreams into reality?
If we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams, how do we dream WITH them as a liberatory practice?
These are some of the questions I explore in my Patreon, the online arm of my Embodied Futures Lab, as a way to create a space for people to imagine our world differently and then dare to bring those imaginations into reality.
Subscribe to learn more and have access to exclusive content! Come and dream with me!!
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Dr. Nicole Rawls
Welcome! My name is Dr. Nicole Rawls and I am an anthropologist, astrologer, poet, and strategic dreamer.
I use my knowledge and training to deconstruct societal mindsets and imagine a world without oppressive systems governing us. I obtained my Ph.D. in Anthropology from Michigan State University in 2011, specializing in race, racism, citizenship, and the nation-state. I previously taught and worked at Michigan State University, The University of Bristol (UK), Beloit College and Brown University before leaving higher education in 2021. You can read more about me here.
My work and offerings are multifaceted.
I am the founder of the Embodied Futures Lab and Dream Praxis Studios. With a focus on creating clarity, choice, and action through a humane lens, I offer cultural and organizational strategy services to individuals and organizations/businesses alike through a process I call “ embodied strategic dreaming”. I am really interested in exploring the question: What does it mean to be human? And to answer that one must go on a ride through space and time and understand how we became a society that values dehumanization in the first place. This is where my creative work comes in. As the creator of “Embodied Strategic Dreaming” I help others learn to believe and embody their experiences and learnings and work in the dreamscapes as a way to strategically world-build the societies we say we want to fully live through my podcast, Patreon, writings, speaking, astrological analysis, creative projects, and active social media presence, where I discuss a wide range of topics including the concept of the human, ancestors, and society. My multidisciplinary approach allows me to bridge the gap between academia and spirituality, offering a unique perspective that challenges existing norms and encourages individuals to imagine a world free from oppressive systems. I am currently working on my first book, “Reclaiming My Wild: A Modern Day Marronage Folktale” (working title).
My passion lies in my commitment to social change and the belief in the transformative power of imagination and dreaming to have us come back to our humanity.
I offer a number of different astrological assessments - listed below. Refer here for more detailed information on each and to book!
Journey to Self (Natal/Baseline Reading)
A foundational astrology reading that explores your birth chart to understand your core self, purpose, and key life themes.Graduation Reading
A reading for individuals transitioning from academic, professional, or personal training into the next chapter of their life, providing insights into this major life shift.Working w/ Chaos: Telling The Story Of The Outer Planets (Natal and Transit Analysis)
Learn what the outer planets have in store for you as they all changed signs this year.
Clarity Reading
You have a question and want the cosmos guidance in coming to a solution? This is the reading for you!
Healing Wounds Reading
A Chiron focused reading to help with healing wounds we carry
Parenting YOUR Child Reading
If you are a parent who wants to break the mold of parenting placed upon us by society, and focus on what it means to parent YOUR child based on their energies, than this is the reading for you.
Parent-Child Reading
A reading that helps parents understand how their child’s astrology chart can inform healthier, more effective parenting strategies while breaking unhealthy family patterns.Business Relationship Reading
For individuals in or considering a business partnership, this reading helps partners navigate how their astrological energies interact to create a sustainable and aligned business partnership.Romantic Partnership Reading
A reading to understand how romantic partners’ astrological charts interact, focusing on how to maintain individuality while fostering a strong, harmonious relationship.Understanding Your Spiritual Gifts Reading
This reading dives into your nodes and the dark houses (4th, 8th, and 12th) to explore your ancestral gifts and deepen your connection to your spiritual essence, using astrology and ancestral traditions.Astrology Salons
Group sessions focusing on astrology to learn and discuss astrology in community, helping participants gain deeper insight into their charts and the cosmic influences on their lives.
Yappin w/ the Stars - The Podcast
(LATEST EPISODE)
New Moon in Virgo Part 2: Spiritual Warfare is Here (Weekly Forecast for September 21-27, 2025)
I’m back with a special edition of Yappin’ with the Stars where we’re diving into the second New Moon in Virgo, this time at 29°. This is a moment of spiritual rupture, collective reckoning, and personal recalibration. I had to sit with some real things this week, and this episode reflects that.What I Talk About in This Episode:
What I get into:
Why this New Moon in Virgo at 29° is a critical breaking point—and what it’s asking you to release.
How spiritual warfare is playing out politically, socially, and personally—and why it matters that we understand the mythologies we’re living under.
The Venus square Uranus and Mars square Pluto transits and how they’re reshaping our understanding of justice, identity, and strategy.
Reframing the Saturn/Jupiter binary: Saturn as crone, Jupiter as wise parent—and what happens when patriarchy hijacks both.
My personal crashout this week and how I'm learning to live through rage, grief, and the body’s truth.
The rising wave of Christian nationalism, public psychosis, and why belief is a weapon.
Why care, community, and family are the real sites of resistance—and how we reclaim them through our bodies, not just our minds.
I don’t say all this just to rant. I say it because I believe we have the tools to create new futures, but only if we stop lying to ourselves and start listening to our bodies. That’s where the real work begins.
So… What does your body want to say?
Where are you still trying to logic your way through nonsense?
Are you ready to stop betraying yourself?
Offers, Pop-Ups & More:
Use code FALL for 35% off any 1 hour astrology reading with me until the end of October.
Live Pop-Up Readings in Chicago
Come see me in person:
Oct 16 @ Nobody’s Darling (40+ Queer Mixer)
Oct 19 @ Jackhammer (Funkstick Party): 20-minute mini readings on love & liberation
Tip Jar & Patreon:
If this episode moved you or you want to keep seeing this kind of work in the world:
Join the Patreon: for deeper dives, astrology study sessions, and curated listening salons
Book A Consultation!
Through Embodied Strategic Dreaming, I help visionaries, creatives, and leaders turn their biggest ideas into actionable, sustainable strategies.
Whether you’re a founder, a creative, or an organization seeking clarity, I help my clients design a roadmap that aligns with your purpose and leads to real transformation.
