Then please LIKE our stuff!
We just started a new shopping cart system, and all our customer feedback went back to Zero, even though we’ve had 10,000 satisfied customers over 17 years!
Alicia would be grateful you’d help our products shine like the stars they are!
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We are SO excited! To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, we have a brand new website, and we’re revamping the shopping cart as well!
Take a look around, and let us know what you think!
If you already own a piece of our “Meaningful Bling” or any of our zodiac gifts, please revisit that item in our shopping cart and leave a testimonial about it!
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by Gil Zeimer
Astrologer Alicia C. Katz is the artist and visionary behind Wandering Star Astrology Chart Jewelry. For 15 years, the entrepreneurial Cancer (with a Libra moon and ascendant) has offered ways to “wear your universe” by creating charts and readings, custom jewelry, zodiac gifts, books, software, and more, which she sells online.
She got her big break in Hollywood, the day before the Oscars in February 2011.
We recently chatted with Katz about her Academy Awards experience, the origins of Wandering Star, and promoting her small business.
GP: How did you take your “meaningful bling” to Hollywood?
Katz: The company that puts together the pre-Oscar gift bags found me online and invited me to Hollywood. I was excited to finally get some national exposure after 15 years of being in business. I met more than 50 TV and film celebrities and took each person’s date, time, and place of birth. I then created astronomical necklaces, about 25 of which were customized with both an astronomical sky map and an astrology chart.
Who did you meet there?
A few celebrities in particular asked me to help them select the perfect astrology jewelry, so I created custom pieces for C. Thomas Howell, who got a Sagittarius necklace; Tony Dovolani of Dancing With the Stars, who got a Cancer necklace; and Nadia Bjorlin from Days of Our Lives, who got a custom horoscope necklace.
What did this one event do for your business?
It gave my company great visibility, with celebrity endorsements (video and written testimonials) on my website and on YouTube. My business became an overnight success.
Since the Oscars, how has business been?
To be honest, we didn’t get a lasting boost in business, but we did get a great opportunity to talk to celebrities and show them what we can do. We will follow up with many of them soon for holiday gift orders.
How did you get started making astrology jewelry?
While studying astronomy in Santa Fe, N.M., in 1995, I wanted to make jewelry that was not only pretty, but also practical and powerful. I discovered that I could balance the science of astronomy with the art of astrology. The first pieces were made as Christmas presents, then friends started asking for them and a business was born. Wandering Star grew from a tackle box at my kitchen table to a community-based business that now has stores and customers all over the world.
How do you promote your business?
We run print ads in Us Weekly and Men’s Journal and online, but the bulk of our marketing focuses on our website. The majority of our sales occur through Google searches and someone just buying a gift item through our online store. It’s very satisfying to see them come in throughout the day.
How far do you travel to display at trade shows?
I go to holistic expos on the West Coast and occasional large conferences in other cities, as well as astrology conferences like the New Orleans one, slated for 2012.
What’s your biggest challenge?
Educating people about what my products can actually do for them as a power tool or power talisman. In stores, my customized astrology necklace looks like any other necklace, but when I’m able to talk to someone face-to-face at a trade show or via phone after they see my website, I’m able to explain how each bead affects their personality, so they can use it as a tool to break a bad habit or to call on their strengths.
What do you like most about GoPayment?
For trade shows, I’ve loaded all of the options for my gift items into the GoPayment system, so I can actually build a specific product from myriad choices to fulfill each customer’s particular wish list.
By Jessica Husek
The constellations, which were originally used for navigation, are now used to describe personality and character.
Thomas Robertson, physics and astronomy department chair, said the constellations were named and studied about 4,000 years ago. Astrological signs are located along the ecliptic, or the path along which the sun appears to move through the sky, he said. The zodiac represents the 12 constellations that lie along that path, he said.
“The constellation in which the sun appears at the moment of your birth is defined as your astrological sign,” Robertson said.
Ancient astrologers connected constellations to stories and mythology, as well as using them as a physical guide and agricultural calendar, he said.
“They were able to take random patterns and put them into context,” he said. “They could tell from the positions of the constellations how to get home or when to harvest their crops.”
Alicia Katz, owner of Wandering Star Designs, said modern astrologers use the constellations for personality assessment. By using astrological charts, they are able to map out the exact locations of the sun, moon and planets at the moment a person was born, she said. They use this information to determine each person’s astrological sign and the typical traits for each sign, Katz said. For example, Scorpios, or people who were born between October 23 and November 22, are typically intense, dramatic and mysterious, she said.
Not all Scorpios, however, are exactly alike, she said.
“You have one sign that you identify with most, but you have a little bit of all of the 12 signs in you,” Katz said. “They vary according to degrees of importance to each person.”
Astrological charts also contain 12 Houses or sections that represent different areas of life, she said. For example, one house represents pleasure, while another represents relationships, she said.
“The houses help determine how your personality will play out in all areas of your life,” she said.
The signs are also divided according to their “qualities,” she said. The three qualities include Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable signs, she said. Cardinal signs are typically strong in character, while fixed signs are stable and reliable and mutable signs are adaptable, Katz said.
Putting all the information together creates a unique set of traits, she said. “From the charts you can map out your personality,” she said. “You can find out why you have certain strengths and weaknesses. You can learn what you’re hardwired for.”
That information can be used for personal growth and success, Katz said. “People find comfort in knowing why they are the way they are,” she said.
BBSRadio.com Interview: Relationships in Astrology
On October 8, 2007, Alicia was a guest on Mike Schultz’s Odyssey radio program on bbsradio.com. We talked about Relationship Compatibility between the Zodiac signs. What the different signs would be like a party, in the workplace, and in a committed partnership.
Click here to listen and learn!
On Wednesday, May 28, Alicia was the featured guest on Maria Shaw’s Psychic Radio show, psychiconair.com.
Maria asked her about the astrological significance of economy, gas prices, and the housing market. They also discussed the presidential election, June’s horoscope, and of course, Alicia’s amazing custom horoscope jewelry.
Click here to listen to Alicia’s 15 minutes of fame!
BBSRadio.com Interview: About Astrology
On Dec 7, 2006, Alicia was a guest on Mike Schultz’s Odyssey radio program on bbsradio.com . We talked about the personalities of the various zodiac signs; about Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable traits; the Age of Aquarius; and much more.
