Life & Work with Soleil Hernando of Koreatown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Soleil Hernando

Hi Soleil, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I like to say that my story as an astrologer started when I was around 11 years old. I was absolutely obsessed with ancient mythology, especially from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This laid the groundwork for my journey and education as an astrologer. Each planet or sign is related to a story, or a god/goddess, and each one I had come to know like an old friend. As I got older, I started to see astrology as a tool not only as a way to understand other people, but as a way to understand myself, and how every part of life grows and changes with a cyclical nature.

For the last ten years or so, I had been actively giving readings to friends, family members, and sometimes strangers at a bar if we got on the topic, and I found that very often, the things I would say would resonate and bring clarity to the person across from me. I began to have the odd sensation, that when I looked at someone’s chart, I felt I could see their story in a crystal clear way. I had not pursued astrology professionally until just under two years ago when I felt I couldn’t ignore how passionate I was about the topic anymore.

Since then, I’ve felt a part of myself that I always worried probably sounded a little weird or crazy had an outlet. I could talk ad nauseam if anyone asked me a question. I get random texts from my clients asking, ‘what’s happening?’ or telling me ‘what you told me came true!’. Getting to be a part of someone’s journey to self-actualization, or at least helping them come to terms with something they’ve always struggled with, brings me so much fulfillment. It’s funny, I start a reading with a complete stranger, and then finish the reading with a friend. I’ve unintentionally become a part of their story of finding love, getting their dream job, or how to move on from tragedy. It’s a beautiful, crazy, and ultimately fulfilling profession, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There’s been two things that were really difficult about this process. Firstly, I felt so uncertain that my skills were ‘good enough’ to start providing readings. I felt so much imposter syndrome, that I’ve come to understand is partially rooted in being raised by Cuban immigrants. This took me, a few years to come to terms with. I would often get told by others that I was good at doing readings, and I had so much fun doing them, that I would just say thank you and move on. It wasn’t until I had not only my close friends and family telling me this, but my coworkers, strangers, and my sister’s friends on Facetime telling me this that I started to believe it. I’m so grateful especially to my family, friends and my long-term partner for their unwavering belief in what I’m capable of.

Secondly and for sure the hardest part of starting to offer astrological readings professionally has been deciding to ask people to pay me to do something I love. I often fall into the trap of when someone asks me a question, to immediately say, ‘ok pull up your chart, let’s see what’s going on’. Astrology has been something that I find so fun to talk about, and I could go on forever. So learning that what I enjoy doing is in fact something that I can do professionally, also requires me to in some ways hold my skills as something more precious.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in private, one-on-one readings, however, I love to do synastry readings (compatibility) whenever I get the chance. Often people think compatibility can only be about a romantic connection, but this type of reading can apply to friends, family members, and even working relationships. I feel my clients would say about my readings that I can see right through them. My readings often provide clear and intense insight, that if a client isn’t ready to hear something like that, it can potentially be jarring. I make every effort to provide information with love and kindness, but I feel my purpose in providing these readings is to bring real clarity and to bring truths to my clients so they can truly use the information available to them in their charts. When a client leaves a reading with a new sense of understanding and purpose, that’s where I feel the most pride in what I do.

One of the things I feel sets me apart from other astrologers, is that I really enjoy making content for social media all about astrology. I have worked in the film industry since 2018 and have been making short films since I was in my early teens. I have been managing accounts and helping other creators make content since 2020. So, I finally decided to start making videos for my account, and putting myself on camera (something I had never done before), in October of 2023. I feel my previous career path in film has translated well for content creation, and getting to create a community from scratch has been so fun!

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Absolutely! Starting off with my favorite apps, I love The Chani App by Chani Nicholas, The Pattern app, and Time Passages.

My favorite podcasts about astrology are “Ghost of a Podcast” by Jessica Lanyado, “The Astrology Podcast” by Chris Brennan which feels like going to a full-on seminar with each episode, “Astrology of the Week Ahead” by Chani Nicholas, and “Absolem: The Art of Astrology and Demon Slaying” by Oak Kalawakan.

My favorite books are “Parker’s Astrology” by Julia and Derek Parker, “Astrology. The Library of Esoterica” by Andrea Richards and Susan Miller, “You Were Born For This” by Chani Nicholas, and “Astrology for Real Relationships” by Jessica Lanyado.

Each of the astrologers I mentioned have their own blogs, social media pages, and a few have books out as well so I do recommend seeking them out if anyone is interested in starting their journey to learning astrology.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrologybysol
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/astrologybysol

Image Credits
Camila Saldarriaga