Most of us were taught to manage time. Few of us were taught to work with it.
Between digital calendars and endless to-do lists, it’s easy to forget that our energy doesn’t move in straight lines. It moves in cycles. In seasons. In subtle shifts that influence how we create, rest, and begin again.
Magic of I, founded by Kerry Ward, was built on that understanding. A longtime student of astrology and natural rhythms, Kerry created an astrology planner that blends the structure of everyday scheduling with lunar cycles and astrological seasons. The result is something both practical and poetic. A place to organize your life, yes, but also a space to notice the undercurrents moving beneath it.
We chatted with Kerry about her search for meaning, her fascination with subtle energy, and why planning in rhythm with the cosmos can feel less like pressure and more like clarity.
In Conversation with Kerry Ward
Before Magic of I existed, how did you experience your inner world and your relationship with meaning? I’ve always been a deep thinker and feeler in search of, and in practice of, meaning. There really is no before or after, as Magic of I. was born as an extension of myself. My inner world is inherently creative and magical, always looking for patterns and sense making of the chaotic amount of information that is available to us. Often, it’s between the lines in the mystery of it all where it’s most interesting.
I was always drawn to subtle energy and had a deep fascination with it growing up as a child, from occasional exposure to my great grandmother, who was a medium and spiritualist. So there was a connection to knowing that there is something greater than what we see and experience in regular life. I guess that formed a very wide lens of being able to see more of what is available, or not available, to us, and possibly where I fit in all of it (I mean, do we ever really know?).
My relationship with meaning has not always been straightforward, and I don't expect it to be at different times of my life either. There will always be something that will humble you to your core and reset your beliefs on what is possible. What is the saying: ‘you need to get lost to find yourself’? Well, there were many moments of feeling completely lost and confused about what ‘it’ all meant, and how to shape my own life into what I wanted, and why I am here. I think this is pretty normal for deep thinkers and feelers. And sometimes the world just absolutely baffles me, and there is no sense to be made.
When I discovered astrology, after dabbling in different modalities to find some kind of overarching structure (which included an obsession with TCM, body systems, and the menstrual cycle), I felt a quiet knowing that this was an ‘in’ to making some sense of this mystery we are all part of. And it has. It has been a system that has put language to what was indescribable for me: subtle peaks and valleys of feeling, cycles and undercurrents that affect all of us, whether we are aware of them or not. The applications have felt endless, whereas other modalities always hit a ceiling, so to speak. It has given me a tool to investigate ‘meaning’ or understand the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of what unfolds or is about to unfold. It’s not the only tool, because I keep my scope open, but it has definitely helped me find meaning. Just understanding the birth chart and its intricacies was life changing for me.
Your language often speaks to incarnation, presence, and the sacredness of being alive. How does that understanding shape everything Magic of I creates? It’s an anchor for meaning, a perspective that expands general everyday thinking to see beyond the mundane. Everything Magic of I. creates invites deeper engagement with life through learning, introspection, shared wisdom, practical application and structure, or just providing the space to explore the inner world through writing and journaling. I’m not here to create something mundane or mediocre. If we are here on this earth, at this time, living our lives, shouldn’t we be doing that in a way that nourishes and supports our uniqueness with layers of magic and intention? I think so.
You often reference cycles, duality, and the relationship between shadow and light. How have those themes influenced the way you understand time and personal growth? Massively. This all began when I wanted deeper connection and understanding of my own cycles, not just understanding hormones and what they do in the body, but the complete state changes that happen: how our psyche changes and adapts in conjunction with hormones, and how our bodies respond. How our spiritual connection changes and how our beliefs shift throughout our cycle. It’s not always pretty. It was all so fascinating to me. There is an inherent flow and unfurling movement, and once I understood my personal cycle, I felt the layers of bigger cycles that impacted me as a human (body and mind). Which is when I began dabbling in and understanding different systems of time and subtle energy, and how to utilise and harness those. Shadow work is a given when you are diving into these depths, and I don’t shy away from the not so nice parts of life, because that is what is real. It’s not all love and light. You can’t have one without the other.
The astrology planner balances structure with poetry. How did you approach designing a tool that could support both presence and practical, everyday planning? In all honesty, I designed this for myself and what I needed as a dreamer and creative to actualise my dreams and desires, while integrating and learning the multitude of layers of astrology which supported my need for an overarching system. I needed to create some kind of order of the many layers of seeing and interacting with time and cycles, to be able to see clearly what is coming up, when, and how to utilise the ‘secrets’ (subtle energy) that I knew existed, and that had a big impact on me as a sensitive person.
Coming from being deeply interested and invested in understanding the subtle psycho-spiritual layers of the menstrual cycle, this also had to be incorporated, because it is all connected. Overall, it’s very masculine feminine: the holder of structure for unbridled creativity and exploration of life to unfold. Or left brain right brain.
In your experience, how does honoring natural fluctuations in energy help people stay consistent without forcing output? Well, it’s permission for a lot of people to tap into what they really feel behind the facade of how our ‘normal’ world and systems function. We all know if we try to paddle upstream, it is way harder than flowing with the current. There are more ideal times to take action, and times where we need to rest, wait, and listen.
It can be boiled down fairly simply, as the first layer, to the elements: earth, air, fire, water. Each one has a particular constitution and pattern, and when you know how to utilize these, things tend to flow a lot better, and forcing isn’t really a concept anymore.
It’s having the tools and the knowledge that helps people get in touch with these cycles and to work with them. Similarly to the menstrual cycle, if we become more aware and equipped with wisdom, we know how to work with them instead of against them. This can be applied to moon cycles, planetary cycles, and seasonal shifts.
What did you want this planner to offer that traditional planning systems often overlook? Choice in how you engage with the world. It is structured around the Gregorian calendar, which we know is made up and a vast majority of the western world uses, so it is very much a part of many people’s reality. But I wanted a choice in how I, and others, engage with time and natural cycles. So without completely disconnecting from a reality that a lot of people live in, I have combined them.
If you just want to follow moon cycles and astrological seasons, you can. If you want to stick with what is considered ‘normal’ time structure while dabbling in astrology, you can. But essentially, I wanted to provide an insight into the undercurrents that are constantly moving through our lives.
And also most importantly: structure to the utter chaos it can be. Structure for pulling the threads of our lives together, of our dreams and wishes together, and having a sacred physical space where that can be recorded and expanded upon in a way that feels natural, with some gentle nudges to action on things that will improve and expand our inner and outer worlds.
When someone opens the planner for the first time, what kind of experience or feeling were you hoping to create? I want them to feel hopeful, expansive, excited, and inspired at the endless possibilities of what their lives are, and can be. I wanted that for myself, and that was the energy of the creation of this tool. I wanted to feel supported when I needed it, and yet free to explore, but have something to come back to on the days I felt out of touch or lost. All of these desires have been poured into this space, and I would feel content and fulfilled if others felt them too.
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