My House: Legendary astrologist and spiritual teacher Shelley Von Strunckel tells us how her King’s Cross apartment gets her in the zone
I used to live in a mews house in Marylebone and before that in a Victorian gothic mansion block. Now I live in a loft in King’s Cross that’s surrounded by water, which is one of the reasons I bought it – I find it soothing, but it’s also very good feng shui. I’ve lived here for 11 years, which is a long time for me.
I bought it when King’s Cross was still decidedly dodgy. Oh my goodness gracious, it’s had such a facelift. It’s now full of cool people. The neighbours between [DJ and singer] Jeremy Healy and me have only changed once because it’s such a fabulous place.
My home is a combination of feng shui and artefacts I’ve picked up along the way. The artefacts are there as a reminder of spiritual energy, but many of them are art, too. I’ve had a couple of boyfriends who are artists so I also have art by them.
Astrology is a cover story because when I started doing horoscopes 27 years ago, there wasn’t space for someone to be a spiritual teacher
I’ve got books on all sorts of things from travel to broader spirituality. It breaks my heart to get rid of books, so my designer David Benthem built this place with lots of cupboards. He’s an old friend and knows how I live, write and entertain. So we gutted it and he created this space that was very workable. I love to cook and entertain and I’m incredibly sociable, so it was very important that the space was right.
I have a massive desk with all my papers and books. I’m incredibly tidy, but I have no idea what happens when it comes to papers on my desk. There’s a short circuit somewhere. I’ve noticed this when travelling; give me 15 minutes and I will make a mess on the desk.
Shelley’s work station
People know me as an astrologist but I’m really a spiritual teacher. Astrology is a cover story because when I started doing horoscopes 27 years ago, there wasn’t space for someone to be a spiritual teacher. Astrology became my public profile. Also, I think, for many people, it’s their entry point to spirituality. I regard it as a tool. So I do the columns for the Evening Standard, Sunday Times, French and Chinese Vogue, the South China Morning Herald, the Gulf News in Dubai and my own website.
Then there’s my consulting and spiritual teaching. I taught meditation to the chief exec of a new bank this week. Last year I was speaking at a Home Office event in Paris about the changes going on in the financial world. Last week I spoke to someone who was an international designer who wanted to talk through her plans for the next year.
The zodiac on an Hermes scarf
In Paris I spoke about Uranus, which I call the ‘Uber’ of planets. It’s a disruptor and it moves into a new sign once every seven years, taking 84 years to move around the zodiac. On the day I was speaking it had moved into Taurus, which is the sign to do with finances and banking. And I don’t know whether you’ve tried to transfer money to a different account recently, but they’ve had trouble with security because of cyberterrorism.
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I was quite spiritual as a kid and in LA, where I grew up, there were a couple of really good places to study and some real intellectual rigour. I did a piece for the Sunday Times last summer on the back of reports that no one had spoken to the royal princes about their mother’s death, and how they had struggled with that.
I had the reverse experience because I’m actually clairvoyant. My brother and boyfriend died on the same day, and although I understood they ‘went on’, I was very broken up about it. But my boyfriend came to see me regularly for about six months after he died and it really helped. There was a certain point when he said, ‘You’re OK now, I won’t be coming back,’ and I said ‘Fine, thank you so much, bye.’
Shelley’s three bedroom apartment in Albert Dock, is on sale for £2.5m. Contact Currell on 020 7226 4200 or visit currell.com