Book Riot - Reading the Stars: Astrology for Book Lovers

Welcome to the wonderful world of bookish astrology! This book is intended to help you better understand the planets, their impact on you, and how your zodiac sign shapes your reading life. Astrology can help inform how you previece yourself and others, can provide guidance for your relationships, and may even be helpful while choosing a cocktail at happy hour! And like other aspects of life, reading is equally important and equally open to growth and change.

But before we get there, its helpful to have a basic understanding of astrology and your own zodiac signs. Yes, signsplural!

Astrology has a long, winding history, dating back more than four thousand years to ancient Babylonia. Today, astrologers have a variety of approaches to interpreting celestial movements, but they share the belief that we can be deeply impacted and shaped by the universe in ways we cant always see. And, inspired by the planets journeys around the sun, astrology recognizes that cyclical patterns and repetition can teach us a lot about the world around us.

Learning about your astrological placements can give you a helpful window into your own inner workings, which can in turn help you discover new things to bring you joy and support your personal growth. Since youre here, were guessing you like books, yes? Well, astrology can certainly give you some hints about what kind of books you like to read, what books can help you grow as a person, and how you engage with the reading world.

Well start off with a little background on the key concepts of astrology, what shapes the signs of the zodiac, and how the signs interact with each other. After that, well discuss each of the signs in more detail and explore how each sign reads.

When someone walks up to you at a bar and says, Hey, baby, whats your sign? theyre probably asking about your sun sign. But while your sun sign says a lot about you, astrology isnt quite as simple as sorting everyone into the twelve signs and calling it a day. Your astrological placements come in many packages, with each house and planet making up another part of your magical, mystical being. Generally, you can get a pretty good idea of what makes someone tick if you know their sun sign, moon sign, and rising sign. All three are determined by the movement of the planets at the exact date, time, and location of your birth. The fastest way to identify your signs is by using one of the many free birth-chart calculators online. Go ahead and look your birth chart up now. Dont worry, well wait.

Alright, now that you know your sun, moon, and rising signs, what do they mean? Lets start with your sun sign, the one you probably already knew before you picked up this book. When you see a range of dates associated with a sign, its referencing your sun sign, associated broadly with the day of your birth. Your sun sign is the most influential sign for your identity, the one that generally makes up your personality, habits, and instincts. If you read horoscopes, look at the listing for your sun sign for a broad view of how planetary movements may impact you. When it comes to your reading life, think of your sun sign as what influences your all-time favorite books and genres.

If you were born within a couple of days of the switchover between two signs, that makes you a cusper. Because the planets were shifting from one station to another when you were born, you may find that you have qualities from the signs on either side. This is a bit of a blessing and a curse; having qualities from two signs gives you greater perspective and versatility, but it may also cause some inner conflict when your two sun signs clash.

Your moon sign is the sign that guides your internal life, like how you behave while youre alone or how you interact with your closest friends and family. Its the part of your personality that not everyone sees but is still intimately connected to how you understand and approach the world. Knowing your moon sign can help you better understand how you interact emotionally with your loved ones and where you turn for relaxation and security. Think of your moon sign as determining your comfort books, the ones you read solely for your own enjoyment.

Quite the opposite, your rising sign determines how you present yourself to the world. It influences how you want to be perceived by others or how you shape your personal brand. While its helpful to understand your instincts when it comes to public appearances, its not necessarily as important for your interiority as your sun and moon signs. Think of your rising sign as the books you read to impress other people rather than out of genuine interestor perhaps the books you artistically pose and photograph for Instagram but have yet to actually read.

If youre new to astrology, you may have trouble remembering the differences between the twelve zodiac signs. A helpful way to understand the different signs, and especially how they interact with each other, is to consider their elements. Each sign falls under one of four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. The pattern of elements repeats through the signs in that order, starting with the fire sign Aries.

Knowing someones element can give you a general idea of their priorities, values, and view of the world, though its not definitive. Theres much more to everyone than their astrological sign, and within each sign theres plenty of room for variation. Think of the elements as a general rule or guiding principle, rather than a finite system that everyone fits into perfectly.

Fire signs include Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Theyre united by their fiery, competitive spirit and independent streaks. At their best, fire signs are passionate, adventurous, and energetic. At their most difficult, they can be impulsive, combative, and egotistical. Fire signs tend toward ambitious reading goals and reading for sport instead of pleasure. They also like to see themselves in a protagonist, and seek out stories accordingly.

Earth signs include Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. They are traditionalists at heart who value rules, family, and earthly pleasures. The world is mostly black-and-white to earth signs, with little room for any gray area. At their best, earth signs are responsible, patient, and loyal. At their most difficult, they can be hard-headed, predictable, and a bit lazy. Earth signs are the most likely to limit themselves to only one or two genres and love rereading old favorites. They dislike ambiguous endings, preferring books with a clean finish.