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Astrologers use the planets and their heavenly alignments to acquire crucial insights about an individual’s personality traits, interests, and even hardships depending on their natal chart. This understanding can be deeply affirming, helping us make sense of emotions or habits that may otherwise be perplexing. Astrological readings can even guide us in making major career decisions or identify what types of relationships we’ll find most fulfilling.

Astrology, once considered a science before falling out of favor, has increased dramatically in popularity in recent years. While there are a number of books on the topic, its recent resurgence has brought many new ideas to the playing field. This can make starting out on this topic seem very overwhelming to anyone just starting out.

I’ve had a lifelong fascination and curiosity in astrology, but I’ve just recently begun to tackle what appears to be a massive task of mastering it.

Here are 5 books I’ve found helpful:

5. The Secret Language of Birthdays: Your Complete Personology Guide for Each Day of the Year Paperback — October 31, 2013

by Gary Goldschneider, Joost Elffers

This was the first astrology book I ever purchased. While the current edition was updated in 2013, my copy of this book was purchased way back in 1995. Teenage me would drag this book everywhere, dutifully looking up the birthdates of all of my friends, but that was really all it seemed good for. I’ll admit that I mostly used it to prop things up or press flowers for a few decades. My copy is not in good shape at all. Various liquids from my youth & candle wax adorn the cover. In early 2020 when I was first starting to look for a new hobby to fill the never-ending time, I picked this book back up and was surprised to find there is a plethora of information on these pages that I hadn’t noticed before. This isn’t the only astrology book you’ll ever need by any means, but there’s some stuff in here I’m not sure I’ve seen explained so clearly anywhere else. Plus, once you’re done looking up the birthdays of all your friends, family, pets, and favorite celebrities, it makes a great flower press!

4. Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune Paperback — February 10, 2017

by Chris Brennan

As an avid listener of The Astrology Podcast, I had to pick this one up. Anyone who has listened to Chris’ podcast will recognize his care and attention to detail. This book is no exception. I’m not sure if this is the best book for absolute beginners, but if you’re interested in the history of astrology and you feel comfortable with some basic terms & ideas, this is a very informative read.

3. Astrology for Real Life: A Workbook for Beginners Paperback — Illustrated, October 1, 2019

by Theresa Reed

Theresa Reed, better known as the Tarot Lady, brings her easy elegant style & sensibility to the heavens with this workbook-style take on astrology. Ya know how I said the last one wasn’t for absolute beginners? Well, if you’ve never read anything else on the subject, this is the place to start. Theresa provides excellent resources for you to use to find your own natal chart and then breaks everything down and holds your hand and walks you through each section. By the time you’re done with this book, you should have a much better understanding of not only astrology but also yourself.

2. Astrological Transits: The Beginner’s Guide to Using Planetary Cycles to Plan and Predict Your Day, Week, Year (or Destiny) Paperback — August 15, 2015

by April Elliott Kent

Once you’ve gotten a hang of the lingo and you start reading your natal chart to pick apart every aspect of your personality, the next obvious step is predicting the future! That’s where transits come into play. I’m going to keep it real, this book was hard for me to digest, but it was by far the easiest-to-understand book I’ve read on the topic.

1. Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your Everyday Life Hardcover — Illustrated, September 25, 2018

by DK (Author)

If I could only recommend one book on this list, it would be this one. As someone who’s familiar with their big three and had a copy of my natal chart printed out since my early teens, I get bored with a lot of the beginner books on this topic. Many of them just seem to repeat the same information over and over, never really getting to the good parts. Not the case here! This book definitely covered the basics, but it also had depth. It’s bright, colorful, and engaging, covering everything you need to know to understand basic astrology in a fun and simple way.

So, Which books have you read that helped you understand the basics of astrology the best?

Also, Which books wouldn’t you recommend to someone who’s just getting started?

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