Astrology Resources
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In the past couple years of facilitating an astrology group and offering professional readings I’ve gotten a lot of questions from beginners about where to start. This list is definitely not conclusive and just my humble opinion. So many astrologers I did not mention here and those I haven't heard of! I recommend picking a couple books out and reading them. You may be able to find pdfs online for free if cost is a barrier or potentially a cheaper audiobook version.
All of these books have good, dedicated information about the planets (minus the Mecca Woods one which is specifically about the zodiac signs). You can web search “planet’s name” and Astrology Podcast and a whole episode on that planet will pop up. The Astrology Podcast by Chris Brennan is great and has so much free, expert astrology knowledge, I cannot praise it enough and it is truly prolific in the field. Kirah Tabourn’s podcast, Cosmic Guidance for All, is also excellent and features many younger BIPOC astrologers. Jessica Lanyadoo’s Ghost of a Podcast is my favorite astrology podcast and the only one I listen to every week.
Useful Study Resource:
The wonderful minds of the Honeycomb Collective almanac made this free resource that is a quick “cheat sheet” to the planets, signs, houses, aspects. Check it out!
The NORWAC, Northwest Astrological Conference’s archives is a great place to purchase lectures from many different astrologers. NORWAC is an annual astrology conference held in WA. If you subscribe to their newsletter they will email you regularly about sales they have on lectures.
Get an ephemeris book or download free pdfs from astro.com by websearching “ephemeris 2025” A link to astro.com should pop up first.
Learn to read a chart, astro-seek.com astro.com are my go to websites. Just start looking at charts and memorize the glyphs. As you learn more and more, they will start to make sense!
Books:
If a book has an asterisk next to it, it indicates my astrology teacher J.P. Hawthorne, founder of Portland School of Astrology, told me to read the book. You can connect with J.P. here.
*Making The Gods Work For You By Caroline W. Casey
Excellent, highly recommend, very accessible and written beautifully. Takes a tour through the planets. One of my favorite astrology books I have read.
*The Inner Sky by Steven Forrest
This is considered a classic. Warning, it has 2 instances of Forrest using a well-known racist slur towards Romani people to describe Sagittariuses. That is gross and unacceptable. Unfortunately many people don’t realize it’s a slur especially in 1984 when it was published. I still recommend it. I believe the use of this slur is more indicative of an ignorant hippie white dude rather than malicious, however, I understand if it deters you from reading this book. This book has all the foundational information you need to get started. He is an Evolutionary Astrologer and if you have the opportunity to listen to one of his lectures online maybe through Youtube, his podcast or the NORWAC archives for purchase I would take advantage of it. He has also written books about Pluto and Neptune.
Astrology For Yourself A Workbook for Personal Transformation by Demetra George
This is a workbook and would be great to help you synthesize and apply concepts. It guides you through delineating your natal chart with fill in the blank type worksheets. She wrote this book earlier in her career so it features more modern concepts like Alphabet Astrology.
The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology by April Elliott Kent
This is an encyclopedia on foundational astrology. Really a great reference tool to have, highly recommend. She has a podcast.
You Were Born For This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance by Chani Nicholas
Very accessible, highly recommend for beginners, focuses on the Big Three: Sun, Moon, Rising sign and also has foundational info about aspects and other topics. She was a student of Demetra George and has excellent astrology knowledge. She has 2 podcasts.
Postcolonial Astrology by Alice Sparkly Kat
I need to read this book lol I’ve only read a few pages. Truly a unique astrology book that has never been written. Very dense and academic, not a light read, for intermediate and advanced astrologers.
Astrology for Real Relationships by Jessica Lanyadoo
Lanyadoo is a Jewish-Iraqi-Canadian, Humanistic Astrologer. This book is so good I really like it, it is accessible for beginners and also shows you placement interpretations. It isn't a how to learn astrology step by step guide, but it is great for looking up a placement like Mercury in Pisces and getting a description. Good for people interested in learning how their placements impact their relationships.
Astrology for Happiness and Success Aries to Pisces by Mecca Woods
I haven't read it but it looks interesting and like a good jumping off point to learn more about the signs.
Ancient Astrology In Theory and Practice Volumes I and II by Demetra George
Hellenistic Astrology by Chris Brennan
I encourage you to read at least one of the other books I listed first before these, but do whatever feels right. Very dense, academic, absolute staples if you are interested in Hellenistic Astrology.
BIPOC Astrologers and their links
Kirah Tabourn has several episodes on her podcast about the planets and other interesting topics as well. The episodes are on Spotify and here.This podcast was formerly called the Strology Show and is now known as the Cosmic Guidance for All. She also made her own free guide to the houses and resource list!
Alice Sparkly Kat has a lot of original blog content! They also incorporate politics and intersectionality in their astrology. https://www.alicesparklykat.com/
Sam Reynolds is a genius and needs to write a book. https://www.unlockastrology.com/
Ali Olomi is a Medieval and Arabic Astrologer with so much phenomenal content on Patreon. He is more advanced and academic, he is actually a professor. He is prolific in terms of the volume and quality of content he offers. http://aliolomi.com/
Diana Harper Rose is a gifted relational astrologer. She also has a Patreon and is featured on many podcasts. https://ddamascenaa.com/
Sagittarian Mind on Instagram and Twitter. I mostly just follow him, but I like all of his content and get a good vibe. https://sagmind.wordpress.com/
Taylor Ursula is great, made a tarot deck called Portals inspired by being a Pisces and is featured on a lot of podcasts. https://www.thatssopisces.com/
And I really like these astrologers…
Renee Sills, a 2nd generation embodied astrologer, is excellent with a wonderful podcast that does monthly forecasts through the signs, incorporates politics into her work, has a lot of content and can be found at https://www.embodiedastrology.com/
Pallas K. Augustine is an astrologer who has a practice based in ancestral and relational work. They wrote a book called The IC Book: An Astrology of Coming Home you can get on the waitlist for. I am currently reading the book and it is truly lovely. They go through the IC in all of the signs, each chapter they include transcription from readings they gave people with those IC placements. Really great window into what excellent consultation looks like. You can find them here: https://www.nineofwands.com/