First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - WellFleet Press for the opportunity to have a limited time copy of Stephanie Gailing new book called The Complete Guide to Astrological Self-Care, so I may give an honest review.
Right of the bat I fell in love with the graphics of this book. Now I was given an e-book and even in this cold impersonal digital format the visuals, the colours and the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Now let us get to the content.
A bit of a disclaimer here, I follow the classical philosophy line of astrology whilst Stephanie Gailing is a modern astrologer. As much as astrology may be considered as one there are viewpoints that cannot simply coincide because they have different roots. That said…
The book obviously is geared to a person curious about astrology and how it can be correlated to self-care. I would classify it as a beginner’s book with a sprinkling of holistic techniques that have been interconnected to Sun signs, according to Gailing’s way of thinking.
Part one of the book (the bulk of the book) expands on Gailing’s theory with the following pattern. Taking one Sun sign at a time as in Aries, Taurus etc accompanied by a short description according to general modern astrology. The personal health profile that follows bases on the axiom Aries equals head, Taurus neck and some other body parts. On that basic premise, health tips are given for weak points in body followed by diet, wellness therapies, relaxation practices, natural remedies ranging from supplements, homeopathy, herbs, essential oils, flower essences and yoga poses. The mix in itself is quite eclectic and offers to the reader different kinds of options and might also spur further reflections and investigations.
Part two of the book is dedicated to what Gailing calls “stellar life stages”. Here various transits that mark phases of our lives are explored. These are Jupiter Return, Saturn Return, Pluto Square, Neptune Square, Uranus Opposition, and Chiron Return. For each stage, questions are posed to the reader to help reflecting on the transit and some wellness strategies are highlighted.
Part three of the book looks at the Lunar Cycle as in New Moons and Full Moons for every zodiac sign (total 24 lunations) with annexed opportunities, challenges, affirmations, self-care rituals and stellar reflections (questions posed to reader to help reflect on the energy described).
Part four deals with planetary retrogrades, that is the apparent traveling backward of planets in the sky. Planets considered are Mercury, Venus, and Mars. To each there is a concise list of opportunities for awareness, strategies to sidestep stress, self-care suggestions, a meditation, a flower essence, a crystal and stellar reflections.
At the end there is a helpful index.
Now would I recommend this book? To someone who wants to start out in modern astrology without much depth I would say yes go ahead. If you are going to follow the classical and traditional part of astrology and eventually medical astrology, this book will only muddle up things. Gailing’s follows her own way of thinking that from my own point of view I cannot really follow but as I said that is because we come from different types of astrology.
You can find Stepnaie Gailing’s book here: https://stephaniegailing.com/books
Enjoy!
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