Astrolations!: A Unique Astrological Guide for You and All Your Relationships

by Jill Carr

A fascinating guide for understanding your relationships with friends, family, and colleagues, involving a unique blend of Western and Chinese astrology. Read about the astrological attributes of your child and other children in your life - and discover how the elements influence your astrological make-up - in order to further your understanding of yourself and those you encounter throughout life. This guide aims to help you achieve fuller self-knowledge, as well as a rounded understanding of the people in your life.

Genres: Astrology

736 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2024

Reviews

[Dezz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like there was a lot of potential for this book to delve into certain topics, but I wish I had seen more of that. As someone immersed in spiritual spaces, I was disappointed that the book didn't meet my expectations. However, I acknowledge my high standards for spiritual based books.

What I liked about the book was the author's unique perspective on each zodiac sign, particularly her insights into Aries moons and those with a Leo sun. She effectively conveyed her perspective on these signs and their characteristics. The information on how Western astrology traits can influence children was also intriguing for me to read.

On the downside, I didn't appreciate the lack of communication about the author's identity and motivation for writing the book. Despite me trying to find her online, I couldn't locate any information. Knowing more about the author is crucial to my engagement, especially in spiritual spaces where researching the background of those I support is essential to me.

I felt a void in understanding why Jill Carr chose to combine Western and Chinese astrology. While Chinese astrology isnt a closed practice or community, I believe authors discussing cultures they're not part of should show more consideration. Without information on Carr's background or reasons for writing about Chinese astrology, I felt disconnected.

When delving into a culture I'm not part of, I expect an informative and educational experience. A history or origin story of Chinese astrology and insights from actual practitioners could have enriched the content. Instead, it felt like hastily assembled Google searches combined with Western astrology to create something unique.

The book's description is somewhat misleading, suggesting it's an educational resource on astrology. However, it focuses more on horoscope-like concepts, providing descriptions and characteristics without delving into houses, comparisons, or how to read a chart. This limits the book's value to me. Overall I gave it two stars, and appreciated the effort into writing overall.

I know my book rating differs from others, so I provided an in-depth review to help readers make informed decisions based on the available information.

Thank you for reading and thank you NetGalley For providing me the opportunity to read it as well.

[Sassy Mystic Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be a nice reference to look up western and Chinese astrology.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been keen on astrology and have an interest in the Chinese zodiac. However I know very little about it and so I thought I'd pick this book to learn more. While reading I worked out the combinations for myself and two others to see how accurate they might be. More on this later.

Due to the nature, this is a big book. It's also not the type of book you read cover to cover, instead picking it up as and when you need. The majority of the book covers the various configurations of the zodiac signs and astrology signs. As there are 144 combinations and each needs to cover both the person and that person's relationships with others, this makes for a lot of pages. A lot may not be relevant to you or your situation which is why you might not want to read it cover to cover.

To detail everything this book is complex. However, it's done quite well & the writing is easy to understand. In regards to the accuracy of the reading, it didn't particularly work for any of us. Maybe about 10% was right. I appreciate some other reviewers may think that's not surprising but I thought it was worth mentioning, due to the type of people that will probably be buying this book. It was quite fun and interesting to read but I don't feel like I got too much out of it.

Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley for access to this book in return for an honest review.

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I have always loved astrology and look forward to learning more. When I saw that this would be a blending of Western and Chinese Astrology my interest was piqued. While certain aspects of the book were great, I felt disappointed as this didn't live up to that hype.

Was the book good for beginners? Yes and No. As someone who has read several books on this, I disagreed with certain aspects of the signs. It was not just my sign that I wasn't in agreement with, but even my friends and children. It struck me as odd that they were so different from other books that I had read on the signs. It is a good start for a beginner but also isn't as it might frustrate those new to astrology as it might not feel like them. Did I learn a few things? Yes. It is for that reason that I am giving this 3 stars.

As with most books of this type, it is not a book that one just sits down and reads from cover to cover. I wanted more fleshed explanations in parts and in others it felt like I was being explained things like I was a young learner. Again, this would be beneficial for beginners as long as a beginner continues to want to discover the vast world of astrology.

While this was not my favorite book on the subject, it also, was not the worst. Congrats to the author for all their hard work.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find astrology and horoscopes fun to read. This guide is a nice introduction to Western astrology and the Chinese zodiac, including the elemental aspects for both.

I wish this explained more about why the author chose to provide descriptions for a blend of the two. This only got one sentence but warrants more since it's not a typical approach.

The writing style and organization felt a bit off to me too. Though this is a guide, the writing occasionally feels robotic, especially since the author uses "I" to preface what she is or will do in the book. "You will find out about how the elements influence you when I explain the attributes [...], and I will now explain how to discover [...]". It also feels repetitive in sections (ex. at the end of each sun sign, it mentions referencing a later section about moon signs) when the writing could have been a blanket clause at the beginning of a section.

Overall, this is a good resource to learn more about astrology and about your Western astrological and Chinese zodiac signs.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

[Mary Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

An interesting read. I'm quite familiar with western astrology and have had my chinese BaZi done, which contains at least 5 animals. There's an explanation at the start and then the cook book of western sun sign related to Year animal. The author looks at the energies, four energy types for western: Fire, Earth, Air, Water and then five for Chinese: Metal, Water, Wood, Earth, Fire. Aries being a Fire sign and then say the year of the metal rat, so a Metal Rat Aries. I know there's a constructive as well as destructive cycle to the chinese 5 elements but I don't the the author goes too heavily into element clashes.

I certainly liked her references so will want to read a few of those. I'm left with the impression that's there is lots more layers to be explored.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Delacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I like how this book tried to touch on all the different combinations of western and eastern astrology. Like many other readers, I focused on the combinations that pertained to me and my family. I found for the areas I read, that alot of information I've already researched for my signs were glazed over, or not mentioned. It felt like the author tried to take on too much in one book. My second issue, which may be resolve in the actual publication/final ebook, is that the formating didn't show on my device properly. I couldn't read the charts, so I had to google some of the placements online. As well, the table of contents didn't let you jump to the signs you wanted, so it made it very hard to find the info your looking for. Overall, an ok book for beginners. * I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

[KerlyJD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, obooks, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own: I loved the book! I think it is a good read for beginners or for people who do not have any knowledge of astrology. The information is written in a pleasant and easy-to-understand way. I gave readings to several members of my family following the instructions in the book, and they were all surprised at how accurate most of the descriptions of the signs were. This book could be very useful for people who are starting to read astrological charts, those who create astrological content on social media, or those who want to understand the Chinese horoscope a little easier. It brings a lot of information, very detailed in each area of life. Personally, I loved it! Highly recommended.

[Ming-Ming | The Literary Lynx · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very comprehensive and easy to read guide to astrology for beginners to advanced alike. Taking from both Western and Eastern astrology and fusing then together, the author provided detailed descriptions on personality traits of different astrological combinations to give insight to your personality traits and those around you and help you understand different personalities to improve your relationships. A fun read!

[Beth Throlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.
I am not very familiar with astrology whether it is western or Chinese. I thought this was a good intro book and helped me to better understand aspects such as your sun sign. There is definitely a lot of valuable information in this book, and I think I will be reading it a few times to glean all it has to offer.

[bibliophile · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dezz wrote a good review on this book & I have similar sentiments. It absolutely isn’t worth the full price I paid for it. The book lacks depth & nuance would not recommend.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great intro to astrology. It touches mainly on sun sign, Chinese zodiac and how the two blend together. With a lot of information on how to find what your signs are, understand the elements and finally how to combine everything to understand your signs better.

It was a fun read, and would be interesting to bring out as a way to get to know acquaintances better.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.