The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology: Everything from zodiac signs to prediction, made easy and entertaining

by April Elliott Kent

Astrology is an ancient tool for understanding ourselves, our relationships, and our
life’s path. It begins with the belief that everything in the cosmos is connected.
Then it traces the connection between us and the planets at the moment of our birth. That connection reflects and influences every facet of our life on Earth, from love to money. Once you learn the language of astrology, it makes perfect, practical sense.

The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology offers an easy-to-understand exploration
of this celestial language that goes far beyond daily horoscopes. In these pages, you learn how to calculate and decipher your birth chart; meet and discover the secrets of the great zodiac “wheel” and its 12 signs; and tour the 12 houses that symbolize the major arenas in which life’s big events occur. You also get:

• A road map through the planets, Sun, and Moon, along with key information
on what their sign and house placement - and their relationships to one
another - mean.

• A walk through the cycles of astrology and how they reflect cycles in your own life.

• Guidelines for creating daily, monthly, yearly, and long-range planners so
you can better manage your personal goals.

• Tips for mastering the language of astrology to make predictions for your
future.

The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology gives you a no-nonsense approach
to a system that helps you discover what’s best for you, your life, and your world.

Genres: Astrology, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Reference, Education, Occult, Witchcraft

430 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

April Elliott Kent (California) has studied astrology for over thirty years, and has practiced professionally since 1990. She has contributed to The Mountain Astrologer, Wholistic Astrologer, Llewellyn's Moon Sign Book, and MoonCircles, an online magazine. Her work has also appeared on Beliefnet.com and AOL Horoscopes. She is a member of the International Society for Astrological Research, the National Council for Geocosmic Research, and the San Diego Astrological Society."

Reviews

[Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Nonfiction

This is a guide that is not only thorough but also user-friendly; it brings the realm of astrology to life in a way that is both relevant and useful. This book serves as an invaluable resource for individuals of all levels of astrological understanding, from novices to seasoned practitioners, by presenting deep and valuable insights into the practice of astrology as an art form.

This book provides in-depth coverage of many fundamental aspects of astrology, such as deciphering the "language" of the stars and learning how to interpret one's own birth chart. If you have some knowledge of the signs of the zodiac, this guide will help you learn more about them, including their classifications, characteristics, and the planets that rule them.

The planets and houses on the chart made for such an interesting and captivating read. I have a lot of respect for the author's use of straightforward language because it makes it easier to understand everything. In many situations, the examples that she provided were really helpful as well. In my opinion, both the writing and the structure of this book are top-notch.

A friend suggested that I read this book as part of my ongoing efforts to become more knowledgeable about the field of astrology. I can't believe I almost let it go away from me! It is absolutely necessary to have this guide. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be referring to this guide on multiple occasions in the future. Because I have already taken so many notes on it, I will need to keep coming back to those notes. A must-read if you are interested in astrology.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like it's important to give context for a review like this so you know where I'm coming from.

I'm not an astrologer. I do not want to be an astrologer. I read tarot as a personal practice, and have explored reading for others, so my interest in astrology is mainly based in the overlap there. That being said, I'm an agnostic/skeptic in my approach to both. Do I think Mercury Rx caused my GPS to send me on a 2-hour route for what should have been a 45 minute drive a couple weeks ago? No. Do I find the correlation amusing? Honestly, yes. Whether astrology is real or not is irrelevant to me, tbh. I do find it, like reading Tarot, useful for self-reflection, insights I might not come up with myself without "prompts," etc. And I also find them fun and interesting as a sort of intellectual challenge. Like trying to read a tarot spread, trying to read an astrological chart is both like weaving a story and solving a puzzle. Plus the literature around it is intellectually stimulating, in a way I don't get with my 9-5 office job, so that's a large part of my interest. Also explains why I've read less in depth stuff on these topics as I've started to study to potentially go back to school.

This book is generally recommended for beginners, but I think if you're brand new to astrology or the extent of your knowledge comes from the co-star app, then this may be slightly too advanced. Not that the concepts are difficult, but there's just so much information shoved into this book. I almost wish it had been separated into different volumes.

I read this cover-to-cover but I actually wouldn't recommend going about it in that way. I'd say if you're picking this up with a casual interest in astrology just read the sections that you're most interested in. I do think it's a good thing to read cover to cover for intermediate-beginners, if you want to be professional astrologers, but just for my purposes this wasn't really the most useful thing for me. I found some of the stuff about how to plan your day/month/etc around transits and the moon signs/phases interesting, but also don't see myself incorporating it into my own life.

If you're looking to DIY interpret your own birth chart and that's it then honestly this book might be more overwhelming and confusing than helpful. I'd recommend Astromatrix app for that.

I don't really see myself reaching for this regularly even if I were to incorporate astrology into my tarot practice in a more tangible way, and I'm not really interested in doing astrology readings for other people the way I am in tarot readings, so for my purposes I'll give this a 3/5.

[Jo · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

This is only the third book I read on astrology, which means that this review is from the perspective of a beginner-ish who was recommended this book to get started with Modern astrology.

I'm a professional hater (/j), so I'll start with the criticism I have for this book.

Mars is listed as a "social planet". It's true, I'm a beginner. But, nonetheless, I have scanned through plenty of resources (videos, blogs, etc). All of them list the Luminaries (Sun and Moon), Mercury, Venus and Mars as personal planets. I'm not saying that seeing Mars as a social planet alongside Jupiter and Saturn is wrong (anyone can do whatever they want in their practice imo)... But, at the same time, I had a really hard time finding other astrologers who did the same. This is to say: if I were to read this book first, I would have probably been confused as I ran into other resources who treated Mars as a personal planet.

Signs and house are interpreted together. As you go through this book, you will see that at the end of the explanation of each element of the chart (e.g. houses) there are interpretation suggestions (e.g. "Aries in the third house may mean..."). Once you get to the planets chapter, though, signs and houses are interpreted as though they were one and the same based off of the Astrology Alphabet concept. I like the Astrology Alphabet concept, I think it gives a nice nuance to houses. However, I think that the latter and signs shouldn't be used interchangeably.

Signs are interpreted as keywords. This is something that I find very annoying in Tarot books too, so it's not really surprising for me to have a similar reactions to signs being interpreted in a similar way. Signs are, as Elliot Kent states at the beginning of the book, archetypes, not stereotypes. Yet, oftentimes it looks like falls in the same error she highlights: in most interpretation suggestions (mentioned above) Libra equals relationships, Taurus money, and Leo creativity. And that's it.

Now that I've removed all pebbles from my shoe, let's get to the nice bits of the book.

Aspect are very well-explained. The author did say, at the start of the chapter dedicated to them, that aspects were her favourite bit of reading birth charts. And I believe her: they're explained ever-so wonderfully. I always had a hard time memorising them, but when Elliot Kent started talking about them as if they were people it just clicked!

Houses are well-explained. What Elliot Kent does in the chapter dedicated to houses is explain them not according to numerical progression but to quadruplicities (which is something I never got). So first she explains angular houses, then succedent and, lastly, cadent. That really helped with grasping what those terms mean and gave me the chance to understand house meanings using logic, not mere memorisation.

Planners and cycles are really useful. There's a whole section of the book dedicated to planetary cycles and how they can be of use in our daily lives depending on the current sign a planet is in. There is also a whole chapter on planetary returns and what they may look like in our lives. P.S. It's the first time I understand what a "Saturn return" is and why it's considered to be of great importance.

Asteroids, Vertex and Fortuna are also explained. Most astrology books for beginners only include Chiron when it comes to asteroids. Here, on the other hand, there are also brief descriptions of Ceres, Juno, Vesta and Pallas. I don't think I'm going to use them when interpreting birth charts, but it's still a nice addition to my knowledge. Fortuna and the Vertex are also explained (and are usually missing from beginner-friendly books).

Lastly, just a couple more neutral heads-ups on the book.

This book was written with an American audience in mind. There are tons of references to American pop culture and celebrities. Honestly? Fair enough. Though, I still thing it's worth pointing out that if you, like me, are not from the US, you may miss many/most of those references. That doesn't make it unreadable, though.

There's a chapter on predictive astrology and transits. I'm not that interested in predictive astrology to be fair. However, I think that this topic is so vast that it can only be fully comprehended by reading a book on its own (which, by the way, Elliot Kent has written). Nonetheless, I believe that it is a nice addition and, so far, the best introduction to the subject I ever read.

Overall, I would recommend this book... But I wouldn't recommend it as you first astrology book. Start elsewhere; then, when you're familiar with the basics, come back here to read about a different, refreshing perspective!

[Sara (onourshelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and fairly accessible, though I will say that if you are a more casual astrology student (like myself, I have the costar app and just wanted to learn a bit more) Its a lot.

[Lindsey21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

rất là tuyệt vời luôn hum nào rảnh viết review vậy 😽
giờ chạy kpi challenge 2021 huhu

[Lauma Llamandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written in a friendly and easily accessible language and drops any outdated, stuffy "holier than thou" astrology speak.
The author does a good job of guiding you through the many elements of the basics you will need to know to work with a new language that is astrology.
The chapters in the book are grouped differently than I would expect them to be, but make perfect sense when you think about them.
Not going to lie, it is a big kahuna of a book to get through so may not be something you can just read once and be done with.
However, it certainly deserves the hype as one of the better beginner friendly ABC books on astrology as it contains a wealth of information on all the basics you may need to get started with understanding a chart.
This is a book I will be retaining for future reference and re-reading.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives a very clear and practical understanding of the make-up of reading an astrological charts including some asteroid info! From houses to signs to planets to aspects to the finer details of the chart it has it all.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great beginner guide.

[d_caius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for a beginner. It's really pleasant to read, accessible, isn't overly serious, very well-structured.
I was disappointed that the significations of Houses and signs were mixed up, it really took away from my appreciation of the book. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it for someone who's just beginning to get interested in astrology and is looking for something practical: it really does hold up to its title in that regard.

[Jax · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re ever going to read a book to understand astrology, let it be this one. The author really helps you understand basics of astrology and how to read your natal chart. It’s comprehensive and written in an easy to read way. It’s well worth the read, and I’ll definitely be referencing back to it frequently.

[Nya Thryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Astro book for beginners

Covers all the basics in an easy to consume way. Well structured and would recommend for those who want to get a good overview of different terms and a bit of how to put it all together. A practical book to have in the collection indeed.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great beginners resource, with lots of well-organized information delivered through friendly language.

Read it with the Kindle Unlimited free-trial and I'm looking forward to purchasing a physical copy!

[Ken Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very helpful in terms of providing explanations and metaphors to understand the complicated dynamics of astrology. However, I wish the individual explanations of placements had more content to them.

[Ninja* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, i have already known Most of the information, but Here and there there we're some new bits and i quite liked the writing Style. The amount of information would have completely overwhelmed me as a beginner, but as an intermediate its a nice reminder :-)

[Rae Gholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic and over generalizes quite a bit, but as an intro text it is more thorough than most in some ways. It's a cookie-cutter book that offers a modern overview of the basics.

[Jamila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Breaks it down in understandable bites and great analogies! I will refer to this often as I continue my astrological education.

[Daniel yarlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good book, written well and a good introduction to astrology

[Miss A L Whetnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book goes into more detail it was interesting

[Korey Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very informative & easy to understand everything in the book highly recommend for anyone who wants to learn astrology

[Renata N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addresses a lot of information

I really enjoyed this book. It addresses a lot of topics in astrology and can help someone who is interested in learning more about astrology.

[Arune · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! The writing is so well done and easy to understand. Her examples are fantastic and funny.

Now all I have to do is read it again while also analyzing my own birth chart.✨

[mrs rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obvs only read the parts that were relevant to my chart, but definitely helpful in psychoanalysing myself 😎💅🔮

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does everything it says. It's practical, easy to follow, and engaging. It is accessible for beginners, but not surface level or unconvincing. I devoured this and learned so much. I particularly love the section on systematically approaching reading charts and transits.

[Aleona Christie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good information, but its unusable. The layout of the book is not user friendly. There is a zero logic in how information grouped, therefore impossible to go back for reference when needed, even table of contents is not helping. Only suitable to read from cover to cover once.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, accessible, easy read. It is a mix of traditional and modern- acknowledging both without taking an obvious side. It’s a comprehensive beginner level book.

[Alison Calderone]

Not gonna lie - I ran out of time (and interest) and had to return it to the library.