Chani Nicholas is a popular Internet astrologer with a mass following. She has an app, a website, and social media accounts with a wealth of info on astrology told through a progressive lens. A lens that teaches this "pseudoscience" as a study towards self-acceptance. In first book, You Were Born for This, she teaches how to read your birth chart (a snapshot of the sky when you were born) with one main intention: to help you grow in understanding yourself.
This book begins with her astrology origin story for the Introduction, followed by 5 chapters of a beginners' guide, and ends with both an Appendix and an Index for readers' ease. Reflection questions, affirmations, and journal prompts are used as check-in tools to grasp the 3 keys: the sun signs (life purposes), the moon signs (physical and emotional needs), and the ascendants and their rulers (details within!). If your familiarity with any of these terms is scarce, Nicholas will have you feeling like an expert as she gives motivational tips such as:
- Never give the chart too much power.
- Don't underestimate the wisdom.
- Leave room for learning, unlearning, and relearning.
"Astrology has helped me to accept my past, present, and future potential more radically and with greater certainty than anything else has," Nicholas stated in the Introduction. As Nicholas deeply understands, astrology is not just a self-help tool or a relationship builder; but can even be seen as a philosophy of life.
So, if you love self-help books, journaling, and learning about new-age spiritualities; you won't want to miss You Were Born for This.