Almost every culture in the world places credence in astrology. From Romans writing epic tales and basing a religion on the pictures made by constellations to Chinese birth years defining auspicious events like birth and marriages, you do not have to believe in astrology for it to work its effect on you. As Zolar once said, “Astrology is like gravity.” It’s an invisible force that defines and informs your fate. And who wouldn’t want a guidebook to help them navigate the invisible system?
Amelie Rose Estrela’s book “Stars and Stardust: An Astrology Opuscule,”available online on Amazon, provides such a guidebook. This book writes about zodiac signs and star alignments, how to read them, and how to respond to them. Those who dabble in astrology will love the revelations about personality traits written in the stars, and the information about your future and destiny, especially in relation to love and romance. Estrela is a knowledgeable guide who specializes in love and zodiac. This makes the book a pretty potent mixture of romantic advice, self-help, and mystic guidance and provides a guide for finding compatible romantic partners, improving already existing relationships, and noticing red flags and opportunities. You can also read about your zodiac signs in psychichguild.com website and know more about your characters.
Originally born in Portugal to Spanish parents, Amelie felt the stirrings of the ‘gift’ of divination at an early age. Through study, experimentation, and experience these skills were and are honed into this new novel that centers on astrology signs and guidance in relation to love and relationships. It introduces a lot of stock standard astrological language and knowledge in an accessible and applicable way. The chapters are great for an introduction to Zodiac signs and birth positions and build into horoscope lore very quickly. I really liked how accessible this made a foreign and sometimes convoluted subject. It takes a romantic and involved mystic to simplify and teach these topics without ‘diluting’ content. Amelie does this with style and fervour.
This, in and amongst itself, is an ambitious project. Who doesn’t want guidance in love? There is no denying this book appeals to many followers of astrology. It is accessible, easy to read, filled with impressive theory, and practical application. It also contains useful chapters on getting to know oneself. I liked how quick and easy this read was. You can finish the novella in one sitting and walk away with a practical reference for both your astrological positioning and how to take control of the self-knowledge you’ve gained. Estrela has studied and performed tarot card, psychic, and astrology readings for over a decade and claims to have helped thousands of couples work through issues of infidelity, and help other single parties find love. This experience, knowledge, and confidence come across in her writing with ease.
However, what the book lacks is coherence. The theories tend to jump from one pocket of knowledge to the next and lack the anecdotal threads that often tie these self-help/ mystical books together. This means I sometimes got lost when reading. It also can be difficult to read such clunky, scrambled, and grammatically questionable writing. The lack of care for the literacy can be boiled down to passion for the subject and second language limitations (it definitely deserves to be noted how impressive Amelie is for writing an entire novel in her third language), but it does detract from both enjoyment of reading and the legitimacy of the author.
I’m an open-minded person; I believe in fate and spirituality. However, very rarely did the book substantiate claims. This meant a lack of anecdotal evidence, lack of references, and lack of collaboration with established psychics and astrologists. It was, as my partner, described a book to be taken with a grain of salt. This means you have to approach the novella with an open mind and soul, and, as Amelia has written, be open.
All these grammatical and evidential complaints aside, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. There were theories and ideas that gave me goosebumps and led me to look up at the sky and wonder what they had in store for me. I checked my partner’s star signs, and it gave us valuable insights into our relationship. Amelia Estrela gave us a glimpse into her life with the sight, and she shared that with readers both candidly and passionately. There was an honesty in the book that made me trust both the author and the overarching message: that the stars predict and guide, but we make our own choices and write our own stories. There is something both reassuring and empowering about that. To quote Shakespeare, “it is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves: we are underlings,” especially when it comes to love.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Goldschneider and Elffers “The Secret Language of Relationships” or “Astrology: An In-Depth Look into The Zodiac Signs” by Dylan Campbell. It would also serve very well as an introduction into astrology or someone specifically going through relationship trouble or looking for love. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
