100 Books Like Astrology for the Soul

My mum had this book on her bookshelf for many years, and one day, I decided to read it, hoping it would help me learn to paint and draw. I didn’t learn anything about drawing or painting but instead learned how to slow down a bit and regather my energy.

This is an inspiring yet practical guide that helped me put aside my critical, doubting, worrying ‘adult’ self and allow myself to explore what I love and value in life. I found Cameron’s tools, such as the Morning Pages and Artist’s Date, so life-changing that I recommend them to many of my patients, especially those struggling with chronic illnesses, fatigue, or burnout.

This book is an incredible reference book. I used it as an actor in one of my favorite acting classes. During rehearsal, we used archetypes to help flesh out and explore our characters. This technique felt groundbreaking.

Since archetypes are essential to character development, and we each possess every archetype within us, this book was a staple for me in my creative development. I will go so far as to say that this book was a portal for me to access the teacher in me and expanded me out of my actor self and into my author self.

I recently saw a clip of Rick Rubin talking about art and AI. To paraphrase, he explains that he’s interested in artists because of their point of view. AI has no point of view. I watched him speak so eloquently (and so simply) about something I have tried to put words to for months. 

Creativity is akin to magic. It’s what sparks joy. It’s what makes you remember the details you do. What makes creativity powerful isn’t polish, but presence. Part of that story is the ability to notice, to feel, to pay attention to what most people rush past and capture it, if only for a moment. 

In The Creative Act, Rick Rubin distills that instinct into a way of being. He reminds us that creativity is a birthright. A way of moving through the world with sensitivity and curiosity. Rubin’s words are art in and of themselves.… show more.

I was bed-bound, post-car accident. I was so injured that I was unable to open a window on my own for several months. I needed a routine and an outlet to help me have purpose without being mobile. Journaling was great, but I wanted something non-verbal and non-linear that helped me to feel joy.

Each daily prompt gave me a subject, art material guidance, and a theme without having to come up with the idea myself. At the end of 3 months, I had 90 new drawings. I even sold a couple of the drawings that I posted and got hired for a commissioned piece. All because I followed along. It made me feel like a kid again.

I bought this book in 1976, when it first came out and it’s now held together with Sellotape.

It offers an in-depth description of Saturn, a much misunderstood and maligned planet, through the signs and houses it occupies in a birth chart and includes a section on aspects as well aspects in synastry. No one else offers as much insight into the Saturnian principle and the painful lessons in life it can describe as Liz Greene. She does this planetary principle justice. 

I believe an understanding of how human society evolved into its current state is a key ingredient in the search for ways to influence its future. Desmond Morris provides an insightful foundation for this by analyzing the human-animal from a Zoologist’s viewpoint. He traces our evolution from a small insect-eating forest dweller to a fruit and nut-eating ape to a predominantly carnivorous hunting ape.

This last major transition most interests me because it explains the significant biological and cultural changes needed to compete with established carnivores. This includes lengthened brain development, communication, male/female bonding, social organization, and territorial protection. While this transition introduced major differences between humans and other primates, the inertia of evolution over millions of years still impacts our behavior.

I love this book because, in typical Paul Davies fashion, it approaches the fine-tuning issue from all perspectives, asks the big questions, and then, like a murder mystery, probes the most likely explanations. The book is a feast for the intellect.

While it describes many of the cosmos's most notable fine-tuning features, such as the strength of gravity, the value of the cosmological constant, and the smoothness of the cosmic background radiation, Paul Davies puts his own spin on the mysteries, examining them with the rigor of a scientist and a philosopher.

I also like this book because Davies shows care for the reader, filling the book with simple examples (such as synchronized ballerinas to illustrate the horizon problem) to explain a scientific conundrum and summarizing key points at the end of each chapter. Last, I appreciate the books of Paul Davies because, whether I agree or disagree with his… show more.

I’ve always wondered why history turned out the way it did—why some societies enjoy wealth and security and others live in dire poverty. I didn’t know that where we physically live on the planet had such a critical impact on our societies until I read this book. This is literally the history of the world going back to before the Neolithic Revolution. 

The environments we take for granted—for example, whether there are domesticateable large mammals in our midst or whether there is coal near the surface of the ground—have incredible consequences for the inequalities in the world today. I was blown away by reading this book, which explained the world as we know it to me.

One of my early motivations for becoming a geologist was reading my father’s very old book on Geology in the Service of Man. I quickly saw the vital importance of Earth Science in providing the raw materials, energy resources, water, and soils, and the foundations for engineering that we need to survive. I wanted to be part of that grandiose story.

Now, on reading Lewis Dartnell’s sweeping coverage of human history through the lens of our planet’s natural resources and how we use them, I am taken back to how my childhood passion developed. I agree with Lewis Dartnell that today, as the planet’s population soars and environmental concerns take a back seat, it is more essential than ever that we learn to manage Earth’s finite resources. 

This book introduced me to the concept of joy spotting and changed the way I see the world. Well-researched and hugely engaging, I was fascinated to discover why I’m consistently drawn to certain color combinations, patterns, and environments. Full of ‘aha’ moments, I loved connecting the dots (in my case, multi-colored) and clarifying what and where truly brings me joy.

Few books have impacted my life and creativity so much and on such an ongoing basis. But since reading this book, I’ve embraced my love of color throughout my home, garden, and wardrobe and embedded the concept of joy spotting at the heart of my work. I highly recommend it!