Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the Planets Through Capital, Power, and Labor

Tapping into the political power of magic and astrology for social, community, and personal transformation.

In a cross-cultural approach to understanding astrology as a magical language, Alice Sparkly Kat unmasks the political power of astrology, showing how it can be channeled as a force for collective healing and liberation.

Too often, magic and astrology are divorced from their potency and cultural contexts: co-opted by neoliberalism, used as a force of oppression, or distilled beyond recognition into applications that belie their individual and collective power. By looking at the symbolic and etymological histories of the sun, moon, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, we can trace and understand the politics of magic--and challenge our own practices, interrogate our truths, and reshape our institutions to build better frameworks for communities of care.

Fearless, radical, and fresh, Sparkly Kat's Postcolonial Astrology ushers in a new wave of astrology revival, refusing to apologize for its magickism and connecting its power to the spirituality and politics we need now. Intersectional, inclusive, and geared towards queer and POC communities, it uses our historical and collective constructs of the planets, sun, and moon to re-chart our subconscious history, redefine the body in the world, and assert our politics of the personal, in astrology and all things.

Author: Alice Sparkly Kat
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 05/18/2021
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781623175306


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 12/30/2021 pg. 1

About the Author
Alice Sparkly Kat is a queer, PoC astrologer. They use astrology to re-chart a history of the subconscious, redefine the body in world, and reimagine history as collective memory. Their astrological work has inhabited MoMA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, and Hauser and Wirth Gallery. They're friendly, located in Brooklyn, and available for readings in person or by phone at www.alicesparklykat.com. Follow them on Instagram or Twitter at @alicesparklykat for astrology content and weird memes.