Postcolonial Astrology

Reading the Planets Through Capital, Power, and Labor

By: Alice Sparkly Kat

Narrated by: Henriette Zoutomou

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 toward 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.

©2021 Alice Sparkly Kat (P)2021 North Atlantic Books

Critic reviews

"The author...helps readers understand [astrology] as a magical, political, and intersectional language with a rich history that extends beyond Western ideologies." (Publishers Weekly)

"[Alice Sparkly Kat's] analysis strikes that rare balance of being richly contextualized and accessibly written, making this 'history and toolkit' an essential addition to any queer astrology lover’s library." (Logo, NewNowNext)

“Alice Sparkly Kat asks us one of the most important questions that can be asked of any profession: Can we make astrology responsible for its impact thus far and into the future? It’s a necessary interrogation and the only way to truly show how much we love and care for this ancient art and much-needed practice.” (Chani Nicholas, author of You Were Born for This)

Every sentence is potent.

This book exposes the very bones of western society. It’s not really about astrology; it’s about the philosophy behind astrology: imperialism.

Great book!

Great book. Very informative. Loved the narraration. I learned a lot. Nice. Highly recommended!

Incredibly Rich Text

Alice has a deep, refreshing level of historical knowledge, which she weaves intricately to take readers and listeners on a transformative journey. There is such clarity in the intersectional history presented.
I will read and listen again and again, and share with those who seek to understand the roots and perpetual impacts of white supremacy. Astrology is merely the access point for which Alice uncovers the (hetero-patriarchal) white supremacist layers embedded in every aspect of our society. #impressed #mindblown

Henriette Zoutomou is a dexterous reader. I found her voice and intonations a powerful fit for Sparkly Kat's revelatory words.

This was a blast

This is one of the best political education media experiences I have ever had.

This story has me pondering what post colonial new-age spirituality could be. Thanks for cracking the stars open for the dreamers out there!

Overloaded and hard to follow.

I would like a refund if possible. This is just a complete overload of info that’s difficult to follow. So much info it starts to just overlap into its self and becomes hard to follow the story line.