You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance and Living Your Purpose
Published December 18th 2018 by HarperAudio, Audiobook
The beloved Los Angeles astrologer with more than one million fans shows a new generation how to use astrology as a tool for self-discovery, success, and self-care in this revolutionary guide.
Modern astrology isn’t about passively accepting our fate, it’s about action, and beloved astrologer Chani Nicholas shows you how to bring this life-changing practice into your life and embrace self-empowerment, intentionality, and spirituality. Gone are the days of "on Tuesday you will meet your prince charming" horoscopes. Instead, Nicholas is spearheading a radical new approach to astrology. In her hip, inspirational weekly horoscopes, she doesn’t tell readers what will happen to them. Instead, she encourages her devotees to take control—to confront themselves, their desires, and their needs—to fulfill their potential using the power of the stars.
Written in her lyrical, cool-girl, feminist writing style, You Were Born for This explains how knowing your star signs and what they mean for your individual character can be revelatory. Understanding the astrological chart can help you refine your intentions, identify your strengths, recognize areas for growth, become more connected to your core self, and steer you on your spiritual path.
In an era when growing numbers of people feel a sense of meaninglessness and a desire to learn more about themselves, You Were Born for This teaches you how to harness the zodiac to help you become more in tune with yourself and your place in the universe.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
It should be said that I love Chani's writing, regular horoscopes, affirmations, positivity, and her style of astrology. I wasn't entirely sure what I would get out of this book, but was happy to support her regardless. I'm no astro-wiz, but it would be fair to say I can follow more than the average person may, so I understand that I may not have been the target audience for this guide.
Overall, I found You Were Born for This to be lacking meat. There are 287 pages in the book. Once you rule out the intro, the "what's next" closing, acknowledgments, pages dedicated to repeating example aspects that are mentioned prior, pages showing example charts for Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo that are also shown earlier in context, an unnecessary index... You are left only to cover your sun, moon, and ascendant. This still seems like a lot to work through, however, the "choose your own adventure" format of the book means you will be skipping past most of it to snippets that are pertinent to your chart only. In the end, I only read ~64 pages of the remaining middle of the book because that was all that applied to me/my chart.
What I found most disappointing about what little I could take away from the main part of the book, is that I felt there was a lot left unmentioned, or I still found somewhat confusing. For example, within my natal chart, I have aspects in Chiron, Midheaven, and the North Node (which all appear on the chart I pulled through Chani's site), but these are not discussed in the book at all, leaving me to do research outside of this guide before reading on.
Also, between Angelou, Kahlo, and selected examples, Chani points out how much is open to interpretation on a personal level and how many subtleties and contradictions can occur within different charts. I felt like she kept referencing the richness that could be uncovered in one's chart without giving any real direction as to how one might begin to put those pieces together for a more personal deduction of one's self. While I recognize that I obviously cannot get a personalized reading from a book, I felt a bit teased by her interpretations of the example charts. For example, on page 197 we begin looking into What Planet Rules Your Ascendant. An intro is dedicated to giving a few examples of theoretical planet and sign mashups before discussing Angelou and Kahlo's remarkable charts (again) before being prompted to skip ahead to your sign. 15 pages later, my particular ascendant ruler gets a 5 word mention in the middle of a paragraph that seems like a total afterthought, leaving me with no conclusion of what my ascendant ruler means for me, despite that being the point of the section.
In the end, I would skip the book, do your own research, continue to enjoy Chani in an online format, and (if you feel so moved) follow the advice she gives at the end of the book which is to seek a reading from an astrologist one on one.
Rating: really liked it
This is a great little basic primer for astrologer newbies, especially geared for (but not exclusive to, by any means) younger people, IMO.
Rating: really liked it
This is like ... half a book? More like a workbook. If you are BRAND NEW to astrology this is a clear, well designed primer. But for anyone who has general knowledge of astrology, this is a light review. It was enjoyable to read but nowhere near the deep dive I expected from this famous, thoughtful astrologer.
Rating: really liked it
I love how easy to read and understand this guide is! It is thorough but digestible for a newcomer to astrology. Chani guides you through understanding your chart with the care, nuance and expertise of the best kind of teacher. She shares her wisdom and expertise while prioritizing your agency in the process. Her vulnerability and authenticity shines through her writing and she had me crying by page 2. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to understand more about astrology and/or how to read their birth chart.
Rating: really liked it
This was the right kind of astrology for beginners with a self-reflection/devotional component book I've been looking for. I'm not a serious believer, but I do appreciate how things like astrology, personality tests, etc. can invite personal introspection and meditation in a way that is not specifically religious. This is a book I see ruminating on & using for personal reflection on an ongoing basis
Rating: really liked it
Easy to understand, I appreciated the use of regular words. I appreciate that she talks about Dr. Maya Angelou, white supremacy, slavery, and racism. I had a fear that it would be super white and heteronormative but it is surprisingly not. If your curious but don’t want to dive in too strong, perfect book.
Rating: really liked it
Really digestible and easy to read. Chani was finally able to clarify a point in my chart that I've had lots of difficulty understanding. Still, this book left me wanting more. I hope she'll write more books in the future.
Rating: really liked it
Ok, I gave in! It does live up to the hype - if you're looking for an accessible, not too fluffy but not too bogged down by details, primer on astrology. For those with more than passing familiarity with reading birth charts, there is obviously a lot left out, but I suspect that is what books two, three, four.. will cover.
Rating: really liked it
I don’t remember the last time I’ve been so excited for a book to FINALLY be published. I’ve been dying to get my hands on this since I saw it popping up on social media. If you’ve ever been curious about what your natal chart can tell you about yourself this book will honestly blow you away. It’s written, and organized, in away that makes sense and allows for easy reference. I learned so much about myself today! The journal prompts are a really great touch.
Rating: really liked it
It is rare that I buy both hardcover book AND audiobook, but CHANI CHANI CHANI CHANI! Astrology is a tool for self reflection and I'm grateful for this offering from her. Loved both. Highly recommend.
Rating: really liked it
Chani’s writing and presentation, along with the diagrams and examples, make this book such an easy one to read. The focus here is very much on understanding the basics of what your sun, moon and rising signs mean for you. Chani offers a ‘choose your own adventure’ style system where you jump to the page that discusses your personal messages, which makes it a very simple and easy to use book. It does also mean, however, that you actually only end up needing to read about half the book. It reminds me very much of how Moonology by Yasmin Boland is structured, if anyone is familiar with that book.
I will say that I was expecting more when I first picked up this book. I thought it was going to introduce the basics of astrology as a study, but it is more the basics of what your ‘big three’ signs mean to you. I quite enjoyed this book and found it the information very accessible, I liked the author’s focus on using astrology to help us live a meaningful and fulfilling life, I just wish there was a bit more to dive in to. Ultimately, the simplicity of this book is both its biggest strength and it’s biggest weakness. A light and worthwhile read, but for those interested in learning more about astrology, this won’t be enough to satisfy your curiosity.
Rating: really liked it
This book, unfortunately, falls into the popular trope of mainstream astrology of requiring knowledge of birth location and time from the reader in order to engage, thus making the book inaccessible to many marginalized people who don't have access to this information. Disappointing.
Rating: really liked it
I have never been more personally called out by the book I was reading and I loved every minutes of it.
Rating: really liked it
If you want to break down your birth chart, this book is required. Bring Kleenex because the shadow work is intense.
Rating: really liked it
Read this and finished it on the day my Saturn return completed and it totally changed my life.
