I Don’t Believe in Astrology: A Therapist’s Guide to the Life-Changing Wisdom of the Stars

I can’t remember how many times I’ve brought up astrology only to hear someone immediately dismiss it as nonsense. Invariably it’s someone who’s never read more than a newspaper horoscope, so of course they don’t believe in it. This mentality is what first drew my attention to I Don’t Believe in Astrology: A Therapist’s Guide to the Life-Changing Wisdom of the Stars by Debra Silverman. I was interested in reading an astrology book that might be more convincing of the power of the planets.

Why I Chose This Book:

Beyond that catchy title, I liked that this book would highlight the crossover between astrology and psychology. If I could go back to school, I would absolutely get a degree in psychology, so I thought this angle would be interesting within the realm of astrology.

I’ve read dozens of astrology books before, so I’m not the target audience of a newcomer to astrology. Even so, I find there’s always something to glean.

What I Liked:

• Finally I kind of understand the houses! As I said, I know quite a bit about astrology, but one thing I’ve never really gotten is how houses work into all of it. I appreciate the chapter devoted to explaining the houses and what they mean for the different signs/planets in your birth chart. I’m still not an expert, but at least I understand the gist of it now!
• New perspective on Saturn. I like how this book points to Saturn as the life lesson you need to learn. For me, with my Saturn in Capricorn and my ongoing longing for career success, it all clicked into place. This was an eye-opening way of looking at an outer planet that I mostly ignored before.
• More holistic approach to astrology. It’s not just your sun, moon, and rising sign! This book emphasizes the Saturn, midheaven, and house placements, which adds so much more dimension to your astrological makeup.
• Esoteric perspective. Debra Silverman’s practice is esoteric in its approach (unlike most popular astrology), which gives this book a fresh perspective on how much weight each planet holds for you. I enjoyed looking at my birth chart in a new way. The author also describes your sun sign as your ego, your rising sign as your soul, and so on. An interesting take!
• Thank you for stating that astrology cannot predict the future. I think this is the thing that makes so many people view astrology as nonsense, and I appreciate how the author explains that astrology predicts energies, not outcomes. We still have freewill to respond to things, and that can depend on where we’re at in life (low road vs. high road, for example).
• Fun, approachable writing style. This book is easy to engage with and is set up in a way that it would be easy to flip to the sections relevant to you. Personally, when I got to part two, I read all about my sun sign (Gemini), then read up on the smaller sections within Taurus (my rising and mercury), Cancer (my moon), and Capricorn (my Saturn). I’ll need to check the birth charts of my husband, son, and so on to read up on them, too!

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• Surface-level about signs. I wanted more insights and greater depth. Though, admittedly, that could make the book quite a bit longer.
• Not enough psychology. Beyond the ego, id, and so on, I was hoping for more of a psychological perspective on things. Maybe what I need is a psychology book with a dash of astrology?
• Probably wouldn’t convince people to believe in astrology? Despite that title and the hinted promise of readers coming away with newfound belief in it, I don’t know that this would make believers of most readers.

Final Thoughts

Overall I enjoyed reading I Don’t Believe in Astrology. I learned a lot about the houses and Saturn, and I appreciated the fresh perspective thanks to psychology and an esoteric approach. It could have gone deeper and been less repetitive (enough about gremlins!), but it still makes for a handy reference for anyone interested in astrology.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy I Don’t Believe in Astrology here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

I Don’t Believe in Astrology by Debra Silverman
Audience	Adult
Genre	Non-fiction: Astrology; Self-help
Number of Pages	304
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	April 8, 2025
Publisher	St. Martin’s Essentials

Official Summary

An accessible guide to the life-changing benefits of astrology by renowned psychotherapist and astrologer, Debra Silverman.

In a chaotic, confusing, and divisive world, Debra Silverman introduces astrology as the medicine for accepting our human nature–its idiosyncrasies and dilemmas. Through an application of both therapy and astrology, this breakthrough guide equips readers with tools that release self-judgment, inner criticism, negativity, and misunderstanding. Every sign struggles with psychological issues. Understanding the unique topics relative to your sign, it’s no surprise you are quirky. Learning how to accept who you are and love yourself unconditionally through the lens of astrology is at the heart of this book.

Debra Silverman teaches you how to step away from the struggle of your ego and see yourself with the calm objectivity of your soul. You will learn to love what you see—not just your best qualities but everything about you. She shows you how to aim for the high road of your personality. Most of all, you will cultivate compassion for all the other signs in the zodiac. Learn the meaning of the sun, moon, rising sign, Mercury, and Saturn. Using Debra’s method combining the wisdom of astrology and psychology, readers will remember the truth of their soul’s expression, seen through the eyes of self-love.