Book Review: Midlife Is Not A Crisis: Using Astrology To Thrive In The Second Half Of Life

I turned 36 this year and that birthday was a doozy. Typically, I'm not a person that panics about celebrating another birthday, but this year was different. As my birthday approached, I began feeling

Watch out for that birthday.
It's a doozy!

an increasingly noticeable shift in myself. My energy, my attitude, my outlook, my desires.... they were all changing. Those changes, however, took a back burner to the anxiety and frustration I had also begun feeling. The anxiety, fear, and frustration showed up at about the same time I found a steal gray hair on the top of head. It all came crashing in on me at that moment. I was going to be 36 years old and what have I done? What have I accomplished? Where is my life going? I'm closer to my 40's than my 20's and what do I have to show for almost 40 years on this earth???

I was a whirling dervish of crazy on the inside while faking calm and composure on the outside. Then, right on cue, a package with a new book to review arrived in the mail. I opened the envelope and immediately began maniacally laughing at what I found inside. I snapped a picture of the book, sent it to a friend and told her "The universe got jokes". Divine timing, synchronicity, coincidence, or the universe desperately wanting me to get my shit together; call it what you will, but it showed up just in time to pull me out of my crazy and give me the perspective I desperately needed.

Midlife Is Not A Crisis isn't your average astrology book and Virginia Bell isn't your average astrologer. She's lived, what I consider, a very adventurous life. In her early 20's, she moved to Europe to work as an actress in films. She returned to the states in the sixties to continue working in the film industry and when her Saturn return hit, she left the movie business and opened not one, but two restaurants. She began studying astrology in the late 1980s and now works as a full time astrologer and writer.

Like most astrology books, her book begins with a quick astrology overview. Then it dives into astrological life cycles; starting with the Saturn Return (age 29), leading you through the cycles, and all the way into your 80s. Well thought out and easy to follow, you don't need to be well versed in the science of astrology to follow this book.

This book taught me that:

I felt like my legs had been kicked out from under me during my Saturn return because that's exactly what happens. " ...Jupiter gives us crutches while Saturn takes them away."
"...midlife isn't just an event, it's a journey; like any great voyage, it's also an inner process, certain to change us if we pay attention."
No, seriously, midlife is a journey that spans a decade and involves almost all the planets getting their hands dirty. (Sooo buckle up and pick a good wine for the trip)
Virginia Bell explains the process planet by planet, sign by sign etc., giving insight for what to expect, what to do and what not to do.
Knowing is half the battle....

Midlife is coming... Do I get a dragon??

When my Saturn return hit, I was completely caught off guard. I was living in NYC and things just weren't going how I'd planned. On more than one occasion, I came home, closed my apartment door, slid to the floor and began to ugly cry harder than a seasoned soap opera star. Saturn had brought me to my knees (which, apparently is what he does best during your Saturn return). It was a dinner with a friend and professional astrologer that helped me understand what was happening. She sat quietly, listening to me tell her everything that was happening. At the end of my emotional dissertation, she said (in her thick staten island accent), "How old are you.... oh, well no wonder... it's your Saturn Return. That's why everything sucks."

I had no idea Saturn was coming for me. I was unprepared and playing a losing game of catch up. I also had no idea my midlife cycle was about to begin; with other cycles to follow. But thanks to this book, I know what's coming and how to prepare. I'm standing at the precipice of my midlife cycle and I feel like I need to pull my life apart and put it back together again; rearranging everything. I felt crazy (well, crazier than usual) because I've worked so hard to get my life to where it is now. How can I just rip it all up and start again? How can I say this life is too small for me now and I want something bigger? That's pretty risky; especially at my age, right? Virginia Bell's book said, "I know you feel crazy right now. It's normal and here's what to do." I wish I had this book during my Saturn Return (because good Gods was that a shit show to behold) and I'm going to hold onto it for the future. Virginia Bell has given us a book that will help every reader prepare for their inevitable life cycles. Midlife Is Not A Crisis has a permanent place on my go-to bookshelf and I recommend anyone, with even a mild interest in astrology, to pick up this book and discover how astrological cycles can affect their life.

You can find Virginia Bell in these places:
Website: http://virginiabellastrology.com/
Publisher/Purchase: http://redwheelweiser.com/detail.html?id=9781578636129
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Virginia-Bell-Astrology-213487410884/

Bright Blessings,
~A