Astrobabble: The Zine For Astrology Nerds #12 [2015]

Astrogirlzarro, m_zarro [at] hotmail [dot] com + astrobabylon.blogspot.com  Price: $3.00 Trades? Yes; Size: 8.25" x 5.75" Page count: 16

Astrobabble is a marriage of Astrogirlzarro's interests in astrology and pop culture, and she announces in her 'Editor's Notes' that this issue "focuses on the expansive and jovial sign of Sagittarius"; Keith Richards has his natal chart exposed; and the current Saturn-Sagittarius cycle is looked at in relation to the ancient Greek myth of Icarus. We also observe Frank Zappa sitting on the crapper as Exhibit A in 'How to Spot a Sagittarian'.

It occurs to me that it doesn't matter if you're not into astrology even a little bit. You will LOVE this issue if you're a Rolling Stones fan, since Astrogirlzarro read Keith's six hundred page autobiography, Life, as part of her research [yes! only part! - there's a whole page of 'Notes and Sources' listed at the back, like Chris Mikul does with Bizarrism]. I'm also sure that if YOU or a close friend or family member is a Sagittarian, this issue would be a fun read to find out which of the noted personality/character quirks match up or not.

Great stuff!

I should add that for Bowie fans, there is also a Bowie-focused issue that came out just after the Duke's untimely death.

Aspects of Uranus - a queer astrology zine

Aspects of Uranus - a queer astrology zine

Compiled by Jade Mars

A5, 36 pages, colour cover. 

£3

“The stars aren’t astrology until people start telling stories about them”, write syr and an in their piece how to tell stories with our birth charts. The problem is, as Jade Mars outlines in the introduction: 

“binarist, sexist, and heteronormative ideas…plague Western astrology (and y'know, pretty much everything in our society)"

This zine was created as a response to the lack of information and advice around queer astrology. The range of contributions is varied, considered and engaging. It includes poetry from Chani Nicholas, Soof Andry, and Liza Lauper. Features are from Ludovic Foster – Boi Becomes Hare, Astrology as a way to subvert the “Trans Narrative”; Jade Mars writes In Praise of Virgos, a defence of undervalued traits defined as ‘women’s work’ by astrological orthodoxy, and offers a reading of Foucault’s birth chart relating to his work as a left-wing queer theorist. syr and an’s piece, as mentioned above, offers a great set of points to consider when creating an astrological reading with someone, and anna tackles tradition in Queerness, Disability and being a Capricorn. 

Aspects of Uranus is a thoughtful and thought-provoking zine that opens doors to better ways of engaging with traditionally excluding sets of symbols and practices. To quote from Chani Nicholas’ poem:

“Why do queers love astrology? 

Maybe it’s because we understand that our identities come in as many variations as there are stars in the sky.  

Maybe it’s because we see gender as a vast cosmology of options, not a system with two measly choices”

Buy a copy via Etsy: etsy.com/uk/listing/479023664/aspects-of-uranus-a-queer-astrology-zine

(Shhh....I shouldn't say this on a site devoted to reviewing paper and ink zines, but Aspects of Uranus is also available as a pdf: etsy.com/uk/listing/492567485/aspects-of-uranus-a-queer-astrology-zine)


Review by Nathan Penlington