Customer Reviews

SunShines: The Astrology of Being Happy

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Michael Lutin's new book, SunShines, is utterly amazing. If you're a fan of astrology, you will love this book.

He talks about identifying your "true North" and what drags you into "going South" with your life... the hidden things that you think that nobody knows about, and nobody--including you, usually--really understands.

Michael talks about cognitive changes that can turn your life around. He explains how to head back towards what you're supposed to be doing with your life: How to find your real path... the one that'll bring you deep-seated happiness.

He also describes what sucks you into trouble, nine times out of ten because you seem to be so attracted to it (or perhaps it to you, if it's an irritation more than a siren song).

Michael courageously goes out on a limb more than other astrologers, often with astonishing accuracy. I've seen that, even in his monthly column in Vanity Fair magazine.

I bought SunShines as soon as I could, and started reading it immediately. I literally laughed out loud when Michael described my kind of Virgo as a "phobic slob." Anyone who gets past the idea that all Virgos are perfectly organized and tidy... well, that put Michael on my list of favorites.

You'll enjoy reading about friends & family in this book. If you know their birth dates, including the year, you can look them up in this book, too.

SunShines is a great present for others, but it's an even better present for yourself. Few astrology books are this important; SunShines covers fresh ground and you'll refer to it often. Your darkest secrets are in this book, as well as what you can do to deal with them and radically improve your life.

I highly recommend this book!

This man is a genius. The only horoscope I read is Michael Lutin in Vanity Fair. Every single month, without fail, it makes my jaw drop. Truly scary. I have read his other books, all great but this one is the best. I just happened to read about it in Vanity Fair the day before I was going on vacation and I had to one-day ship! So wonderfully insightful but funny, funny, funny at the same time. It was better than any novel I've read in a long time.

I actually had a personal reading with Michael in New York two years ago and I still regularly think about things he said to me. I wish I could see him for fifty minutes every week instead of my shrink.

Sun Shines: The Astrology of Being Happy
By Michael Lutin
© 2007 NY: Simon & Schuster, A Fireside Book
480 pages

In this book, Michael Lutin poses the question: What is happiness?
In answering, helooks at the Sun signs of the zodiac. He focuses on the power of the Sun, the star that is the center of our planetary system. He looks at where true happiness lies for a person born under each Sun sign, what throws him/her off, and what gets him/her back on track. While initially appearing like a number of other books on astrology, with a cookbook format through the zodiac, its deeper focus promises more: to bring each reader to a greater ability to fulfill destiny, thus to be happy at last.

There are some basic assumptions in this theory, specifically that the most of us are not happy, not living our destiny, not living to our fullest potential. If you know Michael Lutin's work at all, you know he is completely irreverent, challenging all basic assumptions from a depth that gets at the soul. He even promises that when you're done with his book, you'll be freer than when you began. But fear not! He includes instructions on how to read the book. After describing details on your Sun sign, he directs you to another section, one of 12 subdivisions of that Sun sign. He explains that this subdivision is based on where the South Node is located in the solar chart, during the year of birth. Here, he provides key words that describe two areas of concern that can become basic obsessions.

Obsessions suggest a darker side, a deeper level of operating. They are related to the Lunar Node axis, where the paths of both the Sun and Moon's intersect. Lutin describes coping strategies for the obsessive desires that tend to serve as undoing. If lasting happiness is the ability to make the most of gifts, reduce negative traits, and increase positive ones, the Sun, as the heart and soul of everything, serves to center the psyche. As such, it is the container for the energy stimulated by the interrelationship with the Moon. The two become a dancing pair. At the deeper level, the Sun radiates the nodal authenticity, creating inner peace.

Lutin guides the reader to face the self honestly, then he offers a way to deepen understanding and find "true north". He structures this section according to what gives great pleasure; what one might tell oneself; where one goes south; what major relationship struggle needs resolution, as well as other struggles that need attention, and he offers a possible past life scenario. He suggests ways to find true north and how to restore power. He offers some suggested paths to healing, as well as a final word of sage advice.

Through his humor, Lutin reassures us that we're all struggling as humans together, but clearly, the process Lutin suggests is one of personal growth. It requires a letting go, a detachment, and movement towards things, relationships, ideas, and beliefs that bring lasting satisfaction. This is the work of astrology, applied positively.

If you buy only one book this year, this is The One for the following reasons:

* You definitely won't be the same person when you finish it as when you started it.
* The power of Sunshines is never obscured for a single moment by metaphysical mumbo-jumbo and empty philosophy that bog down a lot of astrology books. Nor is it tripped up by technical astrological jargon.
* The specifics of the Nodal dynamics at work and the illustrative examples are jaw-droppingly precise - and hilarious.

Sunshines: The Astrology of Being Happy focuses on one of the least understood and most difficult parts of the horoscope to interpret: the Moon's North and South Nodes. If you don't know a node from a nadir, fear not: Lutin's trademark to-the-point-down-to-earth-in-plain-English style of presenting astrology is as crisp and sharp as ever.

The first half of Sunshines addresses how the Nodes affect your sun sign, while the second half of the book covers the specific issues (and resolutions) particular to your nodal pairing. It is so intensely engrossing that you won't put it down to go to bed, even though you have to work the next day. (Call in late, take my word for it.) Not only won't you put it down, but you also won't read it once and then bury it on your bookshelf. On the contrary, you'll refer to it often, and probably for the rest of your life. You'll most certainly refer back to it as the nodes transit through your chart.

Sunshines is definitely not a book for the superficial or the faint of heart--it absolutely and completely pulls back the rug we all sweep our lives under, and exposes those denied parts of ourselves that keep us unhappy and afraid to live. At times, Sunshines can be a painful mirror to look into, but Lutin's great gift--and the oft-obscured healing aspect of astrology--is the way he brings difficult issues to light with profound insight and even greater humor.

The book was more than twenty years in the making and well worth the wait. You'll find tremendous revelation in each section--not just the ones that specifically pertain to you. Socrates once said that the unexamined life isn't worth living, and this book is the best tool anywhere to help you go as deep as you possibly can. Thanks to Sunshines, you'll love what you find when you do.

I am not a student of astrology. I barely know an ascendant from a Moon sign. But I do know that Lutin has the ability to de-mystify all the jargon and make it make sense to all of us. He is admired by astrologers and "normies" alike. It is spooky how Michael can clear me up to me and hand me the tools I'll need to fix what's broken. All that and he gets me to laugh at how I keep sabotaging myself. Now that is a genius!

michael lutin is brilliant. i teach astrology and all my students must have this book. It's smply one of the best books for novices and know-it-alls alike. Right now i'm gong to sit down, have a cup of Maxwell House coffee, and have his advice to me engraved on my forehead - a number 8 1945 Gemini, "Stop spending money." this i will do after buying this book, two pair of Christian Laboutin shoes ~ and one pair of Marnies. KT

This new book by Michael Lutin has my highest applaud. This book has a wide range of audiences, from the person mildly interested in astrology and their "sun sign" to the experienced astrologer hanging on every word and thought by Michael Lutin, who brings his witty and deep perspective to another classic. This book is for everyone. Regardless of who you are, you will get tremendous insight into yourself, your friends and family, and learn more than they would ever want you to know about them.

A true classic, in every sense of the word.

I've been an astrology junkie for as long as I can remember. I never go a day without my Daily Fix (those of you who are familiar with Michael Lutin know what I'm talking about) and I always wait with anticipation for my Week in Review.

I couldn't wait to buy this book - but I had no idea... NO idea... that Michael Lutin could see right into my soul. He nailed me right on the head - right down to all the things I thought were known to me, and me only. It wasn't all flattering... but I recognized myself on every page as I read about my True North and where I tend to Go South. What a relief to know that someone 'gets it.' And it's an even bigger relief to know that everyone has issues that drag them South.

If you love astrology, and want to hear someone tell you (in a witty, irreverant way) who you really are and what you're really all about (c'mon... you know someone has to know your secret side) and how to make the most of the true gifts you hold inside, get this book. Don't wait one second.

You'll have just as much fun looking up everyone you know, too. You'll be surprised, shocked, and in the end, relieved - everyone has their issues and you're not as crazy as you think.

I've had the book for 10 days now, and it's dog-eared, the cover is bent and there's a coffee stain on page...? (can't tell - I'd be giving too much away...) - all signs of a well-loved book. I only wish I could meet Michael in person to thank him for his wit and wisdom (and to see if he'd know what my sign was after 5 minutes... something in me says he would).

And like Wilde, Mr. Lutin delivers insights with aplomb, wit, and spot on accuracy. Michael Lutin has the unique ability of making astrology accessible, entertaining, and more importantly-- he actually says something worth listening to. If there's any astrology book out there that's going to tell you like it is, then this one is it!!!! Christopher Renstrom

As a professional astrologer, I can tell you that this book is no laughing matter in spite of the wonderful wit that Michael Lutin possesses. What Lutin has done here is to communicate to the masses a very powerful esoteric truth that basically describes the core issues of all our lives. My advice: read this book with care and ponder what Lutin is telling you about yourself because nobody in the astrology business knows about the Nodes of the Moon more than Michael Lutin. If you read this book, you'll find out something incredible about yourself that you'll never read in any other book.