As Sydney wraps itself in Hermes scarves and cold skies, and the northern hemisphere digs around in the back of the cupboard for their Hermes slides, the stars conspire to give your inner world a seasonal reboot. The cosmos is speaking not just through Mercury retrogrades and Jupiter leaps, but through stories, essays, and poems — the secret language of books. We’ve mapped each zodiac sign to a freshly minted read from the Stella Prize and International Booker Prize shortlists, paired with a brilliant mind from the Sydney Writers’ Festival 2025 lineup. Whether you’re searching for bold expansion, craving quiet revolutions, or simply seeking a book to crack you open at exactly the right moment, your celestial prescription awaits
Aries (Mar21- Apr19)
Theme: Reckoning & Renewal
Mood: Fierce honesty meets quiet reinvention.
With Mars crossing Cancer until June 7, this winter turns your gaze inward. Jupiter shifts into Gemini on May 14, opening a new chapter of sharper communication and faster connections. It’s time to confront past wounds, pack light, and make room for the adventures ahead.
Spend your time: Getting brutally clear with what you want from your hairdresser to your boss to your lover. Take charge.
Aries Shortlist Book: On the Calculation of Volume I, Original Language – Danish, Solvej Balle (Danish), translator Barbara J. Haveland (Scottish), (International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025)
Aries Author to Admire: Shakila Abawi Shigarf
Aries Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Afghan Women’s Words: My Dear Kabul
Taurus (Apr20-May20)
Theme: Grounding & Growth
Mood: Earthy elegance meets intellectual curiosity
As Jupiter moves into Gemini, your second house of resources hums with possibility. Mars boosts your emotional house through early June, making it the perfect season to rebuild your home — mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Spend your time: Curating the beautiful, the useful, and the lasting, but toss out the dozens of old scented candles you’ve accumulated.
Taurus Shortlist Book: Black Convicts by Santilla Chingaipe (Stella Prize Shortlist 2025)
Taurus Author to Admire: Rumaan Alam
Taurus Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Rumaan Alam’s American Dream- What we want, what we need and what we deserve
Gemini (May21-Jun20)
Theme: Expansion & Expression
Mood: Curious intellect meets transformative growth
With Jupiter in your sign from May 14, the doors open wide. Ideas rush in. Conversations deepen. But Mercury retrograde from July 18 to Aug 11 asks you to sharpen, refine, and maybe rewrite the script once or twice before going live. You are basically a walking TED talk this season — brilliant, charming, and somehow in seven What’s app group chats at once. Just maybe check your calendar again before committing to twelve new hobbies.
Spend your time: Saying no before you think of reasons to say yes and channel any chaos into a novel.
Gemini Shortlist Book: Small Boat, Original Language – French, Vincent Delecroix (French), translator Helen Stevenson (British) (International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025)
Gemini Author to Admire: Yumna Kassab
Gemini Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Your next favourite book with Yumna Kassab
Cancer (Jun21-Jul22)
Theme: Emotional Depth & Healing
Mood: Soft power with a razor-sharp edge
With Mars moving through your sign early in the season, you’re motivated to secure your emotional base. Jupiter in your dream sector invites deep rest, quiet visioning, and bigger faith in the unseen. Just because you feel deeply doesn’t mean you can’t cut cleanly when needed.
Spend your time: Protecting your energy like it’s treasure. Say no to that coffee you really don’t want to go to, write down your own thoughts instead. Stay in bed.
Cancer Shortlist Book: Cactus Pear For My Beloved by Samah Sabawi (Stella Prize Shortlist 2025)
Cancer Author to Admire: James Bradley
Cancer Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Jane Caro and James Bradley Cli-fi: Fiction’s New Frontier, Bringing the climate into the foreground of fiction.
Leo (Jul23-Aug22)
Theme: Self-Expression & Creativity
Mood: Spotlight ready — but with deeper resonance
Jupiter electrifies your networks this winter, but Mercury retrograde in your sign later in July might throw in a few plot twists. Don’t just seek applause — seek connection that feeds your fire long after the curtain falls. You are magnetic enough to pull planets closer this season. Just make sure you leave room for some good books between standing ovations.
Spend your time: Reading. And more reading.
Leo Shortlist Book: The Burrow by Melanie Cheng (Stella Prize Shortlist 2025)
Leo Author to Admire: Holly Wainwright
Leo Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Marian Keyes: My Favourite Mistake, with Holly Wainwright
Virgo (Aug23-Sept22)
Theme: Refinement & Reimagination
Mood: Disciplined magic with an undercurrent of wildness
Saturn asks for structure; Pluto in Aquarius dares you to question everything you once thought was set in stone. Jupiter in Gemini touches your career house, meaning bold shifts are not only possible but inevitable. Be patient and get ready for great things. You’re low-key building an empire while everyone else is arguing about brunch.
Spend your time: Plotting.
Virgo Shortlist Book: Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser (Stella Prize Shortlist 2025)
Virgo Author to Admire: Emily Maguire
Virgo Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Bringing the Past to Life, Emily Maguire and Jock Serong
Libra (Sept23-Oct22)
Theme: Balancing Acts & Bold Steps
Mood: Airy optimism meets grounded strategy
Venus shines brightly on you from Leo in July, asking for more self-expression and sparkle. Meanwhile, Jupiter in Gemini lifts your thinking into bigger, broader horizons. Legal matters, studies, travel? Think large — but think smart. You’re balancing glam, grit, and several precarious social commitments on one shimmering tray. Don’t spill — but also, don’t stay too polite when it’s your turn to roar.
Spend your time: Set some boundaries and protect your time. Take lots of vitamins so you can do it all.
Libra Shortlist Book: Heart Lamp, Original Language – Kannada, Banu Mushtaq (Indian), translator Deepa Bhasthi (Indian), (International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025)
Libra Author to Admire: Ferdia Lennon
Libra Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Ferdia Lennon: Glorious Exploits
Scorpio (Oct23-Nov21)
Theme: Depth & Disturbance
Mood: Still waters run wild
Pluto in Aquarius is pushing against the old, worn-out patterns. Mars sharpens your instincts early this winter. They are stirring your deepest wells. Expect major emotional detoxing — and unexpected sources of loyalty, passion, and purpose. Lean on those you can trust.
Spend your time: Creating your own universe.
Scorpio Shortlist Book: Under the Eye of the Big Bird, Original Language – Japanese, Hiromi Kawakami (Japanese), translator Asa Yoneda, (Japanese)(International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025)
Scorpio Author to Admire: Jack Beaumont
Scorpio Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Spies, Lies and Secrets, This conversation is for your ears only, Jack Beaumont
Sagittarius (Nov22-Dec21)
Theme: Expansion with Edges
Mood: Wild-hearted but strategic
Jupiter, your ruler, sits opposite your sign all winter — drawing your energy into partnerships, collaborations, and conversations you can’t outrun. No more solo flights. This time, it’s about alliances. You’re good solo, Sagittarius, but magic multiplies when you let others help write the story. Your heart is basically a firework factory — spectacular but occasionally a little unsafe- buy you already know that.
Spend your time: In union, with friends, and partners, failing that, your pets.
Sagittarius Shortlist Book: Translations by Jumaana Abdu (Stella Prize Shortlist 2025)
Sagittarius Author to Admire: Dinuka McKenzie
Sagittarius Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Hayley Scrivenor: Girl Falling with Hayley Scrivenor and Dinukla McKenzie
Capricorn (Dec22-Jan19)
Theme: Purpose & Redefinition
Mood: Concrete dreams, built with bare hands
This winter, Jupiter in Gemini encourages you to revolutionise your routines — body, mind, work. You don’t need a total reinvention. You just need to tweak the system. Saturn and Uranus are daring you to rethink your systems from the inside out. Career and identity growth are on the cards — but the new version of you will impress the old one. You’re the architect of miracles this season— let yourself enjoy them.
Spend your time: Acknowledging how brilliant you are.
Capricorn Shortlist Book: A Leopard-Skin Hat, Original Language – French, Anne Serre (French), translator Mark Hutchinson (British) (International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025)
Capricorn Author to Admire: Yael van der Wouden
Capricorn Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Queer Love and Longing with Dylin Hardcastle, Alan Hollinghurst and Yael van der Wouden
Aquarius (Jan20-Feb18)
Theme: Disruption & Reinvention
Mood: Anarchic genius in soft tailoring
With Pluto officially in your sign, it’s your cosmic moment of truth. Jupiter in Gemini ignites your creativity, your inner child, and your craving for true freedom — but Saturn whispers about limits. Art within boundaries? That’s your sweet spot this season. Pluto is deep in your sign now. Revolution is personal — you’re inventing new ways to live, love, and label yourself. You’re the ghostwriter of the future, Aquarius.
Spend your time: Remembering to eat, sleep, and file your taxes between genius breakthroughs.
Aquarius Shortlist Book: Black Witness by Amy McQuire (Stella Prize Shortlist 2025)
Aquarius Author to Admire: Nikki Gemmell
Aquarius Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Nikki Gemmell with Sarah McDonald: Wing Watching power, privilege and prestige vanish in the Australian bush
Pisces (Feb19-Mar20)
Theme: Softness & Strategy
Mood: Dreamer with deadlines
Saturn in Pisces continues to hold you lovingly to your word — make promises, then honour them. Jupiter’s shift into your emotional house asks you to build a sturdier home for your tenderest hopes. Structure is your new artform. You’re halfway between mystic oracle and overcaffeinated poet. Both roles suit you — just remember which one’s paying the rent.
Spend your time: Dreaming in spreadsheets and sketchbooks.
Pisces Shortlist Book: Perfection, Original Language – Italian, Vincenzo Latronico (Italian), translator Sophie Hughes (British) (International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025)
Pisces Author to Admire: Asako Yuzuk
Pisces Sydney Writers’ Festival Feature: Asako Yuzuki: Butter, A con-woman, a journalist and food worth dying for
