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The Karmic Birthday Book by Amy Zerner and Monte Farber Review


There are a ton of books and online resources out there to help you pick apart who you are cosmically through your personal astrology, numerology, tarot, etc. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wished for something that consolidates this mass amount of bit-by-bit information into a manageable and to the point masterpiece that one can build on over time without information overload. That masterpiece has arrived and it is The Karmic Birthday Book by Amy Zerner and Monte Farber.


As someone that follows the work of this incredibly talented dyno duo, I was excited to learn about the upcoming release of The Karmic Birthday Book in January 2023. Amy and Monte are highly respected metaphysical authors and teachers that have been creating Divinely inspired books, decks, art, content, and so much more for decades. In promo, The Karmic Birthday Book was supposed to be a culmination of their decades of expertise to help you uncover “surprising details about your personality, life path, destiny, karmic lessons, and secrets” through in-depth profiles for each day of the year. I wasted no time in not only getting the book, but diving in as well. I do have to say that The Karmic Birthday Book is a must have for anyone embarking on the journey of self discovery and development, hands down.


Short of an Introduction that everyone should take the time to read, the book is entirely composed of “Birthscopes”, or individual character and behavior analysis for each day of the year, including February 29th for leap years. The “Birthscopes” include information and guidance for your “Personality”, “Life Path”, “Destiny”, “Karmic Lesson”, and a “Secret”.


  • Personality “identifies, evaluates, and helps you understand your true nature through patterns revealed in your birthdate.”

  • Life Path “gets you there. Throughout your life, you have lessons to learn so you can then help and teach others.”

  • Destiny “is like a castle you are building, Stone by stone – it is where you are heading in this life.”

  • Karmic Lesson “are what you will encounter on your journey along your life path.”

  • Secret “offers insights designed to help you discover your very own hidden talents and character traits.”


So here’s the skinny…


The Birthscopes are very clear, concise, and use lingo that doesn’t require knowledge beyond what is presented to you. Those with a more advanced understanding can easily pick out the astrology and numerology associations to the descriptions given, but the book does not require you to learn something in order to interpret the Birthscopes.


The Birthscopes are not just breaking down and telling you who you are, they present what energy is inherently available for you to work with through a summary of your highest potential, and specific guidance based on this unique information. We are creatures of change, so where we are today may not be our highest potential, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t reach it through learning lessons and making adjustments. Wisely, the authors recommend that we revisit our Birthscope over time as the personality develops and we gain a deeper understanding of who we are and the lessons we have learned (or not).


In reading my own birthdate (Oct 7th), I found the description to be rather accurate. However, I couldn’t help but think of times in my life when I wasn’t that way and the life events that unfolded that ultimately led to me transforming into that person. For instance, in Personality, it states that I have the rare quality of human understanding and tolerance for various people in the world; but that is something that I had to spend the better part of my adulthood learning, especially as a byproduct of working in criminal intelligence. In other areas, like the Destiny and Karmic Lesson, it discusses my making the most out of each pressing moment, keeping my emotions in check, and never letting an opportunity pass me by; these are characteristics that I have been working on and know that I need to continue to develop to their highest potential. There was a surprise or two, like my ability to be rolling in dough and leaving family members fighting over my assets after death that have piqued my interest and need further research for a better understanding of how to bring this prophecy to life, LOL. The same level of accuracy and higher understanding applied when reviewing close friends and family members Birthscopes.


Each birthdate also includes an insightful quote, short list of famous people who share the same birthday, and space to write the names of friends and family with that specific birthdate.


Initially I did not think that the quote would hold as much value as they actually do when you view them through the lens of how you can best approach life and the development of your personality. October 7th’s quote is “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it” by US President Thomas Jefferson.


The short list of famous people can also be useful in self evaluation and potential because it allows us to cross reference ourselves with these people in where they have been successful or had failures and personality flaws. For instance, I share a birthdate with the highly successful record label owner and talent competition judge Simon Cowell, who is arguably one of the most hated judges in reality tv talent competition history because of the way he criticizes competitors. Seriously, check out some of Simon’s responses during the early years of American Idol like this video compilation of AWKWARD AMERICAN IDOL Classic Simon Cowell Auditions or Simon Cowell's MOST SAVAGE Moments on X Factor. The lesson? As important as it is to be honest, and as entertaining as it can be to watch Simon’s reactions, it is wiser to be mindful in how I speak and the way in which my message may hit. Now of course sharing the same birthdate doesn’t mean that our upbringing, life experiences and access to various resources have been equal, so it’s just something to consider.


I highly recommend that you add your family and friends names to their respective Birthscope page, as well as share the information with them. If they know their Sun, Moon and Rising astrology sign, that would be great to add next to their name! The more names that you add and spend time evaluating, the more you will be able to see the threads that run through and where potential lies.


One of the things that intrigued me the most about this book is that it is less about how to dig into this information, and more about being able to have a snapshot of the information along with practical and spiritual advice that you can use to go down deeper rabbit holes for self discovery (or friends, family, etc). Amy and Monte provide you the need to know details to start the self discovery process, but it’s still up to you to do the work and dig deeper IF you feel compelled; the mark of true teachers or wayshowers. I am always on the lookout for books of this nature that I can recommend to those that are embarking on their self awareness and development journey and either don’t know where to start or are completely overwhelmed by the amount of things they feel they “need to know”.


The Karmic Birthday Book is great for someone wanting detailed information for quick reference; those who haven’t gotten into in-depth numerology and astrology and are wanting the deets without spending time learning the systems right out of the gate; those looking to better understand themselves and the potential that lies within; and as a coffee table conversation starter for piquing the interests of those who may not even know they are about to be highly intrigued and ready to dive head first into the world of astrology, numerology and self discovery. For those that are more advanced numerology, astrology and tarot students, the pages have plenty of space to start padding the profiles with additional information like natal chart data that can explain some of the differences in the description given and the characteristics of the person. The same applies to numerology.


I cannot go without saying that the artwork, Amy’s of course, is absolutely beautiful and the stunning cover sets the tone for this masterpiece.


I have one more point before I go, and that’s the addressing of the subpar reviews that I have read. Ta-da... here comes my inner Simon Cowell speaking uncomfortable truths, somewhat of a superpower of mine.


In reading The Karmic Birthday Book, I immediately knew that there would be those that would leave a poor review. Why? People want the full spectrum of answers handed to them with little to non-existent effort on their part, and as I stated above, this book gives a snapshot, it’s up to you if you want to dig in more deeply. I went on a review quest and quickly found several on Goodreads that confirmed my suspicion.

In analyzing the responses, it is evident that readers missed that this was not an in depth analysis and is meant to be fun, friendly, and thought provoking (it does all three); there are those that expect to be told who they are in life; those unable to consider WHY there are discrepancies in the Birthscope descriptions and their self evaluations (for the love of all things holy, read the book Introduction); and those who do not understand the nature of their role in self development and refinement, the ART of alchemy.


Will you need to consult additional resources for a more well rounded picture? Yes, that’s kind of the point of this being a snapshot to provoke contemplation and further research. Can you just take what the authors present and make something useful of it in your life without consulting additional resources? Absolutely. You can be shown the potential and the pathway, but you still have to decide to do the work and take the journey.


The one element that I wish has been included, namely for newbies, is a list of additional books and resources that could be used to better understand the information.



When all is said and done, I highly recommend this book for yourself, as well as a gift for any occasion, especially a birthday! Buy the Book




Have the book and looking to take the dive into deeper understanding? Here are some additional resources I recommend to turn that quick snapshot into a padded profile of self discovery!




TimePassages Astrology App








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© Brandy Rachelle

Uncredited images from my personal collection or stock images


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