2017 Radical Self Love Almanac
by Gala Darling
Gala Darling’s career has grown exponentially since she began as a fashion blogger in the 2000s, back in the days of Flickr and LiveJournal. She has since gone on to establish her own website which now houses her blog and is a springboard for her business ventures such as a workout series cleverly titled Bad Witch Workout and her past project a traveling blog workshop called Blogcademy for creative entrepreneurs.
One of my favorite recurring blog posts by Gala is about her recommendations for making the most out of Mercury retrograde. She expertly weaves wit and solid advice into her analysis of an astrological transit that seems vexing to so many. Her bold style and confidence have certainly garnered many followers over the years as she covered a range of topics including astrology, magic, personal style, dealing with breakups, and how (and if) you should shampoo your hair with a fun edge that is all her own. Gala can certainly be considered one of the most popular modern self-help gurus on the internet. As Gala’s own metaphysical and self-improvement studies have expanded, it makes sense that she has self-published an almanac for the year.
Think of this digital book priced at $25 USD as a road map for the year. Gala and a group of contributors provide tips and ideas on everything from adjusting your perception of your body to learning about tarot spreads and the astrology of the new year.
Visually, the almanac’s layout is similar to that of a magazine and this makes it easy to find whatever you might want to reference back to read. The glamorous photos of Gala throughout the book and the emphasis on pink certainly maintains the brand identity Gala has established through her website but may come across to new readers as confusing to see so many images of the author but no images of the other writers who contributed material for the book.
The almanac is organized into four sections: Start Here, Magic, Mojo, and Motivation. I love that this almanac weaves practical advice such as “20 Things To Do In 2017” with spiritual encouragement such as incantations for the new year and midnight rituals to bring in the new year. For those who are not inclined towards spiritual topics, this almanac might not hold interest, but it could inspire some further thought on how to make the most out of the year ahead. Overall, the book is balanced between spiritual topics and practical self-help advice.
I like that Gala has brought in collaborators to cover topics they are experts in, giving the almanac even more appeal if you’ve been wanting to learn more about Feng Shui, tarot, or current astrology. There is even an article about the art of the tease which contains one of my favorite lines in the book, “The antidote to shame is to shake it even harder,” which is from “Life Lessons From the Burlesque Stage” on page 44. In the Mojo section of the almanac, Gala shared her “Radical Self Love Commandments” and this is truly the heart of the book. Gala’s core message is all about Radical Self Love and this is certainly a concept that is reflected on every page of the book. If you’ve wondered how to maximize your use of the next twelve months, do yourself a favor and check this book out!
The digital book 2017 Radical Self Love Almanac by Gala Darling is available on Gala Darling’s website.
