Linda Goodman: Life and Legacy of the Sun Signs Astrologer
5/15/20262 hr 53 min
In this episode I'm joined by writer Courtney Ann LaFaive to discuss the life and work of the famous 20th century astrologer Linda Goodman, who wrote the highest-selling astrology book of all time. In 1968, Linda's book Sun Signs became a runaway phenomenon, selling millions of copies and becoming the first astrology book to make the New York Times bestseller list. Goodman’s approachable writing style appealed to a wide variety of readers, and helped to catalyze a massive boom in astrology in the late 1960s and 70s, serving as the gateway for millions of people to discover their full birth chart. She then followed this up in 1978 with another successful book titled Love Signs, which was on relationship compatibility between zodiac signs. This book set a record at the time for the highest advance ever paid to an author, which was 2.25 million dollars, and helped to make the question "What's your sign?" a ubiquitous cultural catchphrase. However in her later years Goodman struggled to cope with immense personal loss, most notably the tragic death of her daughter in 1973, and her inability to distinguish between reality and illusion. Courtney is the author of a new book titled Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen. The book is a memoir about a period of her life spent researching Linda Goodman's biography for her PhD thesis, and the difficulties she faced in the process of piecing together Linda's nebulous story. Together, we explore and attempt to document the incredible life, complex legacy, and lasting astrological impact of Linda Goodman. This is episode 536 of The Astrology Podcast. Courtney's Book Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America's Forgotten Astrology Queen Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction00:00:42 Introducing Courtney Ann LaFaive00:03:08 Introducing Linda Goodman00:04:49 How Courtney & Chris First Found Linda00:10:42 Astrology in the First Half of the 20th Century00:18:47 Linda's Early Life & Entry into Astrology00:20:46 Linda's Birth Chart00:23:09 Early Career in Writing and Radio00:25:34 First Marriage, Children, and Early Trauma00:35:00 Getting into Astrology and Writing Sun Signs00:48:28 The Release of Sun Signs in 196800:51:10 The 1968 Virgo Solar Eclipse00:52:35 NYT Bestseller Status00:55:40 Comparing the 1960s Astrology Boom to the 2020s Boom00:58:49 Introducing the Full Birth Chart to the Public01:05:25 Impact on the Astrology Publishing Industry01:08:44 Key Features of the Sun Signs Book01:15:00 Using Pop Culture & Celebrities to Teach Astrology01:18:25 Popularizing Modern Planetary Rulerships01:24:32 The Gap Decade & The Shift to Metaphysics01:29:45 The Tragic Loss of Her Daughter01:40:00 The Gemini Lunar Eclipse of 197301:50:54 Love Signs Book Released in 197801:58:48 Later Works: Star Signs (1987) and Gooberz (1989)02:13:25 Becoming the Epitome of a Pop Astrologer02:25:05 Linda Passes Away in 199502:27:10 Scorpio Eclipse When She Passes Away02:32:39 Final Analysis of Linda's Chart02:42:50 Concluding Discussion on Courtney's Book02:49:41 Credits Watch the Video Version of This Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B_y17cyGpg
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First 90 secondsChris Brennan· Host0:00
Hey, my name is Chris Brennan, and you're listening to The Astrology Podcast. Joining me today is Courtney Anne Lefebvre, and we're gonna be talking about the famous 20th century astrologer named Linda Goodman, and her famous book, uh, Sun Signs, which became the highest selling astrology book of all time. Uh, so hey, Courtney. Thanks for joining me.
Courtney Anne Lefebvre· Guest0:19
Hey, Chris. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be able to talk, talk with you about this.
Chris Brennan· Host0:24
Yeah. So this is, uh, this is a big topic. This is a topic I've been wanting to do for a long time because Linda Goodman's book, her first book just came out in 1968, was so massively influential, and she's one of, therefore, the most prominent astrologers of the past century. And, um, you actually did a whole research project, your PhD. You spent, like, six years researching her life, right?
Courtney Anne Lefebvre· Guest0:50
I did, yes. And you will probably see as we [laughs] have our conversation, um, she's a little bit of a difficult topic to research for many different reasons. And so I was also, you know, learning as I was researching. And so I, I feel like she taught me a lot about astrology, and she taught me a lot about research, even if she didn't intend to.
Chris Brennan· Host1:11
Brilliant. Yeah, I love that. And you actually just published... It's coming out tomorrow. We're recording this today on May 11th, 2026, and you're, you're releasing a book that's, like, a memoir about your time researching her life. Um, and it's actually called,