Formerly an elusive field in which you could only pay to meet with an astrologer in-person, astrology has become ever-accessible in the age of the Internet. Free apps, like Co-Star and Time Nomad, present your birth chart in a digestible manner, offer daily horoscope readings, and let you compare charts and horoscopes with friends. Media outlets like HerCampus and Cosmopolitan make astrology amusing with listicles that categorize astrology signs by virtually anything, like Game of Thrones characters, rom coms, and nail polish, just to name a few. Making astrology understandable, entertaining, and interactive has lowered the barrier to entry and enticed people to stay.
Lucie Greene of J.Walter Thompson, which tracks and predicts cultural trends, attributes millennials for the rise of astrology: “we’ve seen a reframing of New Age practices, very much geared toward a Millennial quotient.” So, with millennials leading the way, it’s no surprise that social media has been a catalyst for astrology’s popularity, which in turn has piqued Gen Z’s interest in astrology too. Astrologer Chani Nicholas thinks that “kids these days and their memes are the perfect context for astrology,” boiling down big astrological concepts into relatable and shareable content.”
However, some astrologers, like TikToker Maren Altman, have utilized social media to speak on more serious topics. Altman gained popularity during the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election for predicting high tension surrounding electoral college outcomes and Trump’s refusal to concede. Altman further gained popularity for her predictions for changes in Bitcoin and the stock market, particularly as the GameStop and Robinhood saga unfolded. Altman’s financial predictions revealed financial astrology to the public, a subsector of astrology that has also become more accessible because of the Internet.
While astrologers have been predicting stock market changes for years, the financial astrology app Bull & Moon creates a personalized experience for users, recommending six stocks based on your birth chart. Business Insider reviewed Bull & Moon back in 2019, detailing the performance of the selected stocks, which as a collective had a 13.47% gain over a year.
Though astrology in the age of the Internet has served as entertainment and for personal gain, it has also been a source of guidance and contextualization of difficulties, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Malle, a social psychologist at Brown University, spoke to “The Atlantic” about astrology, saying that it “provides a powerful vocabulary to capture not only personality and temperament but also life’s challenges and opportunities.”
With the pandemic, uncertainty and challenges are part of everyone’s life, and people want to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Astrology expert and writer, Caroline Goldstein spoke with BBC, and explained: “people are so desperate to find meaning and patterns and a way out of this – to know that we’re not stuck in this moment, and astrology inherently follows planetary cycles, so you look at the astrology, and you can see that similar patterns have happened in the past. This is always a unique moment, but there’s always a precedent for what’s going on. I think that certainly gives me comfort.”
The combination of the Internet, millennials, and the desire for certainty and explanations for challenges seems to have set the stage for astrology’s rise in popularity. Time will only tell if astrology is just another fad or a way of understanding the world that’s here to stay.