INSIDER: How astrology and mystic services are harnessing technology to plot your future and their fortune

“Punch through a wall.” “Make love to everything.” “Start a cult.” If a friend offered you this advice, you’d probably start backing away slowly. But such instructions — sent out by astrology app Co-Star via push notification — claim a far loftier source: the stars themselves. The term astrology conjures up a number of incongruous images. The generic advice on the back page of a glossy magazine; patchouli-scented mystics in dimly-lit rooms; mysterious symbols inscribed on ancient charts. The tradition — if such a sprawling practice can be called a tradition — is maligned and celebrated in equal measure. Love it or hate it, you probably have an opinion on it. But forget what you think you know. There’s a new game in town — astrology by algorithm. And for users and investors alike, the stars have aligned. BIG BUSINESS Magazine horoscopes — with their random platitudes, like “you will look to friends this month” or “keep an eye out for love” — are easy to mock. But leave your snobbery at the door: astrology is big business. The “mystical services” market, which includes palmistry, tarot readings, and birth-chart reading alongside new apps, is valued at a whopping $US2.2 billion. From 2016 to 2021, the industry — sometimes described under the mysterious name “psychic services” — grew at a rate of 0.5 per cent per year. In 2021 alone, it’s expected to increase 2.6 per cent. The major drivers of this boom are a slew of popular apps making astrology cool. “Revenue for the psychic services industry is anticipated to continue its upward trajectory,” reads a 2021-2026 Ibis world industry growth forecast. “Successful industry players will increasingly rely on a strong technological presence to capture the younger millennial market.” Data for 2020 isn’t yet available, but the top 10 astrology apps made over $US40 million in 2019 — a growth of 64 per cent on 2018. At the forefront of the trend is Co-star, the app that authored the unhinged advice at the top of this article. Co-star boasts more than 20 million downloads. But it is by no means the only option. The follower of astrology has a dizzying array of choices at their fingertips. Want a daily horoscope? Download Sanctuary. Seeking love? Try astrological dating app Struck, or StarCrossed. Those seeking out new investment opportunities can even use the “Bull and Moon” to check their “astrological compatibility” with publicly traded companies. In 2020 alone, 97 apps with the term “astrology” in their title or description were added to the app store. ANCIENT TRADITION In the past five years, the popularity of such apps has exploded. But astrology itself is nothing new. For thousands of years, humans have attempted to divine information about their lives from the movements of celestial objects. “Astron” meant stars in ancient Greek, while “logos” meant word, or reason. According to Perth-based professional astrologer Kate Green, that’s how we should understand the practice. “The way I see it, astrology is a language that we can interpret and understand,” she says. “And it contains keys, and a blueprint, for people to work out what they want to do, and to make sense of their lives.” The three main astrological traditions are Vedic astrology, Chinese astrology, and Western astrology. Green — who recently launched an astrology website — practises the last of these. She transitioned from a corporate career to full-time astrology in 2019. From the celestial positions at the time of your birth, astrologers determine a “chart”. It represents how the sky looked at the moment you were born. Each chart is criss-crossed with lines, and dotted with symbols representing the positions of the planets and stars. “On the chart ... there are symbols of the planets, and of asteroids, which not everyone includes,” Green explains. “The chart is divided into 12 houses. Each house corresponds to a different area of your life.” Many different factors alter how you read the chart, Green says. The month of your birth is your “sun-sign”. The position of the moon in the sky when you were born determines your “moon sign”. The time of your birth fixes your “rising sign”. If you only know your sun sign, you might be reading the wrong horoscope, Green says. For most of human history, only the rich have been able to afford to pay for the services of an astrologer. Queen Elizabeth I consulted the stars, as did various Roman emperors. So did Ronald Reagan, who relied on San Francisco astrologer Joan Quigley throughout his presidency. The influence of regular mass media products such as newspaper horoscopes broadened access to astrology in the 20th century. But the real game-changer was the internet. It has brought astrology to millions, Green says. “Astrology has always been quite elitist. The very wealthy have always used it,” she says. “But with these apps, it’s easier for people to engage with, even if it’s not as in depth.” Astrology-by-hand is a time-consuming and laborious process. But a computer algorithm can construct and interpret a birth chart in milliseconds. The result? An absolute deluge of advice, in equal parts wise, pithy, and confusing. On May 21, Co-star advises that “asking for help is powerful”. It encourages rock climbing, art films, and self-portraits. It suggests communing with “water moons,” and avoiding “earth suns.” It warns against scrolling, old sweaters, and bad habits. It congratulates a user for “almost supernatural ability to support and categorise experience”, and tells them to “learn how to relate to (their) body with gentleness”. “Don’t wait by the phone,” it warns, a few days later. But do “save the best for last” and “consent to power struggles”. Don’t let your “large but fragile ego” (ouch) get in the way. All of this is unique, tailored to the birth chart of the specific user. Professional astrologers tend to be ambivalent about these apps. On one hand, they broaden astrology’s reach. But they’re also “a bit simplistic”, says Denis Zubkov, the Sydney-based developer behind the app Time Nomad. “Many of these apps basically offer an extension of a magazine horoscope,” he said. Zubkov’s app — released in 2015 — is tailored to astrologers who want to expand their practice. He estimates that the app has received between 30,000 and 40,000 downloads. “I didn’t have to do anything really, it sort of just picked up” he says. MEMES AND ANXIETY There is no single explanation for this turn to the stars. Often, users simply want a bit of fun. And astrology apps — particularly Co-star — deliver. There are dozens of listicles on the “wildest” Co-star notifications; the Twitter account @dragmecostar is dedicated to posting the most outrageous examples. The zodiac itself — with its twelve distinct signs — fits perfectly into many viral formats, which often rely on sending up or categorising particular “types” of people. @drunkstrology has 817,000 followers. @glossy_zodiac has 4.9 million. The possibilities for bizarre memes and quizzes may just outnumber the stars in the sky. “Find Out The Zodiac Sign You'll Marry Someday By Creating A Classic Ice Cream Sundae,” promises one BuzzFeed quiz. “If Your Big Three Zodiac Signs Were Taylor Swift Albums, What Would They Be?” queries another. But for many, the zodiac is no joke. Astrology can be a way of dealing with “uncertainty and stress,” says Sanjit Roy, an associate professor of marketing at UWA Business School. “Astrology cannot provide a long-term kind of a solution for anything that we are searching for,” he says. “But it certainly provides us some hope, and helps people regulate their emotions.” The past 10 years have seen political tumult and economic precarity in many parts of the Western world. Working hours are long, employment insecure, and once-reliable sources of stability — like the possibility of getting on the housing ladder — are out of reach for many young people. On top of that, traditional sources of belief such as religion have been declining steadily for years. For many Australians, the pandemic has turbo-charged latent anxieties. In the four weeks to January 24, 2021, Beyond Blue received over 22,000 contacts — an increase of 27.2 per cent on the same period in 2020. Lifeline received over 85,000 calls — an increase of 10 per cent on the year before. “Stress, confusion and anger are commonplace as a result of the pandemic,” reads a sobering May 18 report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The pandemic has raged more viciously overseas, leading to an even starker decline in collective mental health. In a BMC psychology study published in April, 25 per cent of both German and UK responders reported a “subjective worsening of general psychological symptoms”. It’s little wonder people seek certainty in this environment, says Roy. “There is a lot of fear in the present climate,” he says. “So what do you do? “You look up to the stars for help.” It’s hard to say how many Australians genuinely believe in astrology. According to a 2009 Nielsen poll — the most recent comprehensive survey on the topic — 41 per cent of Aussies ‘believe’ in astrology. However, “belief” is difficult to quantify. Casually telling a friend with an August birthday that they are “such a Leo” is different to believing that you could use the stars to accurately predict whether they will have children. In 2017, University of Wales anthropology professor Nicholas Campion described the grey are between these two positions as the “belief gap”. He estimated that between 27 and 73 per cent of people believe in the zodiac, a number that shifts depending on your interpretation of “belief”. To be clear, there is no scientific basis for astrology. In a 1985 Nature journal study, physicist Shawn Carlson tested the “predictive powers” of 28 astrologers. He found that their prophecies were no more accurate than random predictions. In 2005, a study investigated whether 4000+ “time-twins” — individuals born within minutes of each other — were any more similar than a random sample of people. “In no cases did date of birth relate to individual differences in personality or general intelligence,” the study’s authors conclude. Astrology isn’t a science — though Co-star implies otherwise, telling the user it is “loading NASA data” before it delivers its horoscopes. But does that matter? Zubkov doesn’t think so. “Is astrology a science? No,” he says. “It is a discipline. It’s a tool for self-knowledge. Perhaps it’s good to not take it too seriously, but it helps us to practise self-awareness.” Amid the chaos of the pandemic, this discipline can be incredibly useful. “Astrology puts you in the centre of the universe. It affirms your identity, your emotions, your qualities, ‘why do I like this’, and ‘I don’t like that’,” he says. “That can be an anchor.” People use astrology as a way of making sense of a confusing and often distressing world, as the app-store reviews for Co-Star testify. “Only had this app for a week now but it’s helped me come to terms with what I’m dealing with,” one reads. “Co-Star is such a great app to help check in with how you’re feeling each day. It’s great for my mental health,” another enthuses. Others thank the app for helping them to “ease stress and worries”, become more “positive and accepting”, and “make sense” of “unwanted feelings”. From 6.4 thousand reviews, the app has an average 4.8 star rating out of a possible five. People who engage in more traditional astrology also report its therapeutic benefits, Kate Green declares. “Getting a birth-chart reading puts people more in touch with themselves,” she says. “It can help them discover what they want. People often already have an inkling of what that is, and astrology helps them find it.” Astrology is not therapy. It is no substitute for professional or medical help, and it can turn toxic, too. Another Co-star review slams the “negative and depressing” notifications which “gaslight” the user. But for some people, it clearly serves as a soothing balm for everyday anxieties, both quotidian and existential. The most lucrative astrology apps have tapped into this, a fact recognised by Co-star CEO and founder Banu Guler in April. “The question isn’t whether astrology is real,” she said. “The question is whether the effects are real ... is it a legitimate tool for self-care, and the answer is yes,” she said. Guler made her comment after Co-Star raised more than $15 million in a Series A funding round. Astrology is often mocked. Adherents are dismissed as navel-gazers or dupes, tricked by pseudoscience. As the industry approaches a $US2.5 billion valuation, nay-sayers should check themselves. But if an astrology app tells you to “start a cult”, you should probably still ignore it.

INSIDER: How astrology and mystic services are harnessing technology to plot your future and their fortune

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