We

We
can’t get enough of astrology. Sun signs are for sceptics and
anyone with an iota of interest in their holistic wellbeing knows
their moon and rising signs too. “Big Leo energy” filled our social
feeds last summer, while minor disasters were attributed to
Mercury’s retrograde.

Of course, this isn’t astrology’s first 15 minutes of fame.
References are found in texts created by the Babylonians around
1700 BCE. Ptolemy laid the basis for its practice in his
2nd-century work, Tetrabiblos. Astrology boomed during the
Renaissance, when the newly invented printing press distributed
almanacs, and it enjoyed refreshed interest in the New Age of the
1960s and 1970s.

Now astrology is evolving yet again, shifting from psychedelic
pursuit to millennial canon – but instead of gazing skyward, we’re
using phone screens as windows into ourselves. Data-driven apps
such as The Pattern, Sanctuary (“the Uber for astrological
readings”) and Co-Star use our natal charts to create
hyper-personalised horoscopes. Instagram accounts including
@notallgeminis and @trashbag_astrology boast hundreds of thousands
of followers. “Astrology can be overwhelming,” says Lisa Stockley,
who has worked as an astrologer for 20 years. “A meme makes it
digestible.”

Businesspeople are seeing pound signs in the stars. The mystical
services market is worth an estimated $2.1billion. Amazon provides
“shopping horoscopes” to Prime Insiders. Man Repeller’s
astrology-themed Christmas gift guide told fiery Aries to buy
glittering wedges, while recommending heart-shaped earrings for
emotional Pisces. Vetements and Valentino have created
zodiac-themed collections. Urban Outfitters sells star-sign
cushions.

It begs the question: does modern astrology have meaning that
runs deeper than mystical algorithms and marketing? Many have
attributed horoscope hysteria to millennials’ appetite for irony
and navel-gazing. We don’t want sanguine predictions; we want
self-deprecating, cosmic roasting. We want memes to explain why
we’re never on time – “I can’t help it, I’m Capricorn” – or push
notifications to tell us “your nervous energy won’t be useful
today” or “maybe you just need a good roll in the hay”.

Nevertheless, astrology’s popularity can also be seen as a
response to our uncertain world. In the 1930s, horoscopes gained
traction in UK newspapers in the wake of a stock-market crash and
King Edward VIII’s abdication. A 1982 study by Graham Tyson
concluded that it is mainly stressed people who consult
astrologers. Today, we – the burnout generation – are experiencing
environmental, economic and political doom. We want to know
why.

“Places to which we have traditionally looked to for answers –
organised religion, political, corporate, financial institutions –
are less and less able to answer existential questions,” says Ruby
Warrington, founder of The Numinous and author of New-Age guidebook
Material Girl, Mystical World. For her, astrology is stepping into
this vacuum of belief. “The movements of the planets give us a
big-picture view of what’s transpiring in our lives.”

She continues: “Astrology becomes a language through which we
can connect with people, and discuss the parts of ourselves that we
might otherwise find difficult to articulate.” Astrology’s
collision with 21st-century technology and consumerism may not be
such a bad thing after all – it has opened a channel that can lead
to more meaningful engagement, a form of collective self-care.

“Time, and life, is cyclical,” adds Stockley, “Astrology has
been around for thousands of years and its popularity has always
waxed and waned. This is just another phase in the cycle.” With
this in mind, she has created astral itineraries to guide your next
adventure.