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.