I ask what is your sign? on every first date that I go on—if I didn't already ask prior to the date, that is. It's not that the answer would ever deter me from going on a date or cause me to end a date right then and right there, but it serves as an icebreaker—and a crutch for when conversation runs dry. Believe in the stars and planets or not, astrology, in my opinion, makes it easier for us to talk about ourselves.
What is your sign? is always followed by do you relate? and from there, a conversation about personality and habits, both good and bad, opens up. I, for example, would spill all about my most and least Capricorn traits—and then open up a larger conversation about my detailed birth chart and how some of my rising and moon sign traits shine through more than the stereotypical rigid, hyper-organized characteristics of the sea goat. For me, it makes it feel safer to practice self-awareness, easier to be transparent with somewhat of a stranger. It does, at the same time, feel deeply vulnerable—the alignments of planets make one's birth chart complex and entirely personal to them.
I can't pinpoint exactly where and when my affinity for astrology came to be, but I do remember this: being home for some sort of break during my college years and my mother asking me to go to church with her. At that point, something going on in my life or in the greater world had me questioning the existence of God, so I declined. "You should find something to believe in," my mother said—and so I did. And, in recent years, so have many Gen Zers.
"More recently, long periods of lockdown forced people into greater introspection, while global instability has led many to question the 'why' of life," astrologist Natasha Weber says. "As more people question their religion and belief systems, they are discovering alternative ways to understand themselves and navigate life’s challenges."
Social media has undeniably changed how young people engage with astrology, as well as with spirituality in general. Many astrologists, psychics, and tarot readers have become successful by sharing their wisdom online—and, as a result, and with the major help of apps like CoStar, the astrology phenomenon has grown far beyond sun sign horoscopes in print magazines. "My memories of astrology from the 2010 decade were that everyone knew about horoscopes, and that was it. There was a lot of misconception around what astrology was and what it could offer," astrologer Julia Topaz says. "Now everyone talks about Mercury retrograde and their big three, and a lot of people know about their moon and about their rising sign. I think that social media has really made it easy to access more advanced knowledge and, in general, has made people understand that there's more to astrology than horoscopes."
Gen Z is widely known for their willingness to experiment, so it's not surprising that spirituality is more prevalent for them than previous generations. "I think Gen Z is naturally quite open-minded and willing to question things rather than just accepting that there’s one way to live or believe. Spirituality really suits that," psychic Zeta Webber says. "You can explore astrology, manifestation, meditation, journalling, psychic readings or a mixture of different things without having to put yourself into a particular box. I also think they’re a generation that really values self-awareness and personal growth, so anything that encourages them to look at themselves and their lives differently is naturally going to resonate."
For me personally, as the world seems to grow uglier and uglier and the future continues to feel more uncertain, astrology and tarot have served as a comfort. "We live in a period where the world can feel increasingly difficult to understand," Topaz says. "Astrology offers a framework for looking at your experiences, your relationships, and the periods of change in your life."
It's hard for me to argue with the sun, the universe, and the planets—and, considering that the exact moment someone was born has never happened before and will never happen again, it's hard for me to argue with anyone's birth chart. I don't consider it the end-all-be-all, but rather something to lean on and, as my mother instructed me to do, something to believe in—at least a little bit.