‘One of those Crazy Star Sign Girls’: Why are we so Obsessed with Looking to the Stars? 

Zara Grew questions her relationship with astrology and its ability to act as a guide through chaotic times. 

 

With cups of tea in hand, the women in my family would wait with anxious excitement to hear their fortunes that my Gran would read from The Sun newspaper (which she insisted she only bought for the caravan holiday coupons). As a kid I was excited by the prospect of the prosperity which was coming my way or a new promotion at work. I would daydream about these amusingly adult things and desperately try to make them fit into my everyday life at school.

 

I have since graduated from my granny’s tabloid snippets into a more fitting horoscope fix from Lisa Stardust on Refinery29 and of course, a codependent relationship with my Costar app. A recent study by Kings College London, found that Gen Z are most likely to be atheist. As we move away from traditional religion, people are still searching for meaning and purpose and astrology offers this guidance in a flexible ‘no strings attached’ kind of way.

 

It wasn’t until I began my undergraduate degree at the University of Glasgow and people started asking me my ‘Big 3’ (sun, moon and rising sign) that I realised I wasn’t alone in my star sign obsession. I quickly became acquainted with my now beloved apps, Costar and The Pattern, and took great pleasure in connecting with my friends to see if we had compatible charts. This practice trickled out into dating, where I would encourage my potential partner to check if we were ‘destined’ to be together which was usually met with little enthusiasm. Often leading me to be labelled ‘one of those crazy star sign girls’. Never mind; it wasn’t meant to be anyway…he was a Gemini!

 

At a chaotic time in my life where I felt constantly barraged by the unknown, it was so exciting to finally be able to codify and make sense of my life. Navigating university can be challenging and the rise of clubs such as The University of Glasgow Astrology Society, which launched in 2019, are clear indicators that astrology is having a renaissance among students and young people.  Reading charts and horoscopes allowed me to understand myself and others in a new way. I became obsessed with and calmed by the idea that everything was out of my hands and just a series of plans which were written in the stars. 

 

This sentiment is clearly shared among other young people, as Gen Z are “83 percent more likely to say that astrology has helped better their own lives compared to those in other age groups”. Astrology is an inherently social practice which sparks conversation and connection as you learn more about yourself and others when engaging with it. It is no wonder that a generation who have grown up in social isolation and struggle to develop meaningful relationships are turning to this age-old practice which is rooted in human understanding.

 

Star signs continue to trend on social media because they offer a flexible way of engaging with spirituality and often focus on self-improvement which is appealing to a Gen Z audience. However, the practice does not come without risks and with the rise of TikTok and Instagram astrology influencers, it is important to safeguard yourself from the dangers of online astrology. Due to the sheer volume of unregulated spiritual content on social media people are more susceptible than ever to developing unhealthy relationships with astrology.

 

Astrology can be an intoxicating practice and I have learned to be cautious of over relying on what is ‘destined’. Life can be unpredictable and the beauty of it is that there are no definitive answers. Astrology should be a fun and useful way to envision what the future holds and help you to become the best version of yourself. However, horoscopes can only take you half of the way and if you really want something, only you can make it happen.