Key takeaways:
- 58% of young Americans check their horoscopes at least once a week, with 72% relying on astrology to make important life decisions.
- Checking colleagues’ zodiac signs and consulting the stars over job offers, 63% believe astrology has positively impacted their careers.
- With 45% of young people seeking celestial relationship advice, astrology plays a significant role in dating. 31% of people admit they wouldn’t date someone with an incompatible star sign, while 21% have been dumped due to the zodiac.
- While 42% admit they’re overly reliant on astrology and 31% experience anxiety as a result, most feel its benefits are positive with 65% agreeing it helps to reduce stress and boost confidence.
Why do people believe in astrology?
If you need dating advice or can’t decide on your next career move, who do you turn to for support? For many young people, it isn’t friends, family, or experts—It’s the stars. Not the famous faces of Hollywood and social media… The celestial bodies that surround the earth.
There’s no question Mars, Venus, and Pluto are floating around up there, but what’s the difference between astronomy and astrology? Well, where astronomers study the stars, astrologers believe their alignments can impact our moods, personalities, and environments.
EduBirdie surveyed 2,000 young Americans who either fully embrace astrology or turn to it when it resonates, to explore its influence on their lives. While widely considered a pseudoscience, the results show that doesn’t stop many millennials and Gen Zers from turning to the skies during times of need.
Astrology’s cosmic comeback: Youth culture and the zodiac
Every generation has pockets of people who believe in the solar system's ability to alter our lives. But for Gen Zers and younger millennials, astrology isn’t a niche interest but the norm. Some 58% of young Americans check their horoscope at least once a week, while 27% check to see what the future holds daily.
For 72% of young people, astrology is a way to decode the world around them and put their lives on the right track. Some 45% seek galactic guidance to assist them in their love lives, 32% use it to aid their health, and 19% turn to the stars for financial support.
Why do people believe in astrology? It’s essentially a coping mechanism, helping people make sense of situations and reach decisions during tough moments. And for many, it’s the miracle cure they were seeking, with 29% believing astrology is an effective replacement for therapy.
From birth charts to business: Astrology’s impact on work
With many using planetary movements to plot their next career move, 63% believe it has positively impacted their career. For 39% of young professionals, astrology’s greatest strength is its ability to help them understand where they excel and where their limitations lie. For 36% of people, this insight helped put them on the right career path, while 15% say it helped them land their dream job.
One way astrology helps in the workplace is by allowing believers to get a good sense of their colleagues before they sign the contract. Some 41% of Gen Zers and millennials check their potential boss’s and colleague’s zodiac signs before accepting a job offer.
Mercury Retrograde: How young workers navigate cosmic chaos
The solar system’s workplace influence isn’t all positive—especially when the Swift Planet is involved. If you’re unsure which planets are in retrograde right now, there’s a high chance Mercury is among them. Constantly spinning backward, it’s thought to bring chaos and cause confusion.
During Mercury retrograde, 62% of young workers go out of their way to avoid disruption, whether backing up important documents (15%), creating a relaxing environment (37%), or setting flexible deadlines (24%). However, for 12%, trying to deal with the stress and struggle the event brings isn’t worth the trouble—so they stay in bed and call in sick.
Celestial chemistry: Astrology’s role in modern romance
Fire and air get on like a house on fire, and water and earth are a natural pairing. Even if you don’t know how to read an astrology chart or have to Google “what are my astrology signs” whenever someone asks, there’s a high chance your romantic interest is a believer. And if the stars say no? You might be out of luck, given that 74% of young people check a potential partner’s zodiac sign to avoid wasting time on incompatible matches.
Believed to offer insight into a person’s identity, characteristics, emotions, social abilities, and sexual drive, some 31% of young people admit they wouldn’t date someone with a zodiac sign incompatible with their own.
Others ignore the solar system’s advice—only to discover that Venus was right all along. Some 21% of young people admit they have been dumped due to their zodiac sign, with the planetary positions putting a strain on mismatched lovers.
For other unsuccessful couples, it isn’t the planets that are the problem but believing in their powers. With cosmic events such as Mercury retrograde a severe source of stress and anxiety for those who swear by astrology, it’s no wonder 13% have been dumped due to their astrological interest.
The dangers of getting starry-eyed over astrology
Close to half of all young Americans believe they’re overly reliant on astrology, with one in ten admitting they can’t make any life decisions without consulting the stars.
We’re all prone to making mistakes and the planets are no different, with one in ten admitting that their trust in astrology has caused them problems—like breaking up or getting into the wrong relationship, starting a huge fight with a friend or making a bad stock pick. If it seems like a bad decision, “astrology told me to do it” is no excuse.
For 31%, astrology is a source of anxiety. Despite the positive mental health benefits it can provide, the feeling that everything is written in the stars and out of control has the potential to put our own lives in retrograde.
For 22% of people, with astrology comes embarrassment. Why? Because many skeptics insist that just because it isn’t scientifically proven, nobody is allowed to believe in it.
Cosmic confidence: The bright side of believing in astrology
With 65% of young people agreeing that astrology can reduce anxiety and boost confidence, whether you’re a divination devotee or star skeptic, there’s no denying that consulting the constellations can and does positively impact many lives.
With young people today facing a grueling job search, mountains of student debt, a worsening housing crisis, and a severe shortage of positive news, they’re turning to spirituality in their droves—and finding comfort and confidence among the chaos.
Methodology: To create this study, researchers from EduBirdie surveyed 2,000 Gen Z and younger millennials (ages 16-34) from the US. Participants, who either fully embrace astrology or turn to it when it resonates, were selected to share their experiences in detail. The study did not focus on specific genders, ethnicities, or social backgrounds.
