Exploring Gen Z’s love of horoscopes

What is it exactly about this idea of our fate being pre-determined by the stars that we as a generation appear to find so satisfying?

@npr Over 2,000 years ago, the Babylonians mapped our constellations, and later the Greeks created the zodiac we have today. But here’s the thing that might surprise you: The positions of the stars have changed since then — not because the stars themselves have moved, but because the Earth’s view of them has changed. #NPR #Zodiac #Astrology ♬ original sound – npr

For one, it offers us a sense of self-awareness and understanding. From morning pages and mindfulness to dopamine autumn and the winter arc, Gen Z are often considered introspective and focused on self-development.

In part, this could due to the burgeoning compassion fatigue that hours and hours of doom scrolling on social media has induced in many young people.

In an era of uncertainty across political, global, and economic spectrums (to name a few), it’s arguably no wonder that many netizens are seeking solace in the stars.

That being said, the concept of personal development has been a consistent (I see you Capricorns) feature of every generation pretty much since the birth of Siddhartha Gautama – better known as The Buddha – and  Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who defined personal development as ‘a category of practical wisdom, where the practice of virtues leads to eudaimonia (happiness or human flourishing).’

With this in mind, it makes sense that as a sentient species seeking metaphysical answers to existentialism of our own ontological existence we love to spend time thinking about how we can assess our consciousness more… consciously.

But is this actually having a positive impact on our mental health?

@joeynero What your zodiac sign says about you♍️…#fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – Joey Nero

Posing limits to people’s ability to communicate and acting as a cheat code to navigating the world and its complexities, for some, it’s exacerbating their negative feelings as they self-diagnose and misappropriate birth chart terminology.

On the flipside, it’s how people bond with each other, especially on social media where it’s reproduced and repurposed across various platforms, transcending time zones and replacing spatial limitations with celestial explanations.

The proliferation of ‘shareable articles’ (originally developed by Buzzfeed) is the driver behind this, promoting clickbait pieces rather than contemplatively compelling content.

But even if we take into account the rapid growth of the internet to create marketable – and therefore profitable – content, that doesn’t necessarily rebuke all of the value of astrological teachings just because they’ve been shared on an aesthetically pleasing background or in a video captioned ‘what your zodiac sign says about you.’

Whatever the case, maybe instead of asking why Gen Z is so obsessed with the mental health and wellness benefits of astrology we should be asking why we don’t all have our own version; be it reflecting on the reasons for our behaviour or being more considerate about our relationships.

I’m not suggesting that everyone should suddenly turn to the stars for the answers or study their birth chart for a sense of purpose, but perhaps Gen Z’s fascination with horoscopes and zodiac signs as a way of transcending the constraints of societal conventions and labels is a good way of making us all more understanding not only of ourselves, but perhaps most importantly, of one another.