Astrology apps: how did they come about and what are they for?

Astrology, the study of how the movements and positions of celestial bodies affect the lives of humans and nature, has taken the leap into virtuality. It is no longer necessary to visit a medium or wait to read the horoscope in the morning edition of the newspaper. Now predictions, the position of the planets, natal charts and even palm readings are services available at your fingertips.

Astrology applications have taken a significant portion of the market for technology applied to human well-being and faith: the market for so-called “psychic services” in the United States was valued at 2.2 trillion dollars, and at 3.3 trillion globally by 2021, according to market research company IBISWorld.

The exponential growth of astrology applications makes sense when analyzing the studies and surveys that measure the beliefs of the population. Most of the studies come from the United States, a country where one in four people believe in astrology, according to the British market analysis firm YouGov. Furthermore, according to the British trend forecasting company WGSN, 62% of Generation Z (or centennials) believes that your zodiac sign paints an accurate portrait of your personality traits.

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Thus, combining the ease of centennials to handle technology and their growing skepticism towards traditional religions (they are the first generation in the United States whose population of atheists, agnostics and indifferents exceeds the number of believers, according to a survey conducted by Harvard University), the rise of applications of astrology is no surprise. But what exactly do they do and what are some of the options on the market today?

Sanctuary

Like almost all astrology apps, Sanctuary asks for your first and last name; then your birthday, city of birth, and time of birth in order to generate the natal chart, which uses a person’s time, place, and date of birth to determine the planetary movements that occurred at the time of someone’s birth.

The app has four sections. The horoscope gives you your daily personalized horoscope; This includes a daily tarot card with advice, a rising sign reading and an overview of what to expect for your month based on your birth chart. The app also offers personal birth chart readings with experts, but they’re paid: the first reading is $4.99, and the app charges a per-minute fee for consecutive readings.

The third section of the application is the guide section, which teaches the basics that one should know about astrology, such as the influence of the sun, moon and ascendant signs on a person’s personality. The sign that most people know by heart is the sun sign, which best describes personality. The lunar sign, which represents the inner monologue and intuition, reflects the position of the moon at the time of a person’s birth. The ascendant determines the image that is projected to others, and changes every two hours according to the rotation of the Earth’s axis, so it is necessary to know the time of birth to calculate it.

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Finally, the fourth section of the application contains the user’s astral chart, presented in an interactive way: you can expand information about the planets, the positioning of each planet in each sign at the time of the user’s birth and more.

Sanctuary is free, except for expert birth chart readings, plus a subscription service called Sanctuary+, which costs $14.99 per month. Available for Android and iOS.

Cost

Co-star’s approach is to provide birth chart utilities and daily personalized horoscopes while paying attention to the social aspect: the app allows you to connect with friends and compare birth charts. The application compares the positioning of each planet in each sign in both charts to determine compatibility levels between the two users: two users can, for example, be compatible sexually and in communication, but not so compatible in their life philosophies. . It also gives daily updates on aspects to consider in the relationship, what will be in harmony and what will not.

However, the app has gained more prominence since the launch of the daily tips notifications feature, which has caught the attention of users for its eye-catching messages: depending on your birth chart, the app may advise you not to use profanity, explore certain financial opportunity or start experimenting with telepathy.

Co-star is available for Android and iOS, and it is free, although it has paid options, such as enlarging another user’s birth chart, determining the user’s compatibility with a person who does not use the application; and with Eros, which focuses on the romantic and partner aspect, which has a monthly subscription cost of $6.99.

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The Pattern

The Pattern is an app similar to Co-star: you have the option to connect with friends and determine compatibility. It also gives daily advice and underlines the most marked aspects of the user’s personality according to their astral chart. Likewise, it has the characteristic of informing the user about the characteristics of the cycle that is going through the user’s life and its duration: a cycle, for example, can be marked by decision-making, opening up emotionally with loved ones and strangers, and it can last from weeks to months. The Pattern also features Connect, similar to traditional dating apps, but with an astrological twist.

The Pattern is available on Android and iOS, and it’s free, but it has subscription plans starting at $14.99 for three months. The app lets you create three astrological profiles of people not in the app for free, but charges for creating more than three.

Ecuadorian users

Kristel Salazar, from Guayaquil, uses astrology apps to “find out the astrological climate”: how the planets are aligning, when Mercury is in retrograde, and how the position of a certain planet affects the user’s mood and life in general. “The cool thing is that you don’t have to interpret what is happening in the astrological climate, but rather they give you a summary,” says Salazar, who adds that he considers that personalized attention from the applications is more “safe” than a horoscope.

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However, Salazar cautions that not all astrology apps are reliable. “There was apps that I trusted, that supposedly spoke to bases, but then you found out that the people behind those apps were just fans or paid to say anything,” said Salazar, who now prefers to receive his astrological guidance from influencers experts on the subject on the social network Instagram.

Karla Sosa, from Quito, uses the Co-star application more than anything for the purpose of entertainment, because, she explains, it would be difficult for her to make a decision in her life based on what the application tells her. However, for her, astrology serves to justify why some relationships in her life did not work: “After it happens, that I am relating in some way with someone, I verify that yes, that it is true,” Sosa emphasizes.