It’s fate: modern astrology has captured the hearts of young Britons – for a fee
Co-Star has 30m registered users, the majority of whom are young and female. The combination of astrology and artificial intelligence has proved an incredible draw, writes Phoebe Arslanagic-Little
Co-star is a popular American app that bills itself as “astrology without the bullshit”. Mulling this paradoxical statement, I gave in to peer pressure and downloaded the app myself after a friend sent me an invite to do so.
The app’s aesthetic is clinical and elegant, distinctly non-woo.
“Good evening”, it says, followed by a daily nugget of guidance: “Your heart is a slippery fish that will do whatever feels right”. Somewhat confused by this arresting image, I explore further.
Co-Star is free but the business model quickly reveals itself alongside the many in-app extras I can pay for. Weirdly, this includes a report into my romantic compatibility with the friend who invited me to the app. Priced at £8.99, the report will be based on our birth charts. Co-Star promises me the friend will not receive an alert if I do indeed decide to discover whether our stars are romantically aligned. However, it does – for free – inform me that our “passion and sexuality are extremely compatible”. Equally, it warns that our communication styles will need work.
Though it is easy to sneer, slippery fish aside, Co-Star has 30m registered users. With my profile set up, I’m surprised to see that more than a few of my female friends are already on the app. The average age of users is 18-25 and probably majority female: it’s well-established that women are more likely to be interested in astrology than men.
Astrology in the 21st century has come a long way from its roots in Babylonian divination and ancient Egyptian horoscopes. Co-Star uses artificial intelligence that combines NASA data with the work of human astrologers. It claims to be more accurate than typical horoscopes because while these are apparently just based on a user’s sun sign, Co-Star considers the moon and planets too.
In its own literature, Co-Star places itself squarely in opposition to rationalism, which it says “suffocates”. Encouraging you to move beyond the strictures of reason and throw off the bonds of the Enlightenment, Co-Star promises to add “mystery and magnitude” to your day.
In short, with the helping hand of AI, modern astrology wants to alleviate the sense of insignificance we all feel going about our petty routines and elevate our actions, thoughts, and moods to the heights of cosmic drama. Maybe you spoke up in the meeting because your Mars is in Aries. Perhaps you told her how you feel because your Venus is in Gemini. You forgot to get cat food because your Uranus is in Aquarius.
Astrology apps like Co-Star are just another iteration of practices that clearly very many people find beneficial and enjoy; deeply human practices that have been with us for a very long time and that many people take seriously (in 2011, a job advert in China proclaimed Scorpios and Libras need not apply because of their innate moodiness). It’s easy to find accounts from those who have found astrology useful as a tool for self-discovery or combatting anxiety.
But is it harmless?
Research shows us that excessive introspection feeds anxiety, while focusing on the world outside of ourselves is linked to more durable happiness. To spend any lengthy period studying a birth chart or pondering what it means about your personality that the sun is in your ‘third house’ seems to me a clear manifestation of excessive introspection that carries just such risks.