Gen Zs are powering astrology’s billion dollar glow up. Has science left the building?

Daybreak

25-07-2024 • 42 mins

The global astrology market today is worth nearly $13 billion. In India alone, the online astrology market is estimated around $100 million and is expected to grow ten times in the next five years or so.


But this isn’t astrology as we’ve known it. In the last few years, astrology has had a facelift and it’s largely thanks to Gen Z. They have rediscovered it and turned it into a full blown cultural moment. Meme pages, Astro Twitter, mercury retrograde—astrology has become a pop culture phenomenon, not just here in India but across the world.


New-age astrology apps like Co Star and Pattern give you the option of checking whether your “vibes” match with your friend or love interest.  It's like modern-day kundli matching. And Gen Zs are here for it and more. They’re also using astrology apps to check what stocks to put their money on, for their appraisal season—basically, anytime they have to make a decision, big or small.


We wanted to know why the Gen Z, a generation that’s been recognised for its hyper-awareness about things like climate change, politics, governance is embracing astrology so passionately despite all of its very well documented flaws as a pseudoscience. Also, how are astrology app makers are responding to this trend?


To find out, we spoke to two Gen Zs—Misha Verma, a 22 year-old 2D animator from Bengaluru and Khushi Singh, a 23 year-old UI/UX designer from New Delhi who part times as a tarot reader, the founder of an AI-powered astrology app called Melooha, Vikram Labhe, and Nakul Shenoy, a mentalist based out of Bengaluru.


Tune in!

Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

You Might Like

The Morning Brief
The Morning Brief
The Economic Times
ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash
ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash
Asian News International (ANI)
ThePrint
ThePrint
ThePrint
Global News Podcast
Global News Podcast
BBC World Service
3 Things
3 Things
Express Audio
FT News Briefing
FT News Briefing
Financial Times
Top of the Morning
Top of the Morning
Mint - HT Smartcast
Economist Podcasts
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
Daybreak
Daybreak
The Ken
HT Daily News Wrap
HT Daily News Wrap
Hindustan Times - HT Smartcast
7@7
7@7
The Economic Times
The Journal.
The Journal.
The Wall Street Journal & Gimlet
The Daily
The Daily
The New York Times
WSJ What’s News
WSJ What’s News
The Wall Street Journal
WSJ Tech News Briefing
WSJ Tech News Briefing
The Wall Street Journal