Astrology in the 2020s: What Our Curiosity Actually Tells Us

A screen full of zodiac memes can make astrology feel like the shared language of an entire generation. Perhaps you recognize the feeling: a friend sends you a Moon-sign post, an app offers a daily message, and suddenly the sky seems to have joined the group chat.

How widespread is that curiosity? We can answer part of the question with survey evidence, while leaving room for the many reasons an individual might be interested.

A useful snapshot, with a date attached

Pew Research Center’s May 2025 report found that 28% of U.S. adults consulted astrology or a horoscope at least annually. The often-repeated 30% figure combines astrology, tarot cards and fortune-tellers; it is not the astrology-only result. Most participants in those activities described their motivation as enjoyment rather than guidance. 1

The fieldwork happened in October 2024. Researchers surveyed 9,593 adults through Pew’s American Trends Panel, using online and telephone interviews and weighting the results to represent U.S. adults. 2

Those details establish the boundaries of the picture. We are looking at responses from adults in one country during a particular period. We cannot quietly extend the findings to teenagers, every country, or every person who has ever enjoyed a horoscope.

Interest, belief and decision-making are different questions

Reading something does not automatically mean accepting its claims. You might enjoy a personality description, collect birth-chart illustrations, or use a symbol as a writing prompt without believing that a planet determines your choices.

The distinction also works in the other direction. Someone can hold an astrological belief without buying an app, reading a horoscope every morning, or wanting to study chart interpretation. When a headline bundles all these behaviors into one word—popularity—it becomes harder to see what was actually measured.

Pew also found that 27% expressed belief in astrology, compared with 29% when the same question was asked in 2017. The difference was not statistically significant. That comparison does not support a claim that belief surged between those surveys. 1

What the numbers cannot decide for you

A popularity survey cannot establish whether a birth-chart interpretation is accurate. Counting how many people consult a practice and testing what that practice can predict are different research tasks. A large audience is evidence of attention; it is not, by itself, evidence for an explanation of how the world works.

Nor do these results tell you why one particular friend loves astrology. Asking them may reveal a very ordinary pleasure: a beautiful vocabulary, a connection with a family tradition, or permission to pause and think. Treat those possibilities as invitations to conversation, rather than a diagnosis of someone’s motives.

Your own interest deserves the same patience. You do not need a growing movement to justify enjoying a subject. You also do not owe a subject your agreement simply because you enjoy exploring it.

A five-minute headline exercise

Choose one astrology headline or social post. On a blank page, write three headings: What it says, What supports it, and What remains open.

Under the first, turn the headline into a plain sentence. Replace an expansive phrase such as “everyone is turning to the stars” with the precise claim you can identify. If you cannot find one, write that down.

Under the second, look for the original source. Record the country, participants, dates and actual question where available. Notice whether the post refers to reading astrology, believing it, spending money on it, or making decisions with it.

Under the third, name one conclusion the evidence cannot supply. Then write your own reason for being curious, without using a statistic at all.

Let curiosity keep its own shape

You might finish the exercise wanting to study more. You might decide that occasional reading is enough. Both are reasonable ways to approach a symbolic tradition.

As you explore, choose writing that tells you where its claims come from and leaves room for your experience to differ. A thoughtful introduction should give you vocabulary, context and useful questions. There is room beneath a wide night sky for interest, uncertainty and independent judgment to sit together.