From checking your sign’s compatibility with your crush’s, to reading about complicated natal charts, astrology has transcended from old-fashioned newspaper columns to more in-depth “birth chart” interpretations. With its sudden popularization, why does it seem like the younger generations are, all of a sudden, turning to astrology?

Early trackers

Past civilizations depended on nature’s rhythm as they did not have the technology to track weather, nor time, nor direction. According to the American Federation of Astrologers (AFA), an organization which studies the interpretation of celestial bodies, astrology finds its roots from the Babylonians needing to predict the recurrence of seasons and certain celestial events, leading to the invention of astrological charts used by early kings and emperors to track the stars and lunar cycles used to forecast natural disasters and other phenomena.

AFA also claimed that the association of astrology with science happened when the Babylonians introduced their knowledge to the Greeks, specifically Plato, Aristotle, among others. Together with borrowed myths, they attempted to understand human behavior through the influence of planets and other celestial objects. The knowledge spread through the books and influence of the Greeks, and perhaps explained why they are the ones who shaped the system of astrology into its modern-day form.

Nowadays, astrology gives meaning to the placement of the sun, the moon, and the planets within 12 sections of the sky—the signs of the zodiac. (You likely know your sun sign, the most famous zodiac sign, even if you’re not an astrology enthusiast.

Astrological wildfire

While ancient civilizations are long gone, astrology survived into the modern age. Online media outlets always feature horoscopes, while zodiac-themed listicles have spread like wildfire especially on various social media platforms that paved way to the reframing of New Age practices including—but not limited to—using tarot cards, feng shui, and spiritual meditations.

Astrology has complicated information to deal with, such as planet retrogrades and how they affect each person. For beginners, it can be very confusing; but in some ways, internet availability makes it easier to digest by providing simplified interpretations, as well as access to a community that focuses on astrology.

Twitter accounts such as Astro Poets (@poetastrologers), Astro Bebs (@astrobebs), and locally-handled account Astro Putas (@putastrology), rose with the astrology trend. These accounts describe easy-to-understand astrological views on life cycles, relationship patterns, weekly horoscopes, and fun, relatable content where symbols and representations are often transformed into communication.

Validation, stress as astrology triggers

According to a 1982 study by author Graham Tyson, “Under conditions of high stress, the individual is prepared to use astrology as a coping device even though under low-stress conditions he does not believe in it.” This sheds light on why people in some circumstances turn to astrology for some validation, even though on a daily basis they may not depend on it. 

That leads to the question, “What causes the present generation so much stress?”

With politics, religion, sexuality, and social issues remaining prevalent, the online world has been a highway of conflicting ideas and opinions expressed publicly through social media platforms. And, of course, the internet savvy generation is more exposed to these problems as issues continue to raise traction online.

In the essay There’s A Reason More And More Millennials Are Flocking To Astrology by Veronica Walsingham, studies have shown that things like stress, the political climate, and the lingering effects of the Great Recession may have pushed millennials to look to the stars for answers about their futures.

With countless issues hounding the present generation, astrology has not only provided entertainment to those who seek it, but it also offers some sort of solace and comfort of imagining a better future through the wisdom of stars and planetary alignments.

This article was originally published in The Benildean Vol. 5 No. 1: Emergence.

Art by Ivy Berces