For three years, the practice of astrology has been on the rise. And according to a 2019 article in The New Yorker, millennials are fueling this spike in the popularity of astrology.
Astrology is the practice of seeking guidance from signs in the stars and planets. More to the point, it’s reading your horoscope and believing what it says, based on your astrological sign on the zodiac.
And the acceptance of astrology is soaring, driven by millennials on the internet. A 2017 Pew Research Center poll noted that almost thirty percent of Americans believe in astrology. But, as author Nicholas Campion has written, the number of people who know their sun sign, consult their horoscope, or read about the sign of their romantic partner is much higher. And a 2018 New York Times piece entitled “How Astrology Took Over the Internet,” also heralded astrology’s return.
So why the sudden interest among millennials in something that other generations placed somewhere between a harmless pastime and a superstitious waste of time?
According to most studies, the popularity of astrology historically coincides with the rise of economic and political instability. So with the pandemic, riots, murder hornets and hurricanes, and the dwindling job market for recent college grads, it’s not hard to see how younger generations might be worried. So they are looking for something to believe in, to trust, to grasp and hold onto. Something to make the future make sense.
For that reason, the popularity of astrology reveals something about human nature. When we are confused, we seek clarity. When we are afraid, we seek help. When we are worried, we seek certainty.
That’s not new. But it’s where we seek that help that makes all the difference.
To be clear, the Bible roundly condemns astrology. Why? Mainly because participating in astrology is conferring on the creation—the planets and stars– what you should seek only from the Creator—guidance, advice, and wisdom (Deut. 4:19, Is. 47:13-14, Lev. 19:26).
That’s why Christians, especially, should avoid tampering with astrology or fooling around with horoscopes. The Bible denounces the astrologer as a competitor for the hearts of God’s people, and astrology as a weak and anemic counterfeit to the true work of God (Dan. 2:27-28, Lev. 20:6). Far from giving guidance, astrology confuses and frustrates the seeker (Luke 21:25). God alone gives us guidance, and He has given us His Word and prayer for that purpose (Is. 8:19).
Which is why people of any generation who find themselves tumbling in uncertainty remain frustrated when they seek solace or guidance from astrology. But for millennials in particular, pursuing answers in astrology reveals a few things about our culture, their generation, and human nature:
- Millennials are suffering the results of our defection from the truth.
Starting in the 1960’s we have educated three generations out of a belief in absolute truth, and we have encouraged them to replace that truth with personal feelings. Astrology feeds the cultural fascination with personal preferences and me-centered theology. Astrological signs do not challenge the seeker with the truth, but only confirm the whims and worries of the day.
To be helpful and dependable, truth must be objective, outside of us and not dependent on how we feel or on shifting signs. That’s what we find in the Bible, which claims without hesitation that “the truth is in Jesus” and that God’s word is truth (John 17:17, Eph. 4:20-23). Spirituality untied from a relationship with the Creator is destined to drift directionless, following the stars farther into the sea of the unknown.
- Millennials are spiritually hungry.
The interest in astrology also coincides with a record number of Americans, mostly millennials and Gen Zers, who identify as religiously unaffiliated, or “Nones” when asked to pick their religion on a form, application, or census. In the past few years, this demographic has risen to around 24% of the population.
But renouncing religion doesn’t mean we are not religious. People are spiritual, even if they disdain organized religion. We can’t get away from it. We need to know what is true and what is real. Why? Because we were designed that way, and we were created to have that spiritual need fulfilled in a relationship with God (Gen. 1:27). In the absence of this relationship, the spiritual life goes unsatisfied (Eph. 4:24).
One of the most common conversations I have as a pastor is with a seeker, a person of any age who is feeling a lack of certainty, an absence from God, or who is simply seeking help for the future. I always tell them that God is working their lives. How do I know that? Because we’re having this conversation! They are asking spiritual questions. And the reason we ask spiritual questions is because we have a Creator who made us and who wants a relationship with us. Apart from that relationship, we keep searching to fill the void that can only He can fill.
So the good news is that He wants you to find Him, so God actually motivates that search. The Bible is overflowing with this truth, cascading down on us nearly every time we open its pages (for instance, Deut. 4:29, Ps. 9:10, Prov. 8:17, Matt. 7:7-8, Heb. 11:6).
- Millennials seek certainty and hope for the future.
We are the sum total of our decisions, so every person, deep inside, hunts for certainty and help in making wise decisions. But ironically, though we might reject the idea of absolute truth, human nature still believes that truth exists and that we need it to make correct decisions (Ps. 25:5).
But millennials and Gen Zers have been duped into thinking that they can trust their feelings and emotions to make the right decisions. From Disney to Taylor Swift, from movies to makeup ads, it’s all about following your feelings.
The problem, of course, is that following your feelings is one of the worst ways to make decisions. Feelings change daily, even by the minute, and to seek guidance from your feelings is just another version of seeking guidance from the creation rather than the Creator. And it always feeds uncertainty, fear, and confusion.
That’s why the Bible depicts God as our Rock, our Refuge, and our Strength (Ps. 18:2). He is Certainty personified, an “ever present help in times of trouble” (Ps. 46:1).
Circumstances change. Mining the wisdom of a fallen creation will not help me, or you, make decisions. It only fosters more fear and uncertainty.
Instead, anchor yourself to the Creator. Seek a relationship with Him, and His direction and guidance. And watch uncertainty and fear disappear.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Is. 41:10