In an age of anxiety, people look to the stars for answers

Across the world, people have questions neither science nor religion can answer. That’s where the so-called pseudosciences come in.

As a child, Tionna Salmon flipped through her mom’s magazines, heading straight for the astrology page. She remembers talking to her friends about what zodiac sign they were, figuring out how different that made them. But it was in university after her first heartbreak, that she dove right into it. 

“I would watch a monthly YouTube video from an astrologist on what I could expect for the upcoming month of my life — any challenges I may come across or people I may interact with,” she said. “I looked for ways in which these [predictions] would come to life.”

Salmon is a Virgo. And a lot of the posts she sees on TikTok recently are “Virgo Core” where video creators highlight memes that give off “Virgo energy.” Virgos are thought to be practical but prudish. And stereotypes like these follow all the zodiac signs around. So, why think about them at all?

“I think by finding out someone’s sign, people can use that as a judgement of how someone is going to behave,” she said. “I know some people who say they won’t date Geminis but I believe if they truly met a Gemini and they fell in love, they wouldn’t think twice.”

In Canada, sale of tarot cards and astrology products have become more commonplace, catalyzed by social media. They are displayed by the cashiers at bookstores and even have dedicated sections, usually between religion and spirituality. 

What’s your sign?

Astrology seems to be the most popular. Young people ask each other: “What’s your sun, moon and rising sign?” This refers to the position of the planets relative to Earth at the time of one’s birth. A survey in Business in Vancouver magazine found that 49% of Canadians under 35 believed in astrology.

Gillian Witter, an astrologer, tarot reader and life coach based in Toronto, said that some people turn to astrology to cope with stress, to feel a sense of control and certainty and to feel more in tune with their own identities. 

“A significant part of my job is really just listening to what it is that people really need in that moment and how I can support them during that process,” she said. “Some people go through really terrible breakups or divorces and just need a little bit of guidance around that.”

Most of Witter’s clients ask about potential romantic connections and the future of their love lives. She’s mindful of the state people are in. “Somebody has taken time to book me, to give me money and then share the part of their life with me,” she said. “I feel so privileged, but also I want to honour that.”

Some psychologists say that astrology has been a welcoming place for all people — unlike traditional institutions like religion — which can make them more appealing to younger people. Many of Witter’s clients are professional women of colour between the ages of 25 and 55, a connection that makes her happy and proud.

“Being in Canada when there’s so many people with different cultural backgrounds that there’s this expectation to assimilate to Canadian Eurocentric culture that it almost feels like there’s no room for us and what we bring culturally,” she said.

Signs are in ourselves.

Some studies found that astrology both attracts and reinforces individual differences, with one finding that higher levels of narcissism showed higher beliefs in astrology. Critics, meanwhile, have long argued that these kinds of readings are scams or a way to swindle unsuspecting, sometimes heartbroken women. 

Witter acknowledged that there are bad actors who overpromise. “I’m going to tell you this right now when people say, oh, ‘100% percent guarantee, full accuracy,’ that’s complete bullshit,” Witter said.

So, if you’re interested in astrology or a tarot reading, this is what she recommends: try a couple and see who you connect with — the same way you find a therapist or hairdresser. 

“If you look at it realistically and take away the fluff, then you understand it for what it is, a tool, just like anything else like a cell phone, like a pen,” she said.

Many astrology readings and classes operate online, filling the For You pages on TikTok and YouTube. A 75-minute astrology session can run anywhere from CAD$195-225 or US$136-157, not including taxes. In 2021, it was estimated the global astrological service industry was worth US$12 billion worldwide and is expected to jump to US$22.8 billion by 2031.

Personality types instead of star signs

Over in South Korea, instead of “what’s your sign?” young people ask: “What’s your MBTI?”

Those four letters are on ads, in computer games and even on playlists. The MBTI, or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, categorises people into 16 different types: introverted versus extroverted, thinkers versus feelers and so on. Like an invisible person, they accompany people who want to size up potential friends and first dates.

“[Young people] often ask each other about their MBTI types to get a sense of each other’s traits,” said No Kyung-Min, a journalist with The Korea Herald in South Korea. “While some people openly share their personality types, most prefer to keep it to themselves and only reveal it when asked.”

In South Korean society, there’s a lot of emphasis put on the distinctions between “thinkers” and “feelers.” In his story on thinking types, No writes how the more logically inclined “thinkers” are thought to lack empathy or emotional depth. 

“This is partly because Koreans tend to seek emotional validation from others and prefer people to take their side, rather than receiving direct or blunt answers,” he said. 

A sense of security

MBTI testing became popular with young South Koreans who were using it to find compatible dating partners during the pandemic. By December 2021, nearly half of South Korea had taken the MBTI personality test. 

MBTI helps give some semblance of structure and certainty while people face a hyper-competitive job market, rising unemployment rates and housing prices. This feeling of uncertainty is so prevalent, there’s even a word for it: 억울하다, uhgul-hada.

By March 2022, a growing number of Korean companies were asking job candidates to reveal their MBTI personality test results. Sixty percent of South Korean jobseekers in their twenties surveyed opposed this.

MBTI has been widely regarded as pseudoscience by the scientific community, with some experts calling it “pretty much meaningless” and “one of the worst personality tests in existence.” 

But as long as there’s been people, we’ve always been trying to understand ourselves, the people around us and the world. 

Signs of the times

In India, weddings are oftentimes held after consulting an astrologer. In Nigeria, Yoruba people use Ifá: interpretations of patterns made by palm nuts. In the United States, Wall Street has a history of using financial astrologers, who related the performance of financial markets to movements of planets or cosmic events like eclipses. The 2000 financial crash led to a surge in companies and investment bankers using these services.

Most human civilisations based their cultures on complex astrological systems. 

Witter says people turn to practices like these because they crave community: “I think people also realise they still need some kind of connection to something, whatever it is, whatever you want to call it — God, spirit, source.” 

It’s a sign of the times. Young people are tired. Many graduated into the pandemic, are working multiple jobs to afford basic living standards and believe they will never own their own home. Every year they see their planet burning down or freezing up from record-breaking climate change-induced disasters. 

Neighbours turn on neighbours and extremism — on both sides of the political aisle — has risen. Young people have been let down by the inefficiency and hypocrisy of the very institutions that were supposed to be helping them. 

So, where else can they turn?

Three questions to consider:

1. What percentage of people in Canada below the age of 35 believe in astrology?

2. What three social issues may influence people in South Korea to turn to MBTI for some sense of certainty?

3. Why does Witter believe people turn to practices like astrology and personality typing like MBTI?

Norma Hilton is an independent journalist who covers everything from K-pop to human rights violations.