By Melisa Salas
In uncertain times, we try to find stability one way or another. Since the pandemic, for many people astrology has become an important coping mechanism.
Astrology expresses complex ideas about personality, life cycles and relationship patterns based on what the planets and stars are doing. Astrologist Mary van Belzen explains why the popularity of astrology increased so much recently: “That all happened because of the transformation of the Pisces era to the Aquarius era. We receive a completely different energy from the stars and planets now. The Pisces era was all about religious consciousness, the Aquarius era is more about technology and transformation.”
The pandemic refers to those radical changes and the transformation we are experiencing these days. Being at home more than ever before, everyone is desperate for change and starts overthinking more. Mary is a business and life coach who helps young professionals achieve their goals and dreams based on their astrology chart: “Since the pandemic started, I’ve talked to a lot of people who wanted different jobs or who felt stuck in what they were doing in life.”
Young stargazers
But what about the young people, Gen Z and millennials, who are turning into astrology believers? Over the last two years, more than $2.2 billion was spent worldwide on astrology books or other services such as palmistry and tarot readings. “The future is scary and unsure to all of us right now. In times of crisis there is a lot of fear and stress going on, and people are getting more anxious. Astrology helps them find the answers they are looking for; it gives them more security and trust in their life. We all need it,” Mary states, “I’ve talked to a lot of young girls who reached out to me lately, and it strikes me that they have been more open to learn about astrology.”
Digitalization also plays a huge role in the popularity of astrology. Memes, informative content, online readings… The digital world makes it a lot easier to share astrology content. Now that we all are spending more time inside our homes, we automatically spend more time on our smartphones and social media as well. Mary clearly sees this happening: “I’ve seen the amount of astrology accounts increase a lot on Instagram. To me, it’s considered as one of those things where everybody goes with the flow. When things such as astrology and spirituality become popular, it automatically becomes a trend where a lot of people join into. Especially young people, who want to have a community to fall back and rely on. And I think it’s a pretty amazing thing. I personally love to see astrology grow so much, since astrology is what I’m most passionate about in life.”
Written in the stars
Pomme, a 22-year-old astrology fan, got interested in the topic when she found out gemstones were linked to astrology. For her, it offers a lot of positive aspects into her life: “When it’s not going well in my life, I can turn to astrology. It gives me peace in my head and when I read about it, it distresses me.” She identifies herself based on her signs. “I’m definitely a Capricorn. I feel guilty when I do nothing, which is accurate and true. My moon sign is Aquarius, which is also surprisingly accurate. I read they love to be alone, and oh man, I love my me-time. You can easily find me all by myself out in nature for a month,” she says.
Times of crisis and the transformation of the astrological era are the reasons why people turn so much more to astrology these days. A study in 1982 done by American psychologist Graham Tyson found that people who turn into astrology fans and consume astrology content daily did that in response to lower the stress in their lives. Tyson mentioned: “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.”
Check Mary’s website: https://www.astro-essence.nl/