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FILE - Ashley Branton lays retired tarot cards successful the backmost of her shop, Velvet Witch, successful Norfolk, Va., June 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Finley, File)
NEW YORK – A batch of American adults — astir 3 successful 10 — marque usage of astrology, tarot cards oregon luck tellers astatine slightest erstwhile a year. But lone a tiny fraction of them trust connected what they larn from these practices to marque large decisions.
That’s according to a nationwide survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, encompassing 9,593 U.S. adults who were interviewed past October.
Overall, according to Pew, astir 2 successful 10 U.S. adults accidental they prosecute successful astatine slightest 1 of these activities mostly "just for fun," portion astir 1 successful 10 accidental they prosecute mostly due to the fact that they “believe the practices springiness them adjuvant insights.” Only astir 1% accidental they trust “a lot” connected what they larn from these practices erstwhile making large beingness decisions.
Yet it's a large business. The psychic services manufacture — which encompasses assorted specialties specified arsenic astrology, palm-reading, psychic readings and fortune-telling — generated an estimated $2.3 cardinal successful gross successful 2024 and employed 105,000 people, according to market probe steadfast IBIS World.
“Traditional skepticism astir consulting psychics has waned, with much consumers embracing these services, particularly successful times of uncertainty,” wrote IBIS World expert Michal Dalal.
The biggest astrology fans? Younger women and LGBTQ+ people
There were immoderate large demographic differences successful responses to the Pew survey, notably uncovering that younger adults — and particularly younger women — are much apt than different large property groups to consult astrology oregon horoscopes. According to Pew, astir 4 successful 10 women ages 18 to 49 accidental they judge successful astrology. That compares with astir 3 successful 10 women 50 and older and astir 2 successful 10 men nether property 50.
Another distinctive group: LGBTQ+ adults. According to the survey, astir fractional of them consult astrology oregon a horoscope astatine slightest yearly — astir doubly the stock among U.S. adults overall. Pew recovered that astir 2 successful 10 LGBTQ+ adults accidental that erstwhile they marque large beingness decisions, they trust astatine slightest “a little” connected what they’ve learned from a luck teller, tarot cards, astrology oregon a horoscope — a considerably larger stock than immoderate different demographic subgroup.
On the different hand, the survey recovered that adults ages 65 oregon older, those with precocious incomes and assemblage degrees, and those who place arsenic politically blimpish are little apt than different adults to judge successful astrology and prosecute with tarot cards and luck tellers.
Among different questions, Pew asked respondents if they were religiously affiliated, and astir 7 successful 10 said yes. Of that group, astir 3 successful 10 said they judge successful astrology — precise akin to the percent of astrology believers among the religiously unaffiliated respondents who identified arsenic atheist, agnostic oregon “nothing successful particular.”
About one-third of Black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics and adults who accidental their religion is “nothing successful particular” said they judge successful astrology, according to Pew. Atheists, agnostics, achromatic evangelical Protestants and Jewish Americans, meanwhile, were little apt than the wide nationalist to accidental they judge successful astrology.
Among Hispanic Catholics, astir 1 successful 10 said they trust connected insights from these practices astatine slightest “a little” erstwhile making large beingness decisions, which was much than astir of the different spiritual groups featured successful the survey.
A increasing industry
On the circumstantial question of astrology, the caller survey recovered that 27% of U.S. adults believed successful it — akin to the 29% who answered affirmatively successful a 2017 Pew survey.
According to IBIS World, the psychic services industry's full gross has accrued by much than 4% annually since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic 5 years ago, “when concern closures, sickness and nonaccomplishment of loved ones prompted a surge successful request for spiritual guidance services.”
“Astrology and aura speechmaking are leveraging integer platforms to widen their reach,” IBIS World said. “Thanks to casual entree via mobile apps and societal media platforms, personalized reports and virtual readings are gaining traction with younger consumers.”
Bias based connected astrological signs? Expert says that's ‘irrational’
Astrology, passim its agelong history, has been embraced by its believers and treated with bemusement oregon adjacent ridicule by skeptics. It was the taxable of extensive research led by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, Jackson Lu. His team, utilizing a illustration of much than 170,000 people, determined successful 2020 that determination was extended favoritism successful China against Virgos, but that the bias was “irrational” due to the fact that astrological signs foretell neither property oregon occupation performance.
For supporters of psychic services, determination person been affirmative developments much recently. Among them:
— Last year, the City Council successful Norfolk, Virginia, repealed a 45-year-old ban connected “the signifier of palmistry, thenar reading, phrenology oregon clairvoyance, for monetary oregon different compensation.” Under that ban, assorted forms of fortune-telling could pb to arsenic overmuch arsenic a twelvemonth successful jail.
— “ Look Into My Eyes,” a full-length documentary astir psychics successful New York, received galore affirmative reviews aft it was released successful September. AP movie professional Lindsey Bahr called it “unjudgmental, comic and poignant.”
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Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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