Starstruck

Millions of Canadians are turning to the zodiac to understand the world and their place in it. How astrology became the new therapy.

- BY COURTNEY SHEA

Anita Chauhan works with startups in Toronto, and she can easily describe the kind of looks she used to get from her tech-bro colleagues when they found out she was into astrology. “It was like…” and here her face lands somewhere between the eye-roll emoji and the one that’s about to puke. Chauhan, who’s 37, has been tapped into astrology since birth—before, actually. She is Hindu and, in accordance with cultural tradition, her parents hired an astrologer who consulted her birth chart to choose the first letter of her name. When Chauhan lost her mom to cancer, astrology became a way to transcend the tragedy. Over the years she mostly kept her interest to herself, fearing the dreaded eyeroll.

Then, in 2021, she went to her sister’s baby shower. She arrived with a handmade gift: an astrologically themed baby book. She knew the parents-to-be would appreciate the personalized memento, but was surprised when she left the party with orders for half a dozen more. Today, Chauhan sells the same books on Etsy for $150 to $250. She even does synastry readings—a branch of astrology where you compare two individuals’ birth charts—for tech co-founders as a way to explore their compatibility and points of friction. “For so long this was something people mocked. Now I’m the most popular person at the party.”

The same could be said for astrology itself, along with cosmic cousins like tarot cards, energy healing, palm reading and numerology. Once the domain of a crunchy, muu-muu-draped fringe, astrology is now the darling of internet culture and investment capital. Globally, the astro market is a $12.8-billion industry; it's predicted to reach $22.8 billion by 2031.