Astrology Takes Over: How the Zodiac Became Pop Culture Language

In 2020, the astrology app Co-Star had roughly 7.5 million users. Three years later, that number had surpassed 30 million. Over the same period, the global astrology market grew from $12.8 billion in 2021 to a projected $22.8 billion by 2031. The sky became global content, woven into social feeds, streaming platforms, and celebrity conversations. This article traces the films, shows, and famous figures who brought astrology into contemporary pop culture.

A Generation Trading Traditional Faith for Birth Charts

These numbers didn't emerge in a vacuum. We live in an age of hyperconnection and isolation at once: many young people report feeling distant from organized faith, family tradition, and even close relationships. Religion once offered belonging and purpose, and part of that void has been filled by other symbolic languages, astrology among them. Trend specialists describe apps like Co-Star, The Pattern, and Sanctuary almost as therapeutic tools: a way to organize emotions, make decisions, and build a routine of self-discovery, all through daily notifications about transits and lunar phases. The Britannica encyclopedia notes that astrology, as a system for interpreting the sky in relation to human fate, spans millennia and cultures across the world, which helps explain why it resurges with such force in formats as modern as a smartphone app.

A 2024 EduBirdie study found that 63% of Gen Z believes astrology has positively impacted their career, with 15% attributing their dream job to it. On TikTok, the astrology hashtag exceeded 4.5 million videos by January 2025. This backdrop of searching for meaning, community, and self-knowledge explains why films, shows, and celebrities embraced the topic so naturally. For those wanting to understand the historical roots of this interest, see The Origins of Astrology: How Ancient Peoples Read the Sky.

When the Reality Show Is Your Birth Chart

One of the most direct examples of entertainment meeting astrology is Cosmic Love, launched by Amazon Prime Video in 2022. The show brings together participants representing the four elements (fire, earth, air, and water) and pairs them based on astrological compatibility. The analysis came from twin astrologers Ophira and Tali Edut, known as the AstroTwins, who have worked with figures including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Emma Roberts, Karlie Kloss, and Sting. In an interview with Variety, the show's executive producer said that young audiences don't just check their own sign frequently; they make major life decisions based on astrological guidance, sometimes with near-scientific weight attached.

Cultural critics noticed the trend beyond the screen too. Daily Beast pointed out how dating app profiles fill with references to the Big Three (Sun, Moon, and Rising sign) as a form of self-introduction. The topic even appears in organic internet content: on the video series Chicken Shop Date, while interviewing actress and singer Addison Rae, host Amelia Dimoldenberg casually asked, Shall we check our Co-Star?, and the two spent part of their conversation comparing signs on the app, with no explicit sponsorship. This shows astrology is already common vocabulary among content creators, not just the concern of niche apps.

On Brazilian Screens: From Radio to Streaming

Brazilian film and television have their own chapter in this story. In O Signo da Cidade (The Sign of the City, 2007), directed by Carlos Alberto Riccelli, the plot centers on a late-night radio show hosted by astrologer Teca, played by Bruna Lombardi, who becomes a symbolic meeting point for characters seeking answers about their own lives. As Doze Estrelas (The Twelve Stars, 2011) takes a lighthearted approach: a TV station hires an astrologer to interview twelve actresses, each representing a zodiac sign, in a fable about archetypes and human behavior.

More recently, Tá Escrito (Written in the Stars, 2023) cast Larissa Manoela as Alice, a young woman who becomes a digital influencer sharing astrology tips. The film uses the topic not just as mystical backdrop, but as a bridge for discussing current issues: social media's effect on personal life, the risks of excessive online exposure, and cancel culture. It's an example of how astrology today also serves as a springboard for conversations about digital identity.

Symbolic Readings: When Astrologers Interpret Fiction

Two things often get mixed up here. There are productions where astrology is central to the plot, as in the examples above, and there are cases where astrologers and columnists offer symbolic readings of series after they air, even when astrology isn't directly discussed. Astrologer Vanessa Tuleski, for instance, connected the success of Lupin, a Netflix phenomenon in early 2021, to a combination of Scorpio vengeance and Gemini cunning in the protagonist's behavior: an archetypal interpretation, not a claim that the script was written under astrological influence. Similarly, she links the impact of the miniseries Adolescência to a long-term collective transit predicted between 2025 and 2026. These are poetic and symbolic readings, an exercise in finding resonance between the sky and the cultural moment, not factual claims about how the work was made.

Specialized film lists also gather titles with astrology as a declared theme, including Death Tarot (2024), Saturn in Opposition (2007), The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (1981), and Star Map (2023). This panorama shows how the zodiac spans different genres, from drama to thriller, across cinematographies around the world. To understand where the symbols used in nearly all these stories come from, see The Origins of Glyphs: Why Astrology's Symbols Look the Way They Do.

Celebrity Birth Charts as Pop Culture Curiosity

Another popular front for astrology in pop culture is the analysis of famous people's birth charts, a type of content that blends curiosity, entertainment, and a touch of personal connection. The table below brings together examples cited in Brazilian and international reporting:

Brazilian reporting connects Anitta's Aries Sun, Capricorn Rising, and Cancer Moon to personality traits and her public trajectory, just as outlets do with Ayrton Senna's Aries Sun and Capricorn Moon, and Fernanda Torres' Virgo Sun and Scorpio Rising.

The same reading appears with international figures: Beyoncé is frequently described with a Virgo Sun (tied to the perfectionism that defines her career), Aries Rising (connected to the image of strength she projects), and Scorpio Moon (related to the emotional intensity in her work). Justin Bieber allegedly has a Pisces Sun, linked to sensitivity and creativity, and a Libra Moon, associated with a constant search for harmony. Astrologers consulted by media typically note that this kind of analysis doesn't claim to be a scientific portrait of personality: it's a symbolic exercise, using traditional archetypes and sign correlations to tell a plausible story about someone, not a fixed truth. Those wanting to compare their own chart with someone else's, in the same spirit as these celebrity analyses, can follow the method explained in Astrological Compatibility: How to Compare Your Birth Chart with the Person You Love.

Why the Zodiac Became Universal Language

The aesthetic wrapped around this wave also stands out: Pinterest registered a spike of over 2,000% in searches for Virgo makeup during summer 2025, part of the broader astrology makeup trend. This shows the zodiac has moved beyond magazine horoscope columns to inspire makeup, humor, visual identity, and even TV formats. Films, shows, and celebrities didn't create this interest: they reflect, each in their own way, a broader search for meaning that spans entire generations. In a romantic comedy script, in a social post caption, or in a singer's answer about her Rising sign, the sky remains a mirror for the questions of each era.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did astrology become so popular with young people?

Studies mentioned in this article, like the 2024 EduBirdie research, show that much of Gen Z links astrology to career decisions and self-discovery. The growth of apps like Co-Star, which went from 7.5 million to over 30 million users between 2020 and 2023, mirrors this broader search for meaning and emotional organization amid hyperconnection.

Is Cosmic Love based on real astrology?

The reality show uses astrological compatibility criteria to pair contestants, divided by the four elements (fire, earth, air, and water), and features consultation from astrologers AstroTwins Ophira and Tali Edut. It's an entertainment program that applies traditional astrological concepts as narrative structure.

Is there a difference between a film about astrology and an astrological reading of a series?

Yes. Productions like O Signo da Cidade and Tá Escrito treat astrology as central to the plot. Cases like astrologer Vanessa Tuleski's reading of Lupin and Adolescência are symbolic interpretations made after release, unrelated to the original screenplay intent.

Does a celebrity's birth chart explain their personality?

Not in a scientific way. The analyses cited in this article, such as those of Beyoncé and Justin Bieber, are symbolic readings that use traditional zodiac archetypes to tell a plausible story about the person, not a definitive personality assessment.