Gina was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) when she was around ten years old. “It first manifested as intrusive thoughts about my family members,” she tells Dazed. “I used to call it ‘my brain hating itself’.” As her OCD progressed, Gina found that it latched onto more existential topics. “Throughout my teenage years, I spent so much of my time ruminating on whether or not other people are real, if I’m in a simulation, and so on.”
There is a specific time of day that triggers Gina too. “It makes me think I’m in a simulation and my life is a lie,” she says. For this reason, she tries to avoid anything that involves time – like astrology. “Once, someone who was into astrology told me they were born at my feared time, and I had a breakdown at work.”
This is just one of the myriad ways astrology can impact people with OCD, especially those with magical thinking OCD. “OCD and magical thinking can intermingle with things like religion and horoscopes,” Gina says. “Because of the nature of this disorder, people like me can tend to see things as ‘signs’ and become very afraid as a result, often seeking reassurance on these things that we can never really have the answers to.”
Today, astrology is everywhere, and interest in it is only getting stronger, particularly among Gen Z. A recent survey of young people in America, 58 per cent of respondents said they check their horoscopes at least once a week. Beyond magazine columns and Instagram posts, the global astrology market – predominantly aimed at young people – is booming, and expected to exceed £17 billion by 2031. Apps like Co-Star, for example, have skyrocketed in popularity: between its launch in 2017 and June last year, the platform gained some 30 million registered users.
While for many, astrology and horoscopes are a bit of fun, the same survey found that 72 per cent of young people rely on astrology for major life decisions, with many seeking guidance for love, health and finances. Even for people who don’t have OCD, astrology can be stressful: the survey also found that one in three feel anxious when they don’t check their horoscope regularly.
But what happens when astrology and OCD collide? “Magical thinking OCD is believing that your thoughts and actions can alter reality,” says Marianne Eloise, a journalist and author of Obsessive Intrusive Magical Thinking, a book of essays about her experience of living with OCD. “For example, if I had an intrusive thought about someone I loved dying, I would believe that forcing myself to have enough of the ‘right’ thoughts would both push that image out and stop them from dying.”
Another example of magical thinking OCD, says Jessi Gholami, a therapist and clinical social worker, is superstition – like having to avoid stepping on sidewalk cracks to prevent harm to a family member. “This type of OCD involves assigning meaning and making associations between random events or stimuli and significant consequences,” she tells Dazed.
Religion and spirituality can easily play into this form of OCD, and can quickly become triggering — although there are many different ways this can manifest. “For those with OCD tendencies, an interest in astrology can evolve into an obsessional minefield,” says Gholami. “Astrological signs, celestial timing, and symbolic meanings may become rules they feel compelled to follow rigidly to avoid perceived negative impacts.”
This can look like hyper-focusing on astrological alignments and planetary transits and their perceived effects; compulsions like meticulously planning activities according to cosmic timings; anxiety when unable to follow astrological recommendations ‘perfectly’; constant reassurance seeking about astrological interpretations; and seeing random events or behaviours as irrationally connected to astrological forces.
For those with OCD tendencies, an interest in astrology can evolve into an obsessional minefield
Like Gina says, many people with OCD use astrology as a way to check for reassurance. One young woman with OCD, who posted about her astrology compulsion on Reddit, said that she often uses it to look for reassurance or validate her own fears. “The things I fear typically don’t come true and they are things I could have anticipated without the use of astrology even if they do,” she said. “But when things do align, my fears are confirmed or even mentioned at all, I tend to obsess and look for any resources that could disprove the previous astrologers’ claims.” In the end, she decided to take a break from astrology.
Still, according to Inbaal Honigman, an astrology expert, celebrity psychic, and tarot reader at Tarotoo, astrology can be a beautiful tool for self-reflection. “It’s easy to get caught up in trying to understand every small detail [of your horoscope], but it’s important to remember that astrology is a tool for guidance, not a strict rulebook that dictates your life,” she tells Dazed.
Eloise adds checking your horoscope can be good fun, too. This is the issue — as she notes, “it’s hard with OCD to pinpoint the exact moment where something becomes a harmful thought or behaviour.” While actions like washing your hands and checking your front door is locked are essential, for example, for some people with OCD these are preoccupations that can become “debilitating”. “It’s the same with astrology,” Eloise says. “Checking your horoscope is normal and fun, but if you’re believing in what it says to a point that it affects your behaviour, and particularly if it leads to compulsions or ruminations, it’s probably affecting your OCD.”
Some time last year, Robert, who was diagnosed with OCD two years ago, had to stop checking astrology websites after ten years of doing so. When he first got into astrology, he did so healthily, but over time, he found himself checking these sites compulsively. “I would check the horoscope of my sign and my girlfriend’s sign every day and multiple times in a row — on every site possible and every language possible,” he says. “It was like an eight hour job”.
Honigman says she has met numerous clients with OCD, many of whom have found astrology either fascinating or triggering. “I’ve noticed that people with OCD often turn to astrology because it gives them a sense of order and predictability in a world that can feel chaotic,” she says. “They might be looking for answers or some kind of certainty, which is understandable. But this can sometimes lead to anxiety, especially if they start worrying about every little detail in their horoscope or feeling trapped by what they think the stars are saying.”
the fun thing about having ocd is you get to unhealthily obsess over things you should not because it gives you intense anxiety like astrology and what’s happening with this intense super blue moon i actually wanna cry it’s making me so anxious x
— lj🦋 (@katycatlillian) August 19, 2024
It’s important to note, then, that astrology in and of itself is not the problem. “An OCD brain will latch onto literally anything and become obsessive and ritualistic,” says Eloise. “In the height of my own OCD, I was most fixated on fire. A fear of my house setting on fire controlled every aspect of my day. That meant that if I saw a fire engine, I had to go home and do a bunch of rituals. That was on me, not on the firefighters or the person whose house was actually burning down.”
She also notes that, while she does believe that religion and astrology do constitute magical thinking, “they can’t necessarily spark OCD in a person that wasn’t already predisposed and going to be set off by something at some point in their lives.” As she says: “Many people engage with these things and dabble in some light magical thinking without it becoming debilitating.”
If you are someone with OCD who finds astrology triggering, it’s important to regularly check in with yourself and take a step back from the stars if necessary, just like Gina and Robert did. “The key is noticing when interest in astrology crosses over into obsessive territory governed by anxiety and rigid rules,” says Gholami. “Working with a therapist can really help in differentiating personal meaning from OCD distortions. With a little self-compassion, those with OCD can learn to let magical thinking pass without getting drawn into these compulsive behaviours.”
Honigman agrees. “If you’re someone who finds astrology triggering, I’d suggest trying to keep it all in perspective: astrology is just one way to gain insight, not something that controls your fate,” she says. “It can be helpful to limit how much time you spend reading horoscopes or obsessing over your chart – taking breaks and engaging in other activities that bring you joy can make a big difference.”
“The message to get across is that you have the power to reclaim control over your life,” Gholami surmises. “You can choose how much influence symbols like astrology have on your daily experiences.”
