Astrology, tarot cards, and fortune-telling occupy a noticeable place in American culture.
A 2025 national survey of 9,593 U.S. adults found that 30% consult at least one of these practices once a year or more often.
Interest often centers on entertainment, curiosity, or personal insight rather than serious dependence on predictions.
Casual participation is especially important when interpreting the numbers. Many people may check a horoscope, receive a tarot reading, or consult a fortune teller without treating the experience as a major source of guidance.
Popularity, in other words, does not automatically indicate strong belief or reliance.
Several figures show how common these activities have become:
- 30% of U.S. adults use astrology, tarot cards, or fortune-telling at least once a year.
- 28% consult astrology or horoscopes at least once or twice annually.
- Only a small share use such practices frequently enough to make them part of a weekly routine.
Astrology, tarot, and fortune-telling therefore have a significant cultural presence in the United States, yet most participants use them for entertainment or occasional insight rather than letting them control major life decisions.
How Common Are Esoteric Practices?
Participation reaches a sizable share of the adult population.
About three in ten Americans engage with at least one of the three practices during a typical year, making astrology, tarot, and fortune-telling familiar activities rather than rare interests.
Astrology and horoscopes attract the largest audience. About 28% of adults consult them at least once or twice a year.
Frequency drops sharply when participation is measured on a monthly or weekly basis, suggesting that occasional use is much more common than habitual use.
Frequency data provides a clearer picture of how often Americans engage:
- 14% participate at least once a month.
- 6% participate at least once a week.
Commercial activity connected with psychic services also shows that public interest has substantial economic value.
U.S. psychic services generated an estimated $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024. About 105,000 people worked in the industry during that period.
Such numbers indicate that even relatively casual participation can support a large market. Millions of occasional customers can create strong demand without needing to consult psychics, tarot readers, or astrologers every week.
Why People Use Spiritual Tools?
Entertainment is the most common reason Americans turn to astrology, tarot, or fortune-telling.
About 20% of all U.S. adults engage mainly because they consider the experience fun. Another 10% participate primarily because they believe these practices offer useful personal insights.
Motivations can range across several situations.
Someone may read a horoscope as part of a daily routine, request a tarot reading during a social event, or use the Nebula app to access astrology, tarot, or psychic readings online.
Others may use these practices while thinking about relationships, careers, or personal concerns.
Reliance on the results, however, is limited. Major decisions are rarely placed in the hands of astrologers, card readings, or predictions:
1% of Americans rely on these practices a lot when making major life decisions.
Another 5% rely on them a little.
Most participation therefore falls closer to recreation and personal reflection than serious dependence.
Interest can still feel meaningful to individual users, but very few Americans allow readings or predictions to play a major role in important choices.
Who Is Most Likely to Believe in Astrology?
Participation and belief vary noticeably across demographic groups.
Gender is one of the clearest differences. About 35% of women believe in astrology, compared with 18% of men, making women roughly twice as likely to express belief.
Age creates another important gap, particularly when combined with gender.
Younger women report the highest level of belief among the major age and gender groups measured.
Age and gender figures show a clear pattern:
- 43% of women ages 18 to 49 believe in astrology.
- 27% of women age 50 and older believe in it.
- 20% of men ages 18 to 49 express belief.
- 16% of men age 50 and older say the same.
LGBT adults also report especially high participation. About 54% consult astrology or horoscopes annually, compared with 28% of Americans overall.
Tarot use shows an even larger proportional difference, with 33% of LGBT adults consulting tarot cards compared with 11% of adults overall.
Religious affiliation produces much less separation.
Belief in astrology is nearly identical among religiously affiliated and unaffiliated adults. About 27% of affiliated adults believe astrology can affect people’s lives, while 28% of unaffiliated adults hold that view.
Such figures suggest that astrology and related practices cross traditional religious boundaries.
Participation appears more strongly associated with factors such as age, gender, and LGBT status than with religious affiliation alone.
Popularity Does Not Necessarily Mean Growth
Astrology has gained considerable visibility in popular culture, online conversations, mobile apps, and social media.
Greater exposure can create an impression that belief has increased rapidly in recent years. Long-term survey data tells a more stable story.
About 27% of Americans currently say they believe astrology can affect people’s lives.
A comparable measurement in 2017 placed belief at 29%, meaning the current level is slightly lower rather than dramatically higher.
Earlier polling also points to long-term consistency.
Surveys conducted between 1990 and 2005 placed belief in astrology between 23% and 28%. Current figures fit comfortably within that historical range.
Several decades of data therefore suggest a pattern of stability:
- Belief measured 23% to 28% between 1990 and 2005.
- Belief reached 29% in 2017.
- Current belief sits at 27%.
Social media may have increased visibility, accessibility, and conversation around astrology without producing a major increase in the share of Americans who believe it can influence people’s lives.
Horoscope accounts, astrology apps, tarot videos, and online readings can place these practices in front of larger audiences even when overall belief changes very little.
Summary
Astrology, tarot cards, and fortune-telling attract substantial interest across the United States.
Entertainment plays a central role in participation. About 20% of all adults engage mainly for fun, compared with 10% who mainly seek useful insight. Only 1% rely on these practices a lot for major decisions, and another 5% rely on them a little.
Demographic differences add another layer to the pattern. Women, younger women in particular, and LGBT adults report especially high levels of belief or participation.
Religious affiliation, by contrast, produces almost no difference in astrology belief.
