Americans ask stargazers for coronavirus answers
by Peter Hutchison
When might there be a vaccine? Should I move to avoid a second wave of infections? Will I get another job? Americans anxious from the upheaval caused by the coronavirus crisis are turning to astrologers for answers about an uncertain future.
Stargazers and tarot card readers in the United States are reporting an uptick in business due to COVID-19 as people seek advice and comfort for their disrupted lives amid sometimes chaotic messaging from leaders.
Michele Bell, 54, hired New York City-based astrologer Jenny Lynch after the virus killed her mother in April.
Bell had spent seven years caring for her mom and was now at a loss about what to do with her life.
“I was caught in a very toxic energetic field,” Bell told AFP.
After studying Bell’s chart based on her date, time and location of birth, Lynch told her her horoscope suggested 2021 would be a good time to fulfil her dream of living abroad.
“She really gave me some new personal growth to navigate to,” said Bell.
Almost 30 percent of Americans believe that the movement of stars and planets impacts human lives, a 2017 Pew Research Center poll found.
Americans spent $2.2 billion on “psychic services” in 2018, according to market research firm IBISWorld.
As US residents started to grapple with the new world of social distancing and political leaders sent contradictory signals amid an unprecedented, fast-changing situation, traffic to some astrology sites increased slightly, according to media analytics company Comscore.
Visits to Astro.com, Cafe Astrology and Astrology Zone were up in March, when America’s epidemic broke out, compared to February, Comscore said.
Lynch, 70, quickly picked up ten new clients after New York went into lockdown on March 22.
“Some are out of work and want to know what to expect. Some of them want to start their own business. And a lot of people want to leave cities right now.
“Everybody is in a state of transition,” she told AFP.
Lynch — a practitioner of astrology for half a century — has clients from across the world, including Spain and Saudi Arabia. (AFP)
