Astrology apps

1. Introduction

Version followed: Co–Star (developer Co–Star Astrology Society) and The Pattern (developer Pattern Home, Inc.) as their app-store listings describe them, plus press and scholarly reporting from 2019 to 2025. The clinical procedures are the therapist's own work, built on the DSM-5-TR Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) and on OCD reassurance-seeking guidance from IOCDF-affiliated clinicians. Astrology itself is covered in 189.

What it is. These are consumer smartphone apps. Each takes a user's birth date, time and place, builds a natal chart, and sends personalised daily text. Neither app is a therapy, and neither describes itself as one.

Co–Star calls itself the astrology app that "deciphers the mystery of human relations". It says it uses NASA data to chart planetary positions in real time, and that human astrologers work with AI technology to write birth charts and daily horoscopes. Its features include optional daily push notifications, friend chart comparison and compatibility, and paid items: a Pro-Star monthly subscription, reports, and packs of questions [source: Co–Star App Store listing].
How Co–Star's text is made, as reported. The chart data feed an algorithm that produces a "day at a glance" notification and a list of current "problem areas". Freelance writers and astrologers wrote the wording to sound like a friend talking [source: Foley, Inverse 2019]. The co-founder and CEO, Banu Guler, told Mashable that the app uses AI to generate predictions [source: Britton, Daily Dot 2019, citing Mashable]. A 2025 scholarly reading describes the daily horoscopes as largely template-based. The same reading describes a paid natural-language question feature, "the Void", as an AI "black box" and reports that the company claimed over 30 million registered users by summer 2023 [source: Moro, ASAP/Review 2025].
The Pattern says it was "created to help you feel seen and understood". It gives a psychological profile and insight into "what you may be going through" at a given time. Its features include "Bonds" (compatibility with anyone), daily updates about the user and their partner or friends, "Connect" dating, timing cycles, and a paid "Go Deeper+" subscription [source: The Pattern listing]. Reporting describes it as avoiding astrological jargon and presenting itself as a self-analysis tool, like a personality typology. Bonds sort potential partners into seven categories, from "soulmate" to "challenging". The founder and CEO, Lisa Donovan, said users can learn whether they have "had a karmic link" [source: Kong, The Edge Malaysia 2021].

Evidence status (one line). In a double-blind test, astrologers matched natal charts to personality-inventory profiles at no better than chance [source: Carlson, Nature 1985, 318:419–425, as summarised by Jayaraman 1997 and Garrett 1990]. See 189 for fuller treatment.

Core idea of change (for the therapist). The app is not the therapy. Change comes from understanding what the app does for this client: meaning-making, self-reflection, social bonding, soothing uncertainty, outsourcing decisions, or monitoring relationships. The therapist then works with that function, using the client's own words. Where use has become compulsive reassurance-seeking, standard exposure and response prevention (ERP) principles apply [synthesis; ERP source: Karr, IOCDF blog 2026].

2. Framework

This is a framework for the psychotherapist's work with a client who uses astrology apps. It is not a protocol published by the app makers. No source gives session counts. The phases are [synthesis] and can fit inside any ongoing therapy.

Phase	Goal	Format	Move on when
A. Notice and invite	Learn that the app matters to the client, without judgement	A few minutes in any session, when the client mentions a horoscope, sign or notification	The client agrees to talk about it
B. Cultural and use assessment	Understand the meaning (CFI, Religion and Spirituality module) and the pattern of use: frequency, triggers, notifications, paid features, sharing	One or two in-session conversations, with a use diary between sessions if the client agrees	You can name the main functions of use
C. Formulation	Decide whether use is enriching, neutral or problematic. Problematic use includes reassurance compulsion, decisions outsourced against the client's values, relationship surveillance, spending, or distress caused by the text	Shared formulation with the client	The client recognises the formulation as theirs
D. Targeted work	Use the matching interventions from section 4	Woven into the treatment plan	Agreed markers are reached: less distress, decisions owned, less checking, spending within budget
E. Review and relapse plan	Consolidate gains and plan for triggers such as major transits, breakups, exam periods and app feature launches	Review session	The client can describe their plan

If use is meaningful and not harmful, the work can stay at Phase B: the readings become reflective material and nothing needs reducing [synthesis].

3. Guiding principles

Curious, non-shaming stance. Ask about the app the way you would ask about any meaningful practice. Shame drives secret checking, so mockery tends to make it worse [synthesis; on shame and reassurance-seeking: Karr, IOCDF blog 2026].
Attribute claims; do not rule on them. Say "the app says it uses NASA data and AI". Do not say the stars cause anything, and do not debunk astrology unless asked. If asked for your view, give the evidence status in one sentence [synthesis; source for evidence: Carlson 1985].
Function over content. What the client does with a notification matters more than what it says [synthesis].
The client's language. Use the client's terms ("my Saturn return", "our Bond", "the Void said") and gloss them once if needed [synthesis].
The therapist is not a reader. Do not cast charts, interpret transits, run compatibility checks or open the client's app to read for them, even if you know astrology. This keeps roles clear and avoids becoming another source of reassurance [synthesis].
Own decisions belong to the client. Explore decisions made "because the app said". Do not replace the app's verdict with yours [synthesis].
Privacy literacy, not alarm. These apps hold birth data, contacts and usage data. Co–Star's listing shows contacts, identifiers and usage data as linked to the user. Raise this as information, not as a threat [source: Co–Star App Store listing; synthesis].
Youth safeguarding. Co–Star is rated 4+. Ask about use by younger clients, including peer sharing, dating features and spending. Involve carers only as consent and safeguarding law require [source: Co–Star App Store listing; synthesis].
Differential assessment without pathologising belief. Believing in astrology is not a symptom. Assess distress, impairment, referential thinking, compulsivity and mood, not the belief itself [synthesis; CFI framing: APA CFI].
Cultural context. For some clients, astrology belongs to a family or religious tradition, for example Jyotish (see 191). The CFI Religion and Spirituality module helps separate tradition from app-driven habit [source: APA CFI; synthesis].

4. Intervention inventory

All procedures below are the therapist's own clinical work [synthesis] unless a source is tagged. The app makers publish no therapist procedures, and published therapist uses of Co–Star or The Pattern specifically are [uncertain: not verified].

4.1 Opening inquiry

Purpose / when: The client mentions a sign, horoscope, notification or "Bond". Use this to make the app discussable.
Steps: (1) Reflect the mention neutrally. (2) Ask permission to explore it. (3) Ask which app, since when, and what it gives them. (4) Ask what it would be like without it. (5) Note the client's terms.
Example language (illustrative): "You mentioned Co–Star told you to avoid big conversations today. I'd like to hear more about that, if you're OK with it. What does the app usually give you?"
Watch for: Defensiveness or embarrassment, which signals expected judgement; slow down. It is working if the client brings the app up spontaneously in later sessions.

4.2 Cultural Formulation Interview with the Religion and Spirituality module

Purpose / when: Early assessment, when astrology seems part of the client's worldview, identity or family tradition.
Steps: (1) Use the core CFI domains: the cultural definition of the problem; perceived causes, context and supports; cultural identity; self-coping and past help-seeking; current help-seeking; and the clinician–patient relationship. (2) Add the Religion and Spirituality supplementary module. (3) Paraphrase the questions in your own words around astrology. (4) Record the client's own explanatory model, for example "Mercury retrograde explains the miscommunication". Clinicians may reproduce the CFI for use with their own patients; it should support clinical judgement, not be the sole basis for a diagnosis [source: APA DSM-5-TR CFI].
Example language (illustrative): "How would you explain what's been going on, in your own words? Does astrology play a part in how you or your family make sense of things?"
Watch for: Separate a family tradition (for example Jyotish, see 191) from app-driven habit. It is working when you can state the client's model in terms they endorse.

4.3 Use-pattern mapping and diary

Purpose / when: To find out how much, when and why the client uses the app.
Steps: (1) List the apps used: Co–Star, The Pattern, others. (2) For a week, log each opening: time, trigger (notification, anxiety, a partner's message, boredom), what was read, the feeling before and after, and any action taken. (3) Note paid features used: Co–Star question packs, the Void or reports; The Pattern's Go Deeper+ or Connect [source for features: app listings]. (4) Review the log together.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's be curious, not critical. Just notice when you open it and how you feel a few minutes later."
Watch for: Openings that rise with anxiety, or relief that fades within minutes. That pattern suggests a reassurance loop (4.8).

4.4 Readings as reflective or projective material

Purpose / when: The client brings a notification, profile or Bond reading that moved them. Use this when use is not compulsive.
Steps: (1) Ask the client to read it aloud or show it. (2) Ask what struck them and which words landed. (3) Explore what it touched in their life now. (4) Ask what they would say back to it. (5) Link it to the therapy goals. Treat the text as a prompt the client gives meaning to, like any found text. Do not interpret the astrology.
Example language (illustrative): "Of everything in that message, what line stayed with you? What does it say about what you're carrying this week?"
Watch for: The client asking you whether the reading is true or what it means astrologically. Redirect gently to their own meaning (3. The therapist is not a reader). It is working when the client produces new self-observation that does not depend on the app.

4.5 Function analysis and formulation

Purpose / when: After mapping (4.3), to decide whether use needs to change.
Steps: (1) Sort the logged episodes by function: meaning and reflection, social connection (sharing screenshots, comparing charts), soothing uncertainty, decision outsourcing, partner or crush monitoring, entertainment. (2) Rate the cost of each: time, money, distress, conflict. (3) Draw a short cycle with the client: trigger, check, short relief, return of doubt. (4) Agree targets.
Example language (illustrative): "It looks like some of the checking is fun and connects you with friends, and some of it happens when you're scared about the relationship. Shall we keep the first and look at the second?"
Watch for: Collapsing all use into "bad". Keep the valued functions. It is working when the client can name the problem function themselves.

4.6 Decision review and values clarification

Purpose / when: The client has made or postponed decisions (job, breakup, travel, medical appointments) because of the app.
Steps: (1) List recent decisions influenced by the app. (2) For each, separate what the client wanted, what the app said, and what happened. (3) Clarify values in that life area. (4) Practise a decision protocol: values, facts, options, consequences, then optionally "what my app says" as one input among many. (5) If health-care or medication decisions are being delayed by readings, encourage the client to discuss timing with the treating clinician. Do not advise on medicines [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "If the app had said nothing at all, what would you have chosen? What matters most to you about this decision?"
Watch for: Relief at handing decisions to the app, which suggests avoidance of responsibility or fear of regret. It is working when the client can tolerate making a decision the app "disagrees" with.

4.7 Notification and settings audit

Purpose / when: Push notifications trigger distress or checking. Co–Star's daily notifications are opt-in [source: Britton, Daily Dot 2019], and The Pattern sends daily personalised updates [source: The Pattern listing].
Steps: (1) With the client holding their own phone, review notification settings for each app. (2) Choose an experiment: off, a set time of day, or summary only. (3) Predict what will happen, try it for an agreed period, and review. (4) Remove friends' or partners' charts from daily updates if they fuel monitoring.
Example language (illustrative): "What would you predict happens if the notification only comes at 6 pm instead of first thing?"
Watch for: Rising anxiety when notifications are turned off, which suggests a compulsion (move to 4.8). It is working when mornings are calmer and there are fewer unplanned openings.

4.8 Reducing reassurance-seeking and magical rituals (ERP-informed)

Purpose / when: Checking the app, or asking the Void or similar features, works to neutralise intrusive doubts. Examples: "Is my relationship doomed?", "Will something bad happen?", or rituals done to avert a bad transit. This is often called "manifestation anxiety" or superstition-type OCD. Clinicians describe digital reassurance-seeking as brief relief followed by stronger doubt. ERP is described as the gold-standard treatment [source: Karr, IOCDF blog 2026]. Excessive superstitious rituals in OCD are treated by discouraging the ritual during exposure [source: Penzel, Beyond OCD].
Consent and safety first: Assess for OCD properly. Explain ERP, including the expected temporary rise in anxiety, and get informed consent. Do not start exposure during acute suicidality, psychosis, mania or crisis. Refer to an OCD specialist if you are not trained in ERP [synthesis].
Steps (following the strategies Karr describes, adapted): (1) Build a hierarchy of feared uncertainties linked to the app, for example "not knowing what today's transit means". (2) Response prevention: delay checking, starting short and lengthening the delay gradually [source: Karr]. (3) Practise uncertainty statements, for example "maybe, maybe not" [source: Karr]. (4) Imaginal exposure: the client writes out the feared outcome without checking [source: Karr]. (5) Agree that therapist and family will not give reassurance either; respond warmly but without answering the doubt. For youth, address parental accommodation, for example with the SPACE approach [source: Karr]. (6) Add self-compassion work, since shame fuels checking [source: Karr].
Example language (illustrative): "I notice the question is whether the app can promise it'll be OK. Neither of us can promise that. Can we practise letting the question sit, without checking, for ten minutes?"
Watch for: Swapping one compulsion for another, for example from the app to tarot, AI chatbots, friends or a paid reader. It is working when checking frequency falls, the client tolerates uncertainty, and relief no longer depends on a reading.

4.9 Relationship and compatibility use

Purpose / when: The client uses compatibility features to choose, judge or monitor partners, friends or crushes. These include Co–Star friend comparisons, crush reports and relationship charts [source: Co–Star listing] and The Pattern's Bonds, Connect dating and "romantic timing cycles" [source: The Pattern listing]. The Pattern's founder has spoken of learning whether you have "had a karmic link" [source: Kong 2021].
Steps: (1) Ask how a Bond category or compatibility verdict has shaped feelings or actions: staying, leaving, not dating someone. (2) Separate the label from the lived evidence of the relationship, such as respect, safety and shared values. (3) Ask whether the partner's chart is being checked to predict or monitor their behaviour. Treat this like other digital monitoring, such as location-checking [source on monitoring as reassurance: Karr 2026]. (4) Couples work: let each partner say what the app means to them. Agree on how, or whether, readings enter arguments. (5) Screen for coercive control or abuse being explained by astrology, for example "it's just our challenging Bond". Follow your safety-planning procedures [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Setting the label aside, how does this person treat you day to day?" / "When you check their chart, what are you hoping to find out?"
Watch for: Staying in harmful relationships because of a "soulmate" or "karmic" label, or rejecting partners on chart grounds alone. It is working when relationship decisions rest on lived experience.

4.10 Spending review

Purpose / when: Repeated in-app purchases or subscriptions, or spending that escalates to paid human readers. Published prices include Co–Star Pro-Star at $8.99 a month and question packs from $2.99 to $6.99 [source: Co–Star App Store listing]. The Pattern's Go Deeper+ starts at $29.99 for three months [source: The Pattern listing]. Prices vary by region and over time.
Steps: (1) Total the last three months of spending, using the phone's subscription and purchase history. (2) Compare it with the client's budget and values. (3) Find spending triggers, such as anxious moments or Void questions bought to answer doubts. (4) Agree a limit or cancellation, which the client carries out. (5) If paid readers are involved, ask about pressure, fear-based upselling ("curse", "blockage") and secrecy. Refer to consumer-protection or fraud services if exploitation is suspected [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "If you added up what you've spent on questions this month, what would you guess? Shall we look together?"
Watch for: Hidden spending, debt, or spending linked to anxiety spikes (4.8). It is working when spending is planned and within budget.

4.11 Privacy and data review

Purpose / when: The client is uneasy about what the app "knows", or shares contacts and birth data freely. Some users have wondered whether Co–Star reads other data. Its co-founder denied having browsing history, and the app uses cookies for usage frequency and device type [source: Foley 2019; Britton 2019]. Co–Star's store listing shows contacts, identifiers and usage data as linked to the user, and location and diagnostics as not linked [source: Co–Star App Store listing].
Steps: (1) With the client, open the app's privacy label and settings. (2) Decide what to share: contacts, location, others' birth data. (3) Consider the consent of friends whose charts the client adds. (4) Consider deleting the account if the client wishes, using the app's own process [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "It might help to look at what the app says it collects, so you can decide what you're comfortable with."
Watch for: A belief that the app reads thoughts or watches the client. Assess for referential or persecutory ideas (4.14). It is working when the client makes informed choices.

4.12 Talking about "AI" and authorship

Purpose / when: The client experiences the notification as a personal message from a knowing agent ("it knows me", "it's mean to me"). Users have described the app as if it were a rude person [source: Britton 2019].
Steps: (1) Share, as attribution, how the companies and reporting describe the text: NASA data, human astrologers and writers, AI generation and templates [source: Co–Star listing; Foley 2019; Moro 2025]. (2) Ask how knowing this sits with the client. (3) Explore why particular lines feel personal. This is not a debunking exercise [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "The company says its astrologers work alongside AI to write these lines, and some writers describe them as partly templated. Hearing that, what do you make of how personal it felt?"
Watch for: Feelings of loss or anger at the explanation. Respect the client's continued use if they choose it. It is working when a harsh notification no longer drives the client's mood.

4.13 Youth, peers and sharing

Purpose / when: Adolescent or young adult clients. Co–Star is rated 4+ [source: Co–Star listing]. Notifications are shared as screenshots and memes [source: Britton 2019], and the app prompts users to tag it on social media after a screenshot [source: Moro 2025]. The Pattern includes dating (Connect) [source: The Pattern listing].
Steps: (1) Ask about peer use, group chats and sign-based teasing or exclusion. (2) Ask about dating features and contact with strangers, and apply online-safety and safeguarding procedures. (3) Ask about spending (4.10) and parental accommodation of checking (4.8). (4) Involve carers in line with consent, assent and local safeguarding law [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Do your friends use it too? Does anyone ever get left out or judged because of their sign?"
Watch for: Labels replacing assessment, for example a child's difficulties put down to "their sign" instead of being assessed. It is working when the young person describes safe, chosen use.

4.14 Differential assessment

Purpose / when: Use fluctuates with mood, includes beliefs that messages are specially targeted, or brings marked distress.
Steps: Assess the following without treating belief in astrology as a symptom [synthesis]: (1) OCD, with compulsive checking, magical rituals and intolerance of uncertainty (4.8). (2) Depression, with negative readings taken as confirmation of hopelessness. Assess suicide risk using standard practice. (3) Mania or hypomania, with grandiose readings of destiny and impulsive purchases. (4) Psychosis, with the belief that notifications are personally sent by an agent or contain hidden commands. (5) Grief, with readings used to keep contact with or explain a loss. (6) Anxiety disorders and health anxiety. Where the issue is a religious or spiritual problem rather than a disorder, the DSM-5-TR "Religious or Spiritual Problem" (Z65.8) may be relevant [source: ICD-10-CM Z65.8, Unbound Medicine; DSM-5-TR wording: uncertain: not verified].
Example language (illustrative): "Some people read these as general messages, and some feel a message is aimed at them in a special way. How does it feel for you?"
Watch for: Distinguish culturally shared belief, shared with peers or family, from idiosyncratic and fixed belief [source: APA CFI framing; synthesis]. It is working when your formulation explains the distress without pathologising the belief.

4.15 Therapist boundaries and self-disclosure

Purpose / when: The client asks your sign, wants your reading, or you practise astrology yourself.
Steps: (1) Decline to give readings, chart interpretations or compatibility checks within therapy. (2) Decide in advance whether to disclose your own sign or beliefs, and do so only if it serves the client. (3) If you practise astrology outside therapy, do not offer it to clients and do not refer them to yourself as a reader. Keep the roles separate and seek consultation. Dual-role ethics are covered by your profession's code on multiple relationships [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "I'm not going to read your chart, because my job here is to help you find your own sense of it. I'm very interested in what the reading means to you, though."
Watch for: The client feeling rejected. Validate the request. It is working when the client brings readings without expecting you to judge them.

4.16 Referral and community

Purpose / when: OCD needing specialist ERP, financial exploitation, safeguarding, or the client wanting guidance from their own tradition.
Steps: (1) Refer to an OCD specialist (IOCDF-listed clinicians where available). (2) Refer to debt advice or consumer-protection services for spending or scams. (3) Follow safeguarding procedures for minors. (4) If the client wishes, include a trusted figure from their tradition, for example a family astrologer within Jyotish (see 191), with consent [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Would it help to bring in someone who specialises in this checking pattern, alongside our work?"
Watch for: Referral felt as dismissal. Keep continuity. It is working when the client engages with the referral.

5. Handling problems

All guidance in this section is [synthesis] except where a source is tagged.

The client fears you will mock them. Name your stance openly, keep using their terms, and ask about the app without evaluating it. If you slipped (a smile, a sceptical remark), repair it directly: "I think I sounded dismissive just then. That wasn't fair to what this means to you."
The client asks "Do you believe in astrology?" Answer briefly and honestly, without lecturing. Then return to function: "My view matters less than what it does for you. What does it give you?" If they ask for the evidence, give the one-line status (Carlson 1985) and stop.
Stuck in a reassurance loop inside the session. The client keeps asking whether a reading is "bad". Recognise in-session reassurance-seeking and respond without answering the doubt, with warmth [source: Karr 2026]: "I can see how much you want certainty. Let's notice the urge and not feed it right now."
Resistance to cutting back. Do not insist on deleting the app. Use experiments instead (4.7), keep the valued functions (4.5), and let the client set the pace. Watch out for your own wish to "rescue" the client from astrology.
Non-adherence to ERP or delay tasks. Check the hierarchy step, which may be too steep. Check that consent and the rationale are understood, and look for hidden checking on other apps or AI chatbots [source on chatbots as reassurance: Karr 2026]. Re-grade the steps.
Overwhelm during exposure. Lower the step, use grounding, and do not reassure about the feared outcome. Stop exposure and reassess if panic, dissociation, suicidal thinking or psychotic symptoms appear (4.14).
Compulsion substitution. Checking moves to tarot, other apps, friends, AI chatbots or paid readers. Add these to the use map (4.3) and the hierarchy (4.8).
A distressing notification ("blunt", seemingly insulting). Users find some notifications blunt or mildly insulting [source: Britton 2019; Foley 2019]. Treat the reaction as material (4.4, 4.12). Ask which inner critic it echoes, and use notification settings (4.7).
Relationship conflict over the app. One partner uses Bonds or chart verdicts as weapons in arguments, or a partner is monitored. Use 4.9, couples ground rules, and a risk assessment for coercive control.
Decisions about health care or medication tied to readings. Do not advise on medicines. Support the client to talk with the prescriber or treating clinician about timing and concerns, and explore the fear behind the delay (4.6).
A minor using dating or paid features. Follow safeguarding procedures. Involve carers according to consent and local law, and address parental accommodation of checking [source on accommodation and SPACE: Karr 2026] (4.13).
The client asks you to read their chart or Bond. Decline warmly and redirect (4.15). If you practise astrology yourself, do not offer it, and consult on the boundary.
Distress or rupture when the "AI" or template origin is discussed. Validate the loss of feeling personally known. Return the meaning-making to the client, and respect continued use (4.12).
Belief that the app is surveilling the client or sending special messages. Assess for psychosis or mania. Do not argue about the belief. Coordinate with psychiatric services if indicated (4.14). Separately, review real privacy settings (4.11).
Hidden spending or debt. Approach without shame. Review purchase history together, and refer to debt advice or fraud services if paid readers are pressuring the client (4.10).
Cultural tradition versus app habit. For a client whose family uses astrology within a religious tradition, use the CFI to understand it [source: APA CFI]. Avoid framing the tradition as a problem, and focus any change on the app-driven pattern the client wants to change.

Sources

Web sources:

Further references:

Carlson S. (1985). A double-blind test of astrology. Nature 318:419–425.
ICD-10-CM Z65.8 "Other specified problems related to psychosocial circumstances" (Includes: religious or spiritual problem): ICD-10-CM Z65.8 (Unbound Medicine)

Cross-references: 189 (astrology), 191 (Jyotish remedial practices).

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