What even is anti-capitalist astrology?
I’m not the first anti-capitalist astrologer to label themselves as such, and I certainly won’t be the last. However, whenever I do search Google or other academic sites for “anti-capitalist astrology,” not a whole lot comes up. A lot of the time, what I can find are delineations of the astrology of late-stage capitalism—Uranus in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn, and such. Those delineations are certainly valuable, especially on a mundane astrological level, but they are hardly what I mean when I say “anti-capitalist astrology.”
It’s quite simple to find resources and teachers and content in the world that explore astrology through the lens of queerness, social justice, disability justice, worldbuilding, feminism, and a variety of other progressive viewpoints, and there are many astrologers who identify as anti-capitalist or capitalism-critical, but there isn’t as much easily accessible content or frameworks out there for astrology in service of anti-capitalism.
So, what is it?
We’ve already established that astrology is a neutral tool that can be co-opted by those in positions of power—or who wish to be in positions of power—to insert whichever ideologies serve their aims and steal the valor of the stars to appear cosmically ordained. The most evil and extreme version of this was seen with the Third Reich, but astrology as a reality creation tool is available to anyone with any ideology or worldview, and that includes anti-capitalism.
In Thailand, for example, it is quite common for high-ranking officials in both the monarchy and the military to seek out the advice of astrologers and other mystics in order to plan auspicious times for events such as royal decrees, military coups, and other political actions. Divination, in this sense, is not merely an oddity but a political tool for the monarchy and military to reinforce their own power and legitimize their rule.
However, in recent history, youth-led political movements in Thailand have begun to co-opt this practice, subverting astrology’s authority to elect auspicious times or protests and other strategic actions. They have even gone so far as to perform rituals that are intended to weaken their political opponents, utilizing the same Buddhist cosmology and divination that the monarchy and military use to claim divine sanction. This inversion symbolically strips the monarchy and military of their cosmic legitimacy, reframing them as vulnerable to the same forces that have propped up their rule. The message is loud and clear: divination and astrology are not just practices for the elite, they are tools of the people.1
Anti-capitalist astrology is not quite mundane, but not quite psychological. It’s not wholly predictive, but it’s not entirely horary either. It can be used as a type of electional tool, but it’s also a worldview and a philosophy. Anti-capitalist astrology is a method of approaching the planets. It is animist and strives to be non-exploitative toward the stars and our own nativities. It eschews the idea that one must identify with their birth chart, or any parts thereof. Anti-capitalist astrology is a way of practicing astrology that asks you to examine the mythologies you’ve been associating with the planets, signs, or houses, to see if and where capitalism has seeped in. It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility to do something about it when you notice capitalism getting its claws into your astrological practice—or the unique worldview you inhabit which is influenced by astrology.
Inside Anti-Capitalist Astrology, I'll help you build your own framework from the one I've developed to do a check for the "internal capitalist" in your astrological practice--whether you see clients regularly, or strictly do astrology for yourself. The first part of this framework is (temporarily) resisting the urge to identify with your chart and instead look at it for what it is: a moment in time.
The moment of your birth was monumental indeed, but when astrology isn't about describing people, it's about describing time. And capitalism has influenced so much of the way we perceive and experience time. As previously mentioned, systems of power claim their own authority based on the timing of certain events, claiming the alignments of the stars as their own source of legitimacy and right to rule. Nobody can ever harness the planets and configure them in the alignments they desire; they must wait for the designed alignment to occur on its own. Time is the great equalizer, because none of us can wait forever.
Some astrologers say the stars are in alignment for the end of capitalism as we know it; but if that’s the case, we still can’t just sit and wait for the tides of time to change our reality. We must consciously create it. Anti-capitalist astrology is a framework, an ideology, a worldview, and most importantly, a tool for building a better future—a future that supports life instead of oppressing and exploiting it.
In order for anti-capitalist astrology to “work,” and I’m so dead serious when I say this, you have to believe in astrology. I know how trite that sounds, but what I mean is this: you have to engage with astrology as more than just myths and stories and allegories. It’s become popular to talk about astrology with a detached attitude, claiming not to be too invested in the idea of the stars having an influence on mere earthlings, but simply interested in the self-exploration and introspection astrology offers through the various mythologies and figures represented in it. This watering down of one’s attachment to any one ideology is likely a symptom of late-stage capitalism, ironically enough, because it’s hard to structure your life or your thoughts around a belief system when you hardly know if the planet you’re living on will survive a few more decades. Divination is about the future, after all.
I would expect nothing less from an astrology article on LinkedIn, tbh.
Anti-capitalist astrology is also about the future. We need to learn from the past, and astrology helps us do that, but ultimately, anti-capitalist astrology is about evaluating the quality of time as it continues to march forward, and relating to the movements of the stars from a non-extractive, non-exploitative perspective. I used to think I was going to create a book or a course on this subject from the perspective of working with one’s own placements to “be more anti-capitalist,” but eventually I realized this approach was capitalistic in and of itself, because the impetus to change was still placed on the individual and their actions. Plus, the truth is, you already have everything you need within yourself to resist capitalism—especially if you’re still reading this.
If you are still reading this, I would love to invite you to check out my upcoming course, creatively titled Anti-Capitalist Astrology, to see how you can learn more about anti-capitalist astrology and incorporate it into your own worldview or astrological practice.
Anti-capitalist astrology isn’t necessarily a movement, but I do feel strongly about its ability to be a potent and powerful tool in the hands of anti-capitalist astrologers, witches, neurodivergent folk, and business owners who believe in a world post-late stage capitalism. It’s also part of a responsible practice as a human being to continuously review parts of your life or business for symptoms of capitalism. Nobody is perfect and everyone is capable of doing harm, whether they intend to or not, but a self-compassionate stance that is willing to look inward and simply apply new approaches when something isn’t working will serve you well in these precedented times.
