This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Alayna Thomas. Find her on Instagram at @ratatoolie. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Are you an astrology newbie who wants to learn the basics? Or, do you need to brush up on your knowledge? There are so many apps to choose from and it can be hard to know where to start. But don’t fret, I have done a lot of this heavy lifting for you. I tried five of some of the most popular astrology apps out there so that you don’t have to. You will learn what the best and worst components of each app are, so that you can find one that suits your needs!
Co-Star
Co-Star is one of the more popular astrology apps out there. We do have a more in depth review, but here I will give a quick overview.
I think that the best part of this app is the social aspect. On Co-Star, you can add your friends so that you can compare your charts and see their horoscope as well. This is really fun because you can see how similar or different your friends are!
Co-Star also shows how different transits are affecting your life at the moment. For example, I have strengths in creating romantic bonds right now, but trouble with stress. Likewise, I can also see how these transits are affecting my friends. Some of them have the same problem areas as me, but others do not. As a nosy person, I love being able to see what’s going on in my friends’ lives.
If you really want to get into astrology and learn about things other than your chart and what directly affects you, this may not be the best app. Co-Star does not educate you about other star signs, unless you add friends that use the app and they happen to be another star sign. The app is also not very descriptive, when compared to other apps. All in all, if you want to keep tabs on all of your friends’ horoscopes and charts, this is the app for you.
CHANI
CHANI is an app created by astrologer Chani Nicholas, who used to run a fairly popular astrology blog and website, and also wrote for Oprah Magazine. She has also published a book on astrology and self-acceptance. So, she seems pretty legit!
Her app is chock full of information. There is a detailed breakdown of my chart, which explains my strengths and weaknesses according to my planets, angles, and points and minor planets. CHANI, however, does not explain what these things mean. I’m grateful that I know what my angles are now, but I would have to go on another app or website to learn what that is.
CHANI also has meditations and affirmations, which I love. They are not too long, ranging from 10-15 minutes in length. So, you can have a quick meditation or affirmation break during your day!
My biggest gripe with CHANI is the paywall. I understand that astrologers and app developers need to eat too, but besides looking at your daily horoscope and the bare bones of your chart, you need to pay for everything. The app is almost unusable unless you pay $11.99 a month to access its services.
However, I do admire the social justice lens that CHANI has, compared to other apps. Their developer team is queer-led, and they donate 5% of their earnings to BIPOC survivors of domestic abuse. It’s good to see them give back to the community, and to see diversity being championed in this space.
Nebula
Oh, Nebula. I’ve been with this app for a while. And when I say a while, I mean since before the pandemic. I’ve seen it through many updates (good and bad). I’ll be honest, this used to be my top app. It still is a useful astrology app and has a ton of interesting features that some of the other apps on this list do not have.
Now, my problem with Nebula is that I was using the app before paywalls came in. Before paywalls, I could read detailed descriptions about my chart and my key traits, as well as read my palm. Yes, Nebula used to have free palm readings. You can still do this, though. You just have to pay $7.99 a week. Or, $50 for the year. I did not know how good I had it until it was gone.
However, there are still cool things to do on this app for free. Every day, along with your daily horoscope, you get a tarot card reading. You can test your love compatibility with someone else (I totally did not use this to see if I was compatible with my celebrity crushes) and you can talk to psychics. Many offer the first few minutes for free, with differing rates for the time after that.
Nebula also has a surprisingly robust community tab. People talk about everything there. In one scroll, I can see one post that has a motivational quote on it, and in the next, I see someone talking about how they may cheat on their spouse. It truly is wonderful. You can also make public posts and add other users (not just your IRL friends by username) so you can forge a community there.
I would say that Nebula is the most well rounded app, if you are looking for social interaction as well as education about the basics, you should check it out.
The Pattern
Now we are getting to the heavyweights. The Pattern is like a mix of the previous three apps on this list. I love this app because it really focuses on you and your behavior. This app uses astrology to explain why you are the way that you are. This app looks at how you are socially, fiscally, romantically, and mentally. It also gives you advice based on current transits.
I love how in depth The Pattern goes. You can read light summaries of your daily pattern (this app’s version of daily horoscope) or, you can ‘go deeper’ to get a detailed description. You can also learn more about other signs and general astrology terms, making this good for beginners. Some descriptions are free, some are behind a paywall. You can pay $83.99 a year or $29.99 four times a year to get those detailed descriptions.
Like Co-Star and Nebula, you can add your friends on The Pattern and look at their patterns and what is affecting them. Again, another perfect app for nosy people.
Similar to CHANI, there are audios on this app as well. The Pattern has a more diverse range of sounds. There are white noise audios, self-help audios, and audios about major astrology transits. There’s something for everybody here.
The major drawback of The Pattern is that there is not a good representation of my astrological chart. Every other app on this list has that, whether it be in table form or in the more traditional form. However, if that doesn’t matter to you, The Pattern is a good app to utilize.
Time Passages
This right here is my holy grail. I consider this to be the best astrology app. There are no bells and whistles. The user interface looks like they did not update it since 2013. But I will say, this app has some of the best and most detailed information. When it comes to the apps I consult the most, Time Passages is up there.
If you want to learn anything, and I mean anything, about astrology, this app has it. You can learn about signs other than your own, learn what each aspect of your chart means, as well as general terms. Whenever I need to explain something about astrology to anyone, I open Time Passages. This is also arguably one of the best apps for beginners because it is just that detailed.
It also breaks down my personal birth chart beautifully. Like, this app read me down. And it isn’t behind a paywall!
If you want to add in another friend’s chart it costs 99 cents per person, or $9.99 for unlimited access. I don’t think that’s too shabby.
As I mentioned, there is not much else to it; there’s no social or community tab, no affirmations, no palm readings. But, if you are strictly here for astrology and don’t give a damn about any of that other stuff, you must download Time Passages. I’m serious.
What do you think? Did I forget any apps? Do you have a different opinion of what the best astrology app is? Let us know in the comments section below!
Leave a Reply