The end of summer has dawned and with the new 10 p.m. curfew came the start of cuffing season. Dating can only be described as a complicated dance but with the pandemic evolving and an increase of app usage set to occur, astrology app The Pattern saw this as an opportunity to officially announce its upcoming dating feature. Connect uses natal charts to help others decipher love languages and find companionship through sign compatibility. Could astrology be the answer to all of our dating dilemmas?

Until recently The Pattern was described as a “hyper-personalised social experience bringing astrology into the 21st century.” All you had to do was to enter your date, time and place of birth. Following the app’s success, The Pattern came out with two new developments aiming to regenerate the dating world this fall: Bonds and Connect.

Bonds offers users a chance to explore how one’s chart uniquely matches with a fellow friend, romantic interest and even a celebrity. Someone bragged about being extremely compatible with Edgar Allan Poe. Meanwhile, Connect is a service that utilises The Pattern’s methodology to allow users a new, authentic way to seek and match with like-minded connections. In short, Tinder for astrology fans.

It’s not uncommon to know or have a friend presently going through a ‘Mystic Meg phase’; seeking every opportunity to tell you that the cause of your mishaps is due to a retrograde or point you to the nearest tarot reader when they sense a tear forming In fact, the age of Aquarius encourages us all to find the appeal. Between the second lockdown, burnout and excessive usage of social media, an increase of anxiety and depression plagues our generation. So much so that it came as no surprise to me when astrology resurfaced and started integrating itself into internet culture. It has given people a sense of comfort like no other, hence why astrology now falls under ‘self-care’.

Rina, from Serbia, first created her astrology meme account @Astrhology as a vessel for information but its purpose shortly shifted, “Astrology is my method of escape and a way of justifying and understanding other people’s actions”, she explained. Whereas, Saint, from Miami, loves the comfort her account @Sassygyalsag brings to her everyday life, “As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, I look to astrology as a tool of learning more about myself.”

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maybe it's just me but this mars retrograde is getting on my last nerve 😚✌️

A post shared by astrology memes ⊹₊ (@astrhology) on Sep 16, 2020 at 1:37pm PDT

Still, with growing concerns over the accuracy of AI apps, The Pattern and Co-Star beg the question: how effective can they be when it comes to online dating and if so, is it worth joining the ever-present waitlist?

Simone, a London-based healing arts practitioner, yoga teacher and owner of spiritual business Mystik Bones has signed up to Connect three times, out of confusion and enthusiasm. “I reference astrology every day of my life because it’s accessible and there’s always something going on. I tend to check it either at the beginning or end of my day so I can understand or get up-to-date with the collective energy or simply my planetary alignment,” she tells Screen Shot. “I think it’s important to observe someone’s Mars, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Rising and Sun signs to gain an all-round perspective of who they are on a soul level and what to expect when investing into their energy.”

Wanting to gain a sufficient amount of information before deciding to step into a situation is not peculiar, in fact, it’s highly encouraged—hence why so many turn to online dating. It’s rapid, it’s effective, and most importantly it’s less confrontational. So, for those, who date based off requirements, Connect simply fulfils another human need, but with the future of dating heading into astronomy, what factors should we consider?

Trainee clinical psychologist Lola Kotun believes the rise of interest from millennials stems from the need for instant gratification, “I’m slightly apprehensive about the truthfulness behind these birth charts because what makes sense for one person doesn’t make sense for another. As well as this, how true can an app be in understanding the family circumstances someone was raised in or the culture one’s come from that aid and shape a person and therefore influences what one wants in life?”

These differences in life experiences could actually sway two traditionally highly compatible signs, such as fire signs with other fire signs, in polar directions of each other and no app would be able to anticipate that.

The way technology has integrated itself into our everyday lives, especially given our social situation was inevitable. However, as astrology continues to gain momentum it’s important to remember that immoderately using these applications for dating won’t actually address the hidden differences that come with dating—it requires self-work.