German Outlets Roll Out Fresh Daily and Weekly Horoscopes, With Science Caveats
Publishers pair sign-by-sign guidance and videos with reminders that studies show astrology performs no better than chance.
Overview
- On December 10, BILD posted new weekly horoscopes for December 8–14, TAG24 released a daily forecast for all signs, and Augsburger Allgemeine published multiple sign-specific daily updates with embedded videos.
- Several articles recap the zodiac’s origins in ancient Mesopotamia and classical adoption, and they include standard date ranges for each sign.
- Citing YouGov’s 2021 polling, coverage notes that roughly 53% of Germans express interest in astrology, about 13% read horoscopes regularly, and interest skews higher among women and younger readers.
- Multiple pieces highlight the Clearer Thinking experiment by Spencer Greenberg and André Ferretti, reporting astrologers averaged 2.49 correct matches out of 12—consistent with chance and unaffected by experience.
- Editors explain psychological effects such as the Forer/Barnum effect and explicitly caution readers not to use horoscopes for major life decisions, presenting them chiefly as entertainment.