Astrology as an Individual Practice of Self-Development and a Social Frame for Communities of Seekers

Abstract

Astrology today emerges as a compelling field for observing the transformations of knowledge, spirituality, and identity within late modernity – phenomena often collectively referred to as New Age. Its social vitality – despite the loss of scientific prestige after centuries of intellectual prominence – suggests that the human need for symbolic order and meaning-making narratives has not been displaced by rationality. Astrology functions as a reflective practice through which individuals construct biographies, while communities of seekers create alternative epistemic frameworks. From a sociological perspective, it constitutes a laboratory for studying the self-practice of knowledge, the production of meaning under conditions of uncertainty, and the communalization of spirituality. It demonstrates that contemporary forms of “alternative rationality” may be understood not as resistance to science, but as a cultural complement to it. The empirical dimension of the study illustrates these processes through the example of the Polish Astrological Society, highlighting the ongoing institutionalization and cultural legitimation of astrology in Poland.