We're identical twin sisters who became astrologers. Here are the 4 biggest things people get wrong about our job.
- The AstroTwins quit their jobs and have been running their website, Astrostyle, since 2002.
- They explain that astrology is not fortune telling and to instead think of it more like coaching.
We never actually thought we would become full-time astrologers. We were working in media and publishing for a while when we decided to launch Astrostyle.com, our astrology website. We could have never predicted the success and growth of our brand.
It started organically: we talked about astrology with friends and started to become known for it. So we thought: let's have our own site and really level it up — you never know what can happen!
Since our launch in 2002, astrology has been our full-time job and it's been an adventure. But there are also some misperceptions on what astrology is and what we do exactly. Here are the 4 biggest ones we have to clarify all the time.
1. We are not fortune tellers
When we say we are astrologers, many times people are picturing a palm reader. Sometimes they will stick their palms out and ask us to read it. That's not quite what we do.
Instead, you should think of us like coaches. A lot of our clients are very skilled and successful women, sometimes men, who are looking for breakthroughs in some way. They have questions like, "Why can't I be successful in my job?" or "Why am I having so many problems?" Oftentimes, they feel like a failure, and they are looking for direction or clarity.
To help them, we sit down and read their birth charts. Then we are able to say, no, there's this thing that's in your chart. It's not just on you, there is a block of some kind. A coach will help you get out of your own way, and that is what we do.
2. Astrology is a system
Although anyone can learn astrology, or study it, in order to understand birth charts, you have to have a really good mind for numbers, angles, and geometry.
It's also important to have critical thinking skills, where you can connect the dots between what is happening in the world, and their birth charts. Many believe you have to be born psychic, and that's not true (though it does help to be intuitive).
Astrology might be confusing to the average person. When we sit down with someone, they might just see a bunch of hieroglyphics and lines, but we see something a bit different. All of those symbols have meanings, and after 25 years of reading them, we can quickly assess and tell you what they mean.
While that is true, we don't ever make choices for people. Instead, we help them make the best choices for themselves.
3. You might not experience the month in the same way as those with the same zodiac
Have you ever wondered why you and your friend are both cancers, but you're so different from each other? Here's the thing: unless you were born on the same day, in the same minute, in the same location, you won't have the same exact chart.
Instead, when you're born, you have this blueprint that no one else has. Even as twins, who were born four minutes apart, we have a slight difference in our charts. While you might have similarities, you will have differences that make your chart a unique blueprint to you.
4. Astrology is a business that requires pivoting
Writing and doing chart readings for people are the two main ways astrologers make money. Most write for magazines or media outlets, or charge a subscription through an app.
Our business is a little different than most astrologers — we have our own media site. We're independently owned and we don't have investors, it's just us.
At times this can be challenging, because we have to think about social media, compete for space on Google, and pivot when needed. As owners, we have to do a lot of creative pivoting.
We're able to monetize our site with ads because we have millions of people on our platform every month. Thankfully, we've had steady traffic ranging between five to ten million page views a month. This allows us to sustain the website.
Additionally, we're also authors. Self-publishing books is another great source of revenue for us, too. Every year we publish our own book, which is an annual guide for the year ahead. We also have a few books published by traditional publishers. Each of these avenues combined allow us to keep Astrostyle running.
We like to use our work to get people excited
Since our growth, we've partnered with brands, including a luggage company, homesick candles and we even did an Amazon TV show.
You can apply astrology to anything, and we love using astrology to partner with brands and using it to make people feel empowered and uplifted.
If you have an unusual job and would like to share your story, email Alyshia Hull at ahull@insider.com.