If you haven’t heard of it, Co – Star is a free app that tells you what your day, week, and life are going to be like based on the day, time, and location you were born. The information provided to the user is based on the positioning of the stars and planets as the user entered the world, as reported by NASA. The app runs like its own social media platform, as once you set up your own Co – Star account it asks you to friend others in your contacts to see your compatibility with one another. After downloading it I could tell how easy it might be to check Co – Star two, five, or 18 times a day.

Everybody who owns Co – Star has a personal page the app opens to; at the top it will read “Good morning/evening, [username]” and below it will give some footnotes about the day. The footnotes are broken up into four emoji: a light bulb, a flame, a circle with a line through it, and a plant. Recently my light bulb read, “You need people.”  Next to my fire emoji, it said I had “pressure in work, thinking & creativity, spirituality, social life, sex & love, and self.” It was hard not to laugh at that. I felt as though Co – Star had determined my day was going to be a mess. 

I’ve noticed that many of my peers who use this app only ever glance at the footnotes of their day, but one can dive deeper if they want to. So I did. If you scroll down on your homepage it’ll give more insight into your day with a little blurb, and then below that it’ll give you insight into your month, and then your year(s). My monthly statement from Co – Star is this: “Your desire to change this month depends on your ability to open yourself up to other people’s suggestions. This is a big step for you, who lets fear stop them from growing and changing.” Thanks Co – Star? I find it odd that this app claims to know so much about me according to my birth place and birth date/time. I for one am someone who prides themselves on being able to adapt to all kinds of situations, so f**k you Co – Star. 

Anyways … these suggestions aren’t completely random. Co – Star gives the user blurbs about their life based on where the Sun, Moon, and other planets are in relation to their Zodiac sign. Mine’s an Aquarius and currently my moon is where Mercury was when I was born, which I’m told by the app means I’m feeling thoughtful about how I feel, and that I should talk about my past and ask for advice if I need it. I like that, as despite it being incredibly vague, it does relate to me right now as I’ve been journaling a lot over the quarantine break. I can feel the app almost pushing me to call a friend up and ask them for advice about a certain situation. It’s weird how much power an app like Co – Star has the potential to hold over one’s day-to-day life, if they let it. 

Another blurb is attributed to Neptune currently being 45 degrees away from where the sun was when I was born, which sounds ridiculous, I know. This blurb is titled “Illusion affecting self-esteem” and it says, “Your horizons are broadening because of your day-to-day. You will find yourself frustrated in the way you’ve always existed in the world.” Yeah, not the greatest thing to hear about yourself — until, wait, it gets better, this phase of my life is said to run until July 13, 2021, and it supposedly started November 21, 2018.

It’s not all bad though. Most of the notes and blurbs on the app feel more therapeutic than insulting. For example, my daily blurb note today says that “it’s hard to accept that you have flaws today. Try to push the boundaries of your mind. Don’t be a yes man.” I find myself searching for how this applies directly to my day and life, and I can’t, but it is still useful advice nonetheless.

Honestly, I came into this thinking I was going to write a rant review, covering how misleading Co – Star is, but I’ve come out in a completely different light. I have always made fun of people who read too much into astrology, but I think I kinda get it now. Getting little blurbs about your life, even if they’re totally random, can be nice, and sometimes even helpful. If you choose to download the app, have fun with it, but don’t let its suggestions hold too much weight, because again, I am supposedly going to be frustrated with how I exist for the next year and a half because Neptune is 45 degrees from where I was born. Regardless, Co – Star will be staying on my phone.