Is a business of astrology story in your future?

Thanks to a wobble of the Earth, a lot of Libras will be waking up as Scorpios soon. And Sagittarians will be reconciling themselves to their new sun-sign identity as Ophiuchians, Ophiuchusians or Ophiucchi – whatever the designation becomes for those Nov. 29 to Dec. 17 babies now deemed to be ruled by the 13th Zodiac sign, Ophiuchus.

A number of the other zodiac symbols correspond to new sets of dates, too, throwing adherents and amateur horoscope fans into a bit of an identity crisis.

The shift in the astrological calendar, as described by this Minneapolis Star-Tribune article, “The stars might not actually be aligned in your favor,” already is creating buzz on Internet message boards and no doubt water coolers nationwide. And it’s a great opportunity for business journalists to jump on the news peg and generate some timely stories about an interesting niche industry that affects quite a few readers. (The Star-Tribune article says 31 percent of Americans profess to believe in astrology; I’d be more than that check their horoscope a few times a week.)

This dated but still-useful astrology site, StarIQ, offers factoids about the market, citing some mainstream sources and surveys that show astrology as a growing market, with 80 percent of consumers being women and annual expenditures of $100 million.

How will the change affect businesses? The way I see it, at the very least, thousands of websites are going to need redesign, aside from the syndicated services that offer horoscopes to newspapers, ISPs and other information outlets. Print products, from local weekly shoppers that offer horoscopes to magazines to books will also need new layouts. Gumball and arcade machines that dispense scopes, if they choose to stay up to date, will need tweaking. Even slot machines with horoscope themes exist, and someone will be employed to reprogram them a nd re-do the graphics.

That’s astrology from the entertainment aspect, but there’s a serious contingent of adherents (Nancy Reagan, anyone?) and practitioners who will have to adjust to the new zodiac line-up. The American Federation of Astrologers website has a searchable database that can help you find professionals in your area; the website of the Shoreline, Wa.-based Kepler College – which offers credentials in astrology – lists many more trade and professional associations related to the astrology industry.

Find some local companies and practitioners; it’s a fascinating careers or small business story. How has the Internet eroded local astrology services, if at all? How much can one earn in astrology? Is it a full-time career or a side job? What’s legal and what’s not?

There’s also a business astrology niche; the International Society of Business Astrologers can tell you more about their trade. Some career coaches use astrology and of course, books about investing and personal finance according to the stars are pretty common.

Check your local Craigslist and other sites to find practitioners, too, and get their take on what the shake-up in the sun signs is going to cost them in terms of ordering new materials and supplies, and what business it may generate from customers who need their charts re-done.

Tattoo artists may see an influx of people needing to update or change an inked symbol, and jewelers, jewelry designers and other makers of adornment featuring zodiac signs (try some New Age shops in your area) may see an influx from customers adapting to the new symbol line-up. Be creative and cast your mind around your market for other unlikely businesses that may be affected if the change to the horoscope rotation becomes widespread.