Until recently, it was almost axiomatic that to be a worldly New Yorker meant to be skeptical of astrology. What changed?
Photo: Carlo Van de Roer I await Susan Miller at the Carlyle at 4 p.m. on a Monday, where she has suggested that we meet for tea. The hotel is a ten-minute walk from Miller’s 29th-floor Upper East Side apartment, and it is the ideal venue for an elite astrologer: With its dim light, tasseled upholstery, and sconces, the oval-shaped room looks like an upmarket fortune-teller’s lair.
When asked why she’s so successful in the fashion world, Miller puts on her reading glasses and sets down her tea sandwich to speculate. One reason she offers is that she stays busy: “I was born with more energy than anyone I’ve ever met.” A second reason, she suggests, is that she is detail-oriented. A third reason is that Miller feels deeply for her readers: “I’m not trying to be Queen Bee. I’m trying to be the reader’s best friend.
The way that Miller speaks — digressively and in volumes — is also the way that she writes. A typical AstrologyZone horoscope runs 2,500 words, far longer than most free readings, and includes a mixture of concrete and gauzy advice, like this recent reading for Libra: “You may be buying some beautiful, valuable, old furniture or decorative items, including china, silver, or handmade quilts that have historical value.
On a cold December afternoon, Miller is working at her home, a three-bedroom apartment with a south-facing view of the Chrysler Building. A wreath with gilded pinecones marks the door, and inside there is more of the same: candles, flowers, baskets of pinecones, holiday cards, glittering snowflakes strung up above the dining table. It smells like a Macy’s at Christmas.
AstrologyZone posts are something of a loss leader for Miller, who dangles the monthly content as a freebie to attract those who will pay for books, calendars, apps, magazine columns, silk zodiac scarves, appearances sponsored by vodka companies and perfumes and Miami hotels, and daylong seminars. There are also a series of print-on-demand books, including volumes of personal horoscopes; horoscopes for gay couples; horoscopes in Dutch, French, and Spanish; and horoscopes for babies.
But until recently, it was almost axiomatic that to be a worldly New Yorker meant to be skeptical of astrology. This is no longer true. Last week, the French fashion blogger Garance Doré posted about how long it takes to become “a true New York alien” — two years to eat like one, four years to start referring to dogs as children, and just one to lose all sense of astrology as a stigmatizing hobby. “What’s shameful is to not respect people who believe in horoscopes,” Doré wrote.
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