Three Ear Worthy Astrology Podcasts: The Astro Read: Skyline Drive; Psychic Scoop

  "Astrology is like gravity. You don’t have to believe in it for it to be working in your life," said well-known astrology author Zolar. That insight works well here because your belief or non-belief in astrology should not affect your enjoyment of the these three podcasts that are ostensibly about astrology.

The Astro Read combines astrology readings with celebrity news and gossip and deciphers celebrity rumors and scuttlebut with astrological readings.

Skyline Drive posits a situation where Mangesh Hattikudur tries to decipher why we keep looking to the stars for answers, and what happens when you don’t believe in astrology, but astrology keeps happening to you.

Psychic Scoop with Spirit Sis combines astrology with psychic medium, but it is not a podcast just for believers in “mediums,” rather than investigation into the many forms of the spiritual. 

Check out all three podcasts below. Why not believe in astrology? After all, we have one presidential candidate who believes mass shootings are due to anti-depressants and vaccines cause autism, and another who claimed to have witnessed Muslims in Jersey City cheering the 9/11 terrorist attack, which was proven false.

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The Astro Read is a podcast that is all about making astrology relatable, inclusive and a lifestyle tool for all.

Join hosts and astrologers, Nayelli and Clari Stella, to get insights on:

- what's happening in astrology and how it can affect your life

- celebrity news with explanations based on astrology

- self-help tips based on astrology

- interviews with influencers (in health, spirituality, etc.) to share their work and how their natal chart shows that they were destined to do this work

 For example, in the March 20, 2024, episode, the hosts discussed: "Could Nicola Peltz and Brooklyn’s Beckham marriage last a lifetime or is it just a phase? Is the Bieber marriage meant to last? Will the stresses of the royal family departure break Harry and Meghan apart, or will they remain stronger than ever? Are Kylie and Timothée a showmance or a romance?"

Around the time of the Super Bowl, the hosts dove into the celebrity relationship "everyone has been talking about: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce."

As Nayelli and Clari said: "This relationship seems to have come out of nowhere, but is it for real? This episode will cover:How are Taylor and Travis really like individually, and what can they each bring to a relationship? Are Taylor and Travis compatible? What’s to come for this celebrity relationship?"

Check out The Astro Read. It combines astrology with celebrity gossip.

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When Mangesh Hattikudur (Part-Time Genius podcast and Humans Growing Stuff) set out to do a big, sweeping show on astrology, he didn’t realize the first interview would change the course of his life. But as he tries to put his world back together, he realizes the incredible ways that astrology presents itself in modern society: from NASA employees who keep their belief in astrology in the closet, to world leaders who’ve used astrologers to guide foreign policy, to moneyball statisticians who use astrology more than statistics to build baseball teams, to a little shop in India where your fortune was written for you centuries ago, and is waiting for you to come claim it. 

Over the course of eight episodes, Mangesh tries to decipher why we keep looking to the stars for answers, and what happens when you don’t believe in astrology, but astrology keeps happening to you.

The name of this new podcast out November 29 is Skyline Drive by iHeart.   

The host, Mangesh Hattikudur, is an American businessman who is the co-founder of the American humor magazine Mental Floss, which he started with Will Pearson when both were students at Duke University. In June 2017, Will and Mangesh Hattikudur began producing the podcast Part Time Genius, a variety style knowledge show, created in partnership with HowStuffWorks. 

If you're skeptical of astrology and its relevance, consider that research dating back as far as 400 B.C blamed the behavioral changes on the pull of the moon. The word ‘lunatic’ after all, came from the idea that changes in the mental state were related to lunar cycles, according to Healthline. 

Astrology as we know it originated in Babylon. Some of the first astrological records date back as early as 4000 BCE, in the cultural region known as Babylonia. Babylonians observed and recorded the movement of planets and stars. These astrologers built the foundation for the Greek and Hellenistic astrological practices, and now influencing Western Astrology.

For context, each of the twelve Zodiac signs is associated with one of four elements: water, fire, air and earth. The qualities of these elements link directly to the qualities of the signs.

 Many assume that they have only one sign that’s based on their date of birth. That sign is known as the sun sign, but there are many others, including a sign for each planet and 12 different houses. The “big three” are your sun, moon and rising sign, revealing information around your personality, emotions, vulnerability and how you love. You need your birthdate, birth location and time (as accurate as possible) in order to retrieve your birth chart that will help reveal your “big three.”

Finally, this nugget about people who believe in astrology may either reassure you or scare the heck out of you, depending on your political viewpoint. According to The New Yorker, President Ronald Reagan “consulted an astrologer before ‘virtually every major move and decision’ including his reelection announcement.” Before that, President Theodore Roosevelt would also often quote horoscopes and kept his birth chart in his drawing-room.

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This podcast defines itself in this way: "It is a deep dive exploration on all things spiritual -- hosted by Psychic Medium Steffi, the Spirit Sis. The goal is to reframe spirituality, life and death, intuition and clairvoyance in a way that's approachable, light, fun and endearing. Steffi will cover all topics in the mystic and magical realms -- as well as giving self-improvement tips with collective downloads she receives directly from Spirit."

Typically, people want you to decide if you're a believer or non-believer, as if that decision closes all conversation about psychic mediums. I disagree. 

I've listened to numerous episodes of the podcast and found it to be a refuge of spirituality. Steffi, the creator and host, doesn't simply tell listeners about their dead Uncle Fred and where he left his old TV Guide issues. No, she's much more than that.

For example, one of my favorite episodes is a June 16, 2021, show called "Superstitions & Their Origin Stories." in the episode, Steffi takes listeners through the origins of some of our most cherished superstitions, such as knock on wood. This superstition, she explains, derives from an ancient belief that knocking on wood will ward off evil spirits. 

In May of last year, Steffi released an episode about the Ouija Board, which uncovers the sometimes creepy origin and evolution of the Ouija Board. It's a show full of narrative richness, chock-full of historical information, with some spine-tingling stories to titillate.

Steffi began her podcast in February 2021 with a 12-minute episode called, "Coming out Of The Psychic Closet." Since then, Steffi has produced regular episodes, with her most recent being the August 2nd show about "Green Witches." In that show, Steffi combines the love of nature with the magical properties of plants and flowers. 

In a January 2024 episode, Spirit Sis broke down the 2024 Astrological forecast & personalized insights for ALL 12 ZODIAC SIGNS! "Please listen for your sun & rising sign for 2024 predictions." Steffi implored.

As a host, Steffi excels with an empathetic richness to her voice, a pleasing cadence, and a unique ability to sound like she's taking to each of her listeners individually. It's clear that she has a roving intellectual curiosity about spirituality when you check out her episode titles and content. From aura colors to healing your nervous system, and astrological forecasts to spirit guides and guardian angels, Steffi can take listeners on a spiritual journey that's not necessarily religious, but deeply personal and compelling.

I've listened to a few psychic medium podcasts, which often focus exclusively on "reading the audience." Such single-minded dedication to one facet of spirituality becomes routine and too predictable. With Psychic Scoop with Spirit Sis, her show wanders and meanders through various aspects of spirituality, always looking to inform, heal, and generate positivity.

Since her beginning in February 2021, Steffi's show has amassed more than 100,000 downloads, impressive for any podcast but more so for an indie podcast. Psychic Scoop with Spirit Sis has charted in the U.S. and 25 other nations, with the podcast's reach extending to 100 countries. 

I recall Oprah (Winfrey for clarification) once saying, "It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are – not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within – that you can begin to take control."

Psychic Scoop with Spirit Sis is not a podcast just for believers in “mediums.” In her first episode, Steffi promises to take listeners “on a journey of all things spiritual.” She has kept that promise for more than 80 episodes. Thankfully for listeners, we get to travel first class with her inspirational themes and her high-altitude spiritual rejuvenation.