Here's a weird truth about app development: sometimes the features that seem the most frivolous are the ones that actually move your metrics.
Horoscopes are one of those features.
I know, I know. You're a serious developer building serious software. Horoscopes feel like something from a 90s newspaper website. But here's the thing—Co-Star has 30 million downloads. The Pattern crashed Twitter when it launched. Sanctuary charges $20/month for personalized astrology and people pay it.
Astrology isn't a joke. It's a $12 billion industry, and the people who use these apps check them daily. Often first thing in the morning, before they check anything else.
If you're struggling with retention, engagement, or just need a reason for users to open your app every day, a horoscope feature might be the lowest-effort, highest-impact thing you can add.
Let me show you how to build one.
Why Horoscopes Actually Work (The Psychology)
Before we write any code, it's worth understanding why this works. Because if you just slap a horoscope on your app without thinking about it, you'll get mediocre results.
The Barnum Effect
Horoscopes leverage something called the Barnum Effect—our tendency to accept vague, general personality descriptions as uniquely applicable to ourselves. "You sometimes feel misunderstood" applies to literally everyone, but when you read it under your zodiac sign, it feels personal.
This isn't about tricking users. It's about giving them a moment of reflection. A daily horoscope is essentially a structured journaling prompt disguised as mysticism.
The Daily Habit Loop
The real power is in the cadence. Horoscopes update daily. They're different every morning. That creates a reason to check back—not because the app is nagging you with notifications, but because there's genuinely new content waiting.
Apps like Wordle figured this out. One puzzle per day. You either do it or you miss it. Horoscopes have the same energy, but they've been doing it for centuries.
Identity and Belonging
People identify with their sign. "I'm such a Scorpio" is a real sentence that real people say unironically. When your app acknowledges their sign, you're acknowledging part of their identity. That builds connection.
This is why asking for a birthday during onboarding—and then using it—is so powerful. It's not just data collection. It's personalization that users actually feel.
What You Can Build With This
Let's talk about what's actually possible before diving into implementation.
The Horoscope API returns a lot more than just the daily reading. Here's the full response:
{
"status": "ok",
"data": {
"sign": "aries",
"horoscope": "Today brings unexpected opportunities for connection. Trust your instincts when it comes to financial decisions, but take your time with matters of the heart.",
"mood": "Adventurous",
"color": "Red",
"luckyNumber": 9,
"luckyTime": "2:00 PM",
"compatibility": ["Leo", "Sagittarius", "Gemini"],
"zodiac": {
"element": "Fire",
"name": "Aries",
"stone": "Diamond",
"symbol": "♈"
}
}
}
That's not just a horoscope. That's an entire personalization system. Let's break down what you can do with each piece.
The Daily Reading
The obvious one. A paragraph of guidance for the day. But think about where you show this, not just that you show it.
Morning context works best. If your app has any kind of "today" view—a dashboard, a daily summary, a home screen—that's where the horoscope belongs. It frames the user's mindset for the day ahead.
Don't bury it. I've seen apps stick horoscopes three tabs deep in a "fun stuff" section. Nobody finds it. If you're going to do this, commit. Make it visible.
The Mood Indicator
"Adventurous." "Contemplative." "Energetic."
This is underrated. You can use the mood to subtly adjust your app's tone for the day. If you have any kind of motivational messaging, coaching prompts, or even just loading screen quotes—key them to the mood.
A fitness app could say "Your stars say you're feeling adventurous—try a new workout today?" It's hokey. It also works.
Lucky Number and Lucky Time
These seem throwaway, but they're perfect for gamification.
Lucky number: If your app has any randomization—a daily spin, a card draw, picking from options—you can weight it toward the lucky number. Users won't consciously notice, but they'll feel like the app "gets" them when they keep seeing their lucky number.
Lucky time: "Your lucky time today is 2:00 PM." Now you have a reason to send a push notification at exactly 2:00 PM. It's not spam—it's their lucky time. Open rates on these are absurdly high.
Compatibility
This is gold for social apps.
Dating apps, obviously. But also team collaboration tools, social networks, community platforms. "You might vibe with these people today" based on astrological compatibility is silly and fun and people actually engage with it.
The Zodiac Metadata
Element, stone, symbol. This is for the true believers—the users who take astrology seriously and want depth.
If you're building a profile system, let users display their element ("Fire sign") or birthstone. It's identity signaling. People love that.
Implementation: The Simple Version
Alright, enough theory. Let's build this.
The most basic implementation is a single API call:
async function getHoroscope(sign) {
const response = await fetch(
`https://api.apiverve.com/v1/horoscope?sign=${sign}`,
{
headers: { 'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY' }
}
);
const { data } = await response.json();
return data;
}
// Usage
const horoscope = await getHoroscope('aries');
console.log(horoscope.horoscope);
// "Today brings unexpected opportunities for connection..."
That's genuinely it for the basic case. Call the API, get the data, display it.
The available signs are: aries, taurus, gemini, cancer, leo, virgo, libra, scorpio, sagittarius, capricorn, aquarius, pisces.
Getting Yesterday's Horoscope
Users sometimes want to look back. Maybe they forgot to check, or they want to see if yesterday's prediction came true. (This is a real thing people do.)
const yesterday = await fetch(
'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/horoscope?sign=leo&yesterday=true',
{ headers: { 'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);
You can build a nice "Did it come true?" feature around this. Show yesterday's horoscope with a thumbs up/thumbs down. It's engagement bait, sure. But it's also fun.
Implementation: The Production Version
The simple version works, but if you're putting this in a real app with real users, you need to think about a few more things.
Caching (This Is Important)
Horoscopes update once per day. There's no reason to hit the API every time a user opens your app. That's wasteful and slow.
Here's a caching strategy that makes sense:
const horoscopeCache = new Map();
async function getHoroscope(sign) {
const today = new Date().toDateString();
const cacheKey = `${sign}-${today}`;
// Return cached version if we have it
if (horoscopeCache.has(cacheKey)) {
return horoscopeCache.get(cacheKey);
}
// Fetch fresh data
const response = await fetch(
`https://api.apiverve.com/v1/horoscope?sign=${sign}`,
{ headers: { 'x-api-key': process.env.APIVERVE_KEY } }
);
const { data } = await response.json();
// Cache it for the day
horoscopeCache.set(cacheKey, data);
return data;
}
With this approach, you make a maximum of 12 API calls per day—one per sign. Your entire user base shares those 12 calls. That's incredibly efficient.
For a more robust solution, use Redis or your database:
async function getHoroscope(sign) {
const today = new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
const cacheKey = `horoscope:${sign}:${today}`;
// Check Redis first
const cached = await redis.get(cacheKey);
if (cached) {
return JSON.parse(cached);
}
// Fetch from API
const response = await fetch(
`https://api.apiverve.com/v1/horoscope?sign=${sign}`,
{ headers: { 'x-api-key': process.env.APIVERVE_KEY } }
);
const { data } = await response.json();
// Cache until midnight
const secondsUntilMidnight = getSecondsUntilMidnight();
await redis.setex(cacheKey, secondsUntilMidnight, JSON.stringify(data));
return data;
}
function getSecondsUntilMidnight() {
const now = new Date();
const midnight = new Date(now);
midnight.setHours(24, 0, 0, 0);
return Math.floor((midnight - now) / 1000);
}
Determining the User's Sign
You need to know the user's zodiac sign to show them their horoscope. You've got a few options:
Option 1: Just ask. During onboarding or in settings, let users pick their sign. Simple, direct, no date math required.
Option 2: Calculate from birthday. If you already collect birthdays (for age verification, birthday rewards, whatever), you can derive the sign:
function getZodiacSign(month, day) {
const signs = [
{ sign: 'capricorn', start: [1, 1], end: [1, 19] },
{ sign: 'aquarius', start: [1, 20], end: [2, 18] },
{ sign: 'pisces', start: [2, 19], end: [3, 20] },
{ sign: 'aries', start: [3, 21], end: [4, 19] },
{ sign: 'taurus', start: [4, 20], end: [5, 20] },
{ sign: 'gemini', start: [5, 21], end: [6, 20] },
{ sign: 'cancer', start: [6, 21], end: [7, 22] },
{ sign: 'leo', start: [7, 23], end: [8, 22] },
{ sign: 'virgo', start: [8, 23], end: [9, 22] },
{ sign: 'libra', start: [9, 23], end: [10, 22] },
{ sign: 'scorpio', start: [10, 23], end: [11, 21] },
{ sign: 'sagittarius', start: [11, 22], end: [12, 21] },
{ sign: 'capricorn', start: [12, 22], end: [12, 31] }
];
return signs.find(({ start, end }) => {
const afterStart = month > start[0] || (month === start[0] && day >= start[1]);
const beforeEnd = month < end[0] || (month === end[0] && day <= end[1]);
return afterStart && beforeEnd;
})?.sign;
}
// Usage
const sign = getZodiacSign(3, 25); // March 25
console.log(sign); // "aries"
Option 3: Let them browse. Don't require a sign at all. Show a dropdown with all 12 signs and let users check whichever they want. Some people check their partner's sign, their crush's sign, their mom's sign. Let them.
A Complete React Component
Here's a production-ready component you can actually use:
import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
const SIGNS = [
{ id: 'aries', name: 'Aries', symbol: '♈', dates: 'Mar 21 - Apr 19' },
{ id: 'taurus', name: 'Taurus', symbol: '♉', dates: 'Apr 20 - May 20' },
{ id: 'gemini', name: 'Gemini', symbol: '♊', dates: 'May 21 - Jun 20' },
{ id: 'cancer', name: 'Cancer', symbol: '♋', dates: 'Jun 21 - Jul 22' },
{ id: 'leo', name: 'Leo', symbol: '♌', dates: 'Jul 23 - Aug 22' },
{ id: 'virgo', name: 'Virgo', symbol: '♍', dates: 'Aug 23 - Sep 22' },
{ id: 'libra', name: 'Libra', symbol: '♎', dates: 'Sep 23 - Oct 22' },
{ id: 'scorpio', name: 'Scorpio', symbol: '♏', dates: 'Oct 23 - Nov 21' },
{ id: 'sagittarius', name: 'Sagittarius', symbol: '♐', dates: 'Nov 22 - Dec 21' },
{ id: 'capricorn', name: 'Capricorn', symbol: '♑', dates: 'Dec 22 - Jan 19' },
{ id: 'aquarius', name: 'Aquarius', symbol: '♒', dates: 'Jan 20 - Feb 18' },
{ id: 'pisces', name: 'Pisces', symbol: '♓', dates: 'Feb 19 - Mar 20' }
];
export function DailyHoroscope({ userSign, apiKey }) {
const [selectedSign, setSelectedSign] = useState(userSign || 'aries');
const [horoscope, setHoroscope] = useState(null);
const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
const [error, setError] = useState(null);
useEffect(() => {
let cancelled = false;
async function fetchHoroscope() {
setLoading(true);
setError(null);
try {
const response = await fetch(
`https://api.apiverve.com/v1/horoscope?sign=${selectedSign}`,
{ headers: { 'x-api-key': apiKey } }
);
if (!response.ok) {
throw new Error('Failed to load horoscope');
}
const { data } = await response.json();
if (!cancelled) {
setHoroscope(data);
}
} catch (err) {
if (!cancelled) {
setError(err.message);
}
} finally {
if (!cancelled) {
setLoading(false);
}
}
}
fetchHoroscope();
return () => { cancelled = true; };
}, [selectedSign, apiKey]);
const currentSign = SIGNS.find(s => s.id === selectedSign);
return (
<div className="horoscope-container">
{/* Sign Selector */}
<div className="sign-selector">
<select
value={selectedSign}
onChange={(e) => setSelectedSign(e.target.value)}
aria-label="Select zodiac sign"
>
{SIGNS.map(sign => (
<option key={sign.id} value={sign.id}>
{sign.symbol} {sign.name}
</option>
))}
</select>
<span className="sign-dates">{currentSign?.dates}</span>
</div>
{/* Loading State */}
{loading && (
<div className="horoscope-loading">
<span className="loading-symbol">{currentSign?.symbol}</span>
<p>Reading the stars...</p>
</div>
)}
{/* Error State */}
{error && (
<div className="horoscope-error">
<p>Couldn't load your horoscope. The stars are being shy.</p>
<button onClick={() => setSelectedSign(selectedSign)}>
Try Again
</button>
</div>
)}
{/* Horoscope Content */}
{!loading && !error && horoscope && (
<div className="horoscope-content">
<div className="horoscope-header">
<span className="horoscope-symbol">{horoscope.zodiac.symbol}</span>
<div>
<h3>{horoscope.zodiac.name}</h3>
<span className="horoscope-element">
{horoscope.zodiac.element} Sign
</span>
</div>
</div>
<p className="horoscope-reading">{horoscope.horoscope}</p>
<div className="horoscope-details">
<div className="detail">
<span className="detail-label">Today's Mood</span>
<span className="detail-value">{horoscope.mood}</span>
</div>
<div className="detail">
<span className="detail-label">Lucky Number</span>
<span className="detail-value">{horoscope.luckyNumber}</span>
</div>
<div className="detail">
<span className="detail-label">Lucky Time</span>
<span className="detail-value">{horoscope.luckyTime}</span>
</div>
<div className="detail">
<span className="detail-label">Power Color</span>
<span
className="detail-value color-swatch"
style={{ '--swatch-color': horoscope.color.toLowerCase() }}
>
{horoscope.color}
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div className="horoscope-compatibility">
<span className="compat-label">Best connections today:</span>
<div className="compat-signs">
{horoscope.compatibility.map(sign => (
<button
key={sign}
className="compat-sign"
onClick={() => setSelectedSign(sign.toLowerCase())}
>
{SIGNS.find(s => s.name === sign)?.symbol} {sign}
</button>
))}
</div>
</div>
</div>
)}
</div>
);
}
This gives you loading states, error handling, sign selection, and the ability to tap compatible signs to see their horoscopes. It's a complete feature, not a demo.
Taking It Further
Once you've got the basic horoscope working, there are some natural extensions that can deepen engagement.
Combine With Chinese Zodiac
Some users are into Western astrology. Some prefer Chinese astrology. Some want both.
The Chinese Zodiac API gives you year-based readings. You can offer a "Complete Astrological Profile" that combines both:
async function getFullProfile(westernSign, birthYear) {
const [western, chinese] = await Promise.all([
fetch(`https://api.apiverve.com/v1/horoscope?sign=${westernSign}`, {
headers: { 'x-api-key': API_KEY }
}).then(r => r.json()),
fetch(`https://api.apiverve.com/v1/chinesezodiac?year=${birthYear}`, {
headers: { 'x-api-key': API_KEY }
}).then(r => r.json())
]);
return {
western: western.data,
chinese: chinese.data,
combined: `${western.data.zodiac.name} ${chinese.data.animal}`
// "Aries Dragon" or "Pisces Ox"
};
}
"Aries Dragon" sounds way cooler than just "Aries," and it gives users a more unique identity.
Add Fortune Cookies for Variety
Horoscopes are daily. But what if users want more?
The Fortune Cookie API gives you random fortunes on demand. Use it for:
- A "Get Another Fortune" button after they've read their horoscope
- Random fortunes throughout the app as delightful surprises
- A "fortune of the hour" feature for really engaged users
Personalized Birthstone Info
If you're building profiles, the Birthstone API adds another layer of personalization. Birthstones make great visual elements—you can show a gem icon next to the user's name, or suggest jewelry based on their stone.
The Business Case
Let me get concrete about why this is worth your time.
Retention Math
Let's say you add a horoscope feature and 20% of your users check it daily. That's not unrealistic—astrology apps see much higher rates.
If you have 10,000 users and 2,000 of them open your app every morning specifically to check their horoscope, you've just dramatically changed your DAU numbers. More importantly, you've created a habit. Those users are now starting their day in your app.
Push Notification Gold
Most push notifications are annoying. "Hey, come back!" "You haven't visited in a while!" Users hate them and disable them.
But "Your horoscope is ready" or "It's your lucky time (2:00 PM)" are notifications users actually want. They feel like value, not spam. Open rates on these are 3-5x higher than generic engagement notifications.
Content That Updates Itself
Every other feature you build requires you to create content. Blog posts, in-app tips, news feeds—someone has to write all that.
Horoscopes update automatically. Every day, there's something new, and you didn't have to do anything. It's the closest thing to free content you'll find.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
I've seen a lot of horoscope implementations. Here's what doesn't work:
Hiding it too deep. If users have to tap through three menus to find the horoscope, they won't. Put it somewhere visible or don't bother.
Not caching. Hitting the API on every page load is wasteful and slow. Cache for the day. It's not hard.
Ignoring the metadata. The horoscope text is great, but the mood, lucky number, and compatibility are what make it interactive. Use all of it.
Making it optional during onboarding. If you're going to ask for birthday or sign, make it part of the flow, not a skippable step. The users who skip are the users who won't engage with the feature anyway.
Forgetting about non-believers. Some people think astrology is nonsense. That's fine. Don't shove it in their face. Make it easy to dismiss or hide if they're not interested.
Wrapping Up
Horoscopes work because they're personal, daily, and low-effort for users. They check in, get their reading, feel seen, and go about their day. That's a habit loop that benefits your app.
The implementation is trivial—a single API call with smart caching. The impact is disproportionately large for the effort involved.
The Horoscope API is available on all APIVerve plans, including free. You can have this running in production today.
Go ship something the stars would approve of.
Originally published at APIVerve Blog
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