At the beginning of January, it's not uncommon to wonder: What will this new year bring? To help answer this loaded question, some might turn to astrology—which delivers insights and predictions to practitioners by tracking the movement of the planets and other celestial bodies. For those who might be skeptics, take it from journalist, author, and astrologer Maressa Brown, who wrote for Shape magazine that astrology "can offer valuable intel on your sense of self, relationships, and goals."
The practice has made its way to events, and we've clocked a number of activations from the last handful of years that have incorporated related activities like astrology readings, tarot readings (although related to astrology, cards are pulled at random), and crystal healing (some crystals align with specific astrological signs). All are meant to help attendees tap into a new way of thinking—and no matter if they're a pro at pinpointing their sun and moon signs or a total newbie, who doesn't want to learn a little bit more about themselves?
Scroll for some of the fun and interactive ways we've seen astrology incorporated into events...
Viktor & Rolf's Good Fortune Launch Event
In collaboration with Mad Bash Group and Middle Child PR, fashion house Viktor & Rolf celebrated its newest fragrance, Good Fortune, with a mystical and spiritual dinner party—held at Berkeley Fieldhouse in Toronto—to help attendees manifest new goals and set meaningful intentions. Throughout the evening, guests could draw one to two cards with tarot reader Stacey Sproule from Lunaria Laboratories.
Photo: Wade Muir Photography
The tablescape for the dinner included amethyst crystals and the Good Fortune fragrance. Along with tarot readings, guests could also have personal and private aura readings by Rose Aura to help them see their energy and chakras.
Photo: Wade Muir Photography
Olly's Tarot Activation at Create & Cultivate
In 2020, Create & Cultivate—an online platform and conference geared toward business-minded female millennials—set up shop at the Rolling Greens Nursery in downtown Los Angeles. The daylong event included educational and inspiring panels, keynote speakers, and sponsored activations. One that went spiritual? Gummy vitamin brand Olly, which offered tarot card readings to attendees who posed for a pic in the brand’s “California Dreaming” photo moment.
Photo: Courtesy of Create & Cultivate
Hendrick's Gin's Underwater Pop-Up
In March 2022, to celebrate its latest limited-edition release named Neptunia, Hendrick’s Gin created an aquatic oasis in downtown Manhattan. Inspired by the rugged Scottish Ayrshire coast—not far from where the brand’s distillery, known as Hendrick’s Gin Palace, is located—the “Hendrick’s Neptunia Undersea Imaginarium & Spa” featured nods to seafaring lore, including mermaid sightings. On-site tarot readings leaned into the theme as well, with an "octopus" pulling cards for guests.
Photo: Courtesy of Hendrick’s Gin
Jägermeister's 'Divine the Darke' Experience
In 2018, Jägermeister launched a custom tarot card experience via augmented reality (AR) to engage consumers around Halloween. The German spirits brand allowed consumers to locate and scan Snapchat codes that were embedded in Jägermeister’s collateral material, such as custom coasters at bars and retail locations throughout the U.S. The code unlocked a custom Snapchat lens in the app that was available to users for one hour. The branded AR filter brought up Jägermeister imagery, including its signature stag logo, along with tarot cards. Users could then tap on the card to reveal their "cocktail fate," aka a drink that incorporated the digestif liqueur.
“As consumers look toward new means to help them navigate a future that seems more uncertain than ever, modern mysticism has reached new heights,” Mast-Jägermeister U.S.' vice president of customer and trade marketing Heather Kozera told BizBash at the time. “From crystals to fortune tellers, brands are taking advantage of consumers’ growing appetite for new age spiritualism."
“As consumers look toward new means to help them navigate a future that seems more uncertain than ever, modern mysticism has reached new heights,” Mast-Jägermeister U.S.' vice president of customer and trade marketing Heather Kozera told BizBash at the time. “From crystals to fortune tellers, brands are taking advantage of consumers’ growing appetite for new age spiritualism."
Photo: Courtesy of Jägermeister
Hulu's 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Activation
In September 2021, Hulu celebrated the premiere of its original series Nine Perfect Strangers—which follows a group of people gathering at an unconventional health and wellness retreat—with a wellness retreat of its own set in the middle of the busy Westfield Century City mall. The pop-up featured a plethora of self-care and wellness activities, including this crystal-healing area with giveaways from online boutique Smudge Wellness.
Photo: Carly Otness Photography
Smudge Wellness also offered personalized astrology readings with its resident astrologer, Cole Prots. The readings gave an overview of the month ahead for guests, key takeaways of what the cosmos had in store for them, and how to apply this guidance in their daily lives.
Photo: Carly Otness Photography
Lollapalooza 2016
One out-of-the-box way to incorporate astrology or tarot readings at events? Set them up in an unconventional place. Take it from Lollapalooza 2016, where Toyota's activation at the Chicago music festival included tarot card readings in one of its hybrid cars.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen
Guests entered the Rav4 hybrid through a beaded curtain in back, then lay on a pile of pillows while a tarot card reader predicted their future.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen
Refinery 29's 29Rooms
Need some decor inspo in the realm of astrology or the spiritual? Look no further than Refinery 29's 2018 edition of its 29Rooms event (a multi-sensory "funhouse" produced by the digital publication and its parent company, Vice Media). It featured a room designed in collaboration with The Hoodwitch, a website launched by Bri Luna that offers tarot card knowledge, mystical visuals, and self-care wisdom.
Photo: Taylor McIntyre
Amazon Prime's 'The Aeronauts' Incredible Journey' Tour
In late 2019, Amazon Prime promoted its new film at the time, The Aeronauts, by immersing fans in the era in which it takes place. It created a sprawling Victorian fair set in the year 1862, which made a stop at LA's Rose Bowl Stadium with more than 50 costumed performers. Guests could even take hot air balloon rides in a balloon modeled after the one in the film. Another interactive activation included a fortune-teller who gave tarot readings (plus a hypnotist who helped guests overcome a fear of heights—fitting!).
Photo: Jeff Lovin
Zinus' 30th Anniversary Celebration
In 2018, e-commerce company Zinus recreated the loft from the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The event paid homage to iconic moments from the movie, including when the Zoltar fortune teller machine (pictured) grants Josh his wish to become “big.”
Photo: Courtesy of Zinus
A steal-worthy engagement idea from the event: The on-site Zoltar machine even dispensed custom cards to guests who interacted with it, giving them a chance to win a free Zinus mattress.
Photo: Courtesy of Zinus
Coach's 'Life Coach' Activation
Coach's first external brand activation, back in 2018, also leaned into the nostalgia with a Zoltar machine of its own. In a vacant space in NYC's SoHo neighborhood, the brand created a self-guided experience consisting of four interactive rooms curated for a New York audience, each with a different design. The colorful one pictured here featured branded Skee-Ball, a Zoltar fortune-telling machine, and a giant clown mask.
Photo: Daniel Salemi
