Empowered By The Planets: Susan Miller on Living Astrologically
The Famed Horoscope Writer TALKTALKTALKS Past, Present & Some Guidance For The Future
If you’ve ever read a horoscope column in a newspaper or magazine, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Susan’s work or you have her to thank. Say what you will about sun sign astrology, Susan has paved the way for all of us acting as astrologers in the public eye. She’s the reason I can tell people at a dinner party I’m an astrologer without feeling like a total outsider.
The Chani app, Co-Star — none of it would be possible without her.
I’m still not sure how it happened, but I had the good fortune of sharing an afternoon in Los Angeles with Susan, where we talked shop and she shared some of her notes with me — pages of them. While other astrological empires have a team of writers, Susan still creates her own content for AstrologyZone, which, some months, amounts to a novella’s worth of horoscopes.
The following bio started as a paragraph and soon took on a life of its own. Susan’s story and her decades of experience are too vast to be contained in a few sentences.
Want the full TALKTALKTALK with Susan? Check out the podcast we recorded.
For many astrologers, Susan Miller was our gateway to astrology.
Her own journey into the stars was profoundly personal. Susan was born with a severe birth defect that brought on unexpected attacks that left her bedridden, unable to move an inch, until the crisis subsided, and she healed. The bouts, which lasted eight weeks at a time, were excruciating. At 14, doctors did an exploratory and saw she was bleeding internally at a life-threatening level. She spent the next 11 months in the hospital, followed by two and a half years of intense physical therapy.
ASTROLOGICAL INHERITENCE
Susan’s mother was an astrological scholar who had studied for eight years with the Rosicrucians in a correspondence course and continued to study with famous European and American astrologers. After an in-depth analysis of Susan’s chart, she had predicted a shift in her daughter’s illness, giving her the confidence to reassure her daughter that she would survive — but not without hardship.
Despite her deep reverence for astrology, Susan’s mother was hesitant to pass down her knowledge. Susan persisted, studying her mother’s books in secret. The operation had left her leg partially paralyzed from the torniquet used to save both her life and her leg. She wanted to know if the therapy would work and she would be free of the full-length heavy metal leg brace and crutches.
When her mother finally acquiesced to take Susan on as a student, she made her promise to study 12 years before reading a single chart outside the family. “Anything less, and you won’t be any good,” her mother advised. Susan adored her mother and quickly agreed—and Susan kept her promise.
A FATED RECOVERY
As her mother predicted, Susan recovered; she was able to throw away the leg brace and crutches, having overcome most of the paralysis. Laughing, Susan adds, “The physical therapy surely was not easy!” During all of high school she was home schooled and took her exams at home under the strict eyes of the Board of Education teachers who came to the house once a week for two hours to teach her, and later administer her Regents, PSAT, and SAT exams.
After graduating high school at 16, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and marketing from New York University, graduating at 19 with honors.
At 24, Susan married Don Miller and soon after had her two daughters. All the while, she was cultivating her craft—reading by reading, article by article—laying the groundwork for an astrological empire.
WORD OF MOUTH
When her mother gave her the green light to read charts outside the family, Susan read for anyone in need of help—in person, for free. Her mother underscored the need to get feedback from every person she met with. For her mother, that was a vital part of the process.
Although it would be decades from the time Susan started studying to becoming a full-time astrologer, Susan continued her apprenticeship throughout her other careers.
While working as an agent for commercial photographers, Susan’s astrological knowledge earned her a reputation among the creatives. The word was, “Call 911 and Susan will answer.” She would take a taxi to the ad agency after hours and read the chart of the person in need.
When it came to her writing, Susan loved math and technical subjects and began writing in detail about how complex commercial shoots were accomplished (after conferring with her photographers). Photo magazines began to publish her manuscripts, and in this way, as her photographers’ agent, she helped develop more business for her stable of talented thoroughbreds who were shooting for Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz, and other high-profile clients.
This work would have a profound impact on Susan’s signature horoscope style, translating technical details into accessible reading.
It would be more than a decade after Susan got the “all clear” from her mother to read charts that she began writing for magazines. She started with Bridal Guide but was quickly noticed by Condé Nast, and then began writing for Self, McCall’s and other high-profile magazines.
THE BIRTH OF THE INTERNET
Susan started Astrology Zone on December 14, 1995, at Time Inc. at the birth of the Internet. Three years later, when Time Inc. was getting involved with AOL, she switched her license to the Walt Disney Company for Go.com, part of ABCNews.com. After another three years she was ready to leave the big media companies. Susan had learned enough to open her own business and hire her own crew. She never sought venture capital. Today Susan Miller Omni Media, Inc. is a type-C corporation, a business she owns 100 percent.
There’s a lot more to tell, but what I find most remarkable is that Susan built her practice slowly, over decades, through word of mouth—by simply doing good work.
Today she still writes all her own horoscope content—which in some months amounts to the equivalent of a full-length novel. Her May 2025 forecast on Astrology Zone for all 12 signs ran 42,361 words, averaging 3,530 for each sign. Susan loves detail, and it shows.
The following interview is taken from my podcast with Susan, where she shares her wisdom from a decades long astrology practice.
Vivi Henriette: Do you think—maybe this is me putting on my rose-colored glasses—like, obviously Pluto opposite Mars doesn’t feel good. But when we think about the possibilities for what that can yield in our lives… what would be the bright side of this transit?
Susan Miller: Well, it gets things out. If something is simmering below the surface, how are you going to have a friendship? If one person’s resentful or angry about something you said or did six months ago—and you have no idea they’re upset—it brings it up so you can talk about it. Everything in astrology shows me that it all goes toward strength, cleansing, and productivity.
Vh: I’d love your thoughts on this: all those retrogrades happened before the five outer planets moved. Do you think that’s almost like a preparation—forcing us to go back and clean things up before we move on?
SM: Perfect. Perfectly said. We went through that preparation period, and it lasted months—oh my goodness.
You know, if someone listening doesn’t know: Mars is like the gas you put in a car—no gas, no go. Or it's the gas on the stove—you’ve chopped up all the vegetables to make soup, but no gas, no cook. It’s very frustrating.
Mars doesn’t retrograde often, so we’re not used to it. Suddenly, things take longer, it’s harder to get approvals, harder to move forward. We’re used to Mars quietly helping us in the background—giving us courage, drive, enthusiasm. When he’s retrograde, it’s like, “Little Mars, wake up!” And when he finally does, he’s groggy—walking into furniture. Just like a person! So yeah, we have to be patient.
Vh: I have to ask—you’ve been studying astrology since you were a little girl, right? Because your mother was an astrologer?
SM: Yes, but she was a real scholar. She never did consultations—she just studied, day and night.
Vh: The question I never asked you is: which came first for you, astrology or writing? Because you’re an astrologer, but you’ve always struck me as a writer.
SM: Oh, astrology—definitely astrology.
You know, you were the one who told me Michael Lutin had passed. I was so sad to hear that. But one time, we were at a party convention, each of us holding a glass of wine, and a woman ran up to him. She looked at me and said, “I have to ask Michael a question.”
I said, “Oh sure, go ahead.” And she said, “Should I quit my job and become an astrologer full-time or not?” And if anyone’s met Michael, you know he always gives an ironic answer.
He said, “You don’t get to choose astrology. Astrology chooses you.” And I said, “Michael, that’s so profound.” That happened to me. And of course, he went, “Duh!”
Vh: People will come to this work—and I see it in the Salons—where they say, “I don’t know, I kind of like Tropical but sometimes Sidereal resonates more.” And I’m like... you don’t get to choose.
SM: Oh gosh. And now there are fads—friends tell me Gen Z is into Whole Sign. And I’m like, well, okay, if you don’t know your time of birth, that’s better than having no information. But then people say, “I don’t read my Sun sign, only my rising.” That’s ridiculous. You need to read both.
The Sun is the center of our solar system. It’s the heart. All the other planets dutifully march around it. No one’s marching around Mercury or Venus or Neptune.
Vh: You’ve been doing this for so long.
SM: This year marks 30 years—December 14th.
Vh: Oh yeah, your Saturn Return! Do you think in that process you’re… I don’t want to say “challenging”—maybe that’s too harsh—but tapped into something?
SM: People say I’m intuitive, but I wouldn’t describe myself as an intuitive astrologer. I really respect the math. Anything I say, you can look up in a book or online. I give the provenance of the aspect—I’m very transparent.
Some people say astrology is too general—not with me. I’ll tell you exactly which birthdays will feel a new moon or full moon, if it’s aspecting their Sun. I’m very specific.
I would tell anyone new to astrology: give it five months. See how it works for you.
ABOUT SUSAN
Susan Miller is the visionary force behind AstrologyZone.com, a platform she launched in 1995 that has since become a celestial compass for millions. With over 13 million unique visitors annually, Susan's in-depth and insightful horoscopes have guided seekers through the ebbs and flows of life.
Beyond her digital presence, Susan has authored 17 books, penned columns for international fashion magazines, and collaborated with renowned brands, seamlessly weaving astrology into the fabric of contemporary culture.
ABOUT VIVI
Vivi Henriette is an LA-based astrologer and tarot reader whose collaborative approach to divination weaves in storytelling and mythology to create a container for her clients to explore their personal narrative. She’s the host of the Los Angeles Astro Salon at the Philosophical Research Society and the podcast TALKTALKTALK and producer of LA Astro Fest.
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