64% of Gen Z Have Tried Something Spiritual, Psychic, or “Witchy” for Love

As daters continue to grow weary of dating apps, their hopes are turning from straightforward technical solutions to something much more abstract: magic. 

More people are consulting psychics, casting love spells, and manifesting soulmates than you’d think — and they’re paying good money to do so. There’s a thriving online marketplace for love spells and rituals, suggesting that young people are finding something in magic that they can’t find in the dating industry. 

DatingNews surveyed over 1,000 US-based adults to learn what, exactly, is drawing these young daters away from dating apps and dating coaches and toward Etsy witches and TikTok psychics. 

We found that more than half of the Gen Z (64%) and millennial (51%) respondents have dabbled in a spiritual, psychic, or manifestation-based practice to improve their love life. Magic seems to be a young person’s game, with Gen Z more likely than older adults to have experimented with these approaches. 

Now, whether hiring an Etsy witch or a TikTok tarot reader actually improves one’s love life is impossible to say. But it’s not hard to see why people might go to these mystical measures, or to understand how they might bring comfort and even hope to love-lorn daters. 

Nearly 1 in 5 Gen Zers Have Paid for a Love Spell

Fairytales teach us to be careful what we wish for, but this lesson hasn’t stopped nearly 20% of Gen Z daters from paying for a love spell. Overall, the allure of requited love — or, perhaps more accurately, our desire to avoid heartbreak — has drawn 10% of surveyed daters of all generations toward love spells. 

Despite what Practical Magic may have taught you, using magic to improve your love life doesn’t have to be as blatantly witchy as, say, brewing up a love potion from “eye of newt” and “tongue of dog” (thank goodness for that). In fact, you may have participated in a spiritual or witchy practice without even realizing it. 

Consulting the Zodiac for insight into your love life is not uncommon, especially among millennials, the generation most likely to use astrology or compatibility charts (18%). Millennials are also most likely to see crystals as more than just glittering accessories, but as powerful spiritual tools (10%).

Unsurprisingly, Gen X and baby boomers are not as easily enchanted by all things mystical and magical. It’s possible that older generations simply don’t know that Etsy witches or TikTok psychics exist, or maybe they’re already married. 

In any case, only 12% of surveyed baby boomers surveyed said they have tried at least one form of magic to influence their love lives. And the tactics they used are considered more “classic” than those found on social media; boomers are most likely to have tried astrology (5%) or a psychic (3%). 

The allure of requited love — or, perhaps more accurately, our desire to avoid heartbreak — has drawn 10% of surveyed daters of all generations toward love spells. 

Although 25% of Gen X respondents say they’ve attempted to improve their love lives with some form of magic, they still fall far behind millennials and Gen Z. 

Like baby boomers, they’re more likely to try astrology (7%) or see a psychic (7%) than to, say, pay someone for a love spell. But of all the tactics in our survey, Gen X is most likely to see a tarot reader (8%) for insight into their love lives. 

Scroll through TikTok, and you’ll find Gen Z-aged daters reciting manifestation mantras (29%), shuffling tarot cards (17%), and consulting psychics (25%), all for a glimpse at what their romantic future may hold. These young daters have embraced the mystical side of romance in a way other generations have not. 

Nearly Half of Gen Z & Millennials Say Their Love-Life Rituals Actually Worked — At Least Kind Of

Generally speaking, the older the generation, the more likely they are to say that curiosity, rather than desperation or heartbreak, was their #1 motivation for trying out some kind of love ritual or magic (34% of Gen Z, 35% of Gen X, and 42% of baby boomers; at 32%, millennials are the exception). 

But Gen Z is much less likely to wave these magical tactics away as a bit of harmless fun. Only 15% said they do it for entertainment purposes, compared to 40% of baby boomers. In fact, Gen Z respondents had much more serious motivations, including wanting their relationship to improve (22% of Gen Z vs. 8% of baby boomers). 

For young daters, consulting the Zodiac or tarot cards isn’t just a way to kill time, but to glean real, useful insights into their love lives and even into their own psyches. 

Of course, post-break-up magic-seeking isn’t about self-knowledge so much as heartbreak. Gen Z (13%) is more likely than other generations to use a magic-based method to get an ex back. 

Millennials, too, see real value in magic. This age group is most likely to turn to witchcraft or other forms of magic to attract someone (16% compared to 11% of Gen Z, 8% of Gen X, and 6% of baby boomers). 

But just because there’s entertainment value in consulting an Etsy witch doesn’t mean people only do it for laughs. As anyone who saw this year’s horror hit Obsession could probably tell you, the only thing more chill-inducing than a love spell is when a love spell actually works. 

Yes, nearly half of Gen Z (46%) and millennial (44%) respondents told DatingNews that their magical experimentation succeeded, at least somewhat, in winning back an ex, attracting someone new, or improving their relationship.

Although Gen Z puts the most stock in magical solutions to real problems, this generation was most likely to say that these magical solutions only “kind of” worked (29%). At 23%, millennials are most likely to say that these magical tactics actually worked, 5+ points more than any other age group. 

Only 35% of Gen Z say it didn’t work, compared with 36% of millennials, 57% of Gen X, and 66% of boomers. A non-insignificant portion of people in each generation said it was “too soon to tell” whether their magical meddling actually paid off (20% of Gen Z, 15% of Millennials, 15% of Gen X, and 16% of Baby Boomers). 

It seems that younger daters are still hopeful that some form of witchcraft or magic will help their love lives in some way, even if the payoff isn’t immediate. 

1 in 3 Gen Z Daters Trust Astrology or Psychics Over Other Love Advice

Based on this survey, you might assume that Gen Z has given up on traditional life-improvement methods in favor of witchcraft. But this isn’t true: 38% of Gen Z told us that they still trust therapy more than anything when it comes to dating guidance. 

And yet, the non-traditional methods mentioned in this survey, such as astrology and tarot, have gained a surprisingly strong foothold. 

Fourteen percent of Gen Z respondents prefer consulting their daily astrological reading over anything else. Young people are also keeping psychics and tarot readers in business, as 10% consider these spiritual guides to be their most trusted sources. 

In an interesting turn of events for the dating industry, Gen Z seems to trust these magic-based mediums more than some industry professionals.

In fact, 8% of Gen Z respondents said they’d trust a love spell, while 7% said they’d trust a dating coach. 

The fact that some people have more trust in magic than in dating coaches says a lot about the narrative surrounding both industries. Thanks to pop culture, love and magic are accessible references. We know what they look like. 

You can’t say the same about dating coaches. They just don’t capture the public imagination in the same way. For some people, a successful experience with a dating coach might seem even more far-fetched than a successful experience with a psychic. 

Maybe this all comes down to control — and to the power of suggestion. It might be easier for people to trust magic, mysterious and incomprehensible as it may be, because all it requires is faith. But hiring a dating coach would mean putting in emotional work and confronting sides of yourself that you may not be prepared to face. 

Then again, this circles back to the 38% of Gen Z respondents who trust therapy more than magic. Some of us are actually ready to put in the emotional work and consider tarot, astrology, and manifestation as helpful spiritual tools rather than end-all, be-all paths to love. 

As we age, we tend to trust our own loved ones — and maybe even our own instincts — even more than the stars.

This brings us to a surprising trend: As we age, our trust in magic fades in favor of the people around us. Only 23% of Gen Z trust their friends and family for dating guidance, but this number rises to 25%, 41%, and 50% for millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers, respectively. 

The numbers don’t lie. And it may sound corny, but the only magic more powerful than a love spell is the comfort we find in each other. As we age, we tend to trust our loved ones — and maybe even our own instincts — even more than the stars. 

Methodology

DatingNews surveyed 1,013 U.S. adults in August 2026 through an online survey conducted by Cherry Data Signals. Respondents represented a range of ages, genders, income levels, political affiliations and geographic regions across the United States. The estimated margin of error for the full sample is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.