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Almost Half Say Their Love Rituals Worked, At Least Somewhat
For a large share of young singles, the search for romance runs through tarot cards, psychic readings, and love spells bought online. In a new national survey, 64% of Gen Z respondents said they have tried at least one spiritual, psychic, or manifestation-based practice to improve their love lives.
Some are spending real money on it. Nearly one in five Gen Z respondents (19%) said they paid for a spell or love ritual through platforms such as Etsy or TikTok, compared with 16% of millennials, 6% of Gen X, and 2% of baby boomers. Across all age groups, 10% of respondents reported paying for a love spell.
DatingNews, a dating industry news site that commissioned the survey, frames the trend as a response to dating app fatigue. “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,” the outlet wrote. Its own report is careful on one key point, though: “Now, whether hiring an Etsy witch or a TikTok tarot reader actually improves one’s love life is impossible to say.”
How the Survey on Gen Z Love Spells Worked
Researchers at Cherry Data Signals ran an online survey of 1,013 U.S. adults in August 2026 on behalf of DatingNews. According to the report, respondents represented a range of ages, genders, income levels, political affiliations, and regions across the country. For the full sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, meaning the overall results are likely within about three points of what a survey of every American adult would find.
Participants were asked which of six tactics they had tried to improve their love lives: astrology or compatibility charts, crystals or other spiritual tools, manifestation or scripting, paying for a spell or love ritual, seeing a psychic, and seeing a tarot reader. Manifestation refers to the practice of visualizing, writing down, or repeating a desired outcome in hopes of making it happen. Respondents were also asked why they tried these methods, whether they worked, and whom they trust most for dating advice.
Results were broken out by generation. Gen Z led nearly every category, with 29% saying they had tried manifestation or scripting, 25% saying they had seen a psychic, and 17% reporting a visit to a tarot reader. Millennials, at 51% overall, were the most likely group to use astrology or compatibility charts (18%) and to treat crystals as spiritual tools (10%). Interest dropped sharply with age: 25% of Gen X and just 12% of boomers said they had tried at least one approach, with older adults leaning toward astrology and psychics rather than paid spells.
Why Young Daters Are Turning to Magic
Motives shifted with age. Older respondents were more likely to say curiosity was their main reason for trying a love ritual, with 42% of boomers, 35% of Gen X, and 34% of Gen Z giving that answer. Millennials, at 32%, broke the pattern.
Gen Z took the practice far less lightly than older daters did. Only 15% of Gen Z respondents said they did it for entertainment, compared with 40% of boomers. Instead, 22% of Gen Z said they wanted a relationship to improve, versus 8% of boomers, and 13% said they used a magic-based method to try to win back an ex, more than any other generation. Millennials were the most likely group to use these methods to attract someone new, at 16%, compared with 11% of Gen Z, 8% of Gen X, and 6% of boomers.
Did Gen Z Love Spells Actually Work?
Plenty of younger respondents think so, at least partly. Among Gen Z, 17% said their method worked and another 29% said it “kind of” worked, for a combined 46%. Millennials were the most confident group, with 23% answering a flat yes and 25% saying it kind of worked.
Older adults were much more skeptical of their own results. Two-thirds of boomers (66%) and 57% of Gen X said their attempt did not work, compared with 35% of Gen Z and 36% of millennials. A sizable share in every generation, ranging from 15% to 20%, said it was too soon to tell.
These answers reflect how people felt about their own experiences, not any measured outcome. A new relationship or a reconciliation with an ex could easily have happened for ordinary reasons, and someone who paid for a spell may be more inclined to credit it. Survey results like these show what daters believe, not whether the methods have any real effect.
Gen Z Still Trusts Therapy Most for Dating Advice
Despite the interest in the mystical, therapy came out on top. When asked which source they trust most for dating guidance, 38% of Gen Z respondents picked therapy.
Spiritual options still claimed a notable slice. Fourteen percent of Gen Z said they trust their daily astrology reading most, 10% named psychics or tarot readers, and 8% chose love spells. Taken together, roughly one in three Gen Z respondents placed one of these options above every other source. Love spells edged out dating coaches, which only 7% of Gen Z said they trust most.
Friends and family showed the clearest age divide. Only 23% of Gen Z named loved ones as their most trusted source of dating advice, compared with 25% of millennials, 41% of Gen X, and half of boomers. Older adults, it appears, would rather ask a sibling or an old friend than consult the stars.
Tarot decks and Etsy spells may grab attention, but this survey’s most trusted dating advisor for Gen Z was still a therapist. Young singles appear willing to try almost anything in the hunt for love, and many believe it helped. Whether any of it moves the needle remains, as DatingNews itself admits, impossible to say.
Survey Notes
Limitations
As a commercial opinion survey rather than a peer-reviewed study, this report measures what respondents say they have done and believe rather than any verified outcome. Success rates are self-reported, so there is no way to tell whether a love spell, psychic reading, or manifestation practice had anything to do with a relationship improving. DatingNews reports a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the full sample of 1,013 adults, but it does not disclose how many respondents fell into each generation or how it defined each age group. Generational subgroups are smaller than the full sample, so their margins of error are larger, and differences of a few points between generations may not be meaningful. DatingNews does not say whether results were weighted to match the U.S. population. It also does not clearly state whether the question about whether a method “worked” was asked only of those who tried one. One figure in the report is internally inconsistent: the text says 44% of millennials said their method worked at least somewhat, while the accompanying table shows 23% “yes” and 25% “kind of,” a combined 48%. Figures cited in this article come from the table. Finally, the survey was commissioned and published by a dating industry outlet.
Methodology
DatingNews commissioned the survey, which was conducted online by Cherry Data Signals. It included 1,013 U.S. adults and was fielded in August 2026. According to DatingNews, respondents represented a range of ages, genders, income levels, political affiliations, and geographic regions across the United States. Its estimated margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. No funding details beyond the commissioning organization or competing-interest statements were disclosed.
