Miller has a business degree from NYU and has written horoscopes syndicated by Disney and ABC.com; she set up AstrologyZone.com in 2001. A February 18, 2013, profile in New York Magazine called her "the go-to astrologer for New York's fashion set" and noted Miller's loquaciousness, her many ailments including a broken wrist, and five bottles of painkillers. By her own description, Miller was a sickly child.
Miller or her assistant posted on Miller's Facebook and Twitter accounts (@astrologyzone) that on or near April 15's total eclipse of the moon, Miller had an acute attack of intestinal bleeding. She kept fans posted about her progress, lapses, and medications. Soon after September's fan complaints began, her website was reduced to a notice on the homepage that Susan is ill and the horoscope for September 2014 will be online "as soon as possible."
Why are so many people so impatient for Susan Miller's horoscopes? Miller's monthly horoscopes are lengthy--about 3,000 encouraging, specific, spirited and some say incredibly accurate, 3000 words long each, and free.
Here are some facts:
April 1, 2014: April forecast posted.
April 20: Miller tweeted: "April 15 eclipse hit me hard with a mysterious infection. Pills really strong so I sleep and sleep. This is not like me! Sorry not here!"
May 7: May horoscopes posted.
June 4: June horoscopes posted.
July 5, 2014: A Reddit post by a fan discusses "Is anyone else pissed off by Susan Miller?" regarding the late horoscopes and their excuses, usually related to Miller's health.
July 7: July horoscopes posted. Miller tweets "After 40 days on corticosteroid, 95% of problem gone, now stepping down off the pills. But doc not happy with my progress. . ."
July 11: The staid, elite magazine Atlantic Monthly online edition publishes "Dude, Where's My Horoscope?" an article about bitter complaints that Susan Miller's much-anticipated monthly forecasts have been consistently late: March 2, May 7, June 4, July 7. After July's posting, Facebook fans accuse Miller of taking them for granted.
August 6: August horoscopes posted.
August 18: On Facebook, Miller announces that she is taking new medicine and also is launching a brand-new AstrologyZone app. Unlike the previous app AstrologyZone Premier, which downloaded for a single payment of $1.99, this new app's costs subscribers $50 per year. AstrologyZone Premier is no longer available.
On Twitter the same day, Susan posts about her bleeding intestines "open since April" and separately answers a follower question about the difference between the new and old app: "In the paid version you get 75 words + every day, per sign and access to evergreen personality info. More juicy content." This is followed by other same-day Twitter postings.
August 20: Susan's assistant reports on Facebook and Twitter that Susan is taking Humira, a medicine for Crohn's disease, a chronic intestinal disorder.
September 3: Miller or her team changed her Facebook cover photo from her face to the AstrologyZone logo and the website is reduced to a single page saying Susan is ill. Fans angry about the late horoscope post comments such as: "So this is really a gimmick to help pay for what..? the apps developers? Feign illness. . .?"
September 5: The first Facebook and Twitter posts since August 20 appear. Miller tells agitated fans and well-wishers that she has completed the monthly Sun-sign summaries but is taking the time to write complete forecasts as usual.
September 12: September horoscopes are published.
Quelling the Rumors: There is no question that Susan Miller personally knows astrology; her astrological facts, presented online since 1995, are accurate. There's no proof that Miller is a certified astrologer, but most astrologers are not certified; the certification exams tests are complicated, expensive, and given at one location once a year. Astrology is taught and learned, a skill, not "psychic" or an inborn gift, so speculations that Miller has "lost the gift" or that it "died with her mother" (in 2012) are wildly off the mark. Crohn's disease is chronic, ulcerates the intestines and is exacerbated by stress.
April 20: Miller tweeted: "April 15 eclipse hit me hard with a mysterious infection. Pills really strong so I sleep and sleep. This is not like me! Sorry not here!"
May 7: May horoscopes posted.
June 4: June horoscopes posted.
July 5, 2014: A Reddit post by a fan discusses "Is anyone else pissed off by Susan Miller?" regarding the late horoscopes and their excuses, usually related to Miller's health.
July 7: July horoscopes posted. Miller tweets "After 40 days on corticosteroid, 95% of problem gone, now stepping down off the pills. But doc not happy with my progress. . ."
July 11: The staid, elite magazine Atlantic Monthly online edition publishes "Dude, Where's My Horoscope?" an article about bitter complaints that Susan Miller's much-anticipated monthly forecasts have been consistently late: March 2, May 7, June 4, July 7. After July's posting, Facebook fans accuse Miller of taking them for granted.
August 6: August horoscopes posted.
August 18: On Facebook, Miller announces that she is taking new medicine and also is launching a brand-new AstrologyZone app. Unlike the previous app AstrologyZone Premier, which downloaded for a single payment of $1.99, this new app's costs subscribers $50 per year. AstrologyZone Premier is no longer available.
On Twitter the same day, Susan posts about her bleeding intestines "open since April" and separately answers a follower question about the difference between the new and old app: "In the paid version you get 75 words + every day, per sign and access to evergreen personality info. More juicy content." This is followed by other same-day Twitter postings.
August 20: Susan's assistant reports on Facebook and Twitter that Susan is taking Humira, a medicine for Crohn's disease, a chronic intestinal disorder.
September 3: Miller or her team changed her Facebook cover photo from her face to the AstrologyZone logo and the website is reduced to a single page saying Susan is ill. Fans angry about the late horoscope post comments such as: "So this is really a gimmick to help pay for what..? the apps developers? Feign illness. . .?"
September 5: The first Facebook and Twitter posts since August 20 appear. Miller tells agitated fans and well-wishers that she has completed the monthly Sun-sign summaries but is taking the time to write complete forecasts as usual.
September 12: September horoscopes are published.
Quelling the Rumors: There is no question that Susan Miller personally knows astrology; her astrological facts, presented online since 1995, are accurate. There's no proof that Miller is a certified astrologer, but most astrologers are not certified; the certification exams tests are complicated, expensive, and given at one location once a year. Astrology is taught and learned, a skill, not "psychic" or an inborn gift, so speculations that Miller has "lost the gift" or that it "died with her mother" (in 2012) are wildly off the mark. Crohn's disease is chronic, ulcerates the intestines and is exacerbated by stress.
