The membership model works for tarot and astrology practitioners who produce content consistently. It doesn't work if you're hoping to set it up and forget it. The successful memberships in this space post 10-20 times a month and have done so for years. That's the baseline.

This guide covers the platform options with real pricing, and the income data from real practitioners so you know what to expect.

> Sources: Graphtreon/patreonstats data for Lunatic Astrology and Rick Levine (fetched June 2026); Sacra Patreon research 2025; Mighty Networks and Kajabi pricing pages. Verify current before committing.

What the Income Data Actually Shows

Lunatic Astrology (Lori Ann Lothian)

Platform: Patreon + Substack Niche: Hellenistic + evolutionary astrology forecasts, reports, courses Launched: May 2019

- 561 paid patrons as of 2026 (2,622 total members)
- Estimated income: $2,315 - $9,260/month (Graphtreon estimate)
- PatreonStats shows approximately $2,000 monthly
- Post frequency: ~16 posts/month
- Average revenue per paid patron: ~$3.57/month

Seven years of consistent posting to reach 561 paying patrons. The range is wide because Patreon doesn't disclose exact revenue; estimates come from public patron count and tier pricing.

Rick Levine

Platform: Patreon Niche: Astrology videos, chart interpretation webinars using patron-submitted charts Rank: 1,791st across all Patreon creators as of 2026

- 1,341 paid patrons (4,143 total members)
- Estimated income: $2,000 - $11,000/month
- Tier structure: Planetary (videos) / Galactic (monthly chart webinar using patron charts)

The patron-chart tier is a smart structure: paying at the higher tier gives clients a chance to have their chart used in a public webinar. That's a real incentive beyond generic content.

AP Astrology (small creator reference)

- 30 paid patrons, 75 total
- Estimated income: $46 - $248/month

The small creator data is useful for calibrating expectations. 30 paying patrons at ~$5-8/month is a realistic starting point in year one.

Platform context: Patreon generated $179M in revenue in 2025 (up 28% from $140M). The platform charges creators 8% of income (some legacy creators on 5%). Source: Sacra Patreon research 2025.

Platform Options

Patreon

Fee: 8% of creator income Best for: Ongoing content (weekly forecasts, monthly reports, video series)

The simplest membership infrastructure. Clients already know how to use it. Discovery algorithm is limited - you'll drive your own traffic. Good for practitioners with an existing audience who want a fast path to recurring revenue.

Substack

Fee: 10% on paid subscriptions + Stripe processing Platform stats 2025: 5M+ paid subscriptions across all creators; ~$450M gross writer revenue run-rate

Better for text-heavy content: written forecasts, astrology newsletters, interpretation essays. Substack's built-in discovery helps new writers more than Patreon's does. The free newsletter feeds paid subscriptions. Source: reallygoodbusinessideas.com Substack statistics.

Mighty Networks

Plans (annual billing):

Plan	Price/month	Transaction fee	Courses included?
Community	$49	3%	No
Courses	$109	2%	Yes
Business	$189	2%	Yes + automations
Growth	$360	1%	Yes

14-day free trial (Business plan, 5% fee during trial). Widely used in the spiritual/wellness space for "mystery school" formats. Native iOS and Android app - meaningful for daily check-in rituals, moon phase updates, morning card pulls. Unlimited members at flat pricing is a real advantage.

Kajabi

Plans:

Plan	Price/month (annual)	Products	Contacts
Basic	$119	3 products, 3 funnels	10,000
Growth	$159	15 products + affiliate	25,000
Pro	$319	100 products	100,000

No transaction fees on any plan. All-in-one: website, email, courses, community, and funnels in one subscription. The $119/month entry point requires meaningful revenue to justify - this is an established-business tool, not a launch tool.

Platform Selection by Stage

Stage	Recommended platform
First 100 subscribers, existing social following	Patreon
Text-forward (essays, forecasts)	Substack
Community-first, ongoing engagement	Mighty Networks Courses ($109/month)
Consolidating email + courses + website	Kajabi Basic ($119/month)

What Makes a Tarot Membership Work

Looking at the successful Patreon cases, three patterns hold:

1. Defined niche. "Astrology" is too broad. "Hellenistic evolutionary astrology forecasts" (Lunatic Astrology) and "monthly chart webinars using patron charts" (Rick Levine) are specific enough to attract the right subscribers and filter out casual followers.

2. Tiered value with a meaningful higher tier. Rick Levine's Galactic tier uses actual patron charts in webinars. That's not generic content - it's personalized. Higher tiers need to justify the price with something that costs real attention, not just more of the same content.

3. Volume. 16 posts/month (Lunatic Astrology) is a commitment. Practitioners who launch with 2 posts/month and wonder why patrons don't stay are underestimating what consistent membership publishing requires.

For platform comparison on courses specifically (separate from memberships), see Course & Membership Platforms.