Symbiotic stars are binary systems in which a white dwarf accretes material from a late-type companion. Because they are detected across the entire electromagnetic spectrum -including high energies- they can be used as laboratories to study accretion in non-relativistic systems. Only ~20% of the ~300 Galactic symbiotic stars emit X-rays, and the most energetic emission is produced by accretion. This emission has been modeled as shocked gas at temperatures of several million degrees, but current models ignore the impact of the accretion disk (absorption, scattering, and fluorescence) on the X-ray spectral shape. In this colloquium, I will present a methodology based on the physics of Active Galactic Nuclei to study the X-ray properties of symbiotic systems. I will discuss the impact on iconic systems such as R Aqr and Y Gem. Finally, I will present the future of this type of modeling and its applications to other accreting systems, such as high-mass X-ray binaries.