Star Struck Style

July 21 is Sara Sampaio’s birthday.

Most people are familiar with Sara Sampaio because of her work for Victoria’s Secret and “Sports Illustrated.” I discovered that it was her birthday today, so I punched up her natal chart to see if I could learn a little more about her. What I noticed, however, was that she shares a Venus/Mars conjunction with me. The planets are about a degree-and-a-half apart in her horoscope.

Of course, that inspired me to revisit the aspect in my own chart instead of discussing a celebrity that I barely know. It’s one of those things that probably should define me (Venus rules over my Libra ascendant), but I’ve never really felt as if it was a hallmark of my chart. When I compare it to the spectacular Mercury and Jupiter configuration that tells everyone almost everything that they need to know about me, it’s quite insignificant, really.

Anyway, Cafe Astrology offers a hilarious rundown of the aspect:

“For people with a Venus-Mars conjunction in their natal charts, the blending of the feminine and masculine energies within is a natural process, although other aspects to the conjunction will tell the whole story as to how this is done. These people possess personal magnetism in spades. They live and breathe romantic/sexual relationships. It is generally easy for them to form relationships, unless the conjunction is severely afflicted. They ooze sexuality, and they are generally quite impulsive with regards to entering new relationships. Relationships are not only important to them, they require a fair amount of excitement, adventure, and passion in their pairings in order to feel alive and vital. With this conjunction, there is generally a pleasing blend of self-assertion and cooperation. This comprises some of their charm, in that they generally know how to assert themselves without stepping on others’ toes. In some cases, men with this aspect may be too dominating in romantic situations, and might gain a reputation for being “macho”. This is not always the case, however. For the most part, these people are quite direct about what they want in a relationship, and they are quite passionate when it comes to going about getting what they want. It can be a challenge maintaining perspective when it comes to relationships. These people are generally highly creative and are bent on finding outlets for their creativity. Their vitality and warm energy is something that can be felt by others, as if it lies just below the surface.”

For someone as gleefully and terminally single as me, this interpretation couldn’t be more ridiculous. But my conjunction is in Aquarius, the most emotionally-detached sign of the zodiac. I guess I can be gleefully single while possessing “personal magnetism in spades.” I suppose that I can “ooze sexuality” even while I’m trying to avoid becoming attached to anyone.

The whole thing makes me laugh, but when I look at the examples cited by Cafe Astrology and when I see this aspect in the chart of someone like Sara Sampaio, I realize that I’m the exception to the rule, and — more importantly — my disconnected nature is indicated in my chart, even if it’s not visible at first glance. Cafe Astrology is no joke, and quite a valuable source to get a “textbook” interpretation of an aspect.

But this incident just goes to show you that natal chart interpretation takes a lot of finesse. Someone could look at my chart (just like I looked at Sara Sampaio’s chart), and prioritize her Venus/Mars conjunction without giving adequate attention to the rest of the planetary placements.

I do it all the time. We probably all do it. That’s why astrology is more art than science. It takes some talent to figure out what is important in a chart and what is not. And every chart I look at reminds me that nothing makes an astrologer better at his or her job than the wisdom that comes with age.