And the sign says...

I'm not going to pretend I understand how astrology works. I know I'm a Libra, an air sign. But as to whether my Venus is descending or rising or what's in my 'love house' I haven't a clue. Still I, like most people, read my horoscope religiously, mostly for amusement, occasionally for some insight when I'm going through a rough patch.

Same goes for relationships. You read your partner's horoscope to gain insight into your partner, to help you understand him or her with the hope that it might help the two of you get along. It also helps you know what you're getting into. If you're dealing with a Virgo, you know you can expect to deal with someone who probably organizes his sock drawer by knit-type.

And who hasn't looked at a guide to well-suited signs to see if you and your new love are a good astrological match? You're a Cancer and he's a Gemini? Uh-oh. Cancer and Scorpio? Good to go.

When I once revealed to Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox, authors of Sextrology: The Astrology of Sex and the Sexes that I'm a Libra and my husband is a Taurus, a notoriously bad astrological match, Starsky told me: 'That's a pretty beautiful combination.' Go figure.

But Cox and Quinn say that understanding your signs is not about breaking up with someone because your signs aren't compatible. 'Everything can work,' says Starsky. But you need to have an understanding of the challenges and complexities that you may face in any coupling based on each other's astrological sign and subsequent personality traits.

I am heartened by the fact that, according to Starsky, apparently there is no record of Taurean axe murderers.