Astrology, like everything else from the 1970s except "The Godfather" movies (and maybe "Star Wars") is better left to the past.   It can't realy tell you anything at all about another person.

However, a study in the Journal of Politics last month says a mate's politics might tell you a lot, at least in regards to how well you will get along in the future, so forgot horoscopes or folk wisdom about opposites attracting - if you are holed up in a compound in Montana, you should find a mate who is a militant kook too, likewise if you are convinced your Prius is saving the environment, you should find someone who is also educated by advertising.

The researchers examined physical and behavioral traits of over 5,000 married couples in the United States and found spouses selected partners with similar social and political views more than other qualities, like similar body types or sense of humor, etc.

On a scale of 0 to 1, where 1 was perfectly matched, physical traits like body shape, weight and height only scored between 0.1 and 0.2 among spouse pairs. Personality traits like being extroverted were also in the 0-0.2 range but the score for political ideology was more than 0.6.

The highest?   Church attendance, at just over 0.7.

And spousal persuasion doesn't seem to happen with regard to politics, like the old wives' tale that couples grow to look more alike.   So married political powerhouse couple James Carville and Mary Matalin will thankfully never look alike, but the Democrat and Republican strategists will also not change each others' mind over the long haul.

"We did expect to find a strong political bond between husbands and wives," said John Hibbing, a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a co-author of the study. "But we were surprised that political concordance seems to exist from the very early years in the marriage, instead of the folk wisdom of mates growing more alike politically as their relationship goes along."

Since Democrats tend to marry Democrats and the same for Republicans, and kids are more likely to adapt their parents' political beliefs, it would explain why there is still a mostly 50/50 split (fake independents aside) in America even though one side favors higher taxes and government intrusion, and that is clearly goofy.

Oops, I hope my wife agrees.

Citation: John Alford, John Hibbing, Peter K. Hatemi, Nicholas Martin, Lindon Eaves, The Politics of Mate Choice,  Journal of Politics April 2011