Pull, not durability
Venus describes what attracts you; Mars describes how you pursue it. Between two charts, the contacts those two make are the closest thing astrology has to a description of chemistry.
This page isolates them deliberately. Whether a relationship lasts is a different question, answered by Saturn and the seventh house and covered by the marriage calculator. Mixing the two is what makes most compatibility readings vague.
What a strong showing means, and does not
Tight Venus and Mars contacts between two charts describe a real and recognisable phenomenon: mutual, immediate and usually mutual in its intensity. Both people know.
What they do not describe is longevity. A comparison with strong Venus and Mars links and nothing else is a well-documented pattern, and it is usually a short one. That is not a warning, it is a description, and plenty of people are looking for exactly that.
The full contact list is printed underneath so you can see whether anything else is present.
The four combinations
| Contact | What it tends to describe |
|---|---|
| Your Venus to their Mars | You are drawn to how they pursue; the classic attraction signature |
| Your Mars to their Venus | The same in reverse; asymmetric, and it feels different from inside |
| Venus to Venus | Shared taste and values rather than pull |
| Mars to Mars | Compatible or competing drive; often shows in how you argue |
The first two are the ones people mean. They are asymmetric, and a comparison where only one direction is present describes an attraction that is genuinely uneven.
Hard aspects are not a problem here
A Venus square Mars between two charts is one of the most reliably reported attraction signatures in the literature, and it is a hard aspect. Squares between these two produce friction that reads as charge rather than as conflict.
Trines and sextiles produce something easier and frequently less compelling. Comparisons made entirely of soft Venus and Mars contacts are often described as pleasant and unexciting, which is a real observation rather than a paradox.
The house overlays
The fifth and eighth houses are shown alongside the aspects because they are where this kind of contact plays out. The fifth covers courtship, romance and play; the eighth covers what happens once two lives stop being separable.
A comparison with fifth house overlays and nothing in the eighth describes something enjoyable that has not gone deep. Both need birth times, since houses do.
Reading your own Venus and Mars first
Before comparing two charts it is worth knowing your own pair. Where your Venus and Mars sit in compatible signs, wanting and chasing agree; where they conflict, you are drawn to one kind of person and behave in a way that suits another.
That internal mismatch is common and it shows up in every comparison you run. The Venus and Mars calculators cover it individually.
What it needs
Two birth dates give you every Venus and Mars aspect, since both depend only on the date. Birth times add the house overlays and any contact with the ascendant, which is a substantial addition for this particular reading.
Venus contacts to the ascendant are among the most reported attraction signatures, and without a birth time they are simply unavailable.
Common questions
What does this measure?
Attraction rather than durability. Venus describes what draws you and Mars how you pursue it, and the contacts between two charts are the closest astrology has to chemistry.
Does a strong result mean the relationship will last?
No. Strong Venus and Mars contacts with nothing else behind them are a well-documented pattern, and usually a short one. The full contact list shows whether anything else is present.
Are hard aspects bad here?
No. Venus square Mars between two charts is one of the most reliably reported attraction signatures. Soft contacts produce something easier and frequently less compelling.
Why are the two directions listed separately?
Because they are asymmetric. Your Venus to their Mars feels different from theirs to yours, and a comparison with only one direction describes an uneven attraction.
What do the fifth and eighth house overlays add?
Where it plays out. The fifth covers courtship and play; the eighth covers what happens once two lives stop being separable.
Do we need birth times?
Not for the aspects, which depend on dates. For the house overlays and any contact with the ascendant, yes, and Venus to ascendant is among the most reported signatures.