It is always advantageous to know the exact time of birth when comparing horoscopes between two individuals. It is vital, however, to erect a chart with an undisputed year of birth, as is the case with Sandra Dee,¹ the actress known for her leading role in the Gidget series created in the late 1950s.

It is thought that her mother encouraged her to falsify the year of birth to acquire work for her underaged daughter. According to her son Dodd, she was born in 1944, but if he commissioned her gravestone which cites the year 1942, it only adds to the confusion.

In this analysis of the planetary interactions between Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin, we will explore their union using both years. One could hope they will be able to determine which of the two years, 1942 or 1944, is most fitting for a comparison of this famous couple.

The chart for 1942 is used first in a comparison and shows some interesting connections. However, there are strong ties between the planets of their charts using the 1944 birth year as well. In it we see a revealing promise of a loving tie between the couple that is not seen in the chart for 1942. Both charts are shown to simply peek into the possibilities of their shared potentials, leaving the reader to ultimately decide which year of birth for Dee makes the most sense.

The couple’s natal charts are shown with transits and progressions for when they married in September 1960. The natal charts are shown in the center wheel, progressions in the middle ring, and transits in the outer.

Dee’s chart in the center left wheel is calculated for 1942. She has no significant progressions that make aspects to her natal chart in 1960. Her progressed Moon, however, does make a sextile to Darin’s natal Mercury (shown with the green line) and her progressed Saturn conjuncts his natal Mars (circled in red). This indicates that she indeed excited him through an activation of his Mars, but as the story goes, she was shy and reserved for some time before acquiescing. This is due to Saturn’s need to go forward with caution, and perhaps her mother was an influence as well.

Darin’s chart, in the center wheel on the right, shows his progressed Moon making a trine to his natal Neptune in the 5th house in September 1960. This shows the start of a movie career which Neptune well exemplifies by its placement in the 5th house of entertainment. At the same time, Darin’s progressed Moon makes a friendly sextile to Dee’s natal Venus, revealing a pleasant entrance into an emotional relationship.

The 1944 birth chart for Dee, in contrast with that of the 1942 birth year, has the awesome promise of a conjunction of her natal Moon in the 1st house with Darin’s natal Venus (short purple line). That has a powerful potential for attraction with the promise of a blissful union. On a more somber note, natal Jupiter in Darin’s chart applies in opposition to Dee‘s Saturn. Saturn is again activated and reveals her hesitancy at the relationship’s beginnings. It also tells of the long-standing dedication she sustained for him during their marriage and after his early passing. Dee never remarried, and that is testimony to the deep and abiding love that remained in her heart although they divorced in 1967. It was when Darin’s progressed Mars opposed his natal Jupiter in the 8th house of shared resources that their marriage fell apart. For Dee, Darin’s progressed Mars simultaneously stimulated her natal Saturn once again and finally brought a disappointing end to their life together.

Sandra Dee was known for having a dependence on alcohol, retiring at early hours, and having a distaste for being seen out in public. With her opposition aspect in the 1942 chart just out of orb, and no oppositions in the 1944 chart, she was prone to withdrawal and brooding. The 1944 chart also has a Mercury retrograde signifying introversion as well. Dee’s Neptune is off by itself in the 6th house of possible health concerns and difficulties with adjusting in society. These factors make the 1944 chart seem valid, but in the end, you must decide . . .

 

1. From Wikipedia on Sandra Dee:

There has been some dispute as to Dee’s actual birth year, with evidence pointing to both 1942 and 1944. Legal records, including her California divorce record from Bobby Darin, as well as the Social Security Death Index and her own gravestone all give her year of birth as 1942. In a 1967 interview with the Oxnard Press-Courier, she acknowledged being 18 in 1960 when she first met Bobby Darin, and the couple wed three months later. According to her son’s book, Dee was born in 1944, but having begun modeling and acting at a very young age, she and her mother falsely inflated her age by two years so she could find more work. According to this version, this explains why 1942 was listed as her birth year in official studio press releases. It does not however explain why her gravestone, which had to have been commissioned by her son, her only child and sole immediate survivor, gives 1942 as her year of birth.