NEW YORK TIMES

"Stars In Their Eyes"

IN all the ink that has been spilled about New York — the eight million stories about the city’s ever-changing character — one salient detail has somehow been overlooked: its astrological sign.

“New York,” said Ophira Edut, an astrologer, “is a Gemini.”

That (based on the date — June 12, 1665 — that New Amsterdam became the City of New York in the official charter) makes sense, said her sister Tali, who is also an astrologer. “Geminis are all about the fast-paced, constant change,” she said. “They always want to know the latest and greatest. They rule music, publishing, the arts. Geminis are communicative, and New Yorkers are known for talking fast and expressively.”

So, it turns out, are the Edut sisters, who are identical twins. Together they are known as — wait for it — the AstroTwins.

The 34-year-old Sagittarians have carved out a niche as dispensers of love, work and cuteness advice for the likes of TeenPeople.com, AOL and HelloKitty.com. They started their own site, astrostyle.com, earlier this month; it offers fashion tips (this month’s sign, Capricorn, should wear hiking boots and lip balm) and pet horoscopes (beware the Aries pooch, the alpha of the zodiac). It is idiosyncratic guidance from unconventional people: the sisters, the Detroit-bred daughters of an American rabbi (mom) and an Israeli landscaper (dad), are self-taught astrologers for a digital age. Though both can call up planetary alignments from memory, they also carry identical Treos loaded with software that can create a chart at the touch of a few buttons.

Which is not to say they are AstroGeeks. Far from it: blond and curvy, they have sexy shag haircuts and boutique taste: one night they donned pointy-toed boots and lots of delicate gold jewelry.

Over red wine and deconstructed osso bucco at Babbo, where they were celebrating a run of good fortune — Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion, has just entered a yearlong stay in their sign — they explained their astrological philosophy. “We just like to give advice, boss people around,” said Ophira, known as Ophi. “Most people don’t want to hear it, but if you tell them through astrology, they take it.”

So what’s in store for New York in 2007?

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an Aquarius, is “going to be more down to the people,” Tali said. “He has Jupiter in his seventh house.”

“It also rules technology, so maybe he’ll do a wireless neighborhood,” Ophi added. As for the city itself, “I think there could be a year of beautification,” Tali said. “More community gardens, cleanups.”

As for celebrities, “Britney will have a career comeback,” Tali said. “She’ll start wearing underwear.”

Professionally, the AstroTwins rarely disagree. “We’ve been in business together since we were 9,” Tali said.

“We did calligraphy,” Ophi explained.

“We encourage each other a lot,” her sister added. “But we’re fine with fighting. Bickering is part of communication.”

So is singing — the AstroTwins love karaoke. After the last spoonful of panna cotta, they walked to Sing Sing, a karaoke parlor in the East Village. Along with a group of AstroFriends (their term), they piled into a private room.

The rounds of sake started almost immediately. Tali, a regular, nailed her go-to song, “Just a Gigolo,” down to the scatting. Ophi, the slightly more reserved but taller twin, braced herself with a shot in between verses of “Heartbreaker.” Soon they were joined by their auburn-haired baby sister, Leora, 29. The twins greeted her with a sake and a mike. “Que Será, Será” wasn’t their choice, but they sang along just the same. (Melena Ryzik)

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