Hi EM,Freaky! Some things are just too unlikely to be written off as mere coincidence. This might be one of those cases. That AC conjunct AC with identical charts thing is something I've noticed in one of my friendships also, and I feel the same way about my friend that you do yours. We are 7 years apart.
Questions:
*You actually met at work? Did you like each other instantly/feel a connection?
*Have you had dreams about her?
*Other than your childhoods, do you have other things in common? Like the same foods, colors, hobbies, etc.?
I ask because with my friend, we have some really crazy stuff going on. I've actually been meaning to post about it, but now that you've created this thread, we can just talk here. I met her randomly on a train--we struck up a conversation as strangers and liked each other so much we went to grab dinner that same day! Now she is one of my closest friends, if not THE closest.
We discovered we've been having similar dreams since childhood--things I would assume most people don't dream about, like being chased by lions & dinosaurs (LOL) and tornadoes. I once had what might have been a past life dream about her in which we were running away in the night from some kind of battle and I shared it with her and she said it sounded familiar.
Our charts are also similar. Actually, the angles are exactly conjunct. You should do a synastry with your friend. Here's ours--you inspired me to look at what I thought were some relevant asteroids (Hypnos & Telephus for shared dreams, thoughts, and closeness; Isis for our shared interest in the occult; Destinn & Vertex for the fated meeting, and name asteroids):
Things that stand out (I'm Blue, she's Red):
*Same Sun (actually widely conjunct), chart angles exact conjunct
*Vertex conjunct Vertex (and her Sun)
*Moon opp Neptune
*DW Sun/Moon
*DW Mercury/Saturn (a little wide)
*DW Venus/Destinn
*Her Venus on my DC, my Venus conj her Angel ( a significant asteroid that is also my name asteroid)
*Her Hypnos conj my NN, my Hypnos conj her Angel
*Her Mercury/Pluto conj my Stephania (her name asteroid)
*Her Telephus conj my Moon, my Telephus conj her NN (wide)
*Her Isis opp my Moon, my Isis conjunct her Mercury/Pluto
*There's an Earth Grand Trine with my Angel, her Sun, and her Telephus, and this also forms a kite with her Isis. If the trine between my Moon/Angel is included, it also forms a kite with Saturn.
So EM, definitely check the synastry and include some relevant asteroids. I think your suspicions will be confirmed even more.
I'd be interested to see if others have these synchronicities with close friends and if they are indicative of past life relationships, siblings, or even past life twin siblings.
EDIT: IQ, I have checked the asteroids you mentioned. There is no Apollo/Artemis conjunction in the draconic but there is an exact conjunction of her Artemis to my Spirit, and my draco Leto is conjunct her ASC within 2 degrees. In tropical, my Artemis is trine both her Leto and Karma and our Apollos are conjunct. Not sure what that means?