(Then again, if the stars rule that much, they probably did decree the love as well as the impossibility.)

It means just the opposite-the stars (i.e., destiny, or the heavens) have ruled against them, or crossed their plan - get it? Compare the word ' disaster', which has the etymology 'away without' ('dis') + 'star planet' ('aster').

In modern times, often the term 'star-crossed' is unknowingly misused to mean lovers who are meant to be together.

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is the most famous example (and the Trope Namer), but the archetype dates at least as far back as Mesopotamian Mythology and Egyptian Mythology, making it Older Than Dirt. Often, the two can only be Together in Death. It may be Fate, or fatally- Feuding Families, or it may be something as mundane as a few hundred miles' separation, but something will always be in their way. However, the characters continually behave in ways that bring about their own demise and prevent Romeo and Juliet from fulfilling their love.Two lovers-often teenagers - destined to be kept apart no matter how hard they struggle to be together. Signs of the lovers’ unfortunate fate appear throughout the play, such as Romeo’s dream of his own death. When Juliet finally awakes and finds her new husband dead, she takes her own life with a dagger. Romeo fails to receive the letter informing him of the ruse and commits suicide by drinking poison. Friar Lawrence tries to help the lovers by faking Juliet’s death using a potion. Romeo is exiled after members of both families are killed in an untimely duel. When the young lovers decide to marry, they plot with Juliet’s nurse and Friar Lawrence to perform the ceremony in secret. Juliet’s parents hope to wed her to a suitor named Paris, but Juliet and Romeo fall in love shortly after meeting at a feast. In the play, Romeo and Juliet are from the rival Montague and Capulet families, who frequently engage in public conflicts. Despite passionate affection, the fates of tragic lovers are “written in the stars,” or predetermined by some divine force.

What does star crossed lovers mean