Author Shatrujeet Nath maintains, “The universe is all about balance.
The forces of light and darkness are meant to keep a check on one another.
If one becomes too powerful and starts overrunning the other, that balance will be upset. For the tyranny of virtue is as unbearable as the stranglehold of vice.”
True of the universe and true of the humans that breathe, bleed, love, lose, try and fail within it.
We are all a mixed bag of vice and virtue, green lights and red flags, toxicity and tenderness, pros and cons and when it comes to the zodiac wheel, each sign has a set of qualities, positive and negative, that inform how they operate in a love relationship.
Read on to learn more about what the plus and minuses of each zodiac sign are.
Also make sure to check out the best thing about dating each sign, the worst qualities of each and the dating app in line with your sign
ARIES (March 21 – April 19)
Pros: Aries folk are the first fire of the zodiac and as such they possess an innate enthusiasm and a newborn to the world joie de vivre. Impatient and impassioned, their hype is a kind of contagion that can persuade their partners to get into all manner of wild and wildly uncharacteristic horseplay. Never a dull moment or a lukewarm response, can dig.
Cons: Their tempers are explosive and their brand of honesty is akin to a brand in that it burns hot and leaves a mark. They are also impatient and impulsive and their childlike wonder can quickly turn to tantrums and tyrannical demands.
TAURUS (April 20 – May 20)
Pros: Taurus is the resident sensualist of the zodiac and they apply this preference for pleasure to all aspects of their life. Their beds are comfortable, pantries plentiful and their company pleasant. Much is made of the loyalty of the bull but in truth most of them are too lazy to cheat. Taurus is weed, it makes you feel hungry, horny and generally warm. If home is your preferred environment this is the partner for you as they can always be convinced to stay in, order in and eat naked.
Cons: Fixed earth, Taurus folk dig in when it comes to discord. They can be self righteous and stoic when their bull hearts get trampled on and they will sooner wax their armpits than apologize. When hurt they turn stoic and its difficult to return them from stoniness to warmth.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)
Pros: Gemini is ruled by Mercury, planet of the mind and mouth. As such they are filled to the brim with expansive knowledge; from the trivial to the transcendent. Being with them guarantees you will learn a great deal about a great deal. Quick witted and effervescent to date them is to live perennially in the vapor of possibility,
Cons: The talk fast and they talk trash. They’re terrible listeners, chronic interruptors and are inconsistent with finances and affections, they’re also petty AF, text while driving and bore easily.
CANCER (June 21 – July 22)
Pros: Ah, Cancer. These moon ruled people take nothing lightly and are in tune to the needs and emotional weather of those around them. They love hard, cuddle hard and pride themselves on providing the sense and safety of home to the people they consort with. Creative and conspiratorial, dating them is an exercise in reparenting the self as they give the kind of nourishment we needed but perhaps didn’t receive as children. Full circle Freud, folks.
Cons: Because they are ruled by the moon, the moods and motivations of the crab ilk wax and wane. They sulk, they spite, they shut down. Paradoxically, they are prickly and love to give people the silent treatment but are wounded when the ones they love fail to guess at or deliver the needs they refuse to communicate.
LEO (July 23 – August 22)
Pros: Leo rules the heart and leads with it. Very warm animals, their domain is the fifth house of pleasure and play and being with them is a carnival ride through these principles. Leos live for the first flush of love and are apt to go to great lengths to stay in this rose colored thrall, coming correct with the affection, flower petals, foreplay and grand gestures. Perennial hype man they are great for the self-esteem, and social media feeds of their partners. They have zero chill when it comes to their wants, meaning you’ll always know where you stand and if you play nice, that position can be square in the very real sunshine of their love.
Cons: Fixed fire, Leo forgives but never forgets which is still better behavior than Taurus who abjectly refuses to do either. Leo’s attention is oft diverted in social settings and much like the benevolent rulers they believe themselves to be, the roar of the crowd is narcotic; they have babies to kiss and tributes to collect and their significant others can get lost in the star parade that follows them. Because people look to Leos to plan, perform and set the tone of any gathering they are vulnerable to exhaustion/burn out and are known to bare their teeth to their closest companions.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the star
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon, and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
VIRGO (August 23 – September 22)
Pros: Virgo operates always and ever with the desire to be of service; last to ghost and first to volunteer. This is the sort of lover that remembers what your favorite ice cream flavor is and then lovingly recreates it for you using less delicious albeit better for you ingredients. Virgos know how to take care of others and take care of business making them ideal partners for collaboration, waste removal and crime scene clean up.
Cons: Virgos can be maddeningly inflexible about their standards and preferences and while their advice is always well intentioned it can be sharp on the delivery, feeling more like a command than a suggestion. With all of their “helpful” insights, cutting criticisms and plentiful side eye, Virgo also runs the risk of making their partner feel more like a project than a person.
LIBRA (September 23 – October 22)
Pros: Libra rules the seventh house of partnership and natives know how to play the game when it comes to pairing up. They smell good, kiss like the movies and fall hard on flattery. Being with them feels like being chosen and a bit like being cast in a rom com with a shaky plot and a sus love interest. Reciprocity is their governing principle which lends itself to a mutually satisfying sex life.
Cons: Indecisive, flaky, noncommittal and guilty of speaking sweet and acting sketch, Libra low key lives to flirt with danger…and your best friend.
SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21)
Pros: Scorpio is interested in transformation; their own and others. Seekers of deep intimacy and dark truths you cannot scare them away with anything save for small talk. The intention and attention of a Scorpio can feel consuming/obsessive in a very hot way; it’s nice to feel like someone will keep your secrets and drink your blood and it beats the ever living hell out of a “WYD,” text.
Cons: Their need for to keep the intensity at a hard eleven at all times can be taxing. They’re also suspicious AF and absolutely dangerous when scorned.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21)
Pros: Sagittarius is a sunny side up sign that, “Spinal Tap,” style, likes to have a good time all of the time, roping their beloved into the rodeo of poor impulse control, road trips, games of chance, flights of fancy and raucous philosophical debate. Newness is narcotic to the archer and they are always up for novel experiences and open to alternative ways of being. Kink positive and passport at the ready my babies.
Cons: Due to their love of the open road and the noncommittal, Sagittarius poses a serious flight risk. They are also high lords of truth known to deliver brutal, and some might argue unnecessary, honesty at every turn.
CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19)
Pros: Capricorn is a bit of a slow burn. Strategic and reserved they only invest when they’re sure that investment will pay off. If they choose you, it means they view you as an equal, no small compliment considering they low key think they’re better than everyone else. Ruled by Saturn, Capricorn is daddy energy and sea goats are adept at getting their s–t together and helping others do the same. A relationship with them is a course in self-improvement, physical, financial and otherwise.
Cons: Lack of spontaniety, score keeping, a need for control and a tendency to be parental and punishing (not in a sexy way) are some of the downsides to dating the sea goat.
AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18)
Pros: You can never outweird an Aquarius and they provide a safe and sacred space for their partner to be their strangest, truest self. Into tentacle porn? Eating wax? Closet Nickelback superfan? All is welcome and all is forgiven with this lot. They also see the world in an abstract and wildly original way that makes them excellent problem solvers, conversationalists and political insurgents.
Cons: There’s an elitist air to the water bearer and they can, consciously and unconsciously, make others feel intellectually inferior or baseline basic.They require a lot of space to ponder the mysteries of the universe and can be very, very chilly, like forget your name even though they gave you HPV kind of chilly.
PISCES (February 19 – March 20)
Pros: Pisces people are the zodiac’s best kissers and sweetest lovers. Care bears to the max they love to love and to swaddle their significant other in the cotton candy rainbow of their affection, making them feel like the shiniest spoon in the drawer. They believe love can and should feel like a psychedelic daydream and are interested in dissolving all boundaries; physical and emotional that prevent two beings from becoming a puddle of one. They want to drink your tears, ease your aches and be the imaginary best friend you always needed but never found.
Cons: They can become so absorbed in the fantasy of love they have constructed that they lose themselves in the process. Having an interesting relationship to reality is intriguing; being completely unmoored from it is not. Pisces folk are also guilty of pedestaling their partners, ordaining them as perfect and setting the beloved up for guaranteed failure and themselves up for crushing disappointment.
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Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girl’s guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
