It’s February! The immortal groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his burrow, the first page of the calendar has been flipped, and none of us are currently in any way prepared to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but February 14 approaches nevertheless. Spring will follow a mere month later. Gird your loins, queer readers: It’s time to start thinking about love again.
Perhaps you’ve been harboring a wintertime crush that you’re eager to turn into a fiery IRL connection. Or maybe you’ve just met someone new and want to wow them right off the bat. Either way, you probably know their zodiac sign already — either via some internet sleuthing or through more direct reconnaissance — and you can put that information to good use.
Nothing charms a prospective date like attention to detail and a little planning. So, once the entity of your affection has agreed to bless you with a portion of their time, we’re here to help you decide how to fill it! Read on to discover the best first date for every sign.
Click here to jump to a sign: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
Before an Aries can open their heart, they have to form a gut-level intuitive connection with their potential partner — a bodily, cellular-level mutual understanding. But this bond doesn’t necessarily take long to establish. Even a momentary spike of shared elevated adrenaline levels can ignite an Aries’ interest.
An ideal first date for an Aries, therefore, is nearly any activity that can double as a dare. Think reality TV fear-bonding dates: mountain climbing, four-wheeling, bungee jumping, skydiving. Take an Aries to an amusement park and grasp their hand midway through the first roller coaster of the day. If the spark between you is there, you’ll leave as a couple by closing.
If you’re on a tighter budget — or if the Aries of your interest suffers from motion sickness — you can manufacture a similarly stimulating rush in a lower-fi setting. Aries will always be game for a few rounds of Truth or Dare. If Aries tests your mettle by offering to confide a secret instead of performing a feat of valor, be sure to ask for an admission that requires courage to reveal.
Know what a Taurus loves? Food. It’s a zodiac stereotype because it’s true.
Taurus is a very sensual sign, and eating a meal with a Taurus isn’t just about the taste: it’s about the anticipation, the preparation, the scents, textures, and flavors. It’s about the shared sense of satiation after the meal, and the sweetness of dessert.
The other major Taurean stereotype is a love of luxury, which is also true, but not necessarily in a rigid sense of the term. Whereas one Taurus may thrill at the thought of a corner table in a candlelit Michelin-starred restaurant with a three-month waitlist, another’s idea of a sumptuous evening may involve every side dish on the Waffle House breakfast menu, plus $5 to spend on the jukebox. Do your research before planning a dinner date for your Taurus.
If you want to up the stakes — and your skills are up to the task — you can’t do better than cooking for a Taurus. Taurus needs to know you’ve got the ability to literally put a meal on the table.
A successful first date with a Gemini will last all night, perhaps even into the next day … or week, or decade. To prepare, fill up your gas tank, make several playlists, and vacuum your vehicle interior. Then it’s time to hit the road!
For Gemini, the journey is the destination, and they want to know what it’d be like to travel by your side. The classic road trip scenario — windows down, gorging on gas station snacks, talking, singing, and pointing at every cow you pass — is the stuff a Gemini lives for. Take turns driving and have the passenger snap photos of all the vanity license plates. Kiss your Gemini for the first time in the golden sunset at a scenic overlook.
If you’re lucky enough to live in a city with a robust public transportation system, you can replicate a similar experience without the privately piloted vehicle: make a flexible list of sights you’d like to see, grab your crush, and go! Gift your Gemini the tackiest cheap souvenir you can find along the journey as a memento from your first date.
If this Gemini turns out to be your true love, you’ll probably find the porcupine keychain (or whatever it is) a couple decades later between your couch cushions.
In some ways, Cancer could be considered the easiest first date of the zodiac. (That is, if they agree to go out with you in the first place.) Cancers are generous and thoughtful. They genuinely care about other people, and their acute feelings of secondhand embarrassment mean that they will make sure that you have a good time, regardless of whatever you do together.
Keep it simple: take a Cancer to your corner coffee shop and talk about anything that comes to mind for a couple hours.
But if you’re really looking for an ideal experience with a Cancer sun sign, you need to physically transport them somewhere they can fully relax into their own existential depths. Take your Cancer swimming or floating — pool, lake, ocean, the specific body of water doesn’t matter so long as it’s deep and broad enough to submerge yourselves until you’re trading grins across the surface like basking crocodiles. Then talk! Touch, drift away, twine together again as the currents guide you.
Absolutely sublime. Do not attempt unless you’re ready to be fully psychologically consumed by the Cancer with whom you swim.
Leos are famous for dominating the spotlight, for craving attention, and for their deep-seated compulsion to be the star of the proverbial show. Given that cliché, this suggestion may initially seem bizarre, but you have to remember that Leos aren’t necessarily all performers; it’s more that they need to experience themselves as the Main Character. So, with that in mind: Take the Leo who’s caught your eye to a concert.
Yes! Buy tickets and take Leo out specifically to watch someone else stand center stage and entertain! Go for snacks or a drink first — something just long enough to establish a solid flirtation. When the lights go down as the show begins, brush your hand against theirs and feel the anticipatory energy of the crowd vibrate between your bodies. When the music starts, dance, shout, enjoy yourself as usual! But remember you’re not there simply to vibe to the band alongside any old date; you’re there to watch your Leo experience the show. Grin your worship into their eyes whenever they check to make sure you’re still looking.
After the final encore, take Leo to grab some food and listen raptly to their debrief of the setlist (y’all might bump into a Taurus on their date at the Waffle House!); or take Leo to continue dancing in a more private location. They’ll let you know which they prefer.
Virgos love to know things. An aimlessly educational visit to a museum, planetarium, or historical site is ideal for Virgo: it gives them a chance to add factoids to their ever-expanding mental encyclopedia while also providing constant low-pressure prompts for conversation.
What you may not realize about Virgos is that they love to talk. Virgo is probably the most verbal of all the signs, capable of out-monologuing even chatty Gemini or adjective-loving Sagittarius, but Virgo will stay silent for a thousand years if they sense even the whiff of a possibility of an interruption on the horizon.
If you’re attempting to woo a Virgo, give them space to orate at length and HOLD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS until they have completed each full statement, no matter how many semicolons and sidebars and parenthetical clarifications they tack on. If you can’t manage that, you aren’t ready to date a Virgo. And Virgos? They keep the whole world functioning; they deserve the best of us. Go work on yourself first, then ask a Virgo out.
Choosing a catch-all activity for a population as varied as Libra sun signs seems like a fool’s errand. Libras are intense, Libras are capricious; Libras reinvent themselves publicly several times each calendar year and inwardly multiple times each day. Individual Libras have their own rules, which you’d better follow if you want to maintain access to that particular Libra, but attempting to herd the entire group into is absolutely impossible … with perhaps one single exception:
Libras love to go for a walk. Libra brains are happiest when they are moving; they love the stimulation of passing sights, sounds, smells, and socialization. They like to walk in parks, in forests, on beaches, in cities, and in huge creepy cornfields; they like to “go see what’s over there!” — and there and there — and pause to squint at a patch of moss for a half hour. Libras like to walk at any hour of day or night, and given adequate gear for comfort, they’ll walk in almost any weather conditions.
If you’re looking to date a Libra, go walking with them. Invest in some comfortable shoes first — if Libra likes you, you could find yourself walking for a long, long time.
Oh, Scorpio. This one is tough, because while Scorpios are charming, they are quite contrary. They’re slow to trust and quick to flee. It’s not you, really! It’s almost always about them. Even —especially? — if a first date goes well, that might frighten the Scorpio and cause them to dissipate into a cloud of mist.
I will briefly descend from my omnipotent throne of narration to admit to you, reader, that I myself am a Scorpio sun sign. Given our collective resistance to the mortifying ordeal of being known (due to our fear of never truly being fully comprehended), I am reluctant to offer a blanket recommendation on behalf of my people. Instead, I will tell you about my favorite first date:
We went into a cave. I had assumed we would have an electrically-lit, tour-guided experience when I was invited, but no! The cave was small, entered by a 20-foot vertical descent into the ground, with no other humans present but us. We didn’t talk much as we spelunked, given that my date had to clutch a flashlight between their teeth after giving me their headlamp.
In a high-ceilinged opening, we counted down in unison, then turned off all of our lights. While I expected a kiss, we instead just stood, never touching, until the tension of our closeness grew tangible and enormous with the volume of our heartbeats. Obviously, I cannot recommend a reenactment of this date for safety reasons, but we did eventually leave the cave and today are happily married, lo these many million years later.
If you want to ask a Scorpio out on a first date, may all your gods and luck be with you. Know that I wish you the best.
Sagittarius loves novelty. Sagittarius thrives on excitement. Sagittarius is tactile and Sagittarius likes to laugh and Sagittarius wants to impress you. Sagittarius is a big kid in the absolute best way, and that should inform your choice of date options with a member of the mutable fire sign club. Consider roller skating, trampoline park, laser tag, putt putt, or pinball. Also on the table: any sort of controlled fire or explosion, carnival games, go-karts, a hot-air balloon ride. You don’t have to spend very much, either. Guzzling Pixy Stix and making out on the sidewalk will do on a budget.
Any successful date with a Sagittarius is liable to turn into something on par with the iconic paintball date in 10 Things I Hate About You, so prepare yourself accordingly. If spontaneity is not your thing, think twice before jumping onto the combination pogo-stick/unicycle that is a Sagittarian’s life. A single Sag has nothing against one-off encounters and is almost always up for some see-you-next-week/month/lifetime casual fun, but if they’re looking for something long-term you’d better be ready to cowabunga on a moment’s notice. Otherwise, leave them to share their pizza with someone more compatible.
Have fun! (You will.)
If you’re thinking of taking a Capricorn on a first date, choose something that you already want to do yourself. Then, while doing whatever that is, be yourself.
Sure, Capricorns are ambitious. Certainly, Capricorns appreciate when other people have their shit together! But Capricorn needs to know exactly who you really are and how you really live your life before they can even think of falling for you. Don’t waste their time by performing an idealized fantasy caricature of yourself to try to impress them. Just let your authentic self shine through, be courteous and respectful, and cross your fingers.
If you are brave enough to surrender yourself to a Capricorn’s judgment — and if they like what they see — just follow them home and never leave. They’ll manage everything from there.
This is going to sound goofy and Aquarius will resent you if you tell them their sun sign is your reason for this choice, but take your Aquarius to an aquarium.
Aquarius’ mind is attuned to a more alien frequency than that of even other air signs. Rather than rushing through the main exhibits to coo over sea otters or admire the size of a longnose sawshark, Aquarius is more likely to spend 40 minutes hunched in a corner forging a deep nonverbal interspecies emotional connection with a leaf scorpionfish camouflaged in the substrate at the bottom of a dark tank. If this is also your vibe, the date will go well! But if you know you’re the type to feel slighted when your date prioritizes a leafy seadragon over asking about your job and relationship history, leave Aquarius alone.
Botanical gardens and arboretums are other surefire options for a first date with an Aquarius. Humor them when they ask you to pose for 17 photos with a mushroom they find compelling.
Pisces enjoy evocative scenery. They appreciate observing others’ drama, and they like to dress. Take Pisces to the opera; take Pisces to the drag show! Take Pisces somewhere they can see and be seen, and then revel in judging every aspect of the experience together afterward.
Pisces have a reputation for being emotional, but they aren’t going to show their well of feeling to just anyone — and they’re certainly not going to let you dive into an ocean of their tears on the first date. That intimacy comes piecemeal, each bit revealed with a flourish as they strip away pieces of their protective shell in a burlesque striptease of intimacy building.
Pisces need space, setting, and inspiration to begin performing this dance of vulnerability, so take them someplace where this theatricality will feel natural. Take your Pisces to the ballet, to the symphony, to a poetry reading, or even to a backyard wrestling match if they’re that type of Pisces! And then prepare to applaud and tip lavishly if Pisces decides to begin a performance of their own.
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