In astrology, compatibility between signs can seem confusing until you get to know all of the star sign qualities. Why do some signs from the same element get on better than others? Why do opposite sun signs attract sometimes, but not always? Isn’t there a quick and easy way to work out birthday compatibility?
Well, yes. And no. Sun signs are only a small part of astrology, so compatibility between signs is never going to give you the full picture of a relationship – you need a full and detailed Astromatcha compatibility report for that. However, there are some general pointers for which Sun signs attract you in different circumstances.
In astrology compatibility or synastry, different houses (segments) of the birth chart represent different types of love situations. If you’re trying to ascertain who you’re attracted to for a fling, an affair, a playful love match or a non serious relationship, you’d look for the sign occupying your 5th solar house – that means, the sign four along from your own sign. For Aries, Leo is the 5th house, for Taurus it’s Virgo, for Gemini, it’s Libra – and so on. The sign occupying the 5th house brings playfulness into your life, inspires your creativity and encourages you to take a risk. Compatibility between signs is at possibly its most exuberant when we look at a 5th house match – but be warned, this is not necessarily the sign which will make you happy on a long term basis.
For long term relationships and marriage, we look for the sign occupying the 7th house, ie six along from your own sign. Also known as your opposite sign. For Aries, this is Libra, for Taurus it’s Scorpio, for Gemini it’s Sagittarius, and so forth around the zodiac wheel. The signs occupying your 7th house is effectively the missing half of you. Although very different to you in almost every way, this sign provides something important which is missing from your life. Consider the example of Virgo and Pisces. Virgo is missing the dreamy, ethereal, imaginative qualities of Pisces, and Pisces is missing the common sense, logical, analytical qualities of Virgo. Opposite signs tend to be instinctively attracted to one another precisely because of this missing link situation. For these opposites in the zodiac, compatibility between signs is at its most enduring – although these relationships often have to do the most work, since compatibility isn’t instant.
Sexual compatibility, on the other hand, is governed by the sign occupying your solar 8th house. Counting again, but this time you’ll count seven along from your own sign. For Aries, that means Scorpio; for Taurus it’s Sagittarius, for Gemini it’s Capricorn, and so on. Essentially, your are physically attracted to the traits personified by that sign – and, therefore it follows, usually turned on by someone with that Sun sign or with that sign strongly represented in their own chart. This type of compatibility between signs often surprises people. Aries and Capricorn, for instance, don’t seem to be a particularly natural match – but remember, here we’re talking about sexual magnetism, not necessarily the same as love, and definitely not always the same as longevity.
If you’re looking for a spiritual match made in heaven, consider the sign occupying your solar 12th house. This is the sign directly before yours: for Aries, it’s Pisces, for Taurus it’s Aries, for Gemini it’s Taurus, and so forth. In these kinds of matches, both partners have a lot to learn from one another, but it’s the person who is “ahead” in the zodiac table who is most likely to be transformed by the other (Aries by Pisces, Pisces by Aquarius, Aquarius by Capricorn….). Unfortunately, the partner doing the transforming may find the whole relationship too traumatic to endure, so although there is a deep spiritual connection in this kind of compatibility between signs, it’s often short lived. Here, birthday compatibility is intense but ultimately very draining.