Horoscope Compatibility

Are your horoscope signs compatible?

For professional astrologers, the question that comes up most often is, "Are we compatible?". While there's no simple 'relationship compatibility test' for couples, understanding which horoscope signs go well together can amount to some of the best relationship advice there is.

There are two main ways to approach the question of astrological compatibility: The first, and simplest way is to understand the basic astrological matches between sun signs. Keep in mind however, that this is a rather simplistic system compared to the second way: Synastry.

Synastry refers to the study of comparing astrological birth charts. Because studying just one person's birth chart is a skill that can take many years to master, we'll leave birth-chart comparisons for another article.

Simple zodiac sign compatibility is great for painting the "broad strokes" of your relationship picture. Use this page to search for the basic principles about the compatibility of your horoscope sign with others.

Earth signs, air signs, fire signs and water signs

The very first thing to consider when measuring potential in a romantic relationship, is to consider whether the two signs are compatible on an elemental level. The first rule of horoscope compatibility is that every type of sign is generally compatible with itself. That is, earth signs are compatible with earth signs. Air signs are compatible with air signs. Fire signs are compatible with fire signs, and water signs are compatible with water signs.

Here's a quick recap of which sign belongs to which ancient element:

For a slightly deeper understanding of zodiac compatibility, it's important to think about how earth, air, fire and water react with each other in the real world. That is, fire and air go very well together. A fire without air will suffocate and go out. Likewise, earth and water go very well together. When mixed they bring us and abundance of life and growth. It's often amazing how these real world analogies can accurately describe the exact dynamics within a relationship.

Of course, those basic compatibilities don't describe the incredible synergies that can go into a complex romantic relationship. So we've penned an analysis for every possible zodiac sign combination under the sun:

Complete List of
Horoscope Compatibilities

About love compatibility between horoscope signs

Are you a good match? Do you mix well? Or are you like oil and water? For most horoscope signs, calculating relationship compatibility isn't quite so simple. Sometimes your signs match perfectly and you'll feel like soul mates -- and at other times the romantic 'storm clouds' will roll in and you'll think you're a bad match.

There are times when your relationship will be filled with passion, and other times when it might start to feel downright lifeless. Romantic compatibility isn't an "all or nothing" proposition. Nor are sun-sign horoscopes a complete description of any person.

Still, the forces at work within your horoscope can't help but interact with the forces at work in others. Understanding what zodiac signs go well together and which astrological aspects are influencing your relationship will give you a powerful understanding of where your romance is heading.

How we measure astrology compatibility

All of our zodiac compatibility analyses are penned by professional astrologers and divided into four parts:

• "The Good": We start with the combined positive traits of your astrological signs.
• "The Bad": Then we move on to the negative aspects of your two signs when taken in combination.

NOTE: There is no combination of signs makes a successful relationship "impossible". But there are combinations of signs that make a successful relationship challenging. Try to take these compatibility negatives as 'warnings' and not so much as 'roadblocks'. The purpose of studying romantic compatibility is to be aware of pitfalls so that they can be avoided.

• "Physical Chemistry": We'll discuss the aspects of the physical relationship between each of your horoscope signs. In this case we don't differentiate or analysis based on gender or age. This means these analyses are relatively rough, and many energies get overlooked. For example a search for "Leo" and "Libra" would apply to any combination of ages and genders. (Try a birth chart reading to incorporate more specific data into your analysis).
• "Long term outlook": And lastly, we'll discuss the ultimate test of love compatibility: Your long term potential and your horoscope compatibility for marriage.

"So are we a good match?"

Do those four categories sum up every aspect of your relationship?

No. Of course not.

But they will accurately describe some of the forces you'll encounter together. Every couple is different, just as every individual is different. There are millions of cases in which astrological opposites attract and plenty of cases where "like repels like". A "horoscope sign" can only tell so much.

A birth chart always tells you more...

There's much more to an individual than just his or her "sun sign" or simple zodiac sign. If the romantic compatibility based on your astrology sign doesn't describe your relationship, it's very possible that other aspects of your astrological birth charts are overriding the interplay between your sun signs. It's not unheard of for an emotional connection to exist between two zodiac signs which shouldn't get along at all -- although it certainly isn't common. As they say, true love conquers all -- and opposite signs often attract.

If you need more insight into your astrological DNA or your romantic partner's compatibility, try iFate's free birth-chart tool to get even more perspective about you and your partner -- and how you fit together. A true birth chart doesn't just divide people into 12 zodiac signs, but takes birth date, birth time and the birth city into account. It's far more revealing than a simple sun sign, and tells so much more than a daily horoscope.

There's no best match based on sun signs alone. To know if you're truly a perfect match, you'd need to account for every personality trait -- and that means a careful analysis of moon signs, planetary placements and astrological aspects as well.

But what about daily relationship compatibility?

Many critics of horoscope compatibility have noted that while it describes the "big picture" of romantic possibilities, it doesn't do much for describing the day-to-day ups and downs of a normal relationship.

So what types of readings do that? Two suggestions: Try a Love I Ching reading every day for ancient insights into the current and future states of your relationship. And if you're looking for daily ups and downs in your marriage or relationship, nothing beats a biorhythm compatibility reading