Just like the ever-changing moon that rules them, Cancer’s emotions wax and wane. One minute they can’t get close enough to you, the next, they’re retreating to their private quarters for much-needed space. As hard as their moods are to read, you’ll never doubt this nurturing water sign’s unflagging devotion. Read on to find out how compatible you are with the zodiac’s creative, doting Crab.
CANCER + CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
Cancer is the zodiac’s nester, and when two Crabs become one, domestic bliss might be achieved at lightning speed. You’ll set up a home with a chef’s kitchen, overstuffed furniture, state-of-the-art sound systems, and gallery-worthy art. This is a water sign match that can work out swimmingly as long as you don’t drown in the depths of each other’s emotional oceans. You’re both sensitive and nurturing, and you feel safe in each other’s thoughtful care. Culture vultures, you’ll love consuming books, collecting vinyl, and attending all sorts of shows from experimental theater to the ballet. It’s not hard for the two of you to create a trove of sentimental memories and a lovely little family. The only downside is that you can become too insular together. Push yourselves to leave the comfy Crab shell, and take more risks. You make fine travel companions, especially on trips involving water: snorkeling in the Caribbean, an Alaskan cruise, or skiing in Aspen. Cancer is ruled by the changeable moon, and at times, your fluctuating moods can clash. On bad days, the emotional storm clouds might gather under one roof and cause a relationship hurricane involving slammed doors, screamed insults, and hours of sulking. Problems also start when you take everything personally or let your insecurities paralyze you. We know of one Cancer-Cancer couple where the woman proposed to her fiancé—got down on bended knee when she had the flu! —because she got tired of waiting for him to pop the question. Turns out, he had a ring stashed in his sock drawer, but was scared she would say no. A little transparency can go a long way for you two.
CANCER + LEO (July 23 - August 22)
Lights, camera, high-intensity drama! Between Cancer’s unpredictable moods and Leo’s outsized ego, you’re a camera crew away from being a reality show—the kind that makes you want to change the channel, but you can’t look away from the impending crash. (Harsh, but true.) Both signs can be needy and bossy, but in different ways. Cancer is insecure and possessive, and this sign’s sensitive water element can drench fire-sign Leo’s excitement. Leo is the zodiac’s theatrical diva, ruled by the sun, while Cancer is ruled by the fluctuating moon. You two literally can be as different as night and day. However, your knee-jerk reactions and tempers cause equal levels of destruction when they go unchecked. So, what works about this match? It’s packed with passion and romance, something you both adore. Cancer and Leo are heart-driven signs, and emotional highs are your breath of life. For all the crashes, meltdowns, and train wrecks this causes, you remain fiercely, enigmatically loyal. Self-awareness is crucial to this relationship’s survival. You both need to take responsibility for the friction you’re capable of stirring up. In the best cases, you’ll meet after you’ve learned to temper your emotions or, even better, logged a few dedicated years of therapy. Cancer’s nurturing and Leo’s magnanimity can be put to good use with spoiling one another. While other signs might bristle at the baby talk and coddling, the two of you will lap it up.
CANCER + VIRGO (August 23 - September 22)
You two become fast friends and seamless companions, which makes you a couple that easily stands the test of time. Earth sign Virgo is the zodiac’s helper, while water sign Cancer is its nurturer. As such, you naturally want to take care of each other. Both signs express love by nagging, fussing, and feeding. Somehow it only makes you feel closer and sexier… go figure. The emotional connection is instant, and you’re thrilled to meet a rare kindred soul who—just like you—knows how to give, not just take. It’s a refreshing break from the usual energy vampires you both attract! This storybook romance has a sweet, innocent quality, but that’s not to say the sex won’t also be mind-blowing between you two generous souls. When you’re not tangled up in the cotton sheets, there will be lots of tender handholding, sentimental tributes on the ’gram, and carefully chosen gifts to mark every anniversary. You’re extremely practical. When you know that “this is it,” you’ll stow away college funds for your yet-to-be-born children and start shopping for a home where the taxes are reasonable and the school district is sublime. Security is something you both cherish, and there’s even a parental vibe in your partnership. A pair of self-professed nerds, you’ll team up to cook, decorate, read novels, and do the Sunday crossword puzzle. No matter how much money you earn, you both remain thrifty. Scoring a high-end treasure at a tag sale or an eBay auction is a form of foreplay in a Cancer-Virgo bond. Your signs are both family-oriented, and you make sweet but strict parents who live for your children. Generally, you’re close to your own relatives, and you enjoy spending time at family events or hosting holiday gatherings. Push yourselves to leave the nest and socialize with other couples more often. A little effort—and maybe a weekend music festival—is all that’s needed to reignite the spark when it becomes dulled by too much domesticity.
CANCER + LIBRA (September 23 - October 22)
You’re a sweet, romantic couple but not always a perfect match. On the upside, Cancer is ruled by the caring moon and Libra by romantic Venus, casting a tender glow on this love affair. With your mutual design sensibilities, you could open an interiors business or become the go-to consultants for all your friends’ renovation projects. Now, the challenge: Cancer is a profoundly sensitive water sign whose moods fluctuate like the tides. Libra is a social air sign who prefers to stay “up” and find the silver lining of every situation. Between the Crab’s fatalism and Libra’s Pollyanna tendencies, nobody has a rock-solid grip on reality. Better keep a few grounded earth sign friends on speed dial when you lose perspective. Failing that, you’ll need to adapt to each other’s opposing natures. Like a stone skipping across the water’s surface, Libra averts the plunging depths of Cancer’s inconsolable undertows and cloying neediness. Yet, avoidance is futile, since it only upsets the Crab to be ignored. Libra should learn that a tender bear hug, a hand-tied bouquet, and an apology (however undeserved) pave the quickest path to peace. Not that Libra doesn’t have their own powerful undercurrent—when those scales tip out of balance, Libra can escalate a minor breakdown into a Code Orange catastrophe. Admit it: You’re both big babies at times. For long-term success, find activities you both enjoy like travel, language classes, dancing, or dinner parties. You’re gracious hosts and culturally literate people with lots to talk about. Get out, and savor life together.
CANCER + SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21)
You’re an ideal match: two water signs with deeply complementary natures. As privacy hounds who are extremely protective of your personal lives, neither of you trusts easily. Perhaps your suspicious natures cancel out the hesitation you’d normally feel with another person. In this rarified combination, you intuitively trust each other. The good news is, you’ve bet on a winning seahorse. Cancer and Scorpio can mate for life, and the emotional facets of your relationship deepen into an intimacy most couples only dream about (but probably fear to tread into). Romantic and sentimental occasions never go uncelebrated: birthdays, Valentine’s Day, the five-month anniversary of the first time you said, “I love you.” Sex is a sacred, erotic act, and you feel safe enough together to try anything. The challenge will be breaking the ice, since you both tend to clam up in a red-faced fluster or any icy aloofness around a new love interest. It helps to talk about music, books, films—anything but your burning desire to rip each other’s clothes off. Once you get past the awkward phase, it’s smooth sailing. You genuinely enjoy each other’s company and like to do almost everything together. As parents, you’re incredibly nurturing and hands-on, and you might struggle to cut the cord when your kids reach adolescence. In fact, control is the big challenge for your signs. Jealous and possessive, you know how to avoid your mate’s hot buttons—or to push them when you’re feeling spiteful. (The Crab pinches and the Scorpion stings; both can wound the relationship fatally.) At times, Cancer’s sulking seems childish to Scorpio, and Scorpio’s sharp edges can maim the Crab’s tender feelings. Fortunately, you know how to win your way back into each other’s good graces once the moody spells pass.
CANCER + SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21)
You’re cut from entirely different cloths and patterns. Sagittarius is neon zebra print on stretch Lycra; Cancer is Burberry plaid on fine merino wool. You’ll never be a match that makes sense to observers—which is why Cancer Tom Cruise and Sagittarius Katie Holmes were such a tabloid target during their brief and perplexing union. Is it true love, a train wreck, or a little bit of both? Let’s examine. Domestic Cancer rules home, heart, and family and keeps loved ones tied onto their apron strings. Sagittarius is the restless traveler who craves freedom and adventure. Sag can either feel smothered or totally nurtured by Cancer. The doting Crab loves to provide every security for their sweetie. It’s a relief to the Archer to come home to a hot meal, a drawn bath, and an adoringly attentive partner. The trouble begins when Sagittarius stops coming home at a regular time—or leaves for long trips without Cancer. The adventurous Archer requires sunlight, air, and wide-open spaces to feel energy course through their veins. Cancer keeps the shades drawn and burrows into a metaphorical Crab shell. When Sagittarius neglects Cancer’s need for togetherness, starts hanging out with a rowdy crew of rebels, or traipses the globe alone, Cancer’s insecurities are rankled. You both have fierce tempers and the combustion of Cancer’s moodiness and Sag’s anger can be downright destructive. What the Crab must realize is that a pretty bird in a cage will soon fly the coop—at least, if the bird is a Sag. Cancer must open the windows and trust Sagittarius to come back to the nest, a real act of faith. Meanwhile Sagittarius must learn to give Cancer regular reassurance and check in, which is not a high price to pay for all the benefits of being loved by the zodiac’s tender caretaker. Your strong sexual chemistry sweetens the pot, but you’ll need to adapt to each other’s rhythms through hard work and keen listening.
CANCER + CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)
Start designing the family crest. Cancer is astrology’s mother, and Capricorn is its patriarch. You’re opposite signs that might very well divide into these retro roles. But even if you don’t, your partnership will be marked by strong parental vibes as you protect and provide for one another. Cancer rules home, family, and archetypal femininity. Capricorn governs authority, ambition, and archetypal masculinity. In many ways, it’s nice to have a mate who happily redresses your shortcomings. Yet, it can also be off-putting. Cancer longs for touch and affection, misty-eyed Hallmark moments and emotionally naked conversations. Stoic Capricorn can be stiff and formal, a closet neurotic who pooh-poohs Cancer’s feelings as overblown melodramas. In truth, Capricorn internalizes feelings then falls into depressions or self-critical spells. You must learn the other’s “love language” to succeed as a couple. Cancer shows caring through sentimental gestures, food, togetherness, and well-intended nagging. Capricorn’s expression is through duty—bringing home a steady paycheck, showing up on time, holding it together when everyone else falls apart. Capricorn must learn to honor Cancer’s feelings and intuition; the Crab must develop gratitude for Capricorn’s loyalty and quiet wisdom. Parenting is where you really shine as a team. Raising children is the ultimate honor for your signs, as well as a creative challenge. You’re both loyal to your families, no matter how much they drive you crazy. This is a quality you respect in each other. At the end of the day, you share enough common values to make a solid, lifelong match—white picket fence sold separately.
CANCER + AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18)
This oddball match is as fascinating and perplexing as the fractal energy field—and like the unifying theory, few understand the power of its structure. Here we have Cancer, creative, nurturing, family-oriented, and anchored by deep roots and tradition. Mix in Aquarius, the sci-fi nomad who believes in “universal family,” a butterfly escaping the net of convention. This is a coupling that doesn’t happen often—for good reason—but sometimes, you choose a mate who challenges you. You might feel as if you owe each other a karmic debt so profound you can’t even articulate it. In the rare case that your zodiac signs find a lasting click, the connection is powerful, unspoken, and strong. While there are likely to be intense erotic sparks in the early days, this relationship will quickly hit some speed bumps in the romance department. Cool Aquarius doesn’t need much affection, while Cancer only likes to be touched by a selective few. The Crab saves it all up for a romantic partner and becomes anxious without ample reassurance, attention, and TLC. When faced with Cancer’s need for intimacy, free-spirited Aquarius veers to the avoidant end of the attachment spectrum and constructs little trap doors everywhere—a basketball team, a drama class, a post on city council. Yet, when wounded Cancer withdraws into their shell, Aquarius is suddenly intrigued. Where did my lifeline go? Who will fawn over me now? What Aquarius takes for granted is Cancer’s undying loyalty, which can resemble a mother’s love for her troubled teen. The Crab can see the vulnerable child underneath Aquarius’ rebellious bravado. Of course, too much parental energy is no good for sexual sparks. If Cancer can dial back the caretaking, they will learn to appreciate the true gift an Aquarius offers: permission to be independent. In Aquarius, Cancer finds the unicorn partner who supports their secret need for alone time. Once Cancer embraces self-sovereignty within the relationship—and Aquarius remembers to drop a few more words of affirmation into the conversation—you’ll discover a richer, cerebral connection that will keep you united through the years.
CANCER + PISCES (February 19 - March 20)
To the world you might look like a hard-shell Crab or a tough, scaly Fish, but you’re a pair of softies underneath it all. Alone with each other, your highly compatible water signs are as tender as can be. By nature, you’re both compassionate and nurturing, adept at soothing each other with sustenance and sensitivity. There’s nothing an enveloping hug, cookies made from scratch, or a nice after-dinner cordial by the fire can’t solve. Nesting might happen quickly here, and you’ll create a cozy home base that protects you both from the cruel, outside world. Rare genres of music will pipe through the sound system as you prepare gourmet feasts and read each other passages from your favorite literature or the daily news. Weekends were made for lying wrapped up in each other’s arms, binge-watching movies in between hours of pleasuring each other. Though your relationship is a refuge, it can also become a fish bowl that limits your growth. You absorb each other’s fluctuating moods like a sponge if you spend too much time in an aquarium-for-two. With your refined sensibilities, you’re excellent patrons of the arts, so head to museums, gallery openings, concerts, and dance performances. Open your doors for dinner parties that toast a friend’s book release or a relative’s happy milestone. Co-hosting satisfies your dual nurturing instincts while inviting new energy into your space. You must both learn when to let go of grudges, since you can be passive aggressive and play the victim when your feelings are hurt. Slammed doors, sulking, and brooding can go on for an unreasonably long period of time. You’ll both need to make a concerted effort to be the adult here—especially since coddling can cause you both to regress into childlike behaviors. If you’ve been cruel, simply say, “I’m sorry,” and offer a long hug. The power of touch can heal just about anything between you two.
CANCER + ARIES (March 21 - April 19)
The attraction between these two alpha cardinal signs happens often but comes with an interesting twist. Aries is the zodiac’s baby (its first sign) while Cancer is its matriarch, ruling the fourth house of motherhood, home, and family. Is this relationship doomed to be an Oedipal cliché? Not if you temper these traits through steady, conscious self-development. Otherwise, you easily lapse into automatic roles that polarize you into a parent-child dynamic. Aries can be selfish—not maliciously, but in a crude, clueless style that leaves self-sacrificing Cancer resentful and dismayed at the Ram’s lack of nuance. Cancer autopilots into the role of the nurturing giver, but as a delicate sign, the Crab needs room to be vulnerable, too. While Aries often presents as a heroic provider, the independent Ram is not looking to be anyone’s rock. Just as Cancer is about to trust-fall into those (seemingly) open arms, Aries pulls a bait-and-switch and starts dishing out tough love. Ouch! Ironically, Aries loves to be coddled, but Cancer’s maternal indulgences will create a spoiled brat or a demanding diva. Besides, while the Crab might have a tough outer shell, the true warrior is Aries, ruled by aggressive Mars. Your differences are many: Aries is a diehard solo star and Cancer is all about family; Aries needs freedom, while the Crab’s possessive grip clings tight. You’ll need to compromise or else the relationship can turn into a competitive, jealous hotbed. You can both brood with the best of them, and your dark days eclipse even the tiniest sliver of hope. Swear off the silent treatment, and learn to communicate as two adults. If you can honor the other’s need for solitude and security, this relationship can last for longer than a single season.
CANCER + TAURUS (April 20 - May 20)
Who says you can’t meet a “high school sweetheart” at any age? When traditional Taurus unites with classical Cancer, it’s an instant throwback to the good old days, before you were hurt or jaded by love. Make a budget for monogrammed towels and matching rocking chairs. No two signs are more sentimental or family-oriented than the Bull and the Crab. Although the vibe can be cloying, you’re a love story for the ages. Since you share a rather conventional moral compass in affairs of the heart, you might emulate your own parents or compensate for their relationship shortcomings by setting up a white-picket-fence fantasy together. Affectionate and nurturing, you crave lifelong security and a comfortable home, and you’ll squirrel away a sizable nest egg together. Not that you don’t indulge—your signs both appreciate art, culture, design, music, and gourmet food. An entertainment budget will be required for the roster of shows and galas you’ll attend as a pair. Should you become parents, you’ll be protective but firm. Taurus doles out tough love in your children’s best interest while nurturing Cancer kisses every boo-boo. Gallery walls of family photos will pair with large-scale art throughout your home. At times, Taurus’ booming voice and blunt remarks wound the Crab’s tender feelings. Like a bull in a Bernardaud shop, Taurus doesn’t realize their own size, strength, and intensity and will need to dial down the volcanic energy. While intuitive Cancer doesn’t need every point driven home, the Crab must overcome insecurities and toughen up, since Taurus doesn’t mince words or tiptoe through the tulips for anyone. Sure, there will be tears and misunderstandings, but there’s nothing that any recipe calling for heavy cream can’t solve.
CANCER + GEMINI (May 21 - June 20)
Cancer is a sensitive water sign whose heart lives in their home; Gemini is a restless air sign who could stay out from dawn until dusk, turning everyone at the bar into their “chosen family.” Fortunately, your curious culture-vulture signs tend to have similar interests, and the more obscure, the better. That might be enough to keep you glued together, despite your different temperaments. There’s nonstop fun to be had as you discover new bands, read novels by controversial authors, or gorge yourselves at the jewel of a restaurant tucked into a quiet street. You bond over streaming series and thrifting extravaganzas (you both love a bargain). No flea market, estate sale, or resale store is safe from your scouring. If you move in together, your home might end up resembling a bizarre gallery of antiques and modern gadgetry. The tricky part comes when you lapse into astrological autopilot. Cancer is the zodiac’s mother, who heaps affection and well-intended care onto their mate. To Gemini, this can feel like smothering and stage-five clinginess. Gemini is forever the zodiac’s fickle tween, waffling between bouts of dependence and asserting autonomy. There will be moments when Gemini greedily laps up Cancer’s doting and others when mama bird is roughly pushed away with a sarcastic, heart-piercing insult. Cancer must work hard not to take these moments personally—otherwise, the Crab lashes back with a below-the-belt barb, and it turns ugly. Remember, Cancer: It’s not you that Gemini is rejecting, it’s your overprotection. Get a pet to dote on instead. Gemini needs space, Cancer needs reassurance. Memorize this formula.
