In astrology there are signs that are more or less compatible. Signs are in essence representative of archetypes of the unconscious and they live out their expressions through our lives. It’s common knowledge that certain people are more or less compatible, which depends on the personal planetary placements and how they interact with another person’s placements.
People are complex and can’t be reduced to a single sign (their Sun sign for example). However, if a person has a lot of planets in a particular sign, they might find that other people with a lot of planets in the squaring sign (90° apart on the zodiac wheel) presents conflicting and disturbing energy. The signs that naturally square each other have a tense relationship because they have the same mode of expression (cardinal/fixed/mutable) but are placed in different elements (fire/earth/water/air). The difference in element poses a significant dilemma between masculine (fire/air) and feminine (earth/water), mythical and intellectual vs. mortal and emotional.
Let’s start with the cardinal signs. They’re all trying to make something happen – they have a forward movement, a pressing need to accomplish something important. The crux is, that they don’t have the same idea of what is important, which sets them up for conflict. Aries, the cardinal fire sign, is pure energy assertion and is looking to put forward that which is true, genuine, strong, potent and consistent. Aries is concerned with the self, its greatness and potential. People with strong Arien influence are often direct, confronting and honest bordering on the absurd because they are not ashamed of afraid of letting life flow through them in full force. This makes them impulsive, competitive and passionate, sometimes bordering on aggressive. Cancer, one of the signs squaring Aries is defensive rather than assertive, preventative rather than impulsive. Cancer’s agenda is to protect the emotional climate by being highly attuned to the environment, that way it’s possible to move around obstacles and unpleasant confrontation. A lot of work can be put into avoiding discomfort and unsafety, paradoxically, because the work itself can be tedious and straining. But, as long as that preventative work allows for a safe space where there’s room for softness and nurturing it’s all worth it. Needless to say, Aries thinks that being afraid of being afraid makes no sense and that it’s better to live fully in the now and not taint the spirit with something as dense and temporary as emotional needs. There’s nothing honorable in being “weak” and avoidant in one’s actions according to cardinal fire. Cancer is not really “weak” anymore than Aries is, but the sign is more aware of the necessity to sustain life throughout time and in order to do that one has to be concerned about safety, alert to potential threats and damage. Cancers generally doesn’t seek out a fight or confront things unless their safety depends on it – which is in striking contrast to Aries who sometimes, quite childishly, test their will against the first best opponent that they would have a chance with. Even though Aries is usually “blamed” for being the obvious aggressor of the two, Cancer can be very manipulative and undermining in a way that Aries can’t. Generally, the cardinal fire sign takes pride in being open and playing fair, while the cardinal water sign could care less about nobility and character if they feel the need to defend themselves. This point is highlights where the two signs ultimately clash because Aries is anchored in the mythical realm of principal and meaning while Cancer is anchored in the emotional-physical realm of mortality and vulnerability.
The other sign squaring Aries is Capricorn. This sign is concerned with following and reinforcing structure, achieving concrete aims and laying solid foundations for the sake of prosperity in years to come. This sign is set on accomplishment at any cost and the cultivation of character over time. It’s has a philosophy that says “put in the effort now to reap the benefits later”. Temporary pleasure is put off in favor of long-term gain. There’s maturity to this sign, because it’s all too aware of the strategy and planning that is required to actually accomplish something that will serve a purpose in time. Capricorn is the sign of societal structure and order. It relates to the designed path that an individual must take in order to climb the ladder of society. It’s no wonder that this earthy sign conflicts so strongly with the sign of Aries, which is primarily concerned with the now and what arises spontaneously. Aries is easily agitated and feels it to be an insult to put long-term success in terms of achievement and career above individual will. If the will and the societal path happen to coincide that’s great, but usually it doesn’t, because the spirit works in its own mystical ways. Aries prefers to let life spring from inspiration not from concentration. Both signs value excellence - but in different ways and for different reasons. Aries values excellence because that is what it feels itself to be – the pure creative spark. If it’s denied significance by others doesn’t really matter, the rush of energy usually speaks for itself and if nothing else one can at least be recognized for one’s force and noble attempts. Capricorn values excellence because there’s insecurity relative to life and if one can achieve something that is undeniably great, then one has proven to have some kind of worth. In contrast to Aries, Capricorn needs to prove its worth because it’s not a given. The cardinal earth sign is perfectionistic because if one wants to feel perfect one has to perform perfect. There’s heaviness and a sense of burden to Capricorn that doesn’t show up in Aries. There’s fierceness, sharpness and strength of will to cardinal fire, which makes for great speed and fighting spirit, but it has nothing to do with restriction and deliberate effort. Aries has so much energy that it doesn’t need to think in terms of “deliberate effort”, it acts on impulse and gets things done as quickly as possible in bursts of energy rather than through outdrawn labor. The discipline that Capricorn favors clashes with Aries’s need for freshness and independence – time has no purpose for Aries, the divine child who never gets old. Capricorn usually judges Aries to be immature and irresponsible and Aries usually judges Capricorn to be a buzz kill and an insecure authoritarian.
The cardinal air sign is Libra, in many ways the perfect counterpart to Aries as it’s about social identity rather than the force of the self. Libra is all about balance and achieving perfection by weighing opposites. There’s a need to be noticed and appreciated, to be fair and nice. As with Aries, there’s a need to show up at one’s best but it’s done out of concern for social appearance and intellectual satisfaction rather than in honor of the immortal spirit. People with a strong Libra influence are often drawn to a certain kind of beauty that is surface-polished, carefully and thoughtfully designed, moderate but exquisite. In contrast with Aries who values uninhibited living, Libra likes to approach things through assessing and evaluating – never reaching a conclusive stance and becoming mildly frustrated as a result. “What if this is wrong, what if this is right?” there’s often no way of reaching a reliable conclusion, which is why Libra is in a constant state of uncertainty. Pros and con lists sometimes work and sometimes not, ultimately it’s impossible to figure out if something is fundamentally right or wrong, good or bad through consulting the intellect. Nevertheless this is what Libra attempts to do, ambitiously over-analyzing in order to achieve some harmony. It’s a paradox that effort should lead to harmony, but all cardinal signs fight for something – whether it’s through the mental faculties, the emotional-physical or the spiritual. The Libra-Cancer tension is based on sophistication and refinement vs. safety and nurturing. Cancer finds Libra to be too involved with superficial things that doesn’t matter much in the long run. Libra finds Cancer to be moody and instinctual, only caring about securing that basic needs are met and neglecting the finer things in life. Libras are not necessarily very practical, but they like things to feel and look pleasant. Cancer is more prone to care and cultivate emotional bonds while Libra doesn’t really form attachments – romance however, is another question. The cardinal air sign is first and foremost looking for light-hearted love and appreciation, pleasure and finesse. Cancer on the other hand can’t stand such trivialities, because living is a serious thing and one can’t cope unless more fundamental needs are satisfied such as a reliable support system in the form of a family. Cancer is not much for Venusian love, because that kind of love involves tastes and preferences, which isn’t really any of Cancer’s concern. The cardinal water sign aligns more with the archetypal mother than the lover, which illustrates perfectly why Libra and Cancer don’t get along. Libra can’t stand the emotional realm particularly well because it’s too human and too far from the intellectual ideal. Libra would constantly try to adjust and modify the very organic and cyclical phases of Cancer, deeming them unsophisticated and unattractive. As a result, Cancer would clam up, become defensive and try to put Libra down through subtle degrading comments and looks. Libra would feel hurt, unloved and probably resort to giving a minor lecture about right and wrong in terms of social behavior, which would make Cancer even more defensive and secretly vengeful. Cancer doesn’t really consider right and wrong in terms of intellectual judgment, nor is this sign concerned with justice as a concept. It’s much more instinctual, which in Libra’s eyes would seem irrational and unpredictable, in other words, not something to bring into the sphere of social relations.
Last but not least we have the Libra-Capricorn square. It’s possible to say that this is one of the more compatible square couples of the cardinal signs because Libra associates structure with context and it’s positively linked to some kind of balance. Since Libra is intellectual it is very likely that societal institutions and paths to success will be in line with its agenda. Libra can function very well changing and adjusting to the attitudes of the people within the system – the cardinal air sign is very sociable and smooth in its workings and can achieve great things without ruffling too many feathers in the process. Everything Libra does is done with grace and forethought, never as a compulsion. This might irritate Capricorn, the sign that knows how much effort it takes to build from the ground up, whether it’d be confidence, reputation or anything for that matter. Libra dances on the surface, metaphorically speaking, assuming that the mental faculties will suffice in navigating the world, no strain or discipline needed. Libra doesn’t let worth depend on long-term achievement, like Capricorn, but it is highly dependent on other people’s praise and attention. Libra always has to look good, which might cause a slight issue with social anxiety, cleverly covered over with charm and jokes. As long as the cardinal air sign has a good partner to lean on and center life around, things usually work out for the better. It effectively eases the anxiety of feeling pressured to be pleasant and perfect with “everyone else”. Capricorn doesn’t really agree with Libra’s way of fishing for love and would rather earn it through being responsible and self-sufficient, no burden to anyone – only an asset. Libra would likely admire Capricorn for the marks of status and achievement because Libra is quite vain when it comes down to it and likes pretty and precious things. However, the attitude of sternness and seriousness would be off-putting – this idealistic air sign doesn’t want to be around cynical moods for too long or it will start to feel insecure and abused. Remember, Libra is extremely dependent on maintaining a positive social identity. Fairness is very important to Libra and the same could be said for Capricorn, however, Capricorns are more inclined to face hard realities, accept the situation at hand and dedicate themselves to struggle. Libras on the other hand would never dedicate themselves to plain struggle; it goes against their idealistic nature. Libra wants fairness because it means that there’s equal appreciation of all people involved - love of all people involved. Capricorn is primarily focused on fairness for the sake of being judged accurately on work and achievement in comparison to others. There’s a clear difference between these two views – Libra would think that Capricorn is cold and cruel while Capricorn would think Libra is lazy and trivial in its pursuits. The signs are probably jealous of each other’s qualities – the ease of the air sign is something the intensely dedicated earth sign would love to have more of and vice versa.