Zodiac Compatibility Chart: How the Twelve Signs Pair Up, and Whether It Works
Magazine sign compatibility is synastry boiled down to a single planet: the two Suns. The rule is simple: count how many signs apart the two are on the zodiac. Below we list every pairing for all twelve signs, then use our engine on thousands of random pairs to test whether "compatible" Sun signs actually make two birth charts more harmonious.
Compatibility for all twelve signs
| Sign | Same element (trine) | Compatible element (sextile) | Opposite | Square | Adjacent | Quincunx (five apart) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Leo, Sagittarius | Gemini, Aquarius | Libra | Cancer, Capricorn | Taurus, Pisces | Virgo, Scorpio |
| Taurus | Virgo, Capricorn | Cancer, Pisces | Scorpio | Leo, Aquarius | Gemini, Aries | Libra, Sagittarius |
| Gemini | Libra, Aquarius | Leo, Aries | Sagittarius | Virgo, Pisces | Cancer, Taurus | Scorpio, Capricorn |
| Cancer | Scorpio, Pisces | Virgo, Taurus | Capricorn | Libra, Aries | Leo, Gemini | Sagittarius, Aquarius |
| Leo | Sagittarius, Aries | Libra, Gemini | Aquarius | Scorpio, Taurus | Virgo, Cancer | Capricorn, Pisces |
| Virgo | Capricorn, Taurus | Scorpio, Cancer | Pisces | Sagittarius, Gemini | Libra, Leo | Aquarius, Aries |
| Libra | Aquarius, Gemini | Sagittarius, Leo | Aries | Capricorn, Cancer | Scorpio, Virgo | Pisces, Taurus |
| Scorpio | Pisces, Cancer | Capricorn, Virgo | Taurus | Aquarius, Leo | Sagittarius, Libra | Aries, Gemini |
| Sagittarius | Aries, Leo | Aquarius, Libra | Gemini | Pisces, Virgo | Capricorn, Scorpio | Taurus, Cancer |
| Capricorn | Taurus, Virgo | Pisces, Scorpio | Cancer | Aries, Libra | Aquarius, Sagittarius | Gemini, Leo |
| Aquarius | Gemini, Libra | Aries, Sagittarius | Leo | Taurus, Scorpio | Pisces, Capricorn | Cancer, Virgo |
| Pisces | Cancer, Scorpio | Taurus, Capricorn | Virgo | Gemini, Sagittarius | Aries, Aquarius | Leo, Libra |
Grouped by how many signs apart the two are: four apart is a same-element trine, two apart a compatible-element sextile (Fire with Air, Earth with Water), six apart opposite signs, three apart a square; the rest are adjacent signs and quincunxes.
What the seven pairings mean
The traditional view, roughly: same element and compatible elements are the most harmonious, squares the most friction, and opposites complementary but a tug-of-war. The three right-hand columns are our own test, explained below.
| Pairing | Traditional view | Pairs in our sample | Average soft / hard aspects between the charts | With a Sun–Moon contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Same sign | Same sign: similar values and ways of doing things, so you click at once. The catch is shared blind spots; you can get stuck in the same place together. | 170 | 14.8 / 12.7 | 48.8% |
| Adjacent (semi-sextile) | Neighboring signs differ in both element and modality. At first each may find the other a bit strange, yet you are best placed to supply what the other lacks. | 357 | 14.5 / 12.2 | 46.2% |
| Sextile (compatible elements) | Compatible elements (Fire with Air, Earth with Water): easy communication and happy cooperation, a pairing that works for friends and partners alike. | 361 | 15.7 / 12.9 | 47.6% |
| Square (same modality) | Same modality (both cardinal, fixed or mutable), so a similar pace, but clashing elements, so arguments about direction are likely. You also push each other hardest. | 338 | 15.9 / 13.9 | 47.3% |
| Trine (same element) | Same element: naturally in tune, you understand what the other wants. Traditionally the most harmonious match. | 319 | 16.1 / 13.4 | 46.4% |
| Quincunx (five signs apart) | Different element, different modality and not adjacent; it often takes a while to find a way of being together. | 378 | 15.1 / 13.6 | 45.8% |
| Opposite signs | Signs directly opposite each other: each is the half the other is missing. Strong attraction and strong tug-of-war. | 177 | 14.6 / 14.2 | 44.6% |
Charts of people born in Taipei between 1960 and 2005, paired at random, 2,100 pairs in all, grouped by the relationship of the two Sun signs; a full synastry was calculated for each pair by our engine. Same-sign and opposite pairings each make up only one twelfth of pairs, so fewer were drawn.
Our test: do compatible Sun signs mean more compatible charts?
If Sun-sign compatibility really reflected how well two people fit, same-element and compatible-element pairs should show clearly more soft aspects and fewer hard ones between their full charts. Here is what we found:
2,100 random pairs of charts of people born in Taipei between 1960 and 2005, calculated by our engine.
The direction matches tradition: sextile pairings have slightly more soft aspects and opposite-sign pairings the fewest. But the gap is only two or three aspects, out of thirty-odd between every pair. And the Sun–Moon contact that synastry values most occurs at about the same rate in every kind of Sun-sign pairing. In other words, Sun-sign compatibility captures only a small slice; what really shapes how two charts fit is the Moon, Venus, Mars and Ascendant, and those vary enormously among people who share a Sun sign.
So sign compatibility is fun for conversation, but far too rough to decide whether to be with someone. To look seriously at two people, cast a full synastry chart.
Why same-element signs are considered the best match
The twelve signs fall into four groups of three by element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water); signs of the same element are 120° apart, exactly the trine, astrology's most harmonious aspect. Compatible elements (Fire with Air, Earth with Water) are 60° apart, a sextile. Squares and oppositions are hard aspects. So sign compatibility is really treating two people's Suns as a single aspect, under exactly the same rules as aspects in a chart, but looking at just one planet.
A straight word: synastry shows how you relate, not how the story ends
Synastry overlays two birth charts and gives you a language for "where we click and where we get stuck". In our calculations, any two random people have thirty-odd aspects between their charts, and the "good" contacts such as Sun–Moon and Venus–Mars turn up in forty to fifty percent of pairs, so whether a single aspect is present says nothing about whether two people will get together or last. It is a fine way to understand your differences, but it cannot make the decision for you. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment only.
Want to look seriously at two people?
Sign compatibility compares only the Suns. A synastry chart compares every planet between two charts and reads the key contacts such as Sun–Moon, Venus–Mars and Moon–Moon one by one.
Zodiac compatibility FAQ
Which signs are most compatible?
Traditionally, same-element signs (for example Aries, Leo and Sagittarius) and compatible elements (Fire with Air, Earth with Water). But in our random pairs, those pairings had only two or three more soft aspects between their charts than other pairings, out of about 33.9 in total, so the difference is small.
Can opposite signs work together?
Opposite signs are each the half the other is missing: strong attraction and a strong tug-of-war. In our test, opposite-sign pairs had the fewest soft-minus-hard aspects, but the gap was only two or three aspects, which doesn't make them unsuitable; you need the full synastry.
Is zodiac compatibility accurate?
Looking only at Sun signs is too rough. People who share a Sun sign can have completely different Moons, Venuses, Marses and Ascendants, and those are what synastry actually reads. In our test, the Sun-sign relationship barely changed how often two charts had a Sun–Moon contact.
Should compatibility use the rising sign too?
Some people run the same comparison with rising or Moon signs, which adds a little information. The most complete method is a synastry chart, which compares every planet in both charts at once.
How does zodiac compatibility differ from BaZi marriage matching?
Zodiac compatibility compares where the Sun was at each birth; BaZi marriage matching compares two people's favorable elements, zodiac animals and day pillars. The rules of the two systems are completely different and the conclusions often differ too; treat them as two angles.