Cancer Compatibility: Your Most Suited Zodiac Signs, Ranked from Worst to Best

Cancers, we love you—if not for how inclined you are to cry in an H&M dressing room upon hearing an Enya track, then definitely for how you always tuck a mini bottle of ibuprofen in your bag in case someone—anyone—gets a headache. You’re the world’s symbolic mother, which can make dating…interesting. (Oedipus complex, anyone?) Don’t fret. Some signs are more compatible than others.

This can be a tricky match. Oh, it seems tempting at first...Aries energy is hyper-masculine, fun and entrepreneurial, which is something that attracts Cancers. But they can be notorious for starting things and not finishing, whereas Cancers have the opposite habit: never letting go. The key to this pairing is patience. Aries like to move fast, but if they can channel their enthusiasm into slowly revealing to the crab over time that they are loved and taken care of, the chemistry can be explosive. Cancers love being adored, and Aries love showing off their partners and making them feel like rock stars. The pairing of these two can create almost a celebrity-type presence—shiny and charismatic; but we all know how too many celeb relationships end: messily.

Geminis have a lot of good qualities to bring to any romantic partnership: They are funny, enthusiastic, highly intelligent, curious and love to have a good time. Those may intrigue a Cancer, but they’ll need just a little bit more of that boring commitment stuff that keeps a relationship together. Sure, Cancers like to have fun, but they also need assurances of loyalty, not a Say Anything boombox gesture after a week of not texting back. Cancers are trying to build a future here, people! The crab needs to feel special, and what’s the one thing we know about Peter Pan? He won’t grow up.

Libras love traditional romance, just like Cancers, but their approach is usually coolheaded and intellectual, rather than emotional. This even keel makes them the perfect party host, but while they’re schmoozing and shining their light on everyone equally (they are symbolized by the scales for a reason), a Cancer love interest will feel slighted that they’re not the only VIP in the room. If the Libra can reassure the crab on the deepest, most emotional level that they are devoted, then these two will enjoy an Instagram-worthy relationship. Picture bicycle rides in Montauk, selfies at the Eiffel Tower and double scoops of ice cream. But that’s a big if.

Crabs on crabs understand how important security is to the other, and when it clicks, these two will immediately start construction on a stable future together. This is the couple that throws the fabulous house parties but passes on going out for after-work drinks. It's not that they aren't social, it's just that things are just so much easier if you come to them, no? Once you're inside the crab shell, they will feed you, pamper you, watch whatever you want on Netflix, etc., but they are homebodies through and through. Still, Cancers aren't stagnant. They tend to love children and share the work of raising them (leaning in at home!), and when it comes to choosing a new settee or a paint swatch for the foyer, these domestic geniuses know exactly how important that decision is.

This is the match that begs the question: Who will pamper the pamperers? Virgo loves to serve, and Cancer loves to mother. Despite being elementally compatible (Cancer’s water works well with Virgo’s earth), these two are a bit too similar for their own good—they’re both in a constant tug-of-war to be the one who gets to do the dishes and then passive-aggressively complain about it later. But when they’re in that good place, they get to be passive-aggressive together. A long walk in the park full of deep conversation? Wonderful. A long walk in the park mumbling disses at every passerby? Even better.

Pisces, fellow water signs, are deep and emotional. They genuinely lose themselves in love. That’s great news for a Cancer, who not only wants commitment but also someone who will let them take care of them. The natural martyr complex of Pisces proves an ideal match for the crab’s nurturing soul by offering pure devotion. They will probably write a love poem a day for a year and end up casually scoring a book deal and dedicating it to their muse, their beloved Cancer.

A typical Cancer thinks Romeo & Juliet is the perfect love story and just one huge communication error. That’s because they crave commitment and need to know their partners are in it for the long haul. In other words, you’ve got to crack that hard shell to get that sweet crabmeat. Scorpios, famously confident, possessive and jealous, have the tenacity to prove they are not just ride or die, they are ride AND die, as in, ’til death do us part. See? It’s scary, but for a Cancer, it’s beautifully romantic. Oh Scorpio, oh Scorpio! Wherefore art thou Scorpio?

Kiki O'Keeffe is a writer and astrologer in Brooklyn. You can follow her newsletter, I don't believe in astrology, or her Twitter and Medium @alexkiki.