Zodiac Sign and Behavior: Is There a Connection?

When we try to understand the people around us, we mentally put them into separate boxes. It’s human nature, and it’s how we make sense of different personalities and behaviors. It helps us navigate our social interactions.

Personality systems, energy profiling, and astrology help us to figure out everybody. People even interpret zodiac signs for their pets! But can you literally connect the dots between someone's behavior and their zodiac sign?

A Super Brief History of Zodiac Signs

How do the celestial activities affect what we do down here on earth? That’s what ancient astrologers asked, and that’s what drove them to develop astrology.

It has a long history, and many ancient cultures contributed their own knowledge to this field. Greeks, Egyptians, Arabians, and Babylonians were only some of the cultures who studied the stars. Over time, they noted that people born in each month shared observable behavioral patterns and personality traits.

The Four Elements and Zodiac Signs

How did people start interpreting stars and plants and human behavior? How did they bring astrology down to earth?

They closed the gap between heaven and earth by matching the zodiac signs to the four elements down below: air, fire, water, and earth.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the traits associated with each element. Plus, the 3 zodiac signs associated with each element.

• Air tends to be friendly, flexible, social and loves communication and relationships. They are thinkers, intellectual, rational and analytical. They like philosophical discussions, social gatherings, good books, and giving advice.

Air signs: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius

• Fire is associated with bursts of energy, passion, enthusiasm, strong intuition, dynamism and being temperamental. They can get angry quickly but forgive quickly, too. They’re adventurous, have immense energy, are physically strong, and are inspirational, intelligent, self-aware, creative, idealistic, and ready for action.

Fire signs: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius

• Water signs are emotional, highly sensitive and intuitive people. They’re mysterious and love profound conversations and intimacy.

Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces

• Earth tends to be stubborn, grounded, conservative, loyal, stable and practical. These people will be there for you through thick and thin.

Earth signs Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn

What Does Each Zodiac Sign Mean?

Now, let’s take a look at each sun sign and its usual characteristics:

1. Aries (Fire) March 20 – April 20: Energetic, takes initiative, is bold, fearless, temperamental and impulsive.
2. Taurus (Earth) April 20 – May 21: Reliable, dependable, responsible, persistent, stubborn, determined, and likes the finer things.
3. Gemini (Air) May 21 – June 21: Versatile, curious, talkative, great communicator, imaginative and intelligent.
4. Cancer (Water) June 21 – July 23: Intuitive, sympathetic, changeable, moody, sensitive, nurturing and likes to make people feel comfortable.
5. Leo (Fire) July 23 – August 23: Creative, inspired, confident, self-expressive, outgoing, charming, loves laughter and is fun to be around.
6. Virgo (Water) August 23 – September 23: Exact, logical, analytical, perfectionist, practical, loyal and detail-oriented.
7. Libra (Air) September 23 – October 23: Flirtatious, graceful, charming, idealistic, balanced, diplomatic, and likes to keep everything in harmony.
8. Scorpio (Water) October 23 – November 22: Charming, engaged, passionate, intense and magnetic.
9. Sagittarius (Fire) November 22 – December 22: Loves adventure, new things, and new challenges, is restless, impatient, independent, honest, philosophical and outgoing.
10. Capricorn (Earth) Dec 23- Jan 20: Keeps high standards, is hard working, independent, reliable, ambitious, organized, determined, calm and makes a great leader.
11. Aquarius (Air) Jan 20 – Feb 18: Original, honest, independent and tends to think about the future.
12. Pisces (Water) Feb 18 – March 20: Sensitive, faithful, emotional, empathetic, artistic, intuitive, compassionate, is a good listener and usually, a reliable friend.

Why Zodiac Signs Aren’t Accurate

It should come as no surprise that astrology is still very much in vogue today. Even if you don’t completely buy into zodiac signs, you probably still know your sign and read your zodiac on occasion.

If you believe in astrology, you use these signs to understand yourself, your boyfriend, your mother, your boss, your co-workers, etc. So, why not use zodiac signs to figure out your child?

Well, whether you agree with the zodiac system or not, you shouldn’t categorize your child with it.

Here’s why:

1. Solar Astrology

This type of astrology only focuses on the twelve sun signs that we listed above. These signs focus on your ego. This is the most popular form of astrology, and what you’re used to seeing in the tabloids. But the sun signs make up only one dimension of understanding zodiac signs.

If you’re really interested in understanding your child with astrology, you have to consider not only the 12 zodiac signs but also the position of the sun, moon planets and the 12 houses of the horoscope.

If you’re only referring to your child’s birthdate, you’re ignoring a lot of other important astrological factors. And you’ll probably end up with an inaccurate and probably unfair assessment of your child.

You probably noticed from the list above, that it’s a bit vague and inconclusive. That’s because alone, these 12 sun signs are incomplete.

2. Amateur Readings

Unfortunately, much of the sun signs are explained by amateur astrologers at best, and ignorant writers at the worst.

Therefore, when trying to understand your little one based on his or her sun sign, it’s usually a hit or miss. Interpretations can change from one author to the next. Furthermore, the person who wrote that column probably wasn’t an expert astrologer!

3. Personalities Are More Complex Than The 12 Zodiac Signs

Of course, zodiacs are not the only way to understand personalities and energy types. There are many popular ways to categorize personalities. Briggs Myers, Energy Profiling, and Enneagram are only three methods used to interpret behavior.

But these systems can limit us, too.

You see, if you place your child into a specific category, such as a zodiac sign, you don’t leave much room for many other factors, like family, culture, upbringing, and society. There is so much more to your child’s personality than what one system can offer us.

Maybe it’s easy to see your child in his or her zodiac sign, but try not to base your understanding of your child on his zodiac sign. It’s true: it’s an age-old system, but what you observe in your daily interactions with your child are far more useful than what ancient astrologers saw in the sky hundreds of years ago.