Using astrology to inform your love life can go so far beyond pinpointing the sign with which you’re most compatible. For starters, cosmic compatibility can be more nuanced than you might realize, so simply drawing connections between sun signs to designate a singular “most” compatible person for you won’t necessarily work. And even beyond that, getting along well with someone isn’t just a matter of your predestined birth-chart placements and whether they seem to mesh; it also has to do with how well you understand each other—and learning the top relationship strength of each zodiac sign can help you figure out where you and a (potential or current) partner will most likely excel in a relationship. By harnessing those unique strengths, you can play an active role in making a relationship work.

Though each sign is associated with a variety of traits—say, a Gemini’s quick wit and indecision or a Leo’s confidence and generosity—the most potent strength of each zodiac sign in a relationship context hinges specifically on emotional and communication quirks. So, the top relationship strength of each sign can apply not only to people of that sun sign (aka the sign you’d read a horoscope for), but also to folks of that rising sign (which reflects how you appear to others) and Venus sign (which embodies how you show and seek affection), according to astrologer Stefanie Iris Weiss. (If you don’t know you or your partner’s rising or Venus sign, just plug your birth date and location into a chart generator like this one.)

Below, Weiss shares the top relationship strength of each zodiac sign and how it’s most likely to show up in action.

Here’s the strongest quality each zodiac sign brings to a romantic relationship

Aries: clear instincts

You often know, in your body, what you want and when you want it, Aries. And it’s this sixth sense that shines in your romantic relationships. “We think of the water signs as the ones with intuition, but we shouldn’t sleep on the power of intuitive fire,” says Weiss, referencing the fire element of Aries. This generally means that you can “cut to the chase and avoid wasting your time or the time of a [prospective or current] partner with months of texting before a meet-up or by staying in a relationship that’s not working,” says Weiss.

Taurus: sensuality

You’re totally attuned to mental and physical pleasure, as the sign that’s perhaps most grounded in all five senses. And you can really share that comfort with a loved one, if you feel so inclined. “Dating a bull can feel like being lavished in permanent luxury,” says Weiss. And because you tend to feel comfortable in your own body, that vibe can instantly calm your partner’s nervous system and put them at ease, too, she adds.

Gemini: communication

Ruled by the communication-oriented planet of Mercury, you live for a good heart-to-heart, Gemini. You’re the person who will “stay up all night chatting with a partner about anything and everything, savoring the getting-to-know-you stage of any relationship through every syllable,” says Weiss. That twin energy also makes you receptive to both the teaching and learning one does while dating, she adds.

Cancer: ability to nurture

Ever the emotions-driven water sign of the zodiac, you’re adept at making a partner feel at home—wherever they may be. “Connecting with you tends to make a partner feel like they’re being burrito-ed in a warm blanket of love and care,” says Weiss. And given your strong ability to feel your own emotions, you’re also capable of deftly handling a partner’s emotions and even their past trauma, whenever it might bubble up.

Leo: loyalty

Like the lion by which your sign is symbolized, you will stop at nothing to protect the ones you care about, Leo. And that strong sense of loyalty can make it easy for your partners to place their trust in you. Once you decide that someone is your person, you take their happiness as your own and may even go so far as to “humiliate their enemies in public” in order to prove your allegiance, adds Weiss.

Virgo: awareness

Known for your keenness for detail, you tend to pick up on all the things, big or small. And as a result, you’re a pro at identifying any kind of discomfort in a partner or the hidden source of a relationship issue that might go unaddressed by less aware folks, says Weiss. Immensely sensitive, you just always seem to know what to do to fix a problem and “can whip chaos into submission,” she adds.

Libra: diplomacy

As the sign of the scales, you won’t be surprised to learn that your best relationship skill is all about restoring harmony whenever it’s been thwarted. “You’re able to calmly, and often quietly, assess imbalances in an early dating scenario or an established long-term relationship without getting into a screaming fight about it,” says Weiss. Classically, you have a penchant for weighing both sides of any situation, but in the context of a relationship, you may even prioritize your partner’s viewpoint; they don’t call you a true romantic for nothing.

Scorpio: intimacy

It’s almost as if you were born knowing how to be in an intense, emotionally vulnerable relationship, says Weiss. That is, your ability to open up to others and to receive from them is practically innate. “There is no middle ground here,” Weiss adds. A relationship with you often gives way to “an ocean of desire and a nearly unfathomable depth of passion,” she says.

Sagittarius: optimism

You’re generally on the glass-half-full side of things, Sagittarius. And that can work well within a relationship—in terms of quickly moving on from conflict and not holding grudges—as well as in a dating context, where you’re less likely to get discouraged by foiled dates and more likely to hold onto the belief that the right person for you is still out there, according to Weiss: “You bounce back like a rubber ball, always looking at the bright side.”

Capricorn: maturity

You don’t waver or wilt in the face of conflict, Capricorn. Quite the contrary, you’re typically comfortable with having a responsible and logical conversation (even if it’s about a heated topic), and owning up to any of your missteps. “More than just being a great planner…you’re willing to take serious accountability for your actions whenever the moment calls for it,” says Weiss.

Aquarius: capacity for friendship

Associated with the 11th astrological house of friendship and community, Aquarius innately understands that “being true friends is at the heart of any successful partnership,” says Weiss. And as a result, your top strength in a relationship is maintaining the friendship—be it through creative dates or deep-dive conversations—whether you’re newly dating someone or have been with a partner for years, she says.

Pisces: selflessness

You thrive on offering up romantic gestures in service of your partner, Pisces. “Every dating scenario is a love poem for you,” says Weiss. “You can fall in love extremely easily and will often treat even those that you’re just getting to know with the kind of care you’d treat someone to whom you’d committed for life.” In other words, you don’t take love lightly, and the right person will love you all the more for it.

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