Scorpio

What is Scorpio like?

Scorpio is intense, perceptive and very hard to fool. They look at you for a second longer than most people do, and you feel a little as if your coat pockets have been checked. It is a useful skill, and they use it mostly to look after the people they love.

Everything counts with a Scorpio. They do not really do small talk or half measures. Their friendships are few and last for life, and they will turn up at three in the morning, with no questions, if you call. They are drawn to whatever lies under the surface: secrets, old stories, what people really mean, why the house was so cheap.

The humour is dark and very dry. A Scorpio at a party may say two sentences all evening, and both will be quoted the next day. Under the armour there is a great tenderness, which you are shown when you have earned it.

What are the weak spots of Scorpio?

Trust is the sore point. A Scorpio can test people without telling them, and hold a slight for a remarkably long time. They do not forget, and forgiving takes them a while. They may be perfectly polite to you for ten years while keeping the file open.

They can be secretive past the point of need. Friends may learn big news from Scorpio only after it is all over. It is less about hiding things than about feeling safer when nobody has the full map.

There is also a tendency to go all the way down. A Scorpio in a low mood can dig a very deep hole, with great skill. A friend who makes them laugh is worth more than any amount of good advice.

Who does Scorpio get on with?

Scorpio usually gets on best with the other water signs, Cancer and Pisces, who feel things as strongly and do not need to have it explained. Virgo and Capricorn are good matches too, as earth gives all that depth something steady to hold. Taurus, the opposite sign, can be a very strong attraction: both are loyal, both are stubborn, and the arguments can go on for years in the nicest possible way.

Gemini and Sagittarius may find Scorpio heavy, and Scorpio may find them hard to pin down. Leo and Aquarius are fellow fixed signs, and neither side will back down. As with any pair, sun signs tell only a small part of it. See the compatibility pages for more.

What is Scorpio like at work?

Scorpio does well where the job involves going deep. Research, psychology, archaeology, detective work, finance, writing, and any role with a mystery in it tend to suit this sign. Give them a hard problem and privacy, and they will not stop until it is solved.

They work with fierce focus and do not need applause. They do need to trust the people around them. A Scorpio manager sees everything and says little. As a colleague, they are the one who knows what is really going on, and will tell you only if you ask the right question.

How does Scorpio handle money?

Scorpio tends to be private about money and clever with it. They would rather not discuss what they earn or what they have put aside. They think in the long term, they often do well out of shared arrangements, and they will quietly research a big purchase for six months before anyone hears about it.

What does the Scorpio symbol mean?

The symbol is the scorpion. In Greek myth, a scorpion stung the great hunter Orion, and the two were placed at opposite ends of the sky, so that one sets as the other rises. Older traditions also linked this sign with the eagle, a hint that it can rise above its own sting. The glyph is an M with an arrow for a tail. The constellation Scorpius has a real curling tail of stars, and a bright red heart called Antares.

Pluto is the modern ruling planet of Scorpio, and Mars is the older one, which between them explain a lot about all that force and focus. See what they are doing on the Scorpio horoscope. You probably have a good idea of your own depths already, but a free birth chart will show you where Pluto and Mars sit for you, and you need not tell anyone.