Man, trying to figure out who’d actually stick around with a Pisces like me? That was a wild ride, I tell ya. For years, I just felt kinda lost in the dating game, always wondering if it was just me, or if my sign was just… weird. Every time I’d get into something new, the first thing I’d do was sneakily check their birthdate, then go straight to those online compatibility charts. You know the ones, saying “PISCES AND VIRGO: A challenging but potentially rewarding match!” or “PISCES AND LEO: Don’t even bother!” It felt like I was starting every potential connection with a pre-written fate, and half the time, it just screwed with my head.
I remember this one time, I met this Gemini. On paper, everyone said, “Oh, Gemini and Pisces, that’s a tough one, emotional depth versus intellectual surface.” But we hit it off like crazy. Laughed so much, talked for hours, everything felt easy. Then I remembered the charts, and this nagging voice in my head kept saying, “It won’t last. He’s a Gemini.” And you know what? That thought, that stupid little seed of doubt planted by some random article, actually started to mess with how I saw him. I started looking for the “Gemini flaws,” the supposed superficiality, and convinced myself it was true. It wasn’t fair to him, and it definitely wasn’t fair to me.
I went through a whole bunch of these, chasing after what the internet told me was “compatible” or running from what it said was a “bad match.” It was exhausting, man. I dated a Cancer, because everyone said “Water signs, perfect!” It was okay, but honestly, it felt like two gentle ships floating aimlessly, needing someone to actually steer the boat. Then a Scorpio, another water sign, supposedly intense and passionate. Yeah, it was intense alright, but also just a bit too much drama for my usually chill vibe. It was like I was checking boxes based on astrology instead of just… feeling it out.
The turning point, funny enough, happened after a particularly brutal breakup with a Capricorn. The charts said we were supposed to be “grounding” for each other. Instead, it felt like he was constantly trying to pin me down, and I was constantly trying to swim away. After that mess, I sat at home, just staring at my phone, ready to go delete every astrology app, every article I’d ever saved. I just felt so used up by trying to fit real people into these tiny, cosmic boxes. That’s when it hit me. What if it wasn’t about the sign at all? What if it was about the person, plain and simple?
I decided to ditch the whole “compatible sign” mission. Completely. My new rule? Stop asking for birthdates. Stop checking charts. Just talk to people. It felt weird at first, like walking into a dark room without a flashlight. I’d always had that cheat sheet, that pre-judgment. Now, I had to actually listen, observe, and genuinely get to know someone without any preconceived notions.
My “practice” became simple:
- I started focusing on how people made me FEEL. Did I feel safe? Did I feel heard? Did I feel like myself around them?
- I looked at their actions, not their astrological profiles. Were they kind? Were they reliable? Did they follow through on what they said?
- I paid attention to shared interests and values. Did we laugh at the same stupid jokes? Did we care about the same things in the world? Did we have similar visions for what a good life looked like, even if it was just about what we wanted for dinner?
- I learned to speak up about my own needs, instead of expecting someone’s sign to magically know them. If I needed space, I said it. If I needed reassurance, I asked for it.
- Most importantly, I learned to trust my gut. That little feeling in your stomach, that’s usually a better compass than any star chart. If something felt off, I leaned into that feeling, rather than ignoring it because “astrology says we’re compatible.”
It was a slow process, learning to untangle myself from years of astrological conditioning. I went on more dates, some good, some really not, but each time, I felt like I was actually learning about people, not just their sun signs. I started seeing patterns in behavior that had nothing to do with whether they were a Taurus or a Sagittarius, but everything to do with their character, their upbringing, their personal struggles, and their triumphs.
And you know what? Eventually, I met someone. And to this day, I actually couldn’t tell you their astrological sign without having to ask them. That’s how little it mattered in the end. What mattered was that they were patient, they listened, they made me laugh, and they felt like home. We talked about everything under the sun, shared our dreams, our fears, and our love for late-night tacos. It just worked. It wasn’t about the stars aligning for our signs; it was about two people aligning their lives, piece by piece, simply because they wanted to.
