Some sign combinations that have traditionally been considered to be stress-producing: signs that square. These are the pairs that often rub each other the wrong way,until they realize that they can also produce energy-releasing sparks. Any two signs that square each other are actually dynamic duos that help us powerfully grow, once we learn how to consolidate their energies better in a self-directed manner. After all, they represent two essential parts of our developmental process,and thus they each need to be validated and supported. We shouldn't let them pull us apart or make us feel split from within.

Squaring signs must find smart ways to get along. They need to help—not thwart—each other, even though they may start out assuming that they have absolutely nothing in common. In truth, they possess valuable resources that can be shared effectively. Yet to successfully do this will prove challenging. It seems the Cosmos loves to bring together such "odd couples" in our charts, perhaps just to see what transformative potential will be actualized by such frictional stimulation.

Each sign squares two other signs of the same mode in the zodiac. Squaring signs—like signs that oppose one another—are traditionally considered to be tensional. Unfortunately, traditional astrology believes in sidestepping conflict at all cost. However, twenty-first-century astrology acknowledges that a little creative friction can become the driving force that helps us bring out our best. Still, these signs are said to work at cross-purposes and are thus assumed to be incompatible and even combative.

Naturally, then, they are primarily the signs that mass-market astrology paperbacks eagerly tell us to avoid if we wish to stay happily married. The seemingly sensible advice here, for example, would be for Taurus to stick to its own kind—Virgo or Capricorn—but never to stray, let's say, into the stranger pastures of Aquarius. Yet what if we were born with a mix of Taurus and Aquarius in our own chart? Well, we'll just have to make this combo work for us, since these energies will be part of our makeup for a whole lifetime!

Any two signs share a few things in common—yes, even Taurus and Gemini—traits that materialize once these signs are pressured to interact. Even ifthey don't share many commonalities, each sign has qualities that could benefit the other. Any two signs also have dissimilar features that require a more tolerant, cooperative spirit on our part if they are to blend well. This applies even to signs of the same element, those that naturally trine each other. The standard line is that trining signs imply nothing but harmony and mutual understanding —let's even throw in good karma from past lives.Yet, since no two signs are exactly alike, attitude adjustments will be needed (for example, we shouldn't assume that time-efficient Virgo is always thrilled by the sometimes lethargic way Taurus can waste a whole day "relaxing").

Generally speaking, squaring signs don't easily understand why the other acts the way it does—feisty Aries is baffled by Cancer's moody behavior, showy Leo can't fathom secretive Scorpio, gung-ho Sagittarius finds wishy-washy Pisces too lacking in enthusiasm, and so on. Yet a wise and perhaps mischievous Cosmos seems to draw these signs to each other, again and again, to help them iron out their differences and instead capitalize on what they can effectively combine and make work. No sign is forever to avoid—or engage in battle with—another sign, since, as said before, all twelve signs comprise the essential parts of the ideal whole. Nonetheless, it will take effort and patience to learn the secrets of healthy integration.

Scorpio/Aquarius
That Leo/Scorpio mix is passionate, all right, but a bit too hot to handle at times. And when things are not going so great, their Oscar-worthy emotional responses can be gut-wrenching. But when Scorpio "teams up" with Aquarius—and that's how the Water Bearer likes to put it—the temperature drops to much cooler degrees. Actually, Scorpio always carries its hidden stash of frozen fire, which it is able to instantly thaw when needed, in case things start to get really frigid. Ironically, Scorpio doesn't realize it has such a powerful ego (the same thing it usually accuses Leo of flaunting) until it has to deal with the Water Bearer. Unlike Scorpio, Aquarius is an altruistic sign that rarely covets what others possess, unless it's an awesome IQ—although not even that, since Aquarius knows it was already born wildly brilliant!

The contrast of temperaments found here is such that Scorpio actually starts to feel itself to be the greedy one who selfishly demands a lot from others. It's almost insatiable when it comes to feeding its emotional hunger. Yet hanging around transpersonal Aquarius makes the self-conscious Scorpion worry that it truly is more of a taker than a giver—more an energy-sucking black hole ofobsessive need.

To makes matters worse, Aquarius doesn't appear to have a manipulative bone in its body, plus its unusual life is an open book, and it has tons of sparkling friends. Meanwhile, lonely, brooding Scorpio sometimes even scares the pigeons in the park—probably due to the menacing look of wearing dark glasses on cloudy days. In Scorpio's opinion, Aquarius doesn't seem to need a lot, because it already has it all—the result of living a life based on inner freedom and the courage to show one's true colors in public. (Scorpio often seems to be a little too concerned about who has whatever it secretly craves.)

Meanwhile, the Water Bearer intuits that the Scorpion is a bit of a malcontent and a little too mysterious to be appreciated intellectually. Scorpio also seems to get too caught up in a complex of details, and it accepts little at face value.The Scorpion could benefit from Aquarius' ability to quickly flash on the overview of any situation with dispassionate clarity. "Ditch the emotional intensity and those nasty responses that go with it, and plug in to pure, accelerated mind power," advocates Aquarius. "It's the only way to fly!" Scorpio does get too wound up about things and people it cannot control, and so a little mental detachment couldn't hurt. Of course, the Scorpion is suspicious that high-flying Aquarius is way out of touch with ordinary human feelings, and may need one day to get down to the bottom of why it's so darn impersonal in all its relationships.

If we have these two signs highlighted in our chart, we probably started off life feeling alienated, though on different levels. Both Scorpio and Aquarius could claim not to be easily understood by most folks, but then again, they are quite capable of having odd, unsettling reactions to simple social interchanges. Aquarius takes the unpredictable path—as if it's fun to shock people or catch them offguard— while Scorpio is just plain silent and seemingly unresponsive in ways that others find cryptic and even a bit creepy. (Of course,this can be a fabulous combo for livening up Halloween.)

Still, going rapidly from smoldering intensity to cool emotional distance, and back, is not an easy pattern to which others can relate. We'll need to be less abrupt when our moods are ready to shift, plus become more sensitive to how our sudden chill factor perplexes others who thought we were getting intimate with them.

As these are two fixed signs associated with defiant planets—Pluto and Uranus—self-will is strong (even though Aquarius would rather call it something else, since it is uneasy identifying itself with words that begin with "self"). These two signs are also stubborn. Aquarian inflexibility applies more to its abstract principles of Truth and the ideals that it expects to work for all. Scorpio's obstinacy is rooted in its hatred of being forced to bend to the iron will of another (it would rather die first). So don't expect to find a temperament that easily accommodates people. Scorpio/Aquarius is quite capable offlatly saying "no" to others.

Also, with this combo, we can contain stormy feelings for a long time—hoping that by not releasing them, we deaden their power. Instead, we eventually blow like a volcano, usually at a most inappropriate occasion, and baffle everyone. At that point, even the Aquarius part of us doesn't care how many people witness our major eruption!

Scorpio/Aquarius Astro-lebrities
Dylan Thomas, poet: (Sun in Scorpio, Moon in Aquarius)
Calista Flockhart, actress: (Sun in Scorpio, Moon in Aquarius)
Neil Young, musician-songwriter: (Sun in Scorpio, Moon in Aquarius)
Jules Verne, writer: (Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Scorpio)
Helen Gurley Brown, writer-editor: (Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Scorpio)
James Dean, actor: (Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Scorpio)

Excerpted from All Around the Zodiac, by Bil Tierney