What's Your Sign?

Zodiac signs are foreign to me. I don't think much of the question "What's your sign?" If ever asked, I reply "Cancer" as though the answer is merely a fun fact. One of my best friends, Wes, ignited my interest in the "meanings" of signs for the first time when we were eating sushi in Virginia Beach last week. I put "meanings" in quotes because I'm not sold on their validity...but what's not entertaining about reading predictions for your personality traits and compatibility?

I'm not really sure how we got on the topic, but Wes is a Leo and I am a Cancer. Actually, I'm pretty sure the subject arose afters I huffed, "Ugh, Wes, why can't we just fall in love?", knowing full well that Wes and I have never been nor will ever be more than close friends. There's really no good reason for our strictly platonic relationship other than we've just never viewed each other in a romantic light. It must have to do with our signs...right? That, or I'm simply incapable of ever having feelings for someone who I love and respect as a dear friend (and vice versa). I refuse to believe the latter since a good relationship's foundation is a friendship, so I'm embracing the sign thing to explain Wes and me. Relieving my fears, most Zodiac websites confirm that Cancers and Leos are better off staying friends. Phew. As a matter of fact, they make great friends:

Wes & me at Miss Virginia 2011

"A friendship between a Cancer and a Leo is one in which both friends can understand and provide for each other [Wes drove me five hours in the middle of the night so that I could sleep after my sorority formal and make it across the state for a Miss Virginia event by 8:00a.m...talk about understanding and providing]. They are both faithful to each other, often possessive of each other, especially among other friends [Once while visiting Wes at William & Mary, another girl friend of his was blatantly rude to me, seemingly out of jealousy..naturally, I didn't leave Wes's side the rest of the night]. They usually form a strong friendship that could stand the test of time [Wes moved to Florida and I moved to New York, and we're still close as could be]." -Astrobix.com (very, very reliable source)

After dissecting Wes and myself, I started looking at my Zodiac compatibility in terms of whom I have dated. My two longest relationships were with Aquarius guys...doomed from the get-go, it seems. 

"The Cancer and Aquarius relationship is not particularly likely to be successful. Both partners have very distinct divergences in their basic personality and character traits, which leads to frequent disputes and discords" -Horoscopes-love.eu (also a very, very reliable source). Wish I'd had the heads up.

Then there were my short flings with an Aries ("Cancer signs of greatest overall incompatibility: Aries & Libra"...enough said), a Capricorn ("It is an even and balanced relationship which has equal chances of survival as well as getting extinct"...makes sense), and a Virgo ("A Cancer and Virgo make one of the most well matched couples"...did I let a good one go?).

You see, I can't trust this system. I'll start questioning past relationships and/or start asking for proof of birthday before going on a date. Neither sounds fun. I'll just keep reading Zodiac predictions for entertainment and act amazed when I'm able to twist them to match my reality.