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How lovey-dovey is your sign?
By Emily Ratay — Last updated on Oct 19, 2022
Some people are super affectionate and can't live without being touched. Then, there are those who cringe at the idea of a touchy-feely relationship.
According to astrology, your zodiac sign might be behind your feelings toward affection.
Being affectionate isn’t only about showing your love for someone physically — and it isn’t just reserved for romantic relationships, either.
Affection can present itself in a range of ways, like treating your sibling to a big breakfast on Saturday morning or texting your BFF after a night out to make sure they got home safe.
Affection is really defined as having a fondness or liking for someone; it’s about showing someone you care about kindness and warmth.
But even still, some zodiac signs seem to have this affection for their romantic relationships, friendships, and even acquaintances down to a science (and they seemingly always have enough love for everyone), while others can barely give more than one person their full attention at a time (and barely give them more than a smile when they do).
Your preferred level of affection doesn’t make you a good or bad person; everyone shows love differently.
And even if you’re not someone who just prefers affection in private — and doesn’t prefer it at all — doesn’t mean you don’t still care about people; you just care about them in different ways.
So, if you’re curious about which side of the scale you’re on, keep reading for the zodiac signs most affectionate to least likely to want to be touched, according to astrology.
Affectionate zodiac signs, ranked from most to least
Cancer (June 21 - July 22)
Cancer is the most affectionate zodiac sign.
This sign is very in tune with the people they love and they make it their business to know when they can show people some love when it's needed most.
Being such an intuitive sign helps them know exactly when their partner needs emotional or physical care. To them, being affectionate is a better way to prove their feelings using more than words.
Cancer is also one of the most romantic zodiac signs in astrology. Not only that, but they're also very creative. They don’t like using the same technique twice when being romantic, so you’re always in for a surprise.
On top of that, they're huge fans of showing affection — whether that means holding hands, kissing in public, or just snuggling up to you on the couch — and you can almost guarantee that they’ll always show you love whenever you’re together.
Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Pisces is crazy affectionate — and you don’t have to be dating each other to see this side of them. They love spending time with their favorite people and even if you’ve seen each other only a few days ago, they're the type of person to throw a little affection your way just to show you how much they missed you.
That might mean holding hands with her BFF or starting a tickle fight with their partner, but either way, Pisces is a total love bug. Pisces is a true believer in romance; they might not always be able to articulate her feelings, but they can definitely show you just how much they love you with a little affection.
Pisces' dream in life is to find unconditional love and to do that, they know that they have to be the one to show others just how important sharing warmth and kindness is.
Libra (September 23 - October 22)
Ever the hopeless romantic, Libra absolutely swoons whenever they see other couples engage in affectionate behavior.
Libra never wants to go without hand-holding, romantic kisses, or flirting, so whether you’ve been with them for three months or three years, you can always predict that they're going to want to keep the romance alive by being uber-affectionate.
To Libra, a day is not complete without a little affection. Even if you can’t spend time together physically, they're the zodiac sign who video chats with you during a lunch break to tell you how much they miss you or sends you kissing emojis when they're bored.
Libra is easy to love and finds it easy to love others, no matter how close you are to them; they just really enjoy being lovey-dovey.
Virgo (August 23 - September 22)
Virgo is very supportive and honestly just wants what is best for the people they care about most. They know that she can’t control everything in life — no matter how hard they try — but they do know that a little support can go a long way.
Virgo's affection might not always be physical, but they're always showing warmth and kindness by helping others whenever they can.
To Virgo, affection can come in all shapes and sizes, which is why they're always doing things like helping you organize your life or even just sending you encouraging texts when they know you’re feeling down.
For Virgo, it’s the thought that counts — and Virgo is always thinking about you, trust me. They likes being affectionate (in their own way) because they want to remind you that they're always there for you, even when they're not there for you.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
Taurus might not always be a “grand gesture” kind of zodiac sign, but you can’t deny that they love showing their affection.
Taurus is the kind of person to give you little gifts just because they were thinking about you and going out of their way to do things for you, which they find more effective than just going over the top with affection.
All Taurus cares about is making you happy, which is apparent in how far they're willing to go for love.
Taurus is also a very romantically-inclined sign and will pull out all the stops for you when they feel like a grand gesture is worth the work. When you’re with a Taurus, you can expect affection in public, in private, in big ways, small ways, and almost every single day you’re together.
Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)
Scorpio has a very magnetic personality, which means it’s almost impossible to ignore them. They love to show affection with words rather than with touch because they know exactly what to say to stay on your mind all day.
Scorpio is incredibly good at flirting and when you’re not blushing furiously, you’re probably wondering just how to make this interaction last.
Scorpio can be a tease sometimes, making you wait for the physical affection, but when they do take it to the next level, they're someone you won’t be able to forget.
Scorpio believes that life should be full of passion and affection. They do have to have a real connection with you before they can open up to you completely, but when they do, their affection can range from harmless flirting to serious PDA — so get ready.
Aries (March 21 - April 19)
Aries can sometimes be a little more aggressive than affectionate, but when they are affectionate, you gotta keep up — or you risk losing them.
Aries is always looking for excitement and thrill in life. And to them, showing affection means finding a dynamic partner to share witty banter and serious eye contact with.
Aries is, by definition, intense, and they want someone to appreciate that intensity in her. They aren't one to flirt with anyone and everyone, but if they feel like they have a real connection with someone, they’ll show their true personality and hope others can keep up.
Affection to Aries doesn’t usually mean physical affection, so if you want to know how they really feel about you, you have to listen to what they say and how they say it.
Gemini (May 21 - June 20)
Gemini can be very affectionate (if they're having fun with you), but if there's no "click," chances are pretty good they're looking for someone else to get close to.
In reality, Gemini just wants to have a good time and they don't really care who it's with. They're always looking for the next best thing, so unless you're keeping them interested, they'll take their affection elsewhere.
For Gemini, being affectionate means letting their guard down, which Gemini isn't always great at. They like the chase, not the catch, and they like being flirty, but when the other person starts to return that affection, they get scared off. It might be too close for comfort to let themselves be vulnerable, so they often opt for more casual encounters rather than serious romance.
Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)
Sagittarius isn't afraid to be affectionate at times, but only if the parties involved know that they're just being flirty and not actually serious.
Sagittarius sometimes feels like they have a reputation to uphold, which usually includes making sure everyone knows that they're happy being untethered and single.
Sagittarius will keep flirting and being playful with you up until the point they decide that you're getting too attached. They are very anti-commitment, which means if you show even the slightest interest in something more, the game is over and they're gone. They don't care about looking flaky as long as it means they get to keep being known as the one no one can lock down.
Leo (July 23 - August 22)
Leo can be very warm-hearted and open to the affection of others, but when it comes to being affectionate themself, it doesn't really ever happen the way they want. They might have an idea of the kind of love and affection they want to show their partner, but actually putting it into practice isn't always easy for them.
Leo tends to be pretty cold and arrogant when things don't go their way. They don't like hearing the word "no" and when they put themselves out there and get rejected, it's hard for them to find the courage to try again.
Being affectionate means being vulnerable, which is something Leo seriously needs to work on if they want to find love.
Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)
Capricorn might be one of the zodiac signs most likely to be in a long-term relationship, but affection is not something they're naturally drawn to.
Capricorn tends to have a lot of self-control, which means that just because they have feelings for you doesn't mean they're going to show them all the time. They try to take a more practical approach to their emotions, which only makes them seem cold, not smart.
To Capricorn, showing affection is better done in private and even then, only if it's done very carefully. They protect their hearts and they really only want people they can trust completely to see how loving they can be.
But whether you've been dating a Capricorn for a few months or a lot of years, they still are ones to be overly affectionate; it's just not them.
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)
Aquarius tends to run from emotional expression, which means that anything that even remotely feels like letting their guard down and talking about their feelings is an absolute no-go. They tend to focus more on themselves and their own goals in life rather than trying to make room for someone else.
Aquarius is one of the most detached, guarded signs. They tend to keep their true feelings under lock and key unless they know for a fact that you won't mock them or make them feel weird for the kind of person they are.
Aquarius would much rather keep people at arm's length until they can trust completely rather than run the risk of looking desperate for showing affection.
Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She's passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes.