Photo: getty
They just can't help it!
By Emily Ratay — Written on May 23, 2020
Not everyone enjoys a relationship where nothing extreme happens. And for those people, they are one of the zodiac signs who play mind games.
Individuals who play mind games with their partner do it for a variety of reasons. When someone is playing mind games with your heart, it can mean a few things, and it makes sense when you take astrology into account.
Almost always, these games only make for a tense, dishonest partnership. They might need a little extra oomph in their relationships, or they might secretly be a little scared of letting someone they love get too close. Either way, playing mind games almost never turns out okay.
It's a lot easier to just come clean about what you're feeling and go from there. And if it doesn't work out, wouldn't you rather be with someone who does love you completely, rather than stick around in a relationship that's way past its expiration date?
It's not always that easy, but knowing the zodiac signs who play mind games in their relationships can help you figure out if you need to work on your own relationship.
1. Gemini (May 21 - June 20)
Gemini, you're a natural-born flirt, and just because you're in a relationship doesn't mean you don't like to break out that dazzling smile for someone other than your partner.
You might not necessarily consider yourself a mind game-player, but you do have a habit of running hot and cold, and it can make your partner feel like you're playing games.
You're the kind of person who can see something to love in just about everyone, so is it really your fault that you fall in love with the barista for a second just for spelling your name right? Or, when someone compliments you on the outfit you spent an hour putting together?
Your charm is just naturally always on, and that often comes with flirting and playing the field a bit. You know it's wrong but are always secretly hoping it isn't such a big deal.
2. Libra (September 23 - October 22)
Libra, love is the reason you wake up in the morning. If you could be a living, breathing Snapchat filter, you would have little love hearts dancing around your head constantly.
You love the thought of being in relationships and will often start a new one almost immediately after breaking it off with someone else. For you, love should be about sugar and spice and all things nice, not disagreements or making tough decisions.
You're a people pleaser to the core, even when you know you shouldn't be. You're the kind of person who would sweep those tensions and tough decisions under the rug, rather than face them head-on, just to make your partner happy.
This mind game of yours is only going to build more tension in the future, which you know isn't the right way to handle things, but you'd rather not burst the perfect bubble you live in.
3. Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)
Scorpio, you're a very intense being when you're in a relationship, which is exactly how you like it. You want things between you and your partner to be hot and heavy as soon as you call yourself official, because nothing creates a deeper bond with you than getting serious right away.
But just because you're all for the soulful and seductive experience of love doesn't mean you don't play a few mind games in the process.
Take the secretive side of you, for instance. You're trying to protect your heart and want to make sure the person you're dating is just as into you as you are with them. But this game you play where you get to become the withholding partner is tiring.
If you want to strengthen that bond, you need to let yourself get vulnerable and honest, not secretive and closed-off.
4. Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)
Sagittarius, your relationships must be learning experiences for you (and constant adventures). If you don't feel like you're growing as a person, you're probably not going to stick around very long.
That said, you do love finding that one person who really makes you feel like they're you're other half, but that still doesn't really stop you from playing mind games, sometimes even without your partner's knowledge of what you're really doing.
Your biggest fear in a relationship is feeling like you're possessed by someone (not a demon, your partner), or restricted. Of course, serious relationships can make you freak out a bit, and you might start feeling this way even when your partner isn't restricting you.
You believe that sleeping with someone new is the best way to get over someone old, so it's not uncommon for you to clock out early in a relationship for that exact reason — that you'll find someone else — rather than working it out when these feelings of claustrophobia set in.
5. Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Pisces, you have a lot of love to give, and your partner knows that. And you would do just about anything in your relationship just to make your partner see how much you care about them.
For you, love and romance are what make the world go 'round, and you always want to be a part of that movement. That said, you have a tendency of using your heart to make decisions when you really need to use your brain.
You're someone who can run hot and cold pretty easily when it comes to love. You tend to give all of your love to someone without really thinking about what you want until it's too late.
The mind games you play — leading people on by being flirty and trying to be your partner's savior — means you're painting yourself inside a box that eventually makes it impossible to get out of when you inevitably go back to feeling indifferent.
Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She's passionate about the environment, astrology, and feminism, and plans to write a non-fiction book in the future.