What Makes Each Zodiac Sign Feel Guilty, According To Astrology

Guilt can come in many forms; it's an emotion, after all. When you're feeling guilty about something, it can make you anxiously bite your nails, make it hard to eat, and even make it impossible to hold a conversation with someone.

Every zodiac sign experiences guilt and shame differently, but they do all experience it.

Your zodiac sign might not feel guilty about the same things that another zodiac sign feels guilty about, but both of you can experience the same side effects of guilt all the same.

Like any big emotion, guilt can consume you entirely (if you let it). It can create even more problems than you think, too.

If guilt or feeling embarrassed is making it hard to eat or sleep, then it can take a toll on your performance at work. In addition to not being able to eat or sleep, guilt can give you headaches, acne, stomach ulcers, and more.

But to let go of feelings of guilt, it's important to know how your zodiac sign acts when feeling guilty about something, according to astrology, so that you can be more honest and take care of yourself.

What Makes Each Zodiac Sign Feel Guilty

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Aries, you’re usually one of the more brutally honest zodiac signs. You’ll say what’s on your mind because you believe that people deserve to know the truth — end of discussion.

That said, just because you believe in honesty doesn’t mean you don’t also experience guilt at times; guilt you’d much rather keep to yourself instead of being honest about it.

You fully believe that the eyes are the windows to the soul. When someone lies to you, you can absolutely tell that they’re being untruthful because of the way they have a hard time looking directly at you. When you are experiencing a guilty shame, you are one of these people, too.

People know how you act when you’re being honest (fierce eye contact), but when you’re feeling guilty, you just can’t seem to look people in the eye.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

Guilt stresses you out, Taurus. When you’re experiencing guilt, you can feel it in your bones. It’s almost like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, proving just how bad your guilt is.

And with all this stress comes a whole slew of other symptoms — breakouts, insomnia, anxiety — that won’t go away until you confront your guilt.

These symptoms of stress and guilt might change, but one symptom always sticks around. When you’re feeling guilty, you can almost always count on a loss of appetite. You’re a foodie for life, but when you’re guilty of something, there’s just too many knots in your stomach to keep anything down.

If anything can get you to act like yourself again, it’s comfort food, but you won’t be able to eat until you clear your guilt first.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

Gemini, you absolutely love keeping the conversation flowing, no matter who you’re with. Anyone who knows you know that you like being chatty and you love putting in your two cents.

Sure, you’re fine with some silent moments too, but why be quiet when you can be chatty, right? Of course, if you’re feeling guilty about something, you might not want to talk to anyone at all.

Unfortunately, everyone who knows you knows when something is wrong. Just because you’re always chatting it up with one person or another doesn’t mean your conversations don’t have some point you’re trying to make.

That said, when you’re acting guilty, you feel like you have to make small talk that goes nowhere instead of not talking at all — you know, just in case someone uses that silence to accuse you of acting weird.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

Cancer, if you’re feeling guilty, it’s probably because you did something you’re not proud of to someone else. Sure, you feel guilty when you do something generally frowned upon, but when you do something that ends up hurting or betraying someone you care about, it’s a whole other story.

Suddenly, you’re sick to your stomach. And when it’s something you can’t admit to and apologize for, you become wracked with guilt.

When you’re feeling guilty, you act especially nice to the person you hurt. They might not even know it was you who betrayed them, but it doesn’t matter — you know, and that’s enough to feel terrible.

When you’re guilty of something, you compensate by being way too nice. You’ll cook, do their errands, sacrifice things you want to do... it’s a whole mess. You’re generally a nice person, but this is just suspicious.

Leo (July 23 - August 22)

An honest and innocent Leo is a confident one. You are the leader of your pride, after all, so you know that everyone looks to you for direction, advice, and confidence of their own.

That said, being a leader doesn’t excuse you from experiencing guilt — but it does make it harder for you to hide it when you are guilty of something.

When you’re feeling guilty, all of that confidence goes away. You know that eyes are always on you, so you try to keep your chin up until you figure out how to make the guilt go away, but it’s never that easy.

When you act guilty, you’re very nervous. Little noises make you jump, you don’t feel like being your outgoing self, and you get way too caught up in your self-deprecating thoughts.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

Virgo, you never want to be the kind of person other people can't trust. You put a lot of stock in being able to show others that your honesty is genuine and that when people come to you asking for help or looking for advice, you'll always help them out.

You are also known for being very innocent. You don't often do or say things that will make you feel guilty later because it would ruin your whole image.

That said, you can't prevent guilt forever. How you handle it, though, can be very foreign to you.

Rather than shrugging it off, it can feel like the guilt is eating away at you. And anyone who knows you best will know that when you're experiencing guilt, your body language changes completely.

You're used to being so open and honest, so acting guilty can make you seem closed off and secretive, which isn't easy to hide.

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

Libra, you tend to take the good with the bad in life — it's what keeps you balanced and focused on what really matters to you! So, when you're experiencing some guilt, you don't let it get to you too much.

Just like when you really feel like you're on top of your game, you try to stay humble because you know that there are times when you're way off your game. Of course, feeling guilty about something usually comes with a reason, right? It's not just like having a bad day.

So, on top of feeling off, you also have to deal with the horrible thing that's making you feel guilty. And that can make you act emotionally unbalanced — worried one moment, upset the next, angry at yourself and everyone else for the guilt you're feeling.

That said, it's up to you to bring back that balance you need.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

Scorpio, you are the type of zodiac sign that prefers to keep your true feelings hidden instead of letting just anyone see the real you. So, whether you're feeling anger, resentment, or sometimes even happiness, you tend to hide your feelings away until you know that whoever you share them with can be trusted.

When it comes to feeling guilty about something, you do the exact same thing.

Of course, guilt isn't just an emotion — it comes with overthinking, stress, and a whole mess of feelings. If you're feeling guilty about something, it's because you know you did something wrong.

Of course, no one else has to know that, so when you're trying to hide it away, you start acting defensive and angry. It's not the best way to hide your guilt, but at least it'll get nosy people off your back until you figure things out.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

You always try to be a good friend to your friends, Sagittarius. That means that you would much rather choose honesty over lying any day of the week.

That said, if you're feeling guilty about something you did (that also has something to do with someone you care about), your honest personality tends to go out the window. Suddenly, you're acting flaky and secretive and refusing to look that person in the eye.

While flakiness and secrecy are definitely side effects to guilt, there is one thing that you always do when you're acting guilty.

You're not very good at hiding your true emotions away, so when you're experiencing guilt, you tend to just completely avoid everyone (you can't take any chances in opening up to someone). No calls or texts, no hanging out, and no having to look someone in the eye while you're wrapped up in guilt.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

Guilt is such a weird emotion for you to experience, Capricorn. You are the type of zodiac sign to always own up to your mistakes, and you pride yourself on being able to show others how important being honest is.

To you, experiencing guilt is like failing at something. You've already done something wrong to feel guilty about it, and now you have to decide if you're going to own up to it or hide it away.

While experiencing guilt might make you feel terrible, you also don't want anyone poking into your life and getting you to admit to your mistakes — that's something you have to do on your own time. So, while you decide the best (and most tactful way) to admit to your guilt, you hide it.

But you can also be triggered with fierce anger and accusations if someone even asks you if something is wrong; guilt really eats you up inside.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

Aquarius, you're one of the zodiac signs that are better at hiding signs of guilt. No offense to you, but you have mastered the art of being aloof and emotionally distant, which means that you know how to acknowledge and emotion and tuck it away for safekeeping until you decide what to do with it.

That said, you can also be very temperamental and moody. So, if your guilt is really on your mind, it can lead to messy behavior.

While you're known for policing your emotions more than anyone else, it doesn't mean that you don't feel as much as the other zodiac signs. When you're acting guilty, you experience a lot of anxiety.

Your mind starts to race, and you can become a jumbled mess of nerves when you're wracked with guilt. You tend to let yourself get burdened with your guilt instead of freeing yourself of it by being honest. What are you afraid of?

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Pisces, you experience one of the most classic signs of guilt: insomnia. You might be a mess during the day, or you might actually be able to hold it together until you're alone, but once it's time to go to sleep, everything comes to the surface.

You are easily overwhelmed in these moments, and when you're left alone with your thoughts, the guilt can consume you.

You tend to experience guilt by becoming restless. You'll toss and turn all night long, and when you are actually able to fall asleep, all you can dream about is your guilt. You are also known for blaming yourself, even when you're not really at fault.

So, while you might be experiencing guilt that isn't on you to experience, you still tell yourself that someone has to suffer for it, so it might as well be you.

Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh who is passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes. She plans on writing a non-fiction book in the future.