4 Overthinking Zodiac Signs Who Take Things (Too) Literally
AKA the most fact-driven zodiac signs.
Unsplash Zodiac signs who take things literally often have trouble really understanding certain situations.
As an overthinker thinkers myself, I often feel like I’m just not smart enough to get a joke or fully understand a situation when that’s not the case at all.
In reality, it’s just because my brain – like so many other zodiac signs – just functions differently.
RELATED: 6 Super-Serious Zodiac Signs Who Need To Learn How To Lighten Up
A literal thinker is someone who ponders the meaning of something but who also tends to focus on the precise meaning of something – and is usually very fact-driven – rather than the metaphorical meaning.
Literal thinkers are not like abstract thinkers at all – unless all the facts are there, laid out in easy-to-understand ways, there’s a good chance certain zodiac signs just aren’t going to be able to wrap their heads around it. Hence why they think too much.
Let’s use Aquarius as an example. Aquarius is a very literal zodiac sign. He makes most, if not all, of his decisions with his head (over his heart), so being able to understand the factual side of something is most important.
As someone who isn’t much for the emotional side of things, he’s not someone who tends to use his imagination or abstract thinking to understand a situation.
That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have an imagination or creativity, but it does mean that he is using his brain in a different way from other zodiac signs. \
One thing I’ve always wondered is: Is it possible for literal and abstract thinkers to ever be on the same page, or are they destined to always have communication problems between them?
While these two types of people are clearly vastly different, sometimes working with someone who isn’t like you at all is much better for success.
As someone who loves to learn and look at the world in different ways, I value the abstract thinkers in my life because they give me a chance to attack problems and handle situations in ways that I might not have considered before.
It also gives me a chance to teach them something new in the process, by showing them how a thinker learns. In short, we should embrace our differences because they are what make us who we are, even if other people don’t always get us. Us literal thinkers might get called weird and quirky a lot, but it’s just who we are!
Here are the zodiac signs who take things (too) literally and often think way more than they should, according to astrology.
1. CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
Cancer may be a very emotional and soulful zodiac sign, but she’s also a very deep thinker. She may not always share it with you, but her brain is always working overtime – especially when she’s going through something important or significant.
As for taking things literally, Cancer isn’t the type of person to take things as they are and leave it at that. When it comes to heartfelt situations, Cancer needs time to really get into the literal meaning of every word and gesture before she can truly understand something you said or did.
2. SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21)
Scorpio takes everything to heart. Every word, conversation, look, gesture – it all goes into the Scorpio mind bank where she ruminates on every syllable and fluctuating tone.
So, when she says (weeks later, mind you), “What did you mean when you said this?” it’s something she’s been thinking about for a loooong time. You might not have meant to say something the way you said it, but Scorpio certainly took it that way and has been thinking about it forever.
3. AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18)
Aquarius is a very factual and literal zodiac sign, and if you think she’s the kind of person to stay up late at night having deep thoughts about everything that she experienced that day, you’d be right.
The only way Aquarius is able to function like a normal human being is if she looks at everything as literally and rooted in fact as possible. She’s not an emotional or “feelings” type of zodiac sign, so being able to understand something the way it’s handed to her is the only way she can wrap her head around anything.
4. PISCES (February 19 - March 20)
Pisces is the classic literal thinker. She is always overthinking something, and everything needs a literal interpretation for her to really wrap her mind around it.
As an emotional zodiac sign, Pisces is really all about how something makes her feel on the inside. That said, she is far from abstract. She has a tendency to be seen as an airhead – often because her head is always in the clouds – but she’s a lot smarter than people give her credit for. As a literal thinker, she might need a little more time to really understand something, but she’s quite the smart cookie whether she thinks about it or she gets it right away.
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. She plans on writing a non-fiction book in the future.