Sunday, February 25, 2001		Lead Article

Your zodiac sign can steer you towards falling in love and remaining there. Taking a peep into the lives of a few Hollywood stars and analysing the reasons that make them tick, Sarah Painell describes how their zodiac signs determine their love and life.

WHILE Scorpio Leonardo DiCaprio and Demi Moore are the zodiac king and queen of romance, Piscean Sharon Stone can go into a shell in the middle of a love affair. Virgos like Sean Connery and Richard Gere are warm hearted, sensitive and caring...

Passionate Taureans

If 007 Pierce Brosnan seems ever so confident doing those steamy scenes on screen you ought to know why. Well, it’s all in their stars. Being a Taurean, love comes naturally to him. When it comes to torrid romance, Taureans rank among the most passionate.

Shy Aquarians

Compare a Taurean with an Aquarian, and the difference is marked. Aquarians can be wary of a relationship, never forging head first into intimacy. Even so while you can still carry through with an Aquarian in a conversation, it is always advisable to keep away thoughts of physical intimacy.

Being committed to themselves and with a strong sense of individuality, Aquarians are not cut out for sizzling romance. Indeed, just brushing against an Aquarian woman, for instance, would be enough to fulfil her physically! Some of the breed include John McEnroe, Paul Newman, and Yoko Ono.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Scorpio man, clearly the zodiac king of passion. Scorpios never bother with the niceties of romance — the sensuous dresses, the candlelight dinner or even the caressing. They always want to get straight to the point, and a pause for anything is like wasted time and opportunity. Consider Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic and Demi Moore in Indecent Proposal.

The Aries man matches the Scorpio for his no-nonsense approach to love — the Aries woman, though, has several off-putting aspects to her which carry the impression that she would rather stay shy. The Aries man is always forthright about his desires, which far from upsetting women clicks time after time. Rarely is Arian Eddie Murphy given a "no" from women after a typically brazen proposal.

Gemini men, like the Aries, are quick on the uptake when it comes to their love life. The Gemini men are forever looking for thrills. For them boredom can mean impatience with their partner, which underlines the need for a change every once in a while — in other words, experiment.

The Gemini woman too is passionate. And when finally tied down, they don’t think twice about two-timing. Speculations about the mistresses of Geminian John F. Kennedy are now part of American folklore.

Being with a Piscean means things will be sweet but short. Pisces men and women rank as among the most caring, most sensitive and most romantic. Nothing will make them happier than an invitation to a candlelight dinner, a quiet walk in the park, boating or sitting quietly in front of the fireplace.

The Piscean will come forth in true romantic colours. But romance is always short-lived under the Pisces zodiac. Boredom and disillusionment takes over. They can go into a shell very suddenly and without notice. And once they have withdrawn into their own world it is almost impossible to draw them out. But while it lasts it is well worth it. Cindy Crawford, Bruce Willis, John Travolta and Sharon Stone are all Pisceans. But there could be one flaw in Pisceans. They have the tendency to seek greener pastures.

Not lagging far behind as an essential romantic is the Libran. The Libran man especially gives so much attention to the nitty-gritty of romanticism — the gifts, the birthdays, anniversaries and what-have-you — it makes life a treat. Sensitive to mood swings, knows exactly what to say and when.

More important for the Librans is the need for social approval. They can never publicly concede to failure and definitely not in a personal relationship. The Librans can convince themselves that a relationship is needed to make them complete and they always seek a good-looking partner.

However, Libran women can be very stiff at times. Margaret Thatcher and Julia Roberts, both Librans, are definite about what they want.

Leos are extremely status conscious, they feel the number one spot is rightfully theirs. But this doesn’t dim their romantic spirit. In fact, Leos are quite at home with the steamy stuff.

Yet, when it comes to life partners, Leos rank among the most dependable. They are not built to go through a divorce. The best way to light them up is by making them the centre of everything, for they are comfortable only when attention is focused on them. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Mick Jagger, Whitney Houston, Robert Redford, and Madonna are standard Leos.

While Leos and Librans seek attention of a partner, Virgos are happy being single. To carry their argument forward and declare themselves as unsexy. That’s because they have the inner confidence and are known to be perfectionists. Which all makes it that much more difficult to tie them.

Virgos can also be incredibly fussy about close physical contact. Yet there is always the trick to melt the ice. Virgos are basically warm-hearted, sensitive and caring. The issue has to be approached with the prescribed decorum, there are well codified boundaries for decent behaviour which ought not be overstepped. The partner has to be of a special kind: well dressed, good-looking and well fragranced.

For the Virgo this can be a right mix to send those simmering passions smoking. For all that initial fastidiousness about sex and intimacy, Virgos can be a very sizzling lot and will surprise even the pushiest of partners. Yet they are secretive about their sexual preferences which can be a boon for illicit relationships. Typical Virgos: Sean Connery, Tommy Lee Jones and Richard Gere.

Capricorns too live in their little islands, isolated from the world of passion, as it were. They come through as extremely career-conscious and with a diary full of social commitments which have to be honoured at any cost.

Capricorns Mel Gibson, Jim Carey, Ben Kingsley, Paul Newman and Faye Dunaway rank among the most driven of people, with a strong sense of purpose.

Yet Capricorns can be worn down. This requires fussing over a Capricorn, with meetings at the most upmarket of places and expensive gifts. And once they have melted, it is pulsating stuff.

Sagittarians are perhaps the hardest of them all to break the ice with. Much of this has to do with their fierce and independent spirit that makes it impossible to get them tied down to a weighty relationship, more so when they are otherwise content.

Sagittarians are not physically well aware but can be emotionally confusing. Most of them need a friend as well as a lover, and can do without a life partner. But they have a penchant for thrill, for the unexpected. The only way to sustain the interest of a Sagittarian like Meg Ryan is by using the element of surprise. As partners Sagittarians are too upright and direct to be two-timing.

The babes among all are the Cancerians — Cancer men are attached to their families and yearn to be protected. The main person is naturally their mother and their impression of women is conditioned by her image. When they become passionate, it is actually like a mother-child bond. Women Cancerians, however, are domineering and become the pre-eminent figures in the households once they get married.

The best way to the heart of the Cancerians Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfieffer is to recreate the ambience of their home. They might take time to take that crucial step forward but can show they are surprisingly adept in love when it comes to the crunch.

— Newsmen Features