First, the background: we’ve been talking about astrology in our house. This is hard to avoid when you’re living with a person named after his sign (Tawrin/Taurus). I am a Scorpio, Ashvin’s a Libra, and Scott is Pisces. As a Scorpio– we’re supposedly interested in the occult– I’ve always found the zodiac interesting, especially as the descriptions are usually true of my experience, especially when taken in relation to others. I have a lot, weirdly many, Scorpio friends, and my most passionate sexual relationship was with a Scorpio; many of my friends were born within a week of each other. Anyway, we have this book The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need sitting around our house, and this is what it says about “The Amorous Nature” of a “Scorpio Woman”:

Faint heart never won a Scorpio female. It takes a man who knows exactly what he wants to hold his ground against a woman born under this sign.

Scorpio woman is very emotional, very affectionate, and very demanding. She is not interested in a light flirtation or a bed for the night. Neither does she believe in sharing. Any man who thinks it isn’t necessary to sign a treaty just because he’s having an affair would do well to avoid getting involved with a Scorpio female. She believes in treaties with irrevocable clauses and lots of fine print spelling out just what you can’t do.

How does she get away with being so possessive and jealous? Because she is a marvlous, fascinating, irresistable woman– exciting in the bedroom, entertaining in the living room. She carries with her an enticing air of mystery. She can drive a man to the brink of despair and with a gesture summon him back to the heights of happiness.

There is no in-between with this explosive female. With any other woman of the zodiac, you can work out some sort of compromise about who has rights and who has suffered wrongs. Not with her. You have to knuckle under and make the best of your bargain, or settle for living in the middle of a permanent earthquake.

Love is very important to her, and she can turn on enough magnetism to attract any man. If a man is really special, she is willing to play the role of aggressor. Her dynamo starts to whir as soon as her remarkable intuitions tell her that this man is someone she’ll be happy with. Her intuitions are rarely wrong. She is gifted with the ability to penetrate into hidden secrets of human nature.

Scorpio is a water sign, and like all the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) this woman is very susceptible to the feelings of others. Her most intense desire is for a close, committed union. In a relationship she cannot bear coldness or casualness or a feeling that she is being shunted aside. When she is in love she is at her most vulnerable, for then a lover can hurt her without even knowing it. Another woman might forgive and forget, but when a Scorpio woman is hurt she will always strike back. If necessary, she will destroy.

However, despite what you’ve heard about Scorpio’s willful, passionate nature, she is a faithful mate to the man she chooses for her own. Hers is a fixed sign, and she possesses an enduring capacity for loyalty. A man could not have a fiercer ally. If a Scorpio woman loves you, she will defend and protect you with her dying breath. What she demands is constancy–what she offers is fidelity. She is possessive, but most men with a Scorpio woman in their lives will tell you they want nothing more than to be possessed by her.