When Cancer and Cancer come together for love or any kind of relationship, it’s domestic bliss at its finest. These two homespun Crabs love cooking and mothering, which can be smothering at times! A Cancer-Cancer relationship is nurturing and heartwarming, since you both understand each other’s care-taking ways.

Cancer and Cancer: Your compatibility clicks and clashes

Where you click:
White picket fence fantasy in action! The union of two Cancers is the picture of domestic bliss…and it’s anything but boring on your home front. You’ll inspire each other to create AND procreate. As the children pop out one after another, you’re simultaneously retiling the bathroom, planting an organic vegetable garden, preparing nightly gourmet dishes in your Le Creuset cookware, refining your ten year savings plan, and scrapbooking every memorable moment to Martha-Stewart-approved perfection.

Where you clash:
You both have a motherly quality to you, which can become smothering at times. Who’s gonna bring the raw, masculine energy? Too much homespun coziness can be like cold water on your libidos. Don’t let your home life overshadow your outside interests and ambitions…not if you want to keep having sex for other purposes than making yet another baby for your brood.

Cancer and Cancer are both water signs

Into the depths you go! Two highly sensitive and perceptive water signs can get VERY comfortable with each other—and fast. You could go from dating to renting a U-Haul in short order, especially if you meet each other’s parents and families and earn the seal of approval. Home is everything to the water sign. Your solitude-seeking souls need to retreat to a private and intimate hub after being out in the wider world. You could host the holidays, rent the beach house where everyone communes, have kids crawling out of every nook. A water sign home is likely to feature cozily-appointed guest bedrooms and lots of spare pillows and blankets. Your nostalgic signs both cherish family and tradition. Since you don’t trust easily, you may have a small, tight-knit circle of friends that you keep for life. If you open a business together, you’ll create a “family” vibe at the office. (And yes, they’ll be secretly subject to loyalty tests.)

Impressing each other is part of your courtship ritual.

While it’s nice to feel so safe together, comfort has its limits. If you wrap yourselves too tightly in this security blanket, it can smother you. A water sign relationship can devolve into a parent-child dynamic (complete with baby talk and cloyingly cutesy nicknames) and self-destructive indulgence in food, drink and self-soothing activities like shopping. You can get TOO deep “in your feelings,” stirring up a tsunami of emotions that can spiral into rage and even abuse if you aren’t careful. Your powerful moods may overlap or spiral out of control if not managed. Although water can be placid and beautiful, it can actually do great damage. To avoid creating a hurricane, you’ll both need to talk to a therapist or a grounded friend before unleashing your anger, resentment or jealousy on each other. Water that doesn’t move can become stagnant and toxic—and a water-sign couple may become possessive and fearful of change to their own detriment.

There are four elements in astrology: fire, earth, air and water. Each one plays an important role in the greater whole of humankind. Mating with someone from the same element offers the comfort of familiarity. At last, you don’t have to explain yourself all the time! You both operate at similar speeds to a certain degree. As lovely as that is, it can also be “too much of a good thing,” causing your relationship to feel like a single track on continuous replay. After all, differences can be challenging in a good way because they push you both to grow. As a same-element couple, you may need to make a conscious effort to not get stuck in a rut or even a competitive dynamic. Spending time with friends, coworkers or relatives of another element can introduce a more balancing energy. For example, a lighthearted air sign can get you to laugh at yourselves and an adventurous fire sign will encourage you to take more risks.

Cancer and Cancer are both cardinal signs

In astrology, the “qualities” or “triplicities” reveal the role you play in a relationship or collaboration. Are you a starter, a doer or a finisher? Do you like to take charge and have a plan, or do you prefer to go with the flow? In astrology, you are both from the “cardinal” quality or triplicity. Cardinal signs are both leadership-driven, headstrong and like to be first. In this love match, you will always need to work on compromise. Otherwise, you can butt heads and fiercely dig in your heels, driving a wedge into your relationship. When you respect each other’s leadership abilities and strength, however, you can be a fascinating power couple who can take on the world or build an empire together. Birthdays, holidays and other occasions are NOT to be missed in a cardinal sign coupling. These are major life events that merit a grand celebration with an epic gift to match. Your signs can be sophisticated and status-seeking—you love dressing up and turning heads as a dashing duo (and yes, even inspiring envy among your friends). Impressing each other is part of your courtship ritual in a cardinal sign love match. Take turns plotting new experiences, surprising each other with reservations or vacations that you’ve carefully curated. To minimize fighting, one of you should take charge at a time. Or, create a shared project where you play to your differing strengths, each of you shining in your own rights, but never competing.

Cancer and Cancer are both yin, or feminine signs

In astrology, every sign has a “polarity”: you’re either yin (feminine) or yang (masculine). You are both yin signs: receptive, sensitive and intuitive. When all is good, you are deeply simpatico, nurturing one another and sharing romantic, thoughtful gestures. The downside? Your fluctuating moods may collide, causing dramatic fights that can escalate into an unnecessary cold war. You can also get SO tuned into each other’s emotions that your bond turns codependent. While it’s lovely to build a cozy cocoon, make sure you don’t get stuck in that bubble and stunt each other’s personal growth.

Cancer and Cancer are conjunct (the same sign)

In astrology love matches, we also measure compatibility by the aspect, or distance, between the two signs. Your signs are conjunct, or the same sign (zero signs apart). As they say, how can you love somebody else unless you love yourself? If you date or get into a relationship with someone of the same sign, congratulations. You’ve probably embraced your quirks and accepted your humanity. Now, you can celebrate that with a kindred spirit! If you haven’t learned to love yourself, warts and all, this relationship can inspire some crucial self-acceptance. Remember, though: #twinning might be comfortable, but autonomy is important to keep that frisky friction. Maintain some separation between your lives, even if it’s easy to hang out together. Otherwise, passion may cool to a brother-sister vibe.