4 Zodiac Signs Famous For Weaponizing Their Emotions

No one wants to be a numb, unfeeling robot. It’s better to feel emotions, whether good or bad, than it is not to have emotions at all.

Where it becomes a problem is when people use their entire range of emotions as weapons against those they supposedly love. The following four signs use their emotions to manipulate those around them. They can either be in yo’ face with their rage and tears, or they can be passive-aggressive about it by giving you the “silent treatment” and pretending that nothing’s wrong.

1. Cancer

The zodiac sign named Cancer isn’t above using these emotions as weapons with which to corrode your very soul. They are one of the more generally emotional signs, often veering into theatrical displays of hyper-emotionality. Cancer is a water sign ruled by the moon, which dictates our intuition and unconscious emotions. They effortlessly use their powers of intuition to discern how they can get exactly what they want from you. Their default tactic for emotionally manipulating you is guilt-tripping. Be very wary if they start to accuse you of cheating on them when you’ve remained entirely faithful—in almost every case, they’ve been cheating on you and want to project their guilt onto you. And then when you deny that you’ve been cheating, they’ll pile even more guilt on you by calling you a liar.

2. Gemini

Because the Twins are two-faced by nature, you can never be sure which emotions you’re going to get, but you’d better believe that you’re gonna get some emotions from them. Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication, and if they have a problem, they won’t hesitate to communicate it to you—often in the most harsh, blunt, and insulting ways. Emotional chameleons, their moods can change like the four seasons, but all over the space of a few minutes. They are also fantastic at using just the right words to manipulate you. They will flatter you and not believe a word of it. This strategy is best described by what is known as “love-bombing”—they will rain down compliments upon you and shower you with gifts, and at first it will feel like sweet, cool rain on a hot summer day, especially if you’ve felt love-starved for a long time. But be warned—although it may seem sincere, it isn’t. It’s most likely because they’ve done something wrong. If you know what they’ve done wrong, they’re love-bombing you so you forgive them. If you’re unaware of what they’ve done behind your back, they’re love-bombing you to get rid of their guilt.

3. Pisces

Pisces is a water sign symbolized by the fish, who are constantly swimming around in a briny swamp of all the crocodile tears they shed to get what they want from you. They suffer from a deep insecurity that makes them distrust anyone who loves them, but instead of using a bit of self-reflection, they’ll take out their insecurities on you. They aren’t as weak and fragile as they pretend to be. They’re very good at playing the victim, when they’re actually in control. They can manipulate you to the point where you lose your ability to realize you’re being manipulated. Their most favored tactic is the “silent treatment”: They will act as if something is seriously wrong, but every time you ask them what’s wrong, they’ll just shrug and say, “Nothing.” This is designed to drive you crazy, and it often will succeed. Then, after a day or two—or a week or even a month—of denying that anything’s wrong, they’ll finally admit what’s wrong, which will drive you even crazier, because they’d been lying to you the whole time about nothing being wrong. But when you act upset, they’ll pretend it’s your fault, which will drive you crazier than ever before, if that’s even possible. But don’t doubt for a moment that it’s all intentional and that they’re really the crazy one for doing this to you.

4. Scorpio

Scorpios are ruled by Pluto, the planet of destruction. They are extremely intuitive and can see all your soft spots with the power of an X-ray. They are very good at sniffing out your kindness and using it against you as a weakness. They will flatter you to the point that you swoon or insult you to the point that you cry. Extremely cunning and often remorseless, they are prone to truly scary bursts of anger. Right at the moment where everything seems placid and calm, they can explode in a tyrannical rage, using their molten-hot temper as a club with which to beat you over the head—and even against your better judgment, you’re doing everything you can to calm them down.