My astrological sign is turning people against me. Here's why.

I was in a philosophy class, and everyone was chatting about astrology before the lesson.

"I like all the signs," remarked the teacher. "Except Scorpios. I can't stand Scorpios." She asked us what our signs were. The Virgos, Tauruses, Aquariuses (Aquari?) and all the rest shared their signs like they were unwrapping presents. Then it was my turn.

"I'm a Virgo," I said.

That was a lie. I'm a Scorpio, one who didn't want to fail my class. And that incident wasn't a lone weird encounter. I meet astrology enthusiasts from time to time, and it seems like an awful lot of them have something against Scorpios. I'm not the only one to notice this phenomenon.

We're jealous, revenge-loving grudge-holders, say a myriad of horoscopes. I've told people my sign only to watch them look uncomfortable and make excuses to leave the room. Maybe it's the vague aura of darkness that always seems to be embedded in Scorpio horoscopes. They're the Slytherins of the zodiac.

Whatever it is, I grew to recognize that "I know your kind, and I don't like them" stare. Eventually, I wised up and started lying about my sign.

I wanted to figure out what the deal was, so I asked astrologer Eliyahu Kaye (a Cancer), who lives in the northern Israeli town of Safed. According to Kaye, Scorpios are naturally protective. They sting (emotionally, I assume) when they get defensive.

"This is simply [a Scorpio's] nature," Kaye said. "It's in its DNA to sting."

Scorpios, like scorpions (that's the thing about having a real animal for a sign – you get compared to giant bugs a lot) are largely solitary creatures, which comes off as antisocial.

And then there's the water element. According to Kaye, water signs (Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces) tend to be emotional. Like water, they can bubble up or freeze over pretty quickly. One moment, Scorpios are happy and cheerful. The next, they've completely flipped.

"People find it very challenging to be around an emotional person," Kaye told me. "Life in the Scorpio lane isn’t necessarily convenient."

So if you're a person who happens to be into astrology, and you think of Scorpios as emotionally unstable, antisocial, stinging people, then "Scorpio isn't going to be the first sign you run and embrace," explained Kaye.

On the other hand, Scorpio weaknesses are also strengths. Scorpios are intense, sure, but being an assertive, independent thinker with a strong backbone and lots of energy isn't necessarily such a bad thing. In fact, that's the sort of person you might want to put in charge of a project at work. Or date, if you're into a little thing called passion.

Scorpio is the eighth astrological sign in the zodiac. It's a water sign associated with intensity and ambition. The scorpion is its best-known symbol. (Photo: Mikhail Egorov/Shutterstock)

But what really matters, as Kaye pointed out, is that people aren't bound by their signs. Signs may predict tendencies, but it's people who make choices.

"It’s up to us whether or not the stars and the constellations have an impact on our lives," said Kaye, who life coaches people in Israel.

Armed with this new information, I finally have something to say to all the Scorpio-haters out there: Stop it. Just stop it.

You can't write off every baby born between Oct. 23 and Nov. 21. What are you going to do, avoid maternity wards in October? Never go to a Halloween birthday party (my birthday actually is on Halloween, so ... yeah, I've got some creepy imagery going on)?

Plus, amid my searching, I discovered something new. Apparently Scorpios have three symbols: the scorpion, the eagle and the phoenix. A Scorpio reaches these different "phases" throughout her life. So if you meet a Scorpio, you don't necessarily know which phase she's in. She could be an eagle, soaring above the world, seeing what other people miss.

"While the earthbound Scorpio who is injured by another might brood and allow his bitterness and resentment to poison himself and his future relationships with others, the eagle will still feel deep hurt but is able to heal himself and to not allow resentment and negative emotions to destroy his life," wrote holistic health coach Adrian Lobo, who lives in Arizona. "The eagle will transmute their intense emotions into a driving force for success and higher wisdom."



And things really get cool when a Scorpio becomes a phoenix.

"Like the phoenix, Scorpios are survivors," added Lobo. "Emotionally, they may perish in the ashes of their own destructive nature. But they can also transcend and transform; they can bring forth from the ashes new and shining life." You gotta have fire if you want to rise from the ashes, after all.

Besides, phoenixes are way more fun than, say, virgins or fish.

So don't think of me as a toxic bug, scrounging around the desert for something to sting. Think of me as a legendary bird with the key to immortality. Or just get to know me. Either way.