Top 4 Self-Hating Zodiac Signs

When we don’t know who to hate, we hate ourselves.

Chuck Pahlaniuk

Self-loathing seems like a counterintuitive concept and something that should be impossible. Doesn’t nature set us up to protect ourselves, to defend ourselves, and even to make excuses for ourselves when we’re clearly wrong just so we can escape punishment?

Whether you believe in divine creation or Darwinian evolution, the fact of the matter is that many people are prone to self-loathing and self-sabotage. If they weren’t, there would be no such thing as suicide. Many of us—far too many—are burdened with shame, guilt, and negative self-esteem. Much of it is rooted in negative childhood experiences and social traumas during adolescence. But some of it is based in how the stars aligned when we were born.

Here are the four zodiac signs most prone to self-hatred. You might notice that the top two are ruled by Mercury, the planet that governs criticism and anxiety.

1. Virgo

Ruled by Mercury, Virgo is riddled with self-doubt and nagging anxious thoughts. They are widely known for being the most judgmental of all the star signs, but this not only applies to how they judge others—they are brutally unforgiving with themselves. They never take credit for their accomplishments, and they languish forever in their mistakes, leading to endless bouts of insomnia and a resultant cloud of negativity hanging over their heads. They hate themselves for perpetuating this self-defeating cycle, but is this very self-hatred that keeps the cycle going. This makes them highly prone to substance abuse, risk-taking behavior, unhealthy eating, and other random acts of self-sabotage.

2. Gemini

Ruled by Mercury, which leads to self-criticism and endless anxiety, the Twins are tragically unaware that to most people, they seem entirely normal—even exceptional. So when someone says they love them or think they’re great, they immediately distrust that person. Their souls are plagued with chunks of toxic guilt for things they did long ago, things for which they’ve never forgiven themselves. Although they are overthinkers, they miss the irony in this—it’s this precise tendency to think too much and not let go of things and enjoy life directly that is the core of their problem. To them, there is no blissful experience on Earth that cuts them to the bone and lingers more than one petty insult from a random stranger.

3. Libra

Libras are notable for their negativity, but what’s not as well-known about them is that they’re merely projecting their own self-loathing onto the world. They wear a mask of confidence and endlessly complain about how others behave, secretly hoping that no one will see how much it’s rooted in deep self-doubt. They set impossible standards for themselves, and then, when they fail to reach them, they don’t even realize that they set themselves up for failure. Thirty good things can happen to them over the course of one day, and they’ll focus on the single bad thing that happens. 

4. Cancer

Who would have thought that the Crab is the most emotionally volatile of all the star signs? Maybe they should have been symbolized by the Kleenex instead. Cancer is the only sign that is ruled by the moon, and the Latin word for moon—luna—is also the root word of “lunatic.” This is not to imply that all Cancers are lunatics, but it does mean that they are far more prone to emotionality than all the other signs. When it comes to emotions about themselves, Cancers wallow in self-pity. They obsess over everything negative that ever happens to them, but especially failed romance. But they often fail in romance because of their negative self-image—they resent people for liking them and will often push them away.