The Dexter Character You Are Based On Your Zodiac Sign

According to "Parker's Astrology," the soft science of cosmic analysis was originally a code for astronomers to measure intervals of time via planetary movements. It isn't known exactly when this planetary code began being used to analyze personalities or predict future events, but one of the first known horoscopes was written in 410 BC, and Plato was writing about astrology by 365 BC when the signs of what we now call the zodiac were defined by mythologies of gods and goddesses from Egypt and the Middle East. As a cipher, astrology has come a long way from then and is now based on the Greco-Roman pantheon. 

As we certainly do know, Dexter Morgan, the serial killer of bad guys in Showtime's "Dexter," also has a code that shapes his life. Unlike astrology, we know exactly when Dexter started using his code, courtesy of flashbacks featuring his adopted father, Harry Morgan. While it may seem antithetical that a cop show that depends on hard facts and evidence might reflect a philosophical enterprise like astrology, each of the main "Dexter" characters do, in fact, follow personalities as described by the basics of astrology. Tonight's the night to look up at the stars to find out the "Dexter" character you are based on your zodiac sign.

In classic Taurus fashion, Dexter's boss Angel Batista (David Zayas) brings a powerful, grounding energy that serves as another foil to Dexter's fragmented self. Angel is ambitious (but not at the expense of his colleagues) and steadfast, providing a shoulder for anyone who needs extra support without judgment. Represented by the strength and determination of the bull, a Taurus is someone you want on your side, and Angel constantly proves what a boon he is not just as Dexter's supervisor but also as his eventual friend and confidante. 

However, it's in Angel's romantic entanglements that his Taurus charisma and natural sexual energy fall into the more challenging characteristics of this sign. Angel can be possessive and jealous, fed by some of his own bad mistakes in the past, like cheating on his first wife and ending that relationship in an ugly divorce. While a Taurus craves stability in work and love, when afflicted a Taurus can be their own worst enemy. This results in his terrible encounter with Dexter's ex-girlfriend/AA sponsor Lila (Jaime Murray) as well as his on-again-off-again relationship with his boss, Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez). 

Taurus can be generous to a fault, and we see this over and over with all Angel's interactions at work and outside. This is especially evident for the brief moment he retires from Miami Metro and buys a decadent beachfront bar, where his friends all eat and drink for free, a Taurus MO if there ever was one.

Cancers are gifted with a powerful intuition that, when honed, becomes a force to be reckoned with. In the case of Joey Quinn, his suspicions about Dexter come close to exposing one of Dexter's aliases, Kyle Butler, and connecting Dexter to the Trinity Killer. While we don't want to see Dexter caught, it's painful to watch Quinn struggle with what he innately knows about his girlfriend's brother. However, like any good Cancer, Quinn abandons this knowledge to try and maintain his relationship with Debra Morgan. For this zodiac sign, a search for love and partnership trumps even the pull of their considerable intuitive powers. 

Cancers' sensitivity in many ways makes them a dedicated partner but also needy in a way that can be off-putting to an Aries spirit like Debra's. Represented by the crab, Cancers often carry their homes with them as they search for that place and person to settle down with. When they feel rejected, they close themselves off entirely, summing up Quinn's character arc after Debra breaks up with him for investigating her brother on the sly. 

When afflicted, Cancers will sacrifice all the work they've done in establishing themselves both personally and professionally. We see this with Quinn again and again with awkward romantic entanglements and work demotions until he and Debra finally get back together. Unfortunately, Quinn is denied the happy ending his soul craves when Debra is murdered. A loss like this can be hard for a Cancer to ever bounce back from.

Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee) is Miami Metro Homicide's jokester-in-residence, bringing much-needed — albeit inappropriate — levity to almost every scene he's in. As Dexter's partner in the forensics lab, Masuka is extremely detail-oriented, with an analytical mind to match Dexter's, which makes sense since Virgo and Gemini are both ruled by Mercury. Virgo separates from Gemini in their abundance of nervous energy that they often have a difficult time containing, often spilling out in awkward chatter or physical tics. For Masuka, this excess energy often emerges in his highly sexualized sense of humor, indicating some major Taurus and Scorpio vibes also present in his birth chart. 

However, Masuka is firmly in Virgo territory with hypochondria and germaphobia despite his fetishistic after-hours activities, resulting in his office fridge always being stocked with prophylactic antibiotics and other medicines he keeps on hand. Virgos tend to keep their spaces neat and clean, even though Masuka himself takes more risks than your average example of the sign. 

He does, however, have a classic Virgo trait of open self-deprecation. For many Virgos, this can result in a lack of confidence if they end up taking their own negative words about themselves too literally. Masuka does at one point feel like his colleagues don't take him seriously and stops joking around for a strange, but brief, series of episodes. Underneath it all, Masuka is a worrier, and this Virgo quality emerges more and more as the show goes on.

In classic Scorpio fashion, Harry Morgan (James Remar) is so powerful and charismatic he lives on long after his death in Dexter's mind. In theory, his memory helps Dexter manage his urges. However, like a textbook Scorpio, Harry is far more layered than he would first appear. 

A defining feature of Scorpio is often their overwhelming sexual magnetism. In Harry's case, he has an intense affair with Dexter's mother, Laura, a confidential informant on a drug bust. Their connection is so strong that Harry adopts Dexter, the younger of her two sons, after her brutal murder. Also with major problematic Scorpio vibes, Harry decides to abandon Laura's older son Brian, the eventual Ice Truck Killer, to the foster care system. He fears that the boy will remember too much and cause more unrest in his damaged home, a decision that will haunt the Morgan family. 

Scorpios can be secretive, with a tendency to bottle up their emotions, making Harry at first an ideal mentor to hide and shape Dexter's dark urges into something more productive. Harry teaches Dexter a code for killing to mitigate Dexter's damaged psyche, although this backfires on Harry when he walks in on Dexter during his first kill, an act that triggers Harry's suicide. 

The Scorpio ego particularly enjoys when their children follow in their footsteps, and Harry would have been proud of his daughter Debra for making it all the way to lieutenant before her untimely death.

The phrase "all work and no play" reflects a very Capricorn way of life. They tend toward the conventional and stick to their guns in the ways they think that achievement should be attained in life — following the rules and getting promoted when it's your turn. Capricorn is a rare sign that enjoys a desk job and has the organizational skills to flourish in this kind of rigid environment. 

For Dexter's boss Captain Matthews (Geoff Pierson), his own personal ambition is at war with Maria LaGuerta's more shrewd method of advancement, which only forces Matthews deeper into his traditional perspective. As loyalty is of utmost importance to a Capricorn, we see Matthews often helping Dexter and Debra because of his close relationship with their father, Harry. However, we also see quiet revenge playing out with Matthews when, for example, he promotes young Debra to lieutenant instead of LaGuerta's more experienced husband, Angel Batista. A Capricorn requires and demands respect, sometimes more than they do love, and in this aspect, LaGuerta is constantly at odds with him. 

Breaking with their innate conventionality often has terrible consequences, like when Matthews is involved with the accidental overdose of a sex worker he'd hired. This out-of-character move ends with Matthews briefly disgraced and forced to retire from his job with Miami Metro, which was the actual love of his life and something he never gets over.

As the final and most spiritually mature sign of the zodiac, Pisces has the blessing and curse of powerful intuition, gut feelings that often prove themselves correct. From the start of "Dexter," Sergeant James Doakes is onto the title character and his double life. While he doesn't know the full extent of Dexter's alter ego until Season 2, Doakes' instincts that Dexter is hiding terrible things are on point. In Doakes, we unfortunately see this innate knowledge exploding his life. 

Due to their heightened sensitivity, Pisces make fantastic actors. In Doakes' unconventional case, he uses this skill in military operations when he works undercover, often to overthrow paramilitary groups. It's likely these experiences also help Doakes fundamentally feel Dexter's wrongness, but due to his surly outward persona, Doakes is written off by the majority of his colleagues, becoming Dexter's perfect scapegoat. 

While Pisces tend to be friendly and approachable, it's possible that Doakes fit this aspect of the sign before he joined the military. We don't see younger Doakes in action, we only know that Maria LaGuerta holds a deep and special love for the man, suggesting she's seen his softer side enough times to know there's more to him than meets the eye. Had Doakes lived, he could have married his Pisces intuition about Dexter with mountains of evidence and been Dexter's undoing. Instead, he's another of Dexter's many sacrificial lambs, as he's framed as the Bay Harbor Butcher, a reputation that haunts Doakes' death.