Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
Horse and Monkey
Compatibility overview
This combination attracts some challenging cross-currents, but it can also be affectionate and profoundly inspiring. The firsteast and secondeast have a mixed reputation, as far as good and bad fortune is concerned. With careful management and sensitivity, however, there is a good chance they may be able to establish a supportive and deeply admiring relationship.
Horse and Monkey - Relationship Horoscope
Chinese astrology tends towards polarized judgements about very strong or very challenging matches, but the combination of Horse and Monkey is located more in the middle ground. Certainly there are plenty of positive synergies to help these two forge a meaningful connection.
The lively Monkey loves to be entertained, while the freewheeling Horse is a born entertainer. Similarly, the Horse tends to deeply admire skills and achievements they consider worthy of their time, things the Monkey's brilliant cleverness can provide in spades. Hence these two can fall naturally and happily into an audience/performer dynamic, alternately taking each other's breath away with stories and feats showcasing their respective abilities. The same qualities help these two as a duo attract attention from others—don't be surprised to see crowds gather when these two show what they can do! At a more abstract level, the Horse and Monkey share a deeply compatible creative idealism, a common belief in virtuosity and commitment. As collaborators, they may be more inclined to take turns than to play at the same time, but there is every chance they will agree strongly about what is good or bad.
These two do have some potentially serious headwinds to contend with. Compatibility in the Chinese zodiac is all about the four Trine Families, and the families of the Horse (with the Dog and Tiger) and Monkey (with the Dragon and Rat) have a reputation for tension. While the Horse and Monkey may avoid the worst of this energy (e.g., the Horse and Rat, or the Monkey and Tiger), their instincts can still be very different at times.
The Horse is quintessentially independent, whereas the Monkey loves social connection. The Monkey delights in intrigue, and is extremely adept at handling complex social situations, while the Horse usually prefers to remain aloof or rise above the fray. If a relationship between these signs amplifies rather than addressing these essential differences, the Horse may become remarkably distant or selfish, while the Monkey may be disillusioned, miserable, or bitter.
Ultimately, this is a relationship where sensitivity around communication, and a balance of distance with closeness, can pay significant dividends. If the potentially destabilizing differences can be managed, the extent of mutual admiration and shared values can foster a terrifically rewarding relationship.
Celebrity Horse/Monkey Pairings*
*Click on the names to see both Western and Chinese zodiac matches for that pairing.
Daniel Barenboim (11/15/1942, Scorpio Horse), Jacqueline du Pré (1/26/1945, Aquarius Monkey) : The celebrated classical musicians were married from 1967 until du Pré's death from multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1987. Their marriage attracted controversy, in part because Barenboim reportedly began a hidden family with his second wife (Elena Bashkirova) while du Pré was alive. Barenboim continues to raise money for MS research, and in 2017 described meeting du Pré: "There was chamber music being played and before we spoke we sat down to play together — we played a Brahms sonata — and understood each other musically, perfectly, and then outside of music too...She was [a unique musician,] not exactly very knowledgeable about things to do with music in a musicological or scientific way, but she had an uncanny instinct and quickness of brain that was mind-boggling. She would see a piece for the first time and she was able to not just play the notes but get to the essence of it."
Kevin Costner (1/18/1955, Capricorn Horse), Cindy Costner (10/29/1956, Scorpio Monkey) : The actor and actor/director met in college, before Kevin Costner began his acting career. They were married between 1978 and 1994, and had three children together. During the making of the Costner-directed Dances with Wolves, the two collaborated extensively behind the scenes. Their divorce settlement is one of the largest in Hollywood history. Shortly before their separation, Kevin said: "The temptations are pretty strong—and there’s a hungry world out there waiting for you to fall. So you can’t even dabble without paying a huge price. I try to conduct my life with a certain amount of dignity and discretion—but marriage is a hard, hard gig."
Swizz Beatz (9/13/1978, Virgo Horse), Alicia Keys (1/25/1981, Aquarius Monkey) : The record producer and musician have been married since 2010 and have two children. In 2021, Keys described: "I think one of the things we're really good at is giving each other the space that we need. That's not a hard thing for us. And even just being intuitive about what each other needs is also something that comes really fluid for us. We'll always check in and we're always making sure we're good."
Harrison Ford (7/13/1942, Cancer Horse), Carrie Fisher (10/21/1956, Libra Monkey) : The two actors shared one of the famous fictional relationships of all time as Princess Leia and Han Solo in the Star Wars movies. Shortly before her unexpected death in 2016, Fisher revealed in her memoir, The Princess Diarist, that they had an affair while making the first film in the series, when she was 19. She described contacting Ford prior to publication: "I said [to Ford], 'I found the journals that I kept during the first movie, and I’m probably going to publish them...I’ll show it to you before and you can take anything out that you want taken out. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable'...I wouldn’t have ambushed him like that, but it’s still – no matter if I told him or not, it probably feels like an ambush. It feels like an ambush to me, and I’m the one who wrote it." After Fisher died, Ford released a statement saying, "Carrie was one-of-a-kind, brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life, bravely...We will all miss her."
Rachel McAdams (11/17/1978, Scorpio Horse), Ryan Gosling (11/12/1980, Scorpio Monkey) : The two actors starred together in The Notebook (2004). During filming, tension between the two led to Gosling asking for another actor to read McAdam's part. Director Nick Cassavetes retold: "[Gosling said,] 'Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off camera with me?...I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this.'...We went into a room with a producer; they started screaming and yelling at each other...They had it out...I think Ryan respected her for standing up for her character and Rachel was happy to get that out in the open. The rest of the film wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing." Later the two actors dated for two years between 2005 and 2007, with Gosling saying at one point, "I mean, God bless The Notebook. It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life. But people do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that."
Ted Hughes (8/17/1930, Leo Horse), Sylvia Plath (10/27/1932, Scorpio Monkey) : The writers, two of the most celebrated poets of their generation, were married from 1956 until Plath's death by suicide in 1963. They had two children. The relationship remains controversial due to Hughes' infidelity and posthumous allegations of abuse, which Hughes has denied. Plath described about their courtship: "We kept writing poems to each other. Then it just grew out of that, I guess, a feeling that we both were writing so much and having such a fine time doing it, we decided that this should keep on."
Chris Evert (12/21/1954, Sagittarius Horse), Martina Navratilova (10/18/1956, Libra Monkey) : The two legendary tennis players shared one of the most celebrated rivalries in the history of sports, winning 18 grand slam titles each between 1973 and 1988. In 2020, Evert described their evolution from rivals to friendship: "In the beginning, I was beating her; I was practicing with her; we were playing doubles together. Then she started beating me, and I broke up the doubles, because I felt like I was getting too close. We went our own ways...It really wasn't until the end of our careers, maybe the last five years, that we got along well...Martina is definitely one of my closest friends right now. We have no competition. There's no tension in our relationship whatsoever. It's a freeing kind of a feeling. I can really enjoy her and her personality now and she can really enjoy me.
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