Zodiac Signs
The 12 zodiac signs
Dates, elements, ruling planets and the personality behind every sign of the zodiac.
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Aries Mar 21 – Apr 19 Fire -
Taurus Apr 20 – May 20 Earth -
Gemini May 21 – Jun 20 Air -
Cancer Jun 21 – Jul 22 Water -
Leo Jul 23 – Aug 22 Fire -
Virgo Aug 23 – Sep 22 Earth -
Libra Sep 23 – Oct 22 Air -
Scorpio Oct 23 – Nov 21 Water -
Sagittarius Nov 22 – Dec 21 Fire -
Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 19 Earth -
Aquarius Jan 20 – Feb 18 Air -
Pisces Feb 19 – Mar 20 Water
How the twelve signs are organised
The zodiac divides the ecliptic — the Sun’s apparent path through the year — into twelve equal segments of thirty degrees each. Your sun sign is simply the segment the Sun occupied on the day you were born, which is why the dates shift by a day or so from year to year rather than falling on fixed calendar boundaries.
Each sign is described by three overlapping systems. Its element (fire, earth, air, water) sets its basic temperament. Its modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable) describes how it approaches change — starting things, holding them steady, or adapting. Its ruling planet colours the whole picture. Read those three together and a sign stops being a list of adjectives and starts making structural sense.
Zodiac sign questions
What does it mean to be born on the cusp?
Strictly speaking there is no cusp: the Sun is in one sign or the other at any given moment. But near a boundary the changeover can happen at any hour of the day, so if you were born within about 24 hours of one, you need your exact birth time to know for certain.
What is the difference between a sun sign and a star sign?
Nothing — they are two names for the same thing, the sign the Sun was in when you were born. "Star sign" is the more common phrase in everyday English.
Why do sign dates differ slightly between websites?
Because the Sun’s entry into each sign happens at a specific moment that drifts a little each year, and sources round it differently. A difference of one day at the boundaries is normal.
Are there really thirteen signs?
The constellation Ophiuchus does sit across the ecliptic, but Western tropical astrology has always divided the year into twelve equal segments measured from the spring equinox, not into constellations of unequal size. The twelve-sign zodiac is not an oversight.