What your zodiac sign actually is
When someone asks “what’s your sign?”, they mean your Sun sign: the section of the zodiac the Sun was passing through on the day you were born. The zodiac is a 360° band of sky divided into twelve equal 30° signs, starting from the point where the Sun sits at the March equinox. The Sun takes a year to go round, so it spends about a month in each sign, and that is why a birthday is usually enough to know yours.
Zodiac sign dates at a glance
- Aries: March 21 – April 19
- Taurus: April 20 – May 20
- Gemini: May 21 – June 20
- Cancer: June 21 – July 22
- Leo: July 23 – August 22
- Virgo: August 23 – September 22
- Libra: September 23 – October 22
- Scorpio: October 23 – November 21
- Sagittarius: November 22 – December 21
- Capricorn: December 22 – January 19
- Aquarius: January 20 – February 18
- Pisces: February 19 – March 20
Why the dates shift, and what a cusp is
Those dates are averages. The calendar year is 365 days, but the Sun needs about 365.24 days to return to the same point, so the moment it enters each sign drifts about six hours later every year and then snaps back in a leap year. In practice each sign can begin a day earlier or later than the list above. Sources that print different dates are not disagreeing about astrology; they are rounding a moving target.
If you were born within a day of a changeover, you are “on the cusp”. In astrology that does not mean you are a blend of two signs. The Sun is in one sign or the other at any instant. It means the date alone cannot tell you which. Enter your birth year and this calculator works out the Sun’s real position for that date, tells you the exact moment it changed signs that year, and flags whether your birth time and time zone could tip the answer. If it could, the rising sign calculator will settle it from your birth time and city.
Element, modality and ruling planet
The four elements
Each sign belongs to an element that describes its basic temperament. Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) are direct and energetic. Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) are practical and steady. Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) are sociable and idea-led. Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) are intuitive and feeling-led.
The three modalities
Modality describes how a sign acts. Cardinal signs open each season and like to start things. Fixed signs sit mid-season and prefer to sustain and hold their ground. Mutable signs close a season and adapt easily.
Ruling planets
Every sign has a planet said to share its nature, such as Mars for Aries or Venus for Libra. Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces have two: a traditional ruler from before the telescope and a modern one added after Pluto, Uranus and Neptune were discovered. Both are still used.
Your Sun sign is one part of three
The Sun sign describes your core character. Your Moon sign speaks to emotional needs, and your rising sign to the first impression you give. Together they are called the big three, and they explain why two people with the same birthday can feel so different.
Astrology content is for entertainment and reflection.