Your sun sign in Western astrology is the slice of the year the Sun was in on your birthday, counted from the spring equinox. Enter your date of birth to see it with its element, modality and traditional ruling planet, your Chinese zodiac animal, and – for the astronomy-minded – the constellation the Sun actually stood in front of that day.
Example: August 15, 1995. The sun sign is Leo, a fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun. 1995 was the year of the Wood Pig in the Chinese calendar. And in the real sky, the Sun was in front of the constellation Leo, which it crosses from about August 10 to September 16.
The twelve signs
| Sign | Dates | Element | Modality | Ruler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♈ Aries | Mar 21 – Apr 19 | Fire | Cardinal | Mars |
| ♉ Taurus | Apr 20 – May 20 | Earth | Fixed | Venus |
| ♊ Gemini | May 21 – Jun 20 | Air | Mutable | Mercury |
| ♋ Cancer | Jun 21 – Jul 22 | Water | Cardinal | the Moon |
| ♌ Leo | Jul 23 – Aug 22 | Fire | Fixed | the Sun |
| ♍ Virgo | Aug 23 – Sep 22 | Earth | Mutable | Mercury |
| ♎ Libra | Sep 23 – Oct 22 | Air | Cardinal | Venus |
| ♏ Scorpio | Oct 23 – Nov 21 | Water | Fixed | Mars (modern: Pluto) |
| ♐ Sagittarius | Nov 22 – Dec 21 | Fire | Mutable | Jupiter |
| ♑ Capricorn | Dec 22 – Jan 19 | Earth | Cardinal | Saturn |
| ♒ Aquarius | Jan 20 – Feb 18 | Air | Fixed | Saturn (modern: Uranus) |
| ♓ Pisces | Feb 19 – Mar 20 | Water | Mutable | Jupiter (modern: Neptune) |
Signs and constellations are not the same thing
The signs were named about 2,000 years ago, when each one lined up roughly with a constellation. The Earth’s axis slowly wobbles (precession), and the sky has since slipped by almost a whole sign, so on many birthdays the Sun now stands in front of the constellation before the sign’s name. The constellations are also of very different sizes, and their official borders, drawn by the International Astronomical Union, put a thirteenth one, Ophiuchus, on the Sun’s path. Approximate dates today:
| Constellation behind the Sun | Dates |
|---|---|
| Capricornus | Jan 20 – Feb 16 |
| Aquarius | Feb 16 – Mar 11 |
| Pisces | Mar 11 – Apr 18 |
| Aries | Apr 18 – May 13 |
| Taurus | May 13 – Jun 21 |
| Gemini | Jun 21 – Jul 20 |
| Cancer | Jul 20 – Aug 10 |
| Leo | Aug 10 – Sep 16 |
| Virgo | Sep 16 – Oct 30 |
| Libra | Oct 30 – Nov 23 |
| Scorpius | Nov 23 – Nov 29 |
| Ophiuchus | Nov 29 – Dec 17 |
| Sagittarius | Dec 17 – Jan 20 |
Astrology keeps the signs tied to the seasons, so this does not change anyone’s sign; it only explains why the sky and the horoscope disagree.
The Chinese zodiac
| Year | Animal and element | Year | Animal and element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Metal Rat | 2026 | Fire Horse |
| 2021 | Metal Ox | 2027 | Fire Goat |
| 2022 | Water Tiger | 2028 | Earth Monkey |
| 2023 | Water Rabbit | 2029 | Earth Rooster |
| 2024 | Wood Dragon | 2030 | Metal Dog |
| 2025 | Wood Snake | 2031 | Metal Pig |
Each animal returns every 12 years and each element-animal pair every 60. The Chinese year begins at the Lunar New Year, which falls between January 21 and February 20; the calculator shows both possible animals for birthdays in that window.
Astrology is for fun; the dates and the astronomy are real. Everything is worked out on your device, and once zet4u is saved there the calculator works offline.
Frequently asked questions
What are the dates of the zodiac signs?
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. The switch can move by a day from year to year.
What does it mean to be born on the cusp?
That you were born on the day the Sun moves from one sign to the next, or the day after. The exact moment changes each year, so the sign depends on your birth year, time and place. Astrologers use the time of birth to settle it.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
The animal of your birth year in the Chinese calendar: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, in a 12-year cycle, each with one of five elements. The Chinese year starts at the Lunar New Year, between January 21 and February 20, so if you were born in January or early February you may belong to the previous year's animal.
Is there a 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus?
In the sky, the Sun passes through the constellation Ophiuchus from about November 29 to December 17. Astrology's 12 signs, though, are equal 30° slices of the year tied to the equinox, not the constellations, so astrologers did not add a sign. NASA made the same point in 2016: it studies astronomy, not astrology.
Sources
- NASA Space Place: Constellations and the calendar (zodiac constellations and Ophiuchus)
- International Astronomical Union: The constellations
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