The twelve signs at a glance
Western tropical astrology divides the year into twelve roughly month-long segments. Each segment is called a sign and is grouped into one of four classical elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water). The table below is the widely accepted reference used by most English-language publications.
| Sign | Date range | Element |
|---|---|---|
| Capricorn | December 22 - January 19 | Earth |
| Aquarius | January 20 - February 18 | Air |
| Pisces | February 19 - March 20 | Water |
| Aries | March 21 - April 19 | Fire |
| Taurus | April 20 - May 20 | Earth |
| Gemini | May 21 - June 20 | Air |
| Cancer | June 21 - July 22 | Water |
| Leo | July 23 - August 22 | Fire |
| Virgo | August 23 - September 22 | Earth |
| Libra | September 23 - October 22 | Air |
| Scorpio | October 23 - November 21 | Water |
| Sagittarius | November 22 - December 21 | Fire |
Why the exact date can shift by a day
You may notice that different sources give slightly different starting dates for a sign - Capricorn as December 21 vs December 22, or Aquarius as January 19 vs January 20. This is not a mistake. The tropical zodiac is anchored to the sun's position relative to Earth's equinoxes and solstices, and those points shift by a few hours from year to year. Some publications use the astronomical instant of sign change; others use a fixed date convention for simplicity.
If you were born on a "cusp day" - the boundary between two signs - the actual sign depends on the exact time and timezone of your birth. Our calculator uses the standard published date ranges above, which are accurate for the vast majority of birthdays.
Sun sign vs the rest of the chart
The sign you get from a date-of-birth lookup is your sun sign. In traditional astrology, a full birth chart also includes a moon sign, a rising sign (ascendant), and placements for planets like Mercury, Venus, and Mars. None of these can be computed from date alone - the moon and rising signs require your birth time and location, and planetary positions require an ephemeris.
When people share their "big three" (sun, moon, rising), the sun sign is the only one that a date-of-birth alone can reveal. Everything else needs additional inputs.
Western vs Vedic (sidereal) zodiac
The table above is tropical, meaning anchored to Earth's seasons. In classical Indian astrology (Jyotish), a sidereal zodiac is used, which is anchored to the actual positions of the constellations. Because the constellations have drifted relative to the equinoxes over centuries (a phenomenon called precession), the sidereal date ranges are offset by roughly 23-24 degrees - about three to four weeks. Many people who identify as one sign under Western astrology fall into the previous sign under Vedic astrology.
A quick note on interpretation
Zodiac signs are a cultural framework with long history and continued popularity. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have examined whether astrology predicts personality or life outcomes better than chance and have not found evidence that it does. Astrology, in short, is not a science - it is a symbolic system that many people find meaningful for reflection, self-narrative, or entertainment.
We include the sun sign in our calculator's life-statistics section because it is a widely searched piece of information tied to a date of birth. We do not include predictions about your future.
How to look up your sign
The fastest way is to run your date of birth through the calculator. The result card includes your zodiac sign alongside the exact age breakdown. If you were born on a boundary day and the result surprises you, check the table above and consider that some publications use slightly different boundary conventions.