The zodiac
The twelve signs
The tropical zodiac divides the Sun's yearly path into twelve equal arcs of thirty degrees, starting at the March equinox. Each sign has an element, a mode, a ruling planet and about two and a half thousand years of description behind it. Each page below gives the exact dates for every year to 2030, the astronomy, and what the tradition says.
Aries
21 March to 19 April
Aries opens the zodiac, and astrologers read it as the urge to begin.
Taurus
20 April to 20 May
Taurus is the sign astrologers link with patience and with things that last.
Gemini
21 May to 20 June
Gemini is the sign the tradition gives to curiosity and conversation.
Cancer
21 June to 22 July
Cancer is the sign astrologers link with home and with looking after people.
Leo
23 July to 22 August
Leo is about steady warmth and the wish to be seen doing something well.
Virgo
23 August to 22 September
Virgo is about paying close attention and putting it to practical use.
Libra
23 September to 22 October
Libra is about fairness between people and the effort it takes to decide.
Scorpio
23 October to 21 November
Scorpio is about feeling things deeply and keeping most of it private.
Sagittarius
22 November to 21 December
Astrologers link Sagittarius with long distances and with speaking plainly.
Capricorn
22 December to 19 January
Astrologers read Capricorn as the sign of patient effort and early responsibility.
Aquarius
20 January to 18 February
Aquarius is the tradition's sign for independent minds that still care about the group.
Pisces
19 February to 20 March
Pisces is the sign astrologers link with imagination and with feeling what others feel.
Exact dates
When the Sun enters each sign in 2026
| Sign | Sun enters (UTC) | In your time zone |
|---|---|---|
| Aquarius | 20 January 2026, 01:45 UTC | |
| Pisces | 18 February 2026, 15:52 UTC | |
| Aries | 20 March 2026, 14:46 UTC | |
| Taurus | 20 April 2026, 01:39 UTC | |
| Gemini | 21 May 2026, 00:37 UTC | |
| Cancer | 21 June 2026, 08:25 UTC | |
| Leo | 22 July 2026, 19:13 UTC | |
| Virgo | 23 August 2026, 02:19 UTC | |
| Libra | 23 September 2026, 00:05 UTC | |
| Scorpio | 23 October 2026, 09:38 UTC | |
| Sagittarius | 22 November 2026, 07:23 UTC | |
| Capricorn | 21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC |
These are the moments the Sun crosses each 30° boundary. They move by a few hours each year, which is why the printed dates differ by a day between sources.
Signs are not constellations
The signs take their names from the constellations that stood behind the Sun's path when the system was fixed, around two thousand years ago. Since then the slow wobble of the Earth's axis, called precession, has shifted the constellations by roughly 24 degrees against the seasons. Western astrology kept the seasonal frame: 0° Aries is the March equinox, whatever stars are behind it. So when this site says the Sun is in Aries, it means the Sun is in the first thirty degrees after the equinox, and the constellation behind it is Pisces. Vedic astrology uses the other frame, the sidereal zodiac, which is why its signs run about 24 degrees behind ours.
Neither frame is wrong; they measure different things. Everything on horoscope.observer is tropical, like nearly all Western horoscopes and birth charts.