The twelve signs in order with their dates, element, ruler and what each is read as, the sign for every birthday of the year, and the minute each sign begins.
The 12 zodiac signs in order
The usual dates of each sign, its element and mode, its ruling planet and what astrologers read in it. Each name opens that sign’s guide.
The sign for every birthday of the year, by the US Eastern calendar from 1950 to 2049. Each month holds the end of one sign and the start of the next. On a border day, shaded, the sign depends on the year and the time of birth.
Month
Birthdays and their signs
January
1–18Capricorn19–20Capricorn or Aquarius21–31Aquarius
February
1–17Aquarius18–19Aquarius or Pisces20–29Pisces
March
1–18Pisces19–21Pisces or Aries22–31Aries
April
1–18Aries19–20Aries or Taurus21–30Taurus
May
1–19Taurus20–21Taurus or Gemini22–31Gemini
June
1–19Gemini20–22Gemini or Cancer23–30Cancer
July
1–20Cancer21–23Cancer or Leo24–31Leo
August
1–21Leo22–23Leo or Virgo24–31Virgo
September
1–21Virgo22–23Virgo or Libra24–30Libra
October
1–21Libra22–24Libra or Scorpio25–31Scorpio
November
1–20Scorpio21–22Scorpio or Sagittarius23–30Sagittarius
December
1–20Sagittarius21–22Sagittarius or Capricorn23–31Capricorn
The minute the Sun enters each sign, which starts that sign's season, and how many days it stays in 2026. Capricorn begins in December. Times are US Eastern; almanacs can differ by a minute.
The signs are twelve equal stretches of 30° along the Sun's yearly path, counted from the March equinox. The Sun takes a little under 365¼ days to go round, so it reaches each sign about six hours later every year, until a leap day pulls the date back. From 1950 to 2049, by the US Eastern calendar, each sign began on one of two or three days, which is why the chart gives usual dates rather than exact ones. The time zone moves them too: a change late in the evening in New York falls after midnight in London.
Born on the cusp
A birthday on one of the shaded border days in the months table can belong to either sign: the year, the time and the place of birth decide it. The Sun is always in one sign or the other, so there is no sign in between. Astrologers call a birth near the change one "on the cusp", and some read a little of both signs in it. The zodiac sign calculator settles it from the birth date, time and place, and each sign's guide lists the minute its season starts and ends for five years.
Why Aries comes first
The zodiac starts at the March equinox, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going north. That point is 0° Aries, so Aries is the first sign and Pisces the last, and each of the four cardinal signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, begins at an equinox or a solstice. Going round, the elements repeat in the order fire, earth, air and water, and the modes in the order cardinal, fixed and mutable, so every sign has its own pair: Aries is cardinal fire, Leo fixed fire and Sagittarius mutable fire.
Signs and constellations
The signs are named after constellations but are not the same thing. The signs stay tied to the equinox, which has drifted west against the stars since the zodiac was named, so the Sun now reaches each constellation about a month after the sign of the same name. In 2026 it stands in front of the constellation Aries from April 18 to May 14, and between Scorpius and Sagittarius it crosses a thirteenth, Ophiuchus. The 13 zodiac signs page has every constellation's dates. Vedic astrology measures its signs from the stars, so its Sun signs begin about three and a half weeks after these: the Vedic chart uses them.
Sources
Dates and times come from the site's own ephemeris (Astronomy Engine, apparent positions of date) and are given in US Eastern time. For 2026 and 2027 the equinox and solstice times agree with the US Naval Observatory's to within a minute. The usual dates are the common convention, the same as on the zodiac sign calculator; the readings are the ones the site's calculators give.
Questions
What are the 12 zodiac signs in order?
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The order follows the Sun through the year from the March equinox, when it enters Aries.
What are the dates of the zodiac signs?
Usually 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 and Pisces February 19 – March 20. The exact day of each change varies by a day or two with the year and the time zone.
Why do zodiac sign dates differ between websites?
The Sun enters each sign at a different minute every year, and that minute falls on different dates in different time zones. From 1950 to 2049, by the US Eastern calendar, each sign began on one of two or three days. Every list rounds that to fixed dates, and not all lists round the same way.
Which zodiac sign is the longest?
Cancer. From 1950 to 2049 the Sun spent 31.45 days in Cancer on average, and 29.44 days in Capricorn, the shortest sign. The Earth moves slowest in early July, when it is farthest from the Sun, and fastest in early January, when it is closest.
What does it mean to be born on the cusp?
That the birthday falls on a border day, when the Sun changes sign in some years. The Sun is always in one sign or the other, so the year, the time and the place of birth decide which. Some astrologers read a little of both signs in a birth near the change.