Your zodiac sign is the one of twelve named sections of the sky that the sun was passing through on the day you were born. Western astrology gives each section about 30 days, so every birthday falls in exactly one sign. If you know your day and month, you can find yours in seconds with the zodiac sign calculator.
Where the 12 signs come from
The sun appears to travel along a path called the ecliptic once a year. Astrologers cut that path into twelve equal slices of 30 degrees and named each slice after a constellation: Aries, Taurus, Gemini and so on. Because the calendar year is not exactly 360 days, the slices land on slightly different dates, which is why sign dates are given as a range such as 23 July to 22 August rather than a clean month.
This is the Western or "tropical" system, and it is what people mean by "sun sign" or "star sign" in most apps and magazines. The Indian Vedic system works differently, and we explain the gap in Rashi vs sun sign.
The 12 signs and their dates
We use the standard calendar dates published by the Farmer's Almanac. Check yours in the table, then open the sign page for traits.
| Sign | Dates | Element | Modality | Traditional ruler | |---|---|---|---|---| | Aries | 21 Mar to 19 Apr | Fire | Cardinal | Mars | | Taurus | 20 Apr to 20 May | Earth | Fixed | Venus | | Gemini | 21 May to 20 Jun | Air | Mutable | Mercury | | Cancer | 21 Jun to 22 Jul | Water | Cardinal | Moon | | Leo | 23 Jul to 22 Aug | Fire | Fixed | Sun | | Virgo | 23 Aug to 22 Sep | Earth | Mutable | Mercury | | Libra | 23 Sep to 22 Oct | Air | Cardinal | Venus | | Scorpio | 23 Oct to 21 Nov | Water | Fixed | Mars | | Sagittarius | 22 Nov to 21 Dec | Fire | Mutable | Jupiter | | Capricorn | 22 Dec to 19 Jan | Earth | Cardinal | Saturn | | Aquarius | 20 Jan to 18 Feb | Air | Fixed | Saturn | | Pisces | 19 Feb to 20 Mar | Water | Mutable | Jupiter |
Capricorn is the only sign that wraps around the new year, so both 5 January and 28 December are Capricorn days.
How to find your sign in three steps
- Take your date of birth. Only the day and month matter. The year changes nothing for a sun sign.
- Find the row whose date range contains your day and month. For example, 14 August sits between 23 July and 22 August, so it is Leo.
- Open the sign page to read the element, modality, ruler and traits.
If you would rather browse by month, each month has its own page. Someone born in October can open October zodiac sign and see both signs that share the month, with the exact day the change happens.
What your sign is made of
Every sign has three labels, and they matter more than the name when you compare two people.
- Element: Fire, Earth, Air or Water. Three signs share each element. Read more in Elements and modalities.
- Modality: Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable. This describes how a sign starts, holds or changes things.
- Ruler: the planet traditionally linked to the sign, such as Mars for Aries. Rulers here follow the traditional list, with Saturn for Aquarius and Jupiter for Pisces.
These labels feed straight into the compatibility score. How compatibility is scored shows the exact numbers.
What a sign can and cannot tell you
A sun sign is a cultural tradition, not a measurement. The traits written on each page, along with lucky numbers and colours, are editorial tradition passed down through astrology books, and we label them that way. Use them as a conversation starter, not as a verdict on a person.
Two limits are worth knowing before you share a result:
- Birth on a boundary day. If you were born on the first or last day of a sign, the exact time and place of birth decide your true sign. See Zodiac cusp signs.
- Vedic rashi. Your Vedic rashi is based on the Moon and needs your birth time. It often differs from your sun sign.
Quick example
A friend was born on 2 February. Scanning the table, that sits inside Aquarius (20 Jan to 18 Feb). Aquarius is Air, Fixed, ruled by Saturn. If you were born on 9 July, you are Cancer: Water, Cardinal, ruled by the Moon. Want to know if the two of you get along? Open the Cancer and Aquarius compatibility page for the score and a one-line verdict.
Next steps
- Run the calculator with your birthday and share the result on WhatsApp.
- Read your sign page for traits and the "Is this my rashi?" answer.
- Compare two signs with the compatibility checker.