Quick answer
Your zodiac sign depends on your birthday: Aries Mar 21–Apr 19, Taurus Apr 20–May 20, Gemini May 21–Jun 20, Cancer Jun 21–Jul 22, Leo Jul 23–Aug 22, Virgo Aug 23–Sep 22, Libra Sep 23–Oct 22, Scorpio Oct 23–Nov 21, Sagittarius Nov 22–Dec 21, Capricorn Dec 22–Jan 19, Aquarius Jan 20–Feb 18, Pisces Feb 19–Mar 20. Born near a change? Add your birth time and the tool works out exactly when the Sun switched signs that year. It's just for fun.
Key points
- Star signs follow the Gregorian date of birth, not the year like the Chinese or Vietnamese zodiac.
- Born on 15 August: Leo. Born on 1 January: Capricorn. Born on 29 February: Pisces.
- Sign changes drift by a day or two between years: in 2024 the Sun entered Aries at about 03:06 UTC on 20 March.
- The 12 signs split evenly into Fire, Earth, Air and Water; signs of the same element are considered the best match.
- Traits and compatibility are pop astrology for entertainment, with no scientific basis.
What is a zodiac sign?
“What's your sign?” is a classic icebreaker, and star signs turn up everywhere from weekly horoscopes to birthday gifts. Looking yours up in a date table is easy; the trouble starts for anyone born around the 19th to the 23rd of a month, where sites disagree because the moment the Sun changes signs moves from year to year. This tool uses the standard date table and also computes the Sun's real position for your birthday, so it can settle cusp cases, then adds the element, ruling planet, a short personality sketch, best and worst matches and a just-for-fun compatibility check.
How to find your zodiac sign
- 1
Enter your date of birth. The result updates straight away, no button needed.
- 2
If a yellow “Cusp birthday” box appears, add your time of birth and the time zone of your birthplace to know for sure.
- 3
Read your sign, its dates, element, modality, ruling planet, symbol, key traits and the signs you match best and least.
- 4
Scroll to “Just-for-fun match” and enter another birthday to see how the two signs relate on the zodiac wheel.
- 5
The table of all 12 signs highlights yours; use “Copy result” or the result link to send it to friends.
The 12 zodiac signs and their dates
| Sign | Dates | Element | Ruling planet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mar 21 – Apr 19 | Fire | Mars |
| Taurus | Apr 20 – May 20 | Earth | Venus |
| Gemini | May 21 – Jun 20 | Air | Mercury |
| Cancer | Jun 21 – Jul 22 | Water | Moon |
| Leo | Jul 23 – Aug 22 | Fire | Sun |
| Virgo | Aug 23 – Sep 22 | Earth | Mercury |
| Libra | Sep 23 – Oct 22 | Air | Venus |
| Scorpio | Oct 23 – Nov 21 | Water | Pluto (traditionally Mars) |
| Sagittarius | Nov 22 – Dec 21 | Fire | Jupiter |
| Capricorn | Dec 22 – Jan 19 | Earth | Saturn |
| Aquarius | Jan 20 – Feb 18 | Air | Uranus (traditionally Saturn) |
| Pisces | Feb 19 – Mar 20 | Water | Neptune (traditionally Jupiter) |
Swipe sideways to see the whole table →
This is the most widely used table. The first and last day of each sign can shift by a day depending on the year and time of birth; see the cusp section below.
The four elements
| Element | Signs | Pop-astrology traits | Usually matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | Aries, Leo, Sagittarius | Enthusiastic, bold, action-oriented | Fire, Air |
| Earth | Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn | Practical, steady, dependable | Earth, Water |
| Air | Gemini, Libra, Aquarius | Sociable, full of ideas | Air, Fire |
| Water | Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces | Emotional, intuitive | Water, Earth |
Swipe sideways to see the whole table →
Examples
Born 15 August 1998
Right in the middle of Jul 23 – Aug 22, so Leo: Fire, fixed, ruled by the Sun. Best matches are Aries and Sagittarius, the other Fire signs.
Born 20 March 2024
That year the Sun entered Aries at about 03:06 UTC (10:06 in Vietnam). Born in Vietnam at 8 am you're a Pisces; at 3 pm you're already an Aries, even though most tables list 20 March as Pisces.
Born 21 December 2024
The December solstice was at about 09:21 UTC. In London a morning birth is Sagittarius and an afternoon birth is Capricorn.
Leo and Aries
Both Fire signs, four signs apart on the wheel: rated a top match, with a fun score of 92%.
Common mix-ups
- Using a lunar calendar date.
- Star signs depend on the Sun's position, so always use the Gregorian (solar) date. Convert a lunar date first with our lunar calendar converter.
- Confusing star signs with the Chinese or Vietnamese zodiac.
- The animal signs follow the lunar year; star signs follow the day of the year. They're independent: a Horse can be any star sign.
- Assuming the cut-off dates are fixed.
- A calendar year has 365 or 366 days while the Sun takes about 365.24 days to go round, so the change time drifts about six hours a year and jumps back in leap years. If you were born on the 19th–23rd, add your birth time.
- Forgetting the time zone.
- The Sun changes signs at the same instant worldwide, but the local date can differ. If you were born abroad on a cusp day, choose your birthplace's time zone.
Why cusp dates move
The zodiac is the Sun's yearly path across the sky, divided into 12 signs of 30 degrees each, starting at the March equinox. The Sun enters Aries at that equinox, Cancer at the June solstice, Libra at the September equinox and Capricorn at the December solstice.
Those moments fall at a different time each year. In 2024 the Sun entered Aries at about 03:06 UTC on 20 March; in 2026 it is about 14:46 UTC; in many years of the 1990s it was 21 March in Asia. The tool computes the Sun's longitude with the shortened formula from Jean Meeus's “Astronomical Algorithms”, accurate to a few minutes, and warns you when your birth time is within 30 minutes of the change.
Elements, modalities and ruling planets
Every sign has one of four elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) and one of three modalities: cardinal signs start a season (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), fixed signs sit mid-season (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) and mutable signs close it (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces). Four elements times three modalities gives exactly 12 unique pairs.
Ancient astrologers knew only seven bodies visible to the naked eye, so Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces were given Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. After Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were discovered, modern astrology reassigned those three signs. The tool shows both.
How matches and the fun score work
Compatibility comes from how far apart two signs sit on the wheel, the way pop astrology usually reads it: four signs apart (same element) is the best match, two apart (Fire with Air, Earth with Water) is a good match, six apart is opposites attracting, and three apart is challenging because the modality is the same but the element differs. The percentage follows directly from that relationship; it isn't random and can't predict real feelings.
Glossary
- Zodiac
- The Sun's yearly path across the sky, split into 12 signs of 30 degrees.
- Cusp
- The day the Sun moves from one sign to the next; birth time decides the sign.
- Element
- Fire, Earth, Air or Water: three signs each, 120 degrees apart.
- Modality
- Cardinal, fixed or mutable: the start, middle and end of each season.
Frequently asked questions
What sign is August?
1–22 August is Leo and 23–31 August is Virgo. If you were born on the 22nd or 23rd, enter your year and time because the cut-off can shift by a day.
What sign is 29 February?
Pisces, which runs from 19 February to 20 March.
Why do websites give different dates?
The moment the Sun changes signs moves by a day or two between years and depends on time zone, so each site rounds differently. This tool uses the most common table and also computes the real change time for your birth year.
What if I don't know my birth time?
Outside the few cusp days each month, time doesn't matter. If you were born on a change day and don't know the time, you can read both signs; the tool tells you when the change happened.
Is there a 13th sign, Ophiuchus?
The Sun does pass through the constellation Ophiuchus in late November and early December, but Western astrology's signs are 12 equal slices measured from the March equinox, not constellations, so there are still 12 signs.
Do star signs really shape personality?
No scientific evidence supports it. The traits here are familiar pop-astrology descriptions, fun to read and share but not a way to judge anyone.
Which signs match Scorpio?
Best: Cancer and Pisces (Water). Good: Virgo and Capricorn (Earth). Opposite: Taurus. Challenging: Leo and Aquarius.
Is my birthday stored?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser, and the result link keeps the date after the # so it isn't sent to our server.
Ratings and comments
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