The Twelve Zodiac Signs: Dates, Elements and Ruling Planets
“What’s your sign?” asks which of the twelve stretches of the ecliptic the Sun was in when you were born. Each sign’s personality is built from three ingredients: its element (fire, earth, air, water), its modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable) and its ruling planet. Once you see those, the twelve descriptions stop needing to be memorized. The overview is below, and every sign has its own detailed page.
The twelve signs at a glance
| Sign | Dates (Taipei) | Element · modality | Ruler | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mar 21 – Apr 19 | Fire · Cardinal | Mars | Acts first and thinks on the way; loves being the one who starts things. Patience is the lifelong lesson. |
| Taurus | Apr 20 – May 20 | Earth · Fixed | Venus | Steady and grounded; wants results you can see and touch. Change needs time to be trusted. |
| Gemini | May 21 – Jun 20 | Air · Mutable | Mercury | Endlessly curious; learns the world by talking and trading ideas. Several threads at once is normal. |
| Cancer | Jun 21 – Jul 22 | Water · Cardinal | Moon | Led by feeling and family; fiercely protective of the people who matter. Security comes first. |
| Leo | Jul 23 – Aug 22 | Fire · Fixed | Sun | Needs a stage and needs to be seen; warm, generous, and proud of what it makes. |
| Virgo | Aug 23 – Sep 22 | Earth · Mutable | Mercury | Methodical and detail-minded; sees what is broken and wants to fix it. Harder on itself than on anyone else. |
| Libra | Sep 23 – Oct 22 | Air · Cardinal | Venus | Cares about fairness and harmony; sees every side, which is also why decisions come slowly. |
| Scorpio | Oct 23 – Nov 21 | Water · Fixed | Mars, Pluto | Intense and perceptive; trust is built slowly, but once committed it is all-in. |
| Sagittarius | Nov 22 – Dec 21 | Fire · Mutable | Jupiter | Drawn to distant places and bigger meaning; optimistic, blunt, and allergic to being tied down. |
| Capricorn | Dec 22 – Jan 19 | Earth · Cardinal | Saturn | Goal-driven and enduring; willing to put in the hard years for a long-term payoff. Takes responsibility seriously. |
| Aquarius | Jan 20 – Feb 18 | Air · Fixed | Saturn, Uranus | Prizes independence and freedom of thought; idealistic about groups and often a step ahead of them. |
| Pisces | Feb 19 – Mar 20 | Water · Mutable | Jupiter, Neptune | Deeply receptive and easily absorbs other people's moods; rich imagination, blurry boundaries. |
Dates are in Taipei time, using the most common changeover date in 1950–2030; in the Americas the date may be a day earlier. If you were born on a cusp, see Zodiac Sign Dates or cast a chart.
The four elements: what kind of energy
- Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): warm, active, driven by action and instinct, keen on self-expression.
- Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn): practical and steady, values tangible results, trusts patience and accumulation.
- Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): lives in ideas and conversation, good at concepts and connecting people.
- Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces): led by feeling and connection, intuitive and empathetic, needs emotional safety.
The three signs of one element sit 120° apart, the harmonious trine, which is where “same element, best match” comes from. Fire and air, and earth and water, are compatible elements 60° apart.
The three modalities: what kind of rhythm
- Cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn): initiators; these four begin at the equinoxes and solstices.
- Fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius): sustainers; they sit mid-season, focused and persistent, and stubborn too.
- Mutable (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces): adapters; they close each season, flexible and quick to change, and easily distracted.
Four elements times three modalities gives twelve combinations, one per sign: Aries is cardinal fire, a spark that starts things; Leo is fixed fire, a steady blaze; Sagittarius is mutable fire, an arrow flying toward the horizon.
Six axes: two sides of one theme
Opposite signs share a modality and have compatible elements; they are two ends of the same theme, which is why they attract and pull at each other:
| Axis | Theme |
|---|---|
| Aries ↔ Libra | Self and other |
| Taurus ↔ Scorpio | My resources and shared resources |
| Gemini ↔ Sagittarius | Nearby information and distant beliefs |
| Cancer ↔ Capricorn | Home and career |
| Leo ↔ Aquarius | Personal creativity and group ideals |
| Virgo ↔ Pisces | Daily order and boundless imagination |
Your Sun sign is one tenth of the picture
A birth chart has ten planets, and the Sun is only one of them. Calculating every day from 1950 to 2030, Mercury shares the Sun’s sign on average only 51.2% of the time and Venus only 23.9%; for every sign, between 18.2% and 21% of people were born with Mercury retrograde. Add the Moon and the Ascendant, and two people with the same sign can be very different.
The 43 people in our celebrity charts have 43 certain Sun signs, spread across 12 signs, with no more than 6 in any one: no sign is especially good at producing famous people.
A straight word: your Sun sign is one planet out of ten
This page describes the tendencies astrological tradition associates with the Sun in this sign; they are tradition, not scientific findings. People with the same Sun sign have different Moons, Ascendants, Mercuries and Venuses, and those differences can be large. Our own numbers show it: Mercury shares the Sun’s sign only about half the time, Venus only a quarter of the time. So if parts of this page do not sound like you, that is normal, and a full birth chart will be far more accurate. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment only; for health, investment or legal matters, please consult a professional.
Cast your full birth chart
Your Sun sign is only the starting point. Enter your birth date, time and place to get your Moon, Ascendant, all ten planets, the twelve houses and the aspects, with a reading for each. Everything is calculated in your browser.
Zodiac signs FAQ
What order do the zodiac signs go in?
In the order the Sun passes through them starting at the March equinox: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, 30° each. Aries comes first because it begins at the equinox.
What are the elements and modalities for?
The element (fire, earth, air, water) describes the kind of energy, the modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable) the rhythm, and the ruling planet adds a particular color. Put together, they explain why each sign is described the way it is.
I was born on a cusp. Which sign am I?
At any moment the Sun is in exactly one sign. On a cusp it depends on your birth year and time; check Zodiac Sign Dates or use the birth chart calculator to get the Sun’s exact degree.
Why don’t I match my zodiac sign?
Because your Sun sign is one planet out of ten. Your Moon, Ascendant, Mercury and Venus may all be in other signs; by our count Mercury shares the Sun’s sign about half the time and Venus only a quarter. A full birth chart usually shows why.
Is Ophiuchus a thirteenth zodiac sign?
Not in astrology. The zodiac signs divide the ecliptic into twelve equal parts and ignore the constellations’ actual boundaries. Astronomically the Sun does pass through Ophiuchus; see Zodiac Sign Dates.