Zodiac Sign by Birthday: Complete Date Guide

Your zodiac sign — the one people mean when they ask "what's my sign?" — is your sun sign: the sign the Sun was in on the day you were born. The Western tropical zodiac divides the year into twelve segments of roughly 30 days each. Every birthday falls in exactly one sign. Find your birthday in the table below, and you have your answer.

The date ranges here are the standard tropical boundaries used in Western astrology. The Sun enters each new sign close to the 20th or 21st of each month, though the exact crossing shifts by a few hours from year to year depending on where Earth sits in its orbit. For most birthdays this doesn't matter: if you were born on April 5th, you are Aries with no ambiguity. If your birthday falls on one of the transition dates — April 19th or 20th, for example — a timed birth chart confirms which side of the boundary you're on.

Find Your Zodiac Sign by Birth Date

The table below maps every sign to its approximate date range. Use it as a quick lookup — exact cusp boundary dates follow in each sign section below.

Sign	Date Range	Element	Modality	Ruling Planet
Aries	March 21 – April 19	Fire	Cardinal	Mars
Taurus	April 20 – May 20	Earth	Fixed	Venus
Gemini	May 21 – June 20	Air	Mutable	Mercury
Cancer	June 21 – July 22	Water	Cardinal	Moon
Leo	July 23 – August 22	Fire	Fixed	Sun
Virgo	August 23 – September 22	Earth	Mutable	Mercury
Libra	September 23 – October 22	Air	Cardinal	Venus
Scorpio	October 23 – November 21	Water	Fixed	Pluto / Mars
Sagittarius	November 22 – December 21	Fire	Mutable	Jupiter
Capricorn	December 22 – January 19	Earth	Cardinal	Saturn
Aquarius	January 20 – February 18	Air	Fixed	Uranus / Saturn
Pisces	February 19 – March 20	Water	Mutable	Neptune / Jupiter

Dates may vary by 1–2 days depending on the year. Birthdays on transition dates require a timed chart for certainty.

All 12 Zodiac Signs and Their Date Ranges

Each sign section below covers the exact boundaries, the cusp window at each edge, and a personality portrait drawn from the sign's core qualities — element, modality, and ruling planet.

Aries — March 21 to April 19

Aries opens the zodiac year at the vernal equinox, and that position shapes everything about the sign. Its ruler is Mars; its element is fire; its modality is cardinal, meaning Aries initiates. The defining quality is directness: Aries sees what needs doing and moves toward it without much deliberation. There is an impatience built into the placement — not from carelessness but from genuine urgency. People born under Aries tend to compress the gap between intention and action more than any other sign. The fire element brings heat and drive; the cardinal modality brings the specific quality of getting things started, often before anyone else has decided to. That combination reads as boldness in confident moments and as impatience in constrained ones. The Aries instinct is always to begin.

Cusp at entry: The Pisces-Aries cusp falls around March 19–21, sometimes called the Cusp of Rebirth, marking the shift from the zodiac's twelfth sign (mutable water) to its first (cardinal fire).

Cusp at exit: The Aries-Taurus cusp falls around April 18–21, sometimes called the Cusp of Power.

See a full birthday profile for an Aries date: Born on March 21.

Taurus — April 20 to May 20

Taurus is fixed earth, ruled by Venus. Where Aries starts things, Taurus builds them — the same decisive energy now turned toward durability rather than speed. Fixed modality means Taurus sustains rather than initiates: once a direction is set, the sign holds to it with a steadiness that looks like stubbornness from outside and feels like reliability from within. Venus's influence shows up as an appreciation for the sensory and material — food, texture, music, physical comfort, and the particular satisfaction of something made well and meant to last. People born under Taurus tend to be patient in ways that surprise others, and stubborn in ways that eventually don't. The sign's great strength is follow-through; the corresponding difficulty is knowing when to stop and adjust the plan. Taurus finishes what it starts, and it starts things worth finishing.

Cusp at entry: The Aries-Taurus cusp runs approximately April 18–21 (Cusp of Power).

Cusp at exit: The Taurus-Gemini cusp runs approximately May 19–23, sometimes called the Cusp of Energy.

See a full birthday profile: Born on April 20.

Gemini — May 21 to June 20

Gemini is mutable air, ruled by Mercury. The mutable quality brings adaptability; the air element brings movement through ideas and language. Gemini's relationship to information is active rather than passive — it collects, connects, and recirculates with a speed that most other signs rarely match. Mercury here operates through breadth rather than depth: many sources, many conversations, many angles on the same question at once. The sign has a reputation for inconsistency that is better understood as responsiveness — Gemini is genuinely affected by new information and adjusts its position accordingly, which is a form of intellectual honesty, not unreliability. People born under Gemini tend to be skilled at finding common ground between different people because they can hold two contradictory views simultaneously without the discomfort that unsettles other signs. Communication is the primary mode.

Cusp at entry: The Taurus-Gemini cusp runs approximately May 19–23 (Cusp of Energy).

Cusp at exit: The Gemini-Cancer cusp runs approximately June 18–22, sometimes called the Cusp of Magic.

See a full birthday profile: Born on May 21.

Cancer — June 21 to July 22

Cancer is cardinal water, ruled by the Moon. Cardinal modality means Cancer initiates — but through the water element, that initiation is emotional rather than physical. The Moon's influence brings a close relationship to memory, rhythm, and the cyclical quality of feeling. People born under Cancer register shifts in mood and atmospheric tension early, often before the people around them are consciously aware of the change. That perceptual sensitivity is an asset in close relationships — it makes Cancer attentive and protective — and a liability in large impersonal groups where the incoming emotional signal is too loud to filter. The sign's instincts are specifically calibrated to the people it cares about: Cancer tends to be far more perceptive about the ones it loves than about strangers. The shell is real; so is what's inside it.

Cusp at entry: The Gemini-Cancer cusp runs approximately June 18–22 (Cusp of Magic).

Cusp at exit: The Cancer-Leo cusp runs approximately July 20–24, sometimes called the Cusp of Oscillation.

See a full birthday profile: Born on June 21.

Leo — July 23 to August 22

Leo is fixed fire, ruled by the Sun — the only luminary in the zodiac without a day-night rulership distinction, and its sign carries that singular quality. Leo is not interested in being a reflection of something else. Fixed modality means Leo sustains what Aries started: here the fire becomes a steady, self-producing light rather than a spark. The core quality is self-expression. Leo has a strong instinct for what it actually is, as distinct from what others need it to be, and it holds to that self-knowledge with the tenacity of the fixed signs. That confidence reads as warmth when it opens toward others — Leo is often generous with attention, time, and genuine encouragement — and as demand when it closes into a requirement that others confirm it. People born under Leo tend to be natural leaders because they are comfortable being seen.

Cusp at entry: The Cancer-Leo cusp runs approximately July 20–24 (Cusp of Oscillation).

Cusp at exit: The Leo-Virgo cusp runs approximately August 20–24, sometimes called the Cusp of Exposure.

See a full birthday profile: Born on July 23.

Virgo — August 23 to September 22

Virgo is mutable earth, ruled by Mercury. Mercury in Virgo operates differently than in Gemini: where Gemini expands across many topics, Virgo narrows onto one. Mutable modality gives Virgo flexibility in its methods — it will try several approaches to the same problem before settling on the most effective — while the earth element keeps attention on what is real and demonstrable rather than on what might theoretically be true. The defining quality is discrimination: the ability to sort what matters from what doesn't, to find the flaw in a system before it causes damage, to improve through careful iteration. People born under Virgo tend to be self-critical in ways that are hard to turn off, precise in ways that others sometimes find excessive, and reliable in the specific sense of following through on what they said they'd do. The standard is internal; it applies whether or not anyone else cares.

Cusp at entry: The Leo-Virgo cusp runs approximately August 20–24 (Cusp of Exposure).

Cusp at exit: The Virgo-Libra cusp runs approximately September 20–24, sometimes called the Cusp of Beauty.

See a full birthday profile: Born on August 23.

Libra — September 23 to October 22

Libra is cardinal air, ruled by Venus. Where Taurus (also Venus-ruled) applies the Venus quality to sensory and material experience, Libra applies it to ideas, relationships, and social form. Cardinal modality means Libra initiates — specifically through negotiation, comparison, and the construction of positions that can hold across different viewpoints. The sign has a deep instinct for balance, not as passive equanimity but as the active work of finding what is actually fair. Libra is better than most signs at identifying what is absent from an argument, which makes it a skilled mediator and a difficult person to deceive. People born under Libra often carry an internal tension between their preference for harmony and their clear-eyed awareness that some things are genuinely out of balance. They see both sides — sometimes at the cost of choosing a side.

Cusp at entry: The Virgo-Libra cusp runs approximately September 20–24 (Cusp of Beauty).

Cusp at exit: The Libra-Scorpio cusp runs approximately October 20–24, sometimes called the Cusp of Drama and Criticism.

See a full birthday profile: Born on September 23.

Scorpio — October 23 to November 21

Scorpio is fixed water, ruled by Pluto in the modern system and Mars in the classical. Fixed water is one of the most concentrated placements in the zodiac: the emotional depth of the water element combined with the sustained, immovable quality of fixed modality. Scorpio does not move quickly across the surface of things — it goes deep into whatever holds its attention and stays there until it understands it completely. The sign has a strong relationship to what is irreversible: transformation, loss, power, and the truth beneath the version people present publicly. Pluto brings the quality of depth and pressure; Mars (classical ruler) brings intensity and will. People born under Scorpio tend to be accurate readers of motivation, including their own, and are generally more comfortable sitting with difficult truths than signs that prefer a more comfortable version of events.

Cusp at entry: The Libra-Scorpio cusp runs approximately October 20–24 (Cusp of Drama and Criticism).

Cusp at exit: The Scorpio-Sagittarius cusp runs approximately November 19–23, sometimes called the Cusp of Revolution.

See a full birthday profile: Born on October 23.

Sagittarius — November 22 to December 21

Sagittarius is mutable fire, ruled by Jupiter. Mutable fire is expansive and searching: unlike cardinal fire (Aries, which initiates) or fixed fire (Leo, which sustains), mutable Sagittarius keeps moving — always toward the next horizon. Jupiter amplifies everything it touches, and in Sagittarius that means ideas, philosophies, and the range of direct experience. The sign is drawn to the big picture: frameworks that explain how things fit together, places that operate on different principles from familiar ones, the intersection of meaning and immediate experience. People born under Sagittarius tend to be direct to the point of bluntness, optimistic about outcomes in ways that sometimes skip past present-tense difficulties, and genuinely interested in how other people's worldviews function. The impulse to understand is authentic, not performance.

Cusp at entry: The Scorpio-Sagittarius cusp runs approximately November 19–23 (Cusp of Revolution).

Cusp at exit: The Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp runs approximately December 19–23, sometimes called the Cusp of Prophecy.

See a full birthday profile: Born on November 22.

Capricorn — December 22 to January 19

Capricorn is cardinal earth, ruled by Saturn. Cardinal earth initiates through practical structure: Capricorn identifies the path between where things are and where they need to be, then executes it with patient, methodical effort. Saturn's influence is the dominant quality — discipline, long-horizon thinking, an awareness of limits that other signs sometimes avoid acknowledging. People born under Capricorn tend to be reliable in ways that accumulate meaning over time rather than flaring brightly in the short term. The sign is more interested in what actually lasts than in what looks good at the moment. Capricorn is also quietly ambitious in ways that are easy to underestimate, because the ambition is structural — built into the approach rather than declared out loud. Birthdays on January 19, the final day of Capricorn, carry the full placement without dilution from the next sign.

Cusp at entry: The Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp runs approximately December 19–23 (Cusp of Prophecy).

Cusp at exit: The Capricorn-Aquarius cusp runs approximately January 17–21, sometimes called the Cusp of Mystery.

See a full birthday profile: Born on December 22.

Aquarius — January 20 to February 18

Aquarius is fixed air, ruled by Uranus in the modern system and Saturn in the classical. Fixed air is an unusual combination — air tends toward movement and connection, but fixed modality holds positions in place with considerable force. The result is a sign with strong, often unconventional convictions about ideas, particularly about systems and social structures. Uranus brings the quality of disruption and the instinct for what has not yet been tried; Saturn (classical ruler) provides structure and persistence. People born under Aquarius tend to be independent in their thinking even when operating inside groups, and are often ahead of collective consensus about what changes are necessary. The sign's reputation for detachment reflects its preference for ideas over sentiment — Aquarius is not cold, but it processes the world through principle rather than feeling first.

Cusp at entry: The Capricorn-Aquarius cusp runs approximately January 17–21 (Cusp of Mystery).

Cusp at exit: The Aquarius-Pisces cusp runs approximately February 16–20, sometimes called the Cusp of Sensitivity.

See a full birthday profile: Born on January 20.

Pisces — February 19 to March 20

Pisces is mutable water, ruled by Neptune in the modern system and Jupiter in the classical. The twelfth and final sign of the zodiac year, Pisces occupies the position that follows everything that came before it. Mutable water is the most permeable of all placements: absorptive, shifting, sensitive to the emotional environment in ways that other signs rarely approach. Neptune brings vision and an awareness of what remains unsaid; Jupiter brings scope and the capacity for genuine generosity. People born under Pisces tend to be accurate readers of emotional atmosphere — picking up on what others feel before it has been expressed — and are drawn to music, art, and any form that captures the interior life. The boundary between self and other is thinner here than in most signs, which is both a gift and a demand on those born within it.

Cusp at entry: The Aquarius-Pisces cusp runs approximately February 16–20 (Cusp of Sensitivity).

Cusp at exit: The Pisces-Aries cusp runs approximately March 19–21 (Cusp of Rebirth), which also opens Aries and begins the zodiac year again.

See a full birthday profile: Born on February 19.

Cusp Dates Explained

The word "cusp" in popular astrology refers to birthdays that fall within a few days of a sign boundary. The claims that follow — that people born on cusps carry qualities of both neighboring signs, that a late-Scorpio birthday blends Scorpio depth with Sagittarius expansiveness — are not supported by Western astrology's actual framework.

The Sun occupies one sign at a time. It is either in Scorpio or in Sagittarius, never in a zone between them. The transition happens at a specific moment, not over a window of days. Two people born a day apart near that boundary have different sun sign placements: one is Scorpio; the other is Sagittarius. There is no overlap.

What does happen at cusp birthdays is that the Sun is near the boundary, so the exact hour of birth determines which sign it falls in. Someone born on November 22 in one year might have the Sun enter Sagittarius at 3 PM local time — placing anyone born before 3 PM in Scorpio and anyone born after in Sagittarius. The following year, the transition may occur at a different time.

This is why birth time matters for boundary dates. If your birthday is one of the cusp dates listed above — say, April 19 or 20, or November 22 or 23 — the sign table alone cannot tell you your sun sign with certainty. A birth chart calculated from your precise birth hour and location will.

The cusp names listed in the sign sections above (Cusp of Rebirth, Cusp of Power, and so on) come from the popular astrological literature and are widely used as shorthand. They are useful labels for the transition zones between signs, but they do not mean that birthdays in those windows hold a hybrid placement.

What Determines Your Zodiac Sign

The Western tropical zodiac divides the ecliptic — the Sun's apparent annual path through the sky — into twelve equal 30-degree arcs. Each arc is a sign. The zodiac year begins at the vernal equinox (around March 20–21 each year) with Aries, then runs through all twelve signs in order until Pisces ends and Aries begins again.

Your sun sign is whichever arc the Sun occupied at the moment of your birth. The boundaries above are set by this astronomical convention. They remain consistent in structure across years, though the calendar dates of each crossing shift slightly because the solar year and the calendar year are not perfectly aligned.

A few things follow from this that are worth knowing. The date ranges in this guide apply to the tropical (Western) zodiac only. The Vedic or sidereal zodiac uses a different reference point — the actual star constellations rather than the equinox — which places sign boundaries roughly 23 days earlier. A person who is Taurus in the Western system may appear as Aries in Vedic astrology. Both systems are internally consistent; they measure different things. BaZi (Chinese Four Pillars astrology) and Ziwei Doushu (Purple Star astrology) operate on entirely different frameworks and do not use the same twelve signs.

Your Sun Sign Is a Starting Point

Knowing your zodiac sign by birthday gives you one piece of information with precision: which 30-degree arc of the ecliptic the Sun occupied when you were born. That is meaningful. The sun sign describes core temperament and identity in a way that holds across a lot of lives and a lot of observed behavior.

But a birth chart contains far more. The Moon sign describes how you process feeling. The rising sign (ascendant) shapes how you register in others' perceptions and how the world lands in yours on first contact. Mercury shows how you think and communicate. Venus describes what you value and how you connect. Mars shows how you act when acting matters.

Two people with the same sun sign can have very different charts. A Scorpio Sun with a Sagittarius Moon and Aquarius rising reads very differently from a Scorpio Sun with a Cancer Moon and Capricorn rising. The sun sign is one placement among many, and not always the most prominent.

The sun sign is the most consistently available piece of chart data — you need only a birth date to find it, not a precise hour and location. For most people, it is the starting point of a longer self-examination that the full chart continues.

Get your free chart across four traditions — Western, BaZi, Ziwei, and numerology