The Twelve Sun Signs

Dates, elements, rulers, myths and the Vedic difference, sign by sign.

Your Sun sign is the sign the Sun was in on the day you were born. In modern (Western, tropical) astrology it is the best known placement, and the tradition reads it as a description of core motivation: what a person is drawn to and how they tend to go about it.

Each guide below gives the approximate dates, the element, modality and ruling planet, what astrologers associate with the sign, its myth and constellation, and how it compares with the Vedic (sidereal) zodiac. Characteristics are always attributed to the tradition, never stated as fact about a person.

Find your sign

The dates are approximate because the Sun changes sign on a different day and time each year. If you were born within a day or two of an edge, check with the Sun, Moon and Rising calculator. To compare with Vedic astrology, use your sign in both systems.

The twelve signs

  • Aries: about 21 March to 19 April, fire, cardinal, ruled by Mars.
  • Taurus: about 20 April to 20 May, earth, fixed, ruled by Venus.
  • Gemini: about 21 May to 20 June, air, mutable, ruled by Mercury.
  • Cancer: about 21 June to 22 July, water, cardinal, ruled by the Moon.
  • Leo: about 23 July to 22 August, fire, fixed, ruled by the Sun.
  • Virgo: about 23 August to 22 September, earth, mutable, ruled by Mercury.
  • Libra: about 23 September to 22 October, air, cardinal, ruled by Venus.
  • Scorpio: about 23 October to 21 November, water, fixed, ruled by Mars (traditional) and Pluto (modern).
  • Sagittarius: about 22 November to 21 December, fire, mutable, ruled by Jupiter.
  • Capricorn: about 22 December to 19 January, earth, cardinal, ruled by Saturn.
  • Aquarius: about 20 January to 18 February, air, fixed, ruled by Saturn (traditional) and Uranus (modern).
  • Pisces: about 19 February to 20 March, water, mutable, ruled by Jupiter (traditional) and Neptune (modern).

Beyond the Sun

The Sun is one of three main placements. The Moon sign describes emotional habits in the tradition, and the Rising sign the manner with which a person meets the world. Both have their own guides: Moon signs and Rising signs. The calculator finds all three.

Astrology here is offered as a tradition for reflection, not as a prediction or a substitute for professional advice.

Aries Sun Sign

Aries Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Taurus Sun Sign

Taurus Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Gemini Sun Sign

Gemini Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Cancer Sun Sign

Cancer Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Leo Sun Sign

Leo Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Virgo Sun Sign

Virgo Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Libra Sun Sign

Libra Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Scorpio Sun Sign

Scorpio Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, rulers, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Sagittarius Sun Sign

Sagittarius Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Capricorn Sun Sign

Capricorn Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, ruler, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Aquarius Sun Sign

Aquarius Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, rulers, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.

Pisces Sun Sign

Pisces Sun sign in modern astrology: dates, element, rulers, what the tradition says about it, its myth, and how it differs in the Vedic zodiac.