The 12 Zodiac Signs
DATES · ELEMENTS · MODALITIES · RULERS
Twelve 30-degree slices of the Sun's yearly path, and the long tradition of character assigned to each. Every sign has a date range, an element, a modality, a ruler and a full guide — all on this page.
Every sign, in zodiac order
The cycle runs Aries to Pisces, starting from the spring equinox. Tap any sign for its full profile — personality, love, career and a daily horoscope.
Zodiac sign dates, elements and rulers
The complete reference in one table. Each combination is unique — twelve signs is twelve different element-and-modality pairings, which is exactly why there are twelve.
| Sign | Dates | Element | Modality | Ruler | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♈︎ Aries | Mar 21 – Apr 19 | Fire | Cardinal | Mars | The Ram |
| ♉︎ Taurus | Apr 20 – May 20 | Earth | Fixed | Venus | The Bull |
| ♊︎ Gemini | May 21 – Jun 20 | Air | Mutable | Mercury | The Twins |
| ♋︎ Cancer | Jun 21 – Jul 22 | Water | Cardinal | Moon | The Crab |
| ♌︎ Leo | Jul 23 – Aug 22 | Fire | Fixed | Sun | The Lion |
| ♍︎ Virgo | Aug 23 – Sep 22 | Earth | Mutable | Mercury | The Maiden |
| ♎︎ Libra | Sep 23 – Oct 22 | Air | Cardinal | Venus | The Scales |
| ♏︎ Scorpio | Oct 23 – Nov 21 | Water | Fixed | Pluto / Mars | The Scorpion |
| ♐︎ Sagittarius | Nov 22 – Dec 21 | Fire | Mutable | Jupiter | The Archer |
| ♑︎ Capricorn | Dec 22 – Jan 19 | Earth | Cardinal | Saturn | The Sea Goat |
| ♒︎ Aquarius | Jan 20 – Feb 18 | Air | Fixed | Uranus / Saturn | The Water Bearer |
| ♓︎ Pisces | Feb 19 – Mar 20 | Water | Mutable | Neptune / Jupiter | The Fish |
These dates are approximate
The Sun does not change sign at midnight. It changes at a precise astronomical moment, and that moment drifts by up to about 18 hours year to year. If your birthday falls within a day of a boundary, your birth time and birthplace decide the answer — not the calendar.
The four elements
Every sign carries one of four elements, and it describes how that sign processes the world rather than whether it succeeds at anything.
🔥 Fire
Acts before thinking. Warm, fast, convinced — and impatient with anything that slows the impulse down.
Aries · Leo · Sagittarius
🌍 Earth
Builds before speaking. Patient, concrete, loyal to what already works — and slow to unmake it.
Taurus · Virgo · Capricorn
🌬 Air
Thinks out loud. Social, curious, fluent in ideas — and prone to talking instead of committing.
Gemini · Libra · Aquarius
💧 Water
Feels first and reasons later. Deep, intuitive, protective — and prone to absorbing what isn't theirs.
Cancer · Scorpio · Pisces
Cardinal, fixed, mutable
Element says how a sign processes; modality says when it acts. Cardinal signs start things, fixed signs hold them, mutable signs change them. Together they make four columns of three, which is the whole architecture of the zodiac.
- Cardinal — Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. They initiate. The energy of beginning something that didn't exist last season.
- Fixed — Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. They sustain. The energy of holding a position long enough for it to cost something.
- Mutable — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces. They adapt. The energy of reshaping the plan when circumstances won't hold still.
The two systems together give each sign a distinct problem. Taurus is fixed earth — a bull holding a position about material things. Sagittarius is mutable fire — a flame that keeps changing shape. Same element, opposite behaviour; same modality, different material. That is the whole grid.
Born on a cusp? Check the real chart
About 10% of people are born within a day of a sign boundary — the last day of one sign or the first of the next. These are the most commonly mislabelled people in astrology, and it is not because anyone is careless. The Sun's crossing point is an astronomical event with a timestamp, and that timestamp moves.
The useful move is to stop guessing from the calendar. Your birth time and birthplace give the real answer, including which sign was actually rising on the eastern horizon at that moment — usually a better description of how you operate than the Sun sign is.
Zodiac questions, answered
What are the 12 zodiac signs in order?
Starting from the March equinox: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The cycle begins with Aries because the First Point of Aries is the spring equinox point, the place the Sun crosses the celestial equator.
What are the zodiac sign dates?
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. These are approximate — the Sun changes sign at a precise astronomical moment, not at midnight.
What are the 4 elements in astrology?
Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) and Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). Element describes how a sign processes experience. Fire acts, Earth builds, Air connects, Water feels.
What are the 3 modalities?
Cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) initiates. Fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) sustains. Mutable (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) adapts. Every sign is one element and one modality, which is why there are exactly twelve.
What is the difference between the zodiac and a birth chart?
The zodiac is the twelve 30-degree divisions of the ecliptic and the character assigned to each. A birth chart maps every planet to those divisions at your exact birth moment, plus your Ascendant, which usually describes you better than the Sun sign does.
Is the zodiac astronomy or astrology?
The ecliptic and the twelve 30-degree segments are real astronomical divisions of the Sun's path. The personality meanings attached to them are astrological tradition, not scientific finding, and have been treated as pseudoscience since the 18th century. This site presents the tradition as tradition, and the astronomy as astronomy.