How to use it
- Enter your date of birth.
- Read your sign, element, modality and ruling planet.
- If you were born on a cusp day, check the time the Sun changed signs.
- Open the Chinese zodiac tab to see your animal and element.
Zodiac sign dates
The table on the page uses the common rounded dates of the tropical zodiac, the system Western astrology uses:
| Sign | Dates | Element |
|---|---|---|
| ♈ Aries | March 21 – April 19 | Fire |
| ♉ Taurus | April 20 – May 20 | Earth |
| ♊ Gemini | May 21 – June 20 | Air |
| ♋ Cancer | June 21 – July 22 | Water |
| ♌ Leo | July 23 – August 22 | Fire |
| ♍ Virgo | August 23 – September 22 | Earth |
| ♎ Libra | September 23 – October 22 | Air |
| ♏ Scorpio | October 23 – November 21 | Water |
| ♐ Sagittarius | November 22 – December 21 | Fire |
| ♑ Capricorn | December 22 – January 19 | Earth |
| ♒ Aquarius | January 20 – February 18 | Air |
| ♓ Pisces | February 19 – March 20 | Water |
You may see dates that differ by a day elsewhere; the next section explains why.
Born on a cusp?
The sign boundaries are not fixed calendar dates. A sign begins when the Sun reaches a specific point on its yearly path (every 30 degrees of ecliptic longitude), and that moment shifts by up to a day from year to year because of leap years and the length of the year.
The calculator checks the actual position of the Sun for your birth date. If the Sun changed signs on that day, it tells you the time it happened, to within about 15 minutes, in the time zone your browser uses. If you were born before that time you belong to the earlier sign, if after, to the later one. If your birth time zone is different, convert the time first.
It also flags dates where the traditional table and the Sun's real position disagree, so you know which sign is astronomically correct for your year.
Elements, modalities and ruling planets
Astrology groups the twelve signs in two ways:
- Elements: fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) and water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces).
- Modalities: cardinal signs start each season (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), fixed signs sit in the middle (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), and mutable signs close it (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces).
Each sign also has a traditional ruling planet. For Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces, modern astrology adds Pluto, Uranus and Neptune; the result shows both.
Chinese zodiac
The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year in a 12-year cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each year also has one of five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) and a yin or yang character, which together form a 60-year cycle.
The Chinese year does not start on January 1. It starts on Lunar New Year, which falls between January 21 and February 20. If you were born in January or early February, you may belong to the previous year's animal. The calculator works out the exact Lunar New Year date for any year from 1930 to 2099 using the rules of the Chinese calendar (China time, UTC+8), and tells you when your birthday falls before it.
A word on accuracy
The dates and astronomical times on this page are calculated precisely. What a sign is supposed to say about you is another matter: astrology is a cultural tradition and a form of entertainment, and scientific studies have not found a link between zodiac signs and personality. Enjoy it as such. If you are curious about other date facts, try the leap year calculator or the moon phase calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What is my zodiac sign?
Enter your birthday and the calculator shows your sign right away, together with its date range, element, modality and ruling planet.
Why do different websites give different dates for the signs?
The Sun enters each sign at a slightly different time every year, so the boundaries can move by a day. Most tables round them; this calculator checks the Sun's real position for your year.
What does it mean to be born on the cusp?
It means you were born on the day the Sun moved from one sign to the next. Your sign depends on whether you were born before or after the exact time, which the calculator shows.
What is my Chinese zodiac animal?
Open the Chinese zodiac tab. It uses the birth date you entered and accounts for Lunar New Year, so January and February birthdays get the correct animal.
Is the 13th sign, Ophiuchus, included?
No. Western astrology uses 12 signs of 30 degrees each. Ophiuchus is a constellation the Sun passes in front of, but it is not part of the tropical zodiac.
Last updated: November 12, 2026