What is my zodiac sign?

Your zodiac sign — your sun sign — comes from the position of the Sun on the day you were born. As the Earth orbits the Sun over the course of a year, the Sun appears to move through 12 constellations along the ecliptic. Each constellation corresponds to a zodiac sign, and each sign occupies roughly 30 degrees of the 360-degree zodiac wheel.

The dates for each sign are based on the tropical zodiac, which is anchored to the seasons rather than the constellations themselves. The first sign, Aries, begins at the spring equinox around March 21. The rest follow in order through the year, ending with Pisces in mid-March. These dates shift by a day in some years because of how the calendar handles leap years, but the ranges above cover the standard boundaries.

Your sun sign describes your core identity: the qualities you develop over a lifetime, how you express yourself consciously, and what gives you a sense of purpose. It is the most well-known part of astrology, but it is only one piece. Your Moon sign and Rising sign add layers that a sun sign alone cannot capture.

Each zodiac sign belongs to one of four elements: Fire, Earth, Air, or Water. The element tells you something fundamental about how a sign operates in the world. Signs that share an element understand each other intuitively, even when their personalities are different on the surface.

Besides elements, each sign has a modality: Cardinal, Fixed, or Mutable. The modality describes how a sign engages with change. Cardinal signs start things. Fixed signs sustain things. Mutable signs adapt and transition.

Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) are initiators. They mark the beginning of each season and carry that starting energy into everything they do. Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are the middle of each season — stable, determined, and resistant to change. Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) close out each season, bringing flexibility and the ability to shift direction.

Knowing your element and modality together gives you a more precise picture than the sign name alone. Aries is cardinal fire: the spark that starts the blaze. Leo is fixed fire: the bonfire that sustains itself. Sagittarius is mutable fire: the wildfire that spreads in every direction.

Your sun sign is the most accessible entry point into astrology, and it carries real weight. But it is one placement in a chart that contains dozens. Two people with the same sun sign can be dramatically different if their Moon signs, Rising signs, and planetary placements tell different stories.

Your Moon sign governs your emotional wiring — how you process feelings, what makes you feel safe, and how you react under stress. Your Rising sign (Ascendant) shapes your outward personality and first impressions. Together with your Sun, these three form your “Big Three” — the core trio that most astrologers look at first.

If you want to go beyond your sun sign, a full birth chart maps every planet in the sky at the moment you were born. It requires your birth time and location in addition to your date, but the level of detail is incomparable.