zodiac signs, dates and elements
The 12 signs of the tropical zodiac split the year into bands of roughly 30 days each, based on the Sun's position on the ecliptic, not on the actual constellations. This page explains the official dates, the four elements, the three qualities, and what it really means to be born on the cusp between two signs.
Leo runs from 7/23 to 8/22, 31 days in total; being born on the first day falls outside the 2-day cusp window, so the Sun sits solidly in Leo, with no Cancer blend.
Cancer begins on 6/21; since day 1 of the sign falls inside the 2-day margin, this date adds a trace of Gemini to the reading, even though the official Sun sign stays Cancer.
Virgo is an earth sign; its three 10° decans are sub-ruled, in order, by Virgo, Taurus and Capricorn, the other two earth signs, starting with the sign itself.
Your sun sign is defined by the Sun's position on your birth date. Just enter the day and month and the tool shows the matching sign, its element, modality, ruler, decan and a full portrait.
Because the Sun does not enter each sign at the same instant every year, the tropical year has 365.24 days, so the exact turnover date can shift by 1 day depending on the year and the time zone used in the calculation; the range used here is the most common convention in Western astrology.
Not anymore: because of the precession of the equinoxes, the tropical zodiac (used here) has already drifted about 24° from the actual constellations since antiquity; someone born "in Aries" by the calendar has the Sun, in practice, aligned with the constellation Pisces in the real sky.
It is a traditional temperament classification: fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) is tied to initiative, earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) to practicality, air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) to communication and water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) to emotion; each element has exactly 3 signs.
No: the Sun sign is always exactly one, defined by the exact birth date; "cusp" is an informal reading for people born within the 2 closest days of the boundary, blending a trait from the neighboring sign into the interpretation, without changing the official calculation.
Enter your birth date to discover your sun sign and read the full portrait.
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