Zodiac Signs Reference

Zodiac signs at a glance

A quick, searchable reference for all twelve Western (tropical) zodiac signs — their date ranges, symbols, elements, qualities and ruling planets. Type any attribute into the search box to filter the table instantly, whether you are checking your own sign, settling a trivia argument, or comparing two charts.

The tropical zodiac is the system most widely used in Western astrology. It anchors each sign to the solar calendar — Aries always begins at the vernal equinox — rather than to fixed star positions. That is why it is called “tropical” (from the Greek for turning point) rather than “sidereal.”

The three classification axes

Each sign sits at the intersection of three independent attributes:

Element (triplicity)

Four elements, three signs each. The element shapes the basic temperament associated with a sign:

Quality (modality)

Three qualities, four signs each. The quality relates each sign to the season it occupies:

• Cardinal — the sign that opens a season (Aries/spring, Cancer/summer, Libra/autumn, Capricorn/winter). Associated with initiative and beginning.
• Fixed — the sign at the peak of a season. Associated with persistence and consolidation.
• Mutable — the sign that closes a season. Associated with adaptability and transition.

Because every element-quality pair is unique, no two signs share the same combination. Aries is Cardinal Fire; Taurus is Fixed Earth; Gemini is Mutable Air — and so on around the wheel.

Ruling planet

Each sign has a planet traditionally said to govern its expression. Classical tradition (before the outer planets were discovered) assigned rulers using the seven visible celestial bodies; modern astrology added Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as co-rulers for three signs:

Finding your sign

Locate the row whose date range includes your birthday. A birthday on November 10 falls in Scorpio (Oct 23 – Nov 21): a Fixed Water sign with Mars as its traditional ruler and Pluto as its modern one.

If your birthday falls on the first or last day of a date range — a cusp — the exact crossing moment shifts by about a day from year to year depending on when the Sun physically enters that segment of the ecliptic. If you were born on, say, September 22 or 23, the reference dates alone may not be sufficient; checking an ephemeris (a table of planetary positions) for your birth year gives the definitive answer.

The complete sign cycle

The twelve signs run continuously around the 360-degree ecliptic, each occupying 30 degrees. Starting at the vernal equinox:

Aries → Taurus → Gemini → Cancer → Leo → Virgo → Libra → Scorpio → Sagittarius → Capricorn → Aquarius → Pisces → (back to Aries)

Each sign is roughly one solar month. The Sun takes about 365.25 days to complete one full circuit, which is why a sign’s start date shifts by about a day every four years (aligning with leap years).

Practical uses

• Quick birthday look-up — confirm a friend’s or celebrity’s sign when you know only their birth date.
• Comparing charts — filter by element to see how two people’s elemental balance differs at a glance.
• Learning astrology basics — the element and quality grid is the fastest way to understand why, for example, Capricorn and Cancer are considered opposite signs (Cardinal Earth vs. Cardinal Water, sitting across the wheel from each other).
• Writing and creative work — character-building, horoscope copy, or worldbuilding that references astrological tradition.

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