Zodiac sign dates
Zodiac sign dates are set by the Sun, not the calendar: in 2026 it reaches Aries, the first sign, on March 20 at 2:46 PM UTC and Capricorn on December 21, and every boundary moves by up to a day from one year to the next.
- March equinox 2026
- Mar 20 2:45:57 PM UTC
- June solstice 2026
- Jun 21 8:24:30 AM UTC
- September equinox 2026
- Sep 23 12:05:13 AM UTC
- December solstice 2026
- Dec 21 8:50:14 PM UTC
NASA JPL DE440; the equinoxes and solstices are the Sun’s entries into Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.
Exact times
Every sign’s start in 2026: exact times
All twelve starts of 2026 to the minute. Each one falls on a different local date in some time zones — the table gives eight cities, and any other city is one search away.
| City | Aquarius · Jan 20 | Pisces · Feb 18 | Aries · Mar 20 | Taurus · Apr 20 | Gemini · May 21 | Cancer · Jun 21 | Leo · Jul 22 | Virgo · Aug 23 | Libra · Sep 23 | Scorpio · Oct 23 | Sagittarius · Nov 22 | Capricorn · Dec 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | Tue, Jan 20 | Wed, Feb 18 | Fri, Mar 20 | Mon, Apr 20 | Thu, May 21 | Sun, Jun 21 | Wed, Jul 22 | Sun, Aug 23 | Wed, Sep 23 | Fri, Oct 23 | Sun, Nov 22 | Mon, Dec 21 |
| Los Angeles United States | 5:45 PM Mon, Jan 19 · UTC−8 | 7:52 AM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC−8 | 7:46 AM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC−7 | 6:39 PM Sun, Apr 19 · UTC−7 | 5:37 PM Wed, May 20 · UTC−7 | 1:25 AM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC−7 | 12:13 PM Wed, Jul 22 · UTC−7 | 7:19 PM Sat, Aug 22 · UTC−7 | 5:05 PM Tue, Sep 22 · UTC−7 | 2:38 AM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC−7 | 11:23 PM Sat, Nov 21 · UTC−8 | 12:50 PM Mon, Dec 21 · UTC−8 |
| New York United States | 8:45 PM Mon, Jan 19 · UTC−5 | 10:52 AM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC−5 | 10:46 AM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC−4 | 9:39 PM Sun, Apr 19 · UTC−4 | 8:37 PM Wed, May 20 · UTC−4 | 4:25 AM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC−4 | 3:13 PM Wed, Jul 22 · UTC−4 | 10:19 PM Sat, Aug 22 · UTC−4 | 8:05 PM Tue, Sep 22 · UTC−4 | 5:38 AM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC−4 | 2:23 AM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC−5 | 3:50 PM Mon, Dec 21 · UTC−5 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 10:45 PM Mon, Jan 19 · UTC−3 | 12:52 PM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC−3 | 11:46 AM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC−3 | 10:39 PM Sun, Apr 19 · UTC−3 | 9:37 PM Wed, May 20 · UTC−3 | 5:25 AM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC−3 | 4:13 PM Wed, Jul 22 · UTC−3 | 11:19 PM Sat, Aug 22 · UTC−3 | 9:05 PM Tue, Sep 22 · UTC−3 | 6:38 AM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC−3 | 4:23 AM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC−3 | 5:50 PM Mon, Dec 21 · UTC−3 |
| London United Kingdom | 1:45 AM Tue, Jan 20 · UTC | 3:52 PM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC | 2:46 PM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC | 2:39 AM Mon, Apr 20 · UTC+1 | 1:37 AM Thu, May 21 · UTC+1 | 9:25 AM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC+1 | 8:13 PM Wed, Jul 22 · UTC+1 | 3:19 AM Sun, Aug 23 · UTC+1 | 1:05 AM Wed, Sep 23 · UTC+1 | 10:38 AM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC+1 | 7:23 AM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC | 8:50 PM Mon, Dec 21 · UTC |
| Moscow Russia | 4:45 AM Tue, Jan 20 · UTC+3 | 6:52 PM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC+3 | 5:46 PM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC+3 | 4:39 AM Mon, Apr 20 · UTC+3 | 3:37 AM Thu, May 21 · UTC+3 | 11:25 AM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC+3 | 10:13 PM Wed, Jul 22 · UTC+3 | 5:19 AM Sun, Aug 23 · UTC+3 | 3:05 AM Wed, Sep 23 · UTC+3 | 12:38 PM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC+3 | 10:23 AM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC+3 | 11:50 PM Mon, Dec 21 · UTC+3 |
| New Delhi India | 7:15 AM Tue, Jan 20 · UTC+5:30 | 9:22 PM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC+5:30 | 8:16 PM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC+5:30 | 7:09 AM Mon, Apr 20 · UTC+5:30 | 6:07 AM Thu, May 21 · UTC+5:30 | 1:55 PM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC+5:30 | 12:43 AM Thu, Jul 23 · UTC+5:30 | 7:49 AM Sun, Aug 23 · UTC+5:30 | 5:35 AM Wed, Sep 23 · UTC+5:30 | 3:08 PM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC+5:30 | 12:53 PM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC+5:30 | 2:20 AM Tue, Dec 22 · UTC+5:30 |
| Beijing China | 9:45 AM Tue, Jan 20 · UTC+8 | 11:52 PM Wed, Feb 18 · UTC+8 | 10:46 PM Fri, Mar 20 · UTC+8 | 9:39 AM Mon, Apr 20 · UTC+8 | 8:37 AM Thu, May 21 · UTC+8 | 4:25 PM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC+8 | 3:13 AM Thu, Jul 23 · UTC+8 | 10:19 AM Sun, Aug 23 · UTC+8 | 8:05 AM Wed, Sep 23 · UTC+8 | 5:38 PM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC+8 | 3:23 PM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC+8 | 4:50 AM Tue, Dec 22 · UTC+8 |
| Sydney Australia | 12:45 PM Tue, Jan 20 · UTC+11 | 2:52 AM Thu, Feb 19 · UTC+11 | 1:46 AM Sat, Mar 21 · UTC+11 | 11:39 AM Mon, Apr 20 · UTC+10 | 10:37 AM Thu, May 21 · UTC+10 | 6:25 PM Sun, Jun 21 · UTC+10 | 5:13 AM Thu, Jul 23 · UTC+10 | 12:19 PM Sun, Aug 23 · UTC+10 | 10:05 AM Wed, Sep 23 · UTC+10 | 8:38 PM Fri, Oct 23 · UTC+11 | 6:23 PM Sun, Nov 22 · UTC+11 | 7:50 AM Tue, Dec 22 · UTC+11 |
Sun’s ingress from the NASA JPL DE440 ephemeris; Swiss Ephemeris agrees within 5 seconds. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
| Sign | Dates | Element | Ruler |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | March 21 – April 19 | Fire | Mars |
| Taurus | April 20 – May 20 | Earth | Venus |
| Gemini | May 21 – June 20 | Air | Mercury |
| Cancer | June 21 – July 22 | Water | Moon |
| Leo | July 23 – August 22 | Fire | Sun |
| Virgo | August 23 – September 22 | Earth | Mercury |
| Libra | September 23 – October 22 | Air | Venus |
| Scorpio | October 23 – November 21 | Water | Pluto (traditionally Mars) |
| Sagittarius | November 22 – December 21 | Fire | Jupiter |
| Capricorn | December 22 – January 19 | Earth | Saturn |
| Aquarius | January 20 – February 18 | Air | Uranus (traditionally Saturn) |
| Pisces | February 19 – March 20 | Water | Neptune (traditionally Jupiter) |
Why the dates move
The zodiac starts at the March equinox, an astronomical moment rather than a calendar date, and every sign boundary inherits its wobble. Between 1900 and 2050 the equinox falls as late as 7:14 PM UTC on March 21 (1903) and as early as 10:34 PM UTC on March 19 (2048). A common year pushes it about six hours later and a leap day pulls it back; and because 2000 kept its leap day, the calendar year between 1901 and 2099 averages about 11 minutes longer than the tropical year, so the whole pattern slowly drifts earlier.
The fixed ranges in the table above are the common approximation. They hold for most birthdays, but within a day of a boundary the year decides — the birth date calendar lists the dates where a fixed table fails.
The birth date calendar: every date, borderline ones resolved →
There is no such thing as a cusp
The Sun is in one sign or the other at any given instant; it does not straddle two. "Cusp" describes the uncertainty of the reader, not a state of the sky. If you were born near a boundary, the answer exists — it just needs your birth time and place to find it.
And the thirteenth sign
Ophiuchus appears in the news every few years as a discovery. It is not one. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which divides the ecliptic into twelve equal 30° signs counted from the March equinox point, and has done so for about two thousand years. It was never a claim about which constellation the Sun stands in front of — so a thirteenth constellation changes nothing about it.
Exact zodiac dates for 2026
The moment the Sun enters each sign in 2026, in UTC, and how long it stays. Convert to your own time zone — in the Americas and Asia the local date can be a day earlier or later.
| Sign | Sun enters (UTC) | Days in sign |
|---|---|---|
| Aquarius | January 20, 1:45 AM | 29.59 |
| Pisces | February 18, 3:52 PM | 29.95 |
| Aries | March 20, 2:46 PM | 30.45 |
| Taurus | April 20, 1:39 AM | 30.96 |
| Gemini | May 21, 12:37 AM | 31.32 |
| Cancer | June 21, 8:25 AM | 31.45 |
| Leo | July 22, 7:13 PM | 31.30 |
| Virgo | August 23, 2:19 AM | 30.91 |
| Libra | September 23, 12:05 AM | 30.40 |
| Scorpio | October 23, 9:38 AM | 29.91 |
| Sagittarius | November 22, 7:23 AM | 29.56 |
| Capricorn | December 21, 8:50 PM | 29.44 |
Exact zodiac dates for 2027
In 2027 each entry comes on average 5 h 48 min later in the day than in 2026 — the drift of a common year, which the next leap day pulls back.
| Sign | Sun enters (UTC) | Days in sign |
|---|---|---|
| Aquarius | January 20, 7:30 AM | 29.59 |
| Pisces | February 18, 9:33 PM | 29.95 |
| Aries | March 20, 8:25 PM | 30.45 |
| Taurus | April 20, 7:18 AM | 30.96 |
| Gemini | May 21, 6:18 AM | 31.33 |
| Cancer | June 21, 2:11 PM | 31.45 |
| Leo | July 23, 1:05 AM | 31.30 |
| Virgo | August 23, 8:14 AM | 30.91 |
| Libra | September 23, 6:02 AM | 30.40 |
| Scorpio | October 23, 3:33 PM | 29.91 |
| Sagittarius | November 22, 1:16 PM | 29.56 |
| Capricorn | December 22, 2:42 AM | 29.44 |
Why the signs are not the same length
The Earth moves fastest in early January, when it is closest to the Sun, and slowest in early July. The Sun therefore crosses the winter signs quickly and the summer signs slowly. In 2026 five signs last under thirty days — Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces — while Gemini, Cancer and Leo last more than thirty-one.
US birth records lean the same way, because births also peak in late summer: the three summer signs take the largest shares of births. Both measures for all twelve signs →
Finding your sign if you were born on a boundary day
Look up the ingress time for your birth year, convert your birth time to UTC, and compare. If you were born after the Sun entered the sign, you belong to the new sign; if before, the old one. The birth chart calculator does this automatically, including the daylight-saving rules in force on your birth date.
Questions about zodiac sign dates
Do zodiac dates change every year?
The boundaries shift by up to a day, because the Sun does not reach the start of each sign at the same moment every year. Published tables use a common approximation; the exact times for this year and next are in the tables above.
What if I was born on the cusp?
There is no such thing astrologically — the Sun is in one sign or the other at any given moment. Your birth date page, or a chart calculated for your birth time and place, tells you which.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Zodiac Sign Dates: The Full Calendar.” Accessed October 30, 2026. https://astrohot.com/zodiac-signs/dates/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Zodiac Sign Dates: The Full Calendar |url=https://astrohot.com/zodiac-signs/dates/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-30}}