Decan 1 · 1–10°
Sub-ruler: Mercury
Double Mercury — quickest and most restless, a natural talker.
Roughly the first ten days of the sign.
May 21 – June 20 · Air · Mutable · ruled by Mercury
Gemini
Gemini covers May 21 – June 20 and is the 3rd sign of the zodiac: air, mutable, ruled by Mercury. Its keynote is curiosity, quickness and a need for variety. In 2026 the Sun spends 31.33 days in it — the 2nd longest of the twelve, because the signs are not equal in length.
The Gemini man The Gemini woman
DatesMay 21 – June 20
SymbolTwins
ElementAir
ModalityMutable
Ruling planetMercury
House3
PolarityPositive
Lucky numbers5, 7
Lucky dayWednesday
ColourYellow
BirthstonePearl, agate
Best matches
Libra, Aquarius, Aries
Hardest matches
Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn
Rules the bodyHands, arms and lungs
Calculated, not approximated
Exact Gemini dates for 2026
Sun enters Gemini
21 May, 00:31 UTC
Sun leaves Gemini
21 June, 08:24 UTC
Length this year
31.3 days
Every other site prints "May 21 – June 20" with a note that dates "may vary by a day". They vary because the Sun crosses the boundary at a specific moment, and that moment shifts each year — but it is not unknowable.
The figures above are computed: the Sun enters Gemini when its ecliptic longitude reaches 60°, and that crossing is found to the minute. If you were born near a boundary, this is the answer you actually needed.
Calculated from the Sun's actual motion
The zodiac signs are not equal
Gemini lasts
31.33 days
Rank by length
2 of 12
Share of all births
8.56%
If signs were even
30.44 days · 8.33%
Everyone assumes the twelve signs are equal months. They are not. Gemini runs 31.33 days in 2026, against 29.20 for the shortest and 31.45 for the longest — a spread of well over two days.
The cause is Kepler's second law. Earth's orbit is an ellipse, and the planet moves slowest at aphelion in early July — so the Sun takes longer to cross the summer signs than the winter ones. Cancer, Gemini and Leo are the long ones; Capricorn, Sagittarius and Aquarius the short.
All twelve, measured
| Sign | Days in 2026 | Rank | Share of births |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | 31.45 | 1 | 8.86% |
| Gemini | 31.33 | 2 | 8.56% |
| Leo | 31.3 | 3 | 9.05% |
| Taurus | 30.96 | 4 | 8.24% |
| Virgo | 30.91 | 5 | 8.86% |
| Aries | 30.45 | 6 | 8.18% |
| Libra | 30.4 | 7 | 8.62% |
| Pisces | 29.95 | 8 | 7.91% |
| Scorpio | 29.9 | 9 | 8.05% |
| Aquarius | 29.59 | 10 | 7.75% |
| Sagittarius | 29.56 | 11 | 8% |
| Capricorn | 29.2 | 12 | 7.91% |
Birth shares combine two separate effects: the uneven length of the signs, and the fact that births themselves are seasonal — the northern hemisphere peaks in July to September. Both push in the same direction, which is why Leo and Virgo come out ahead of Aquarius and Pisces by more than a percentage point.
Rarely covered
The three Gemini decans
Each sign divides into three ten-degree segments, and each has its own sub-ruler. Two people can both be Gemini and read as noticeably different because they fall in different decans — roughly, early, middle or late in the sign.
Decan 2 · 11–20°
Sub-ruler: Venus
Softer and more sociable. Charm does the work.
Roughly the middle ten days of the sign.
Decan 3 · 21–30°
Sub-ruler: Uranus
Original and contrary. The version that thinks sideways.
Roughly the last ten days of the sign.
Gemini personality
Adaptable
Talkative
Restless
Witty
Scattered
Strengths
Learns fast, connects unrelated ideas, and can talk to anyone about anything.
Weaknesses
Starts more than it finishes, and uses cleverness to avoid depth.
Gemini is the one mutable air sign — and that pairing is the whole explanation. The element sets temperament: air signs process by thinking and talking. The modality decides what happens when circumstances change: mutable signs adapt to it.
There are exactly twelve combinations of four elements and three modalities, and each is occupied by one sign. That is why no two signs are interchangeable, and why Gemini cannot be swapped for the other air signs without changing the meaning.
The Gemini man and woman
Gemini man
Talks first, decides later. Needs mental stimulation more than reassurance, and reads routine as a threat.
Gemini woman
Curious and sociable, with several versions of herself depending on the room. Bores fast.
Worth saying plainly: nothing in astrology assigns different meanings to a sign by gender. These descriptions reflect how the traits are conventionally written about, not a separate system — and plenty of people will recognise themselves in the other one.
Gemini in each area of life
In love and relationships
Needs mental stimulation above all. Silence reads as a problem rather than peace.
As a friend
Excellent company, unreliable calendar. Remembers everything you said and none of the arrangements.
At work
Thrives where the brief keeps changing. Struggles in roles that reward routine.
Career that suits
Media, teaching, sales, translation, anything with variety and language at the centre.
With money
Earns from several places at once and loses track of all of them.
As a child
Talks early, asks constantly, needs input. Bored children become difficult children.
As a parent
Playful and conversational. Treats a child as a person to talk to; can be inconsistent about rules.
Health and the body
Hands, arms and lungs — Gemini rules them, and nervous energy shows in the hands.
Gemini compatibility with every sign
Ranked by the angle between the two signs on the wheel — the same geometry astrology uses for aspects. Signs 120° apart share an element and form a trine; 90° apart is a square. Nothing here is a matter of opinion.
| With | Aspect | Angle | Score | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libra | Trine | 120° | 88% | Air |
| Aquarius | Trine | 120° | 88% | Air |
| Aries | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Fire |
| Leo | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Fire |
| Gemini | Conjunction | 0° | 78% | Air |
| Sagittarius | Opposition | 180° | 75% | Fire |
| Virgo | Square | 90° | 62% | Earth |
| Pisces | Square | 90° | 62% | Water |
| Taurus | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Earth |
| Cancer | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Water |
| Scorpio | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Water |
| Capricorn | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Earth |
Famous Geminis
Angelina Jolie, Kanye West, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy
Lists like this are the weakest evidence in astrology and the most quoted. With roughly a twelfth of all people in any sign, every sign has impressive members — picking four of them proves nothing. Read it as trivia, not as support.
Common questions about Gemini
What are the exact Gemini dates?
May 21 – June 20 as usually published. In 2026 specifically the Sun enters on 21 May am31 00:31 UTC and leaves on 21 June am30 08:24 UTC.
Who is Gemini most compatible with?
By aspect, Libra, Aquarius, Aries. Those sit at the easiest angles on the wheel — but sun signs are one factor of many, and a difficult angle describes friction rather than failure.
What is a Gemini decan?
A ten-degree third of the sign with its own sub-ruler: Mercury, Venus, Uranus. It is why two people of the same sign born three weeks apart can read quite differently.
What body part does Gemini rule?
Hands, arms and lungs — Gemini rules them, and nervous energy shows in the hands.
Is the Gemini man different from the woman?
Not in the system itself — astrology assigns no gendered meaning to a sign. The separate descriptions above reflect convention in how signs are written about, nothing more.