Decan 1 · 1–10°
Sub-ruler: Pluto
Double Pluto — the most intense and most private version.
Roughly the first ten days of the sign.
October 23 – November 21 · Water · Fixed · ruled by Pluto (traditionally Mars)
Scorpio
Scorpio covers October 23 – November 21 and is the 8th sign of the zodiac: water, fixed, ruled by Pluto (traditionally Mars). Its keynote is intensity, privacy and refusal to accept surfaces. In 2026 the Sun spends 29.9 days in it — the 9th longest of the twelve, because the signs are not equal in length.
The Scorpio man The Scorpio woman
DatesOctober 23 – November 21
SymbolScorpion
ElementWater
ModalityFixed
Ruling planetPluto (traditionally Mars)
House8
PolarityNegative
Lucky numbers8, 11
Lucky dayTuesday
ColourDeep red, black
BirthstoneTopaz, obsidian
Best matches
Cancer, Pisces, Virgo
Hardest matches
Sagittarius, Aries, Gemini
Rules the bodyReproductive and eliminative systems
Calculated, not approximated
Exact Scorpio dates for 2026
Sun enters Scorpio
23 October, 09:47 UTC
Sun leaves Scorpio
22 November, 07:29 UTC
Length this year
29.9 days
Every other site prints "October 23 – November 21" 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 Scorpio when its ecliptic longitude reaches 210°, 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
Scorpio lasts
29.9 days
Rank by length
9 of 12
Share of all births
8.05%
If signs were even
30.44 days · 8.33%
Everyone assumes the twelve signs are equal months. They are not. Scorpio runs 29.9 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 Scorpio decans
Each sign divides into three ten-degree segments, and each has its own sub-ruler. Two people can both be Scorpio 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: Neptune
Softer and more mystical. Intuition over investigation.
Roughly the middle ten days of the sign.
Decan 3 · 21–30°
Sub-ruler: Moon
Emotionally rawer. Feels everything and shows almost none of it.
Roughly the last ten days of the sign.
Scorpio personality
Perceptive
Secretive
Determined
Suspicious
All-or-nothing
Strengths
Sees through pretence instantly and commits completely once convinced.
Weaknesses
Tests people rather than asking, and remembers slights for a very long time.
Scorpio is the one fixed water sign — and that pairing is the whole explanation. The element sets temperament: water signs read the room before anyone speaks. The modality decides what happens when circumstances change: fixed signs resist it and hold their position.
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 Scorpio cannot be swapped for the other water signs without changing the meaning.
The Scorpio man and woman
Scorpio man
Intense, private and observant. Tests before trusting, and remembers the result.
Scorpio woman
Magnetic and self-contained. Gives access in stages and notices exactly who is paying attention.
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.
Scorpio in each area of life
In love and relationships
Intense and private. Wants total honesty and gives it slowly.
As a friend
The friend who turns up in a crisis and never repeats what you told them.
At work
Suited to investigation, research and crisis. Poor at superficial collaboration.
Career that suits
Investigation, research, surgery, psychology, finance — anywhere the surface has to be got past.
With money
Strategic and private about it. Others rarely know the real figure.
As a child
Secretive and deeply feeling. Reacts badly to being handled or lied to, even kindly.
As a parent
Fiercely protective and perceptive. Risks controlling out of fear of loss.
Health and the body
Reproductive and eliminative systems — Scorpio rules them, hence the themes of regeneration.
Scorpio 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Trine | 120° | 88% | Water |
| Pisces | Trine | 120° | 88% | Water |
| Virgo | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Earth |
| Capricorn | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Earth |
| Scorpio | Conjunction | 0° | 78% | Water |
| Taurus | Opposition | 180° | 75% | Earth |
| Leo | Square | 90° | 62% | Fire |
| Aquarius | Square | 90° | 62% | Air |
| Libra | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Air |
| Sagittarius | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Fire |
| Aries | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Fire |
| Gemini | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Air |
Famous Scorpios
Leonardo DiCaprio, Katy Perry, Bill Gates, Marie Curie
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 Scorpio
What are the exact Scorpio dates?
October 23 – November 21 as usually published. In 2026 specifically the Sun enters on 23 October am31 09:47 UTC and leaves on 22 November am30 07:29 UTC.
Who is Scorpio most compatible with?
By aspect, Cancer, Pisces, Virgo. 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 Scorpio decan?
A ten-degree third of the sign with its own sub-ruler: Pluto, Neptune, Moon. It is why two people of the same sign born three weeks apart can read quite differently.
What body part does Scorpio rule?
Reproductive and eliminative systems — Scorpio rules them, hence the themes of regeneration.
Is the Scorpio 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.