Decan 1 · 1–10°
Sub-ruler: Venus
Double Venus — the most sensual and comfort-seeking version.
Roughly the first ten days of the sign.
April 20 – May 20 · Earth · Fixed · ruled by Venus
Taurus
Taurus covers April 20 – May 20 and is the 2nd sign of the zodiac: earth, fixed, ruled by Venus. Its keynote is steadiness, comfort and a long attention span. In 2026 the Sun spends 30.96 days in it — the 4th longest of the twelve, because the signs are not equal in length.
The Taurus man The Taurus woman
DatesApril 20 – May 20
SymbolBull
ElementEarth
ModalityFixed
Ruling planetVenus
House2
PolarityNegative
Lucky numbers2, 6
Lucky dayFriday
ColourGreen
BirthstoneEmerald, sapphire
Best matches
Virgo, Capricorn, Cancer
Hardest matches
Gemini, Libra, Sagittarius
Rules the bodyNeck and throat
Calculated, not approximated
Exact Taurus dates for 2026
Sun enters Taurus
20 April, 01:30 UTC
Sun leaves Taurus
21 May, 00:31 UTC
Length this year
31 days
Every other site prints "April 20 – May 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 Taurus when its ecliptic longitude reaches 30°, 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
Taurus lasts
30.96 days
Rank by length
4 of 12
Share of all births
8.24%
If signs were even
30.44 days · 8.33%
Everyone assumes the twelve signs are equal months. They are not. Taurus runs 30.96 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 Taurus decans
Each sign divides into three ten-degree segments, and each has its own sub-ruler. Two people can both be Taurus 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: Mercury
More practical and communicative. Better with detail and money.
Roughly the middle ten days of the sign.
Decan 3 · 21–30°
Sub-ruler: Saturn
Harder-working and more disciplined, with a serious streak.
Roughly the last ten days of the sign.
Taurus personality
Patient
Stubborn
Sensual
Reliable
Possessive
Strengths
Outlasts everyone. Builds slowly and does not abandon what is half-finished.
Weaknesses
Confuses immovability with principle, and resists change long after it has stopped being optional.
Taurus is the one fixed earth sign — and that pairing is the whole explanation. The element sets temperament: earth signs test everything against what can be touched. 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 Taurus cannot be swapped for the other earth signs without changing the meaning.
The Taurus man and woman
Taurus man
Slow to commit and immovable afterwards. Shows affection by providing rather than declaring.
Taurus woman
Sensual and grounded, with a long fuse and no reverse gear once it burns through.
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.
Taurus in each area of life
In love and relationships
Slow to commit, hard to shift once committed. Shows affection through provision rather than declaration.
As a friend
The friend of twenty years. Rarely initiates contact, never disappears.
At work
Excellent at consolidation and anything requiring persistence. Poor at improvising under sudden change.
Career that suits
Suited to anything requiring persistence and a good eye — finance, food, design, land, craft.
With money
The best saver in the zodiac, with an expensive weakness for quality.
As a child
Placid and stubborn. Responds to routine, resists being hurried, and does not respond to raised voices.
As a parent
Steady and physically affectionate. Provides a home that feels safe; can resist a child's need to change.
Health and the body
Neck and throat — Taurus rules them, and tension settles in the shoulders and voice.
Taurus 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgo | Trine | 120° | 88% | Earth |
| Capricorn | Trine | 120° | 88% | Earth |
| Cancer | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Water |
| Pisces | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Water |
| Taurus | Conjunction | 0° | 78% | Earth |
| Scorpio | Opposition | 180° | 75% | Water |
| Leo | Square | 90° | 62% | Fire |
| Aquarius | Square | 90° | 62% | Air |
| Aries | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Fire |
| Gemini | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Air |
| Libra | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Air |
| Sagittarius | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Fire |
Famous Tauruss
Adele, David Beckham, Queen Elizabeth II, Karl Marx
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 Taurus
What are the exact Taurus dates?
April 20 – May 20 as usually published. In 2026 specifically the Sun enters on 20 April am30 01:30 UTC and leaves on 21 May am31 00:31 UTC.
Who is Taurus most compatible with?
By aspect, Virgo, Capricorn, Cancer. 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 Taurus decan?
A ten-degree third of the sign with its own sub-ruler: Venus, Mercury, Saturn. It is why two people of the same sign born three weeks apart can read quite differently.
What body part does Taurus rule?
Neck and throat — Taurus rules them, and tension settles in the shoulders and voice.
Is the Taurus 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.