Find your zodiac sign
Enter your birthday — get your sign, element, and ruling planet.
The zodiac is the twelve-sign system at the heart of Western astrology — a way of dividing the year, and the sky, into twelve characters, each with its own dates, element, ruling planet, and personality. This is the starting point for everything in the Zodiac section: find your sign, learn what shapes it, see who it gets along with, and dig into the questions people ask most.
Find your sign
Each sign covers about a month of the year. (The Zodiac Sign calculator goes here — enter your birthday, get your sign, element, and ruling planet.) If you're near a boundary, see the exact zodiac date ranges and our note on cusp birthdays.
The twelve signs
The twelve, in order, each about a month long: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Rather than memorize twelve trait lists, it's far easier to understand the building blocks they're made of — which is exactly what our guide to zodiac characteristics walks through. In-depth sign profiles: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
What shapes a sign: elements and modalities
Every sign is a unique pairing of an element (fire, earth, air, or water) and a modality (cardinal, fixed, or mutable), colored by its ruling planet. Fire signs bring drive, earth signs practicality, air signs intellect, water signs emotion; cardinal signs initiate, fixed signs sustain, mutable signs adapt. Combine the two and a sign's character falls out — the full method is in zodiac characteristics, and the zodiac symbols guide decodes each sign's glyph.
Love and compatibility
Which signs click comes down to a few patterns — shared elements, complementary elements, and the pull of opposites. Start with our compatibility primer, or explore specific pairings like Leo and Taurus and who suits Cancer. For a deeper read, your moon-sign compatibility often matters more than your sun signs.
The big questions
The zodiac comes with its share of debates and curiosities. Did the signs really change, and what is the "13th sign"? Our flagship guide settles it: did your zodiac sign change? And if you've heard of Ophiuchus, here's what the 13th sign is really about. For the in-betweeners, see the Aquarius-Pisces cusp.
FAQs
What are the 12 zodiac signs in order? Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces — each spanning about a month, starting at the March equinox.
How do I find my zodiac sign? By your birth date — use the calculator above, or check the date ranges. If you're born on the boundary between two signs, your birth year decides which.
What's the difference between a sign's element and its modality? The element (fire/earth/air/water) is what a sign is "made of"; the modality (cardinal/fixed/mutable) is how it acts. Every sign is a unique combination — see zodiac characteristics.
Which signs are most compatible? Generally those sharing an element, the complementary pairings (fire-air, earth-water), and opposite signs. Our compatibility guide explains why.
About this hub
Written by the AstrologyBay Editorial Team. We present the zodiac as a tradition of meaning — structural facts (dates, elements, rulers) stated plainly, personality themes as interpretation, and the astronomy (precession, Ophiuchus) accurately. See our editorial policy.