Zodiac Sign Dates: The Complete List & Personality Traits

Introduction

Your birth date is the key to your astrological identity, but are you certain you know your true Sun sign? The exact day the Sun moves into a new sign can vary slightly each year due to the nuances of the Earth's orbit, meaning the zodiac sign dates you’ve always known might not be perfectly precise. This small but critical distinction can make all the difference in understanding your core personality, motivations, and life's path.

This guide clarifies the official zodiac horoscope dates to help you pinpoint your sign with confidence. Beyond just a list, you will discover the fundamental traits, ruling elements, and unique modalities that shape your cosmic blueprint. This deeper exploration offers a comprehensive look into the energies that define you and influence your interactions with the world.

Let’s explore the complete list of zodiac signs and uncover the profound insights written in the stars for you.

The 12 Zodiac Sign Dates & Core Personality Traits

Understanding your Sun sign is the first step into the expansive world of astrology. Determined by the position of the Sun at your exact moment of birth, your Sun sign represents your core identity, ego, and fundamental life force. It illuminates your main drive and the lens through which you experience life. Here is a complete list of the zodiac horoscope dates according to the tropical zodiac system, used by most Western astrologers.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

• Element: Fire
• Modality: Cardinal
• Core Traits: As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries embodies the spark of creation with its pioneering spirit and fearless energy. These natural leaders are bold, ambitious, and confident, often diving headfirst into new ventures. Their passion is infectious and inspiring, but their drive can also manifest as impulsiveness and impatience when faced with delays.
  • Strengths: Courageous, determined, optimistic, honest, passionate
  • Weaknesses: Impatient, moody, short-tempered, impulsive, aggressive

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

• Element: Earth
• Modality: Fixed
• Core Traits: Taurus is the anchor of the zodiac—grounded, practical, and a connoisseur of life’s comforts. Ruled by Venus, they have a deep appreciation for beauty, luxury, and serenity, seeking to build a stable and aesthetically pleasing world. They are incredibly reliable and patient friends and partners, but their steadfast nature can also translate into stubbornness and possessiveness.
  • Strengths: Reliable, patient, practical, devoted, responsible
  • Weaknesses: Stubborn, possessive, uncompromising, resistant to change

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

• Element: Air
• Modality: Mutable
• Core Traits: Represented by the celestial Twins, Gemini is a sign of duality, communication, and intellectual curiosity. Adaptable and quick-witted, they thrive on information and social connection. Their versatile nature makes them fantastic conversationalists and learners, though their ever-changing interests can sometimes be perceived as inconsistent or indecisive.
  • Strengths: Gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptable, able to learn quickly
  • Weaknesses: Nervous, inconsistent, indecisive, superficial

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

• Element: Water
• Modality: Cardinal
• Core Traits: Cancer is highly intuitive, sentimental, and deeply connected to the realms of home and family. Guided by their powerful emotions and ruled by the Moon, they are exceptionally nurturing and protective of their loved ones. Their compassionate hearts make them loyal companions, but they can be prone to moodiness and defensiveness if they feel insecure.
  • Strengths: Tenacious, highly imaginative, loyal, emotional, sympathetic
  • Weaknesses: Moody, pessimistic, suspicious, insecure, manipulative

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

• Element: Fire
• Modality: Fixed
• Core Traits: Ruled by the Sun itself, Leos are natural-born leaders who are dramatic, creative, and radiantly confident. They love to be the center of attention and are known for their immense warmth, generosity, and cheerful disposition. Their powerful sense of self can be inspiring, but their pride can sometimes border on arrogance or a need for constant validation.
  • Strengths: Creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful
  • Weaknesses: Arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy, inflexible

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

• Element: Earth
• Modality: Mutable
• Core Traits: Virgos are practical, analytical, and meticulous, driven by a deep-seated desire to be helpful and improve the world around them. Their incredible attention to detail and methodical approach make them excellent problem-solvers and organizers. However, their high standards can lead them to be overly critical of themselves and others.
  • Strengths: Loyal, analytical, kind, hardworking, practical
  • Weaknesses: Shyness, worry, overly critical of self and others, all work and no play

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

• Element: Air
• Modality: Cardinal
• Core Traits: Represented by the scales of justice, Libras are defined by their pursuit of balance, harmony, and fairness. They are diplomatic, gracious, and sociable beings who thrive in partnerships and collaborative environments. Their innate desire to keep the peace is a gift, but it can also lead to chronic indecisiveness and a tendency to avoid necessary confrontations.
  • Strengths: Cooperative, diplomatic, gracious, fair-minded, social
  • Weaknesses: Indecisive, avoids confrontations, will carry a grudge, self-pity

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

• Element: Water
• Modality: Fixed
• Core Traits: Scorpio is a passionate, resourceful, and brave sign known for its emotional intensity and unwavering determination. They often keep their true feelings hidden beneath a calm, mysterious exterior, observing and analyzing their surroundings. They are fiercely loyal and protective friends but can become distrusting, secretive, and jealous when their trust is broken.
  • Strengths: Resourceful, brave, passionate, stubborn, a true friend
  • Weaknesses: Distrusting, jealous, secretive, manipulative

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

• Element: Fire
• Modality: Mutable
• Core Traits: The Archer is a perpetual traveler, philosopher, and adventurer, driven by an insatiable curiosity and a quest for meaning. Sagittarius possesses a great sense of humor and a boundless optimism that inspires others. Their love of freedom is paramount, but their blunt honesty, while well-intentioned, can sometimes come across as tactless.
  • Strengths: Generous, idealistic, great sense of humor, philosophical
  • Weaknesses: Promises more than can deliver, very impatient, will say anything no matter how undiplomatic

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)

• Element: Earth
• Modality: Cardinal
• Core Traits: Capricorn represents time, responsibility, and discipline. As masters of self-control, they possess a practical and ambitious nature that drives them to achieve long-term goals. Their responsible and disciplined approach makes them natural leaders in business and management, though they can sometimes be perceived as know-it-alls, unforgiving, or overly pragmatic.
  • Strengths: Responsible, disciplined, self-control, good managers, persistent
  • Weaknesses: Know-it-all, unforgiving, condescending, expecting the worst

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

• Element: Air
• Modality: Fixed
• Core Traits: Aquarius is the humanitarian and visionary of the zodiac. They are progressive, original, and independent thinkers dedicated to making the world a better place. They champion innovation and social justice but can sometimes appear emotionally detached or uncompromising in their beliefs, prioritizing ideals over personal feelings.
  • Strengths: Progressive, original, independent, humanitarian
  • Weaknesses: Runs from emotional expression, temperamental, uncompromising, aloof

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

• Element: Water
• Modality: Mutable
• Core Traits: As the final sign, Pisces is the most intuitive, sensitive, and empathetic. They are artistic and gentle souls, often living in a world of dreams, spirituality, and imagination. Their boundless compassion is a profound gift, but they must be wary of becoming a martyr, absorbing others' negativity, or seeking to escape the harshness of reality.
  • Strengths: Compassionate, artistic, intuitive, wise, gentle
  • Weaknesses: Fearful, overly trusting, sad, desire to escape reality, can be a victim

While these twelve signs form the foundation of the zodiac, their unique personalities are shaped by deeper astrological principles. The elements and modalities provide a crucial layer of understanding that explains the "why" behind their traits.

The Building Blocks of the Zodiac: Elements & Modalities

To truly understand the horoscope sign dates and their associated traits, it is essential to explore the building blocks of astrology: the four elements and three modalities. Each of the twelve signs is a unique combination of one element and one modality, which defines its fundamental energy and mode of expression.

The Four Elements

The elements describe the core energy, temperament, and orientation of a sign, much like the four states of matter.

• Fire Signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): Passionate, energetic, and enthusiastic. These signs represent the spark of life and are action-oriented, creative, and inspirational. They light up any room they enter but need fuel to keep their flame alive.
• Earth Signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn): Grounded, practical, and stable. Focused on the tangible and material world, they value security, reliability, and tangible results. They are the builders and producers of the zodiac.
• Air Signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): Intellectual, communicative, and social. These signs are the thinkers, idea-generators, and connectors. They thrive on logic, information, and human interaction, bringing objectivity and perspective.
• Water Signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces): Emotional, intuitive, and sensitive. Guided by their deep feelings and subconscious currents, they possess profound imaginative and psychic abilities. They represent the world of emotion, healing, and compassion.

The Three Modalities

The modalities describe how a sign expresses its elemental energy and interacts with the world, corresponding to the beginning, middle, or end of a season.

• Cardinal Signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn): These signs initiate the seasons. They are the leaders and trailblazers of the zodiac—ambitious self-starters who excel at beginning new projects and forging new paths.
• Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius): These signs fall in the middle of the seasons, representing stability and endurance. They are the stabilizers, known for their determination, persistence, and unwavering focus. Once they set a goal, they see it through to completion.
• Mutable Signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces): These signs end the seasons, preparing for the transition to the next. They are the adapters of the zodiac, known for their flexibility, resourcefulness, and ability to navigate change with ease.

Understanding these core components helps explain why a Cardinal Fire sign like Aries acts so differently from a Fixed Fire sign like Leo. This nuanced layering is especially important when a birthday falls near the transition between two signs.

What Does It Mean If Your Birthday Is on the Cusp?

If your birthday falls on the first or last day of a sign's date range, you might hear that you were born "on the cusp." This is a common point of confusion when looking at zodiac sign dates. For example, if you were born on September 22, are you a Virgo or a Libra?

The definitive answer is that you cannot be two signs at once. Your Sun sign is determined by the exact astronomical position of the Sun at the moment of your birth, and the Sun can only be in one zodiac sign at a time.

The reason star sign dates appear to vary is that the Sun's entry into a new sign doesn't happen at midnight. The exact time changes each year due to factors like the leap year cycle. One year, the Sun might enter Libra on September 22 at 10:30 PM, while the next year it might be on September 23 at 4:20 AM. Therefore, someone born on the morning of September 22 would be a Virgo, while someone born late that night might be a Libra.

To find your true Sun sign with 100% certainty, you need to calculate your birth chart, which requires:

1. Your exact date of birth
2. Your exact time of birth
3. Your city and country of birth

A birth chart will show you the precise degree and sign the Sun was in, leaving no room for doubt. If you were born on the day the Sun changed signs, your birth time is the ultimate deciding factor. Pinpointing your exact Sun sign is the crucial first step before you can accurately explore the other celestial influences that define you.

Beyond Your Sun Sign: A Glimpse into Your Full Birth Chart

While your Sun sign reveals your core identity, it is only one piece of a much larger and more intricate puzzle. The astrology dates associated with your Sun sign are your entry point, but a full natal or birth chart provides a complete celestial snapshot of the sky at your moment of birth, offering a uniquely personal astrological fingerprint.

This chart includes the positions of all the planets, each governing a different aspect of your personality. Two other crucial placements are:

• Your Moon Sign: This represents your emotional inner world, your instincts, and your subconscious self. It governs how you feel, what you need to feel secure, and how you process emotions on a private level.
• Your Rising Sign (or Ascendant): This is the zodiac sign that was on the eastern horizon at the time you were born. It represents your social personality, your outer mask, and the first impression you make on others. It is the lens through which you project your Sun sign's energy into the world.

Exploring your full birth chart offers a far more nuanced and personalized understanding of your strengths, challenges, and life's path. If you've ever felt that your Sun sign's personality traits don't fully capture who you are, it's likely because your Moon, Rising, and other planetary placements add significant layers to your astrological identity.

Conclusion

Understanding the twelve zodiac signs is the gateway to astrology, but the true framework lies in the dynamic interplay of elements and modalities. From the fiery initiative of Aries to the empathetic depth of Pisces, each sign's unique energy is a sophisticated blend of these foundational forces. This system not only clarifies why signs within the same element differ but also demystifies the confusion around cusp birthdays, highlighting the necessity of a precise birth time for true astrological accuracy.

While your Sun sign illuminates your core identity, it represents only a single facet of your complex personality. A complete astrological profile, including your emotional Moon sign and your public-facing Rising sign, adds crucial layers of nuance that a Sun sign alone cannot capture. These placements work in concert to create the person you are.

Looking ahead, your zodiac sign is not a rigid label but a powerful starting point for self-discovery and personal growth. The real journey begins when you move beyond general traits to explore your full birth chart. By embracing this deeper knowledge, you can better navigate your life with intention and authenticity. The real question isn’t just what your sign is—but how you will use its insights to unlock your full potential.