A Guide to Sun Signs: How to Find Yours and What It All Means

Even if you claim not to know anything about astrology, chances are you at least know your sun sign. It’s what you look up when you go to read your horoscope or scroll through Instagram memes or what you might reluctantly say if a stranger at a bar were to ask you: “So, what’s your sign?” For most of us, it’s our entry point into astrology, and though you may be able to rattle off a few personality traits related to yours, below, Tali Edut, one half of The AstroTwins, ELLE’s resident astrologers, is shining a light on what your sun sign truly means.

What is a sun sign?

When people reference “your sign,” they’re talking about your sun sign. “The sun sign is the key to most of the astrology that you read in magazines, newspapers,” Edut says. As for how sun signs are determined, Edut explains that astrology uses a geocentric view of the planets, meaning that while we know scientifically the earth is orbiting around the sun, in astrology, the earth is the center of the universe, and the sun is viewed as if it’s orbiting the earth. The circle the sun makes around the earth is then split up into 12 slices of the zodiac, so wherever the sun was in the sky when you were born gives you your sun sign. “So if you were born in early January, the sun is in the Capricorn part of the sky every year,” she says. The sun moves in the same order, changing signs about every four weeks. (This is where the concept of say, Aries season, comes from—the weeks of the year the sun is in Aries.)

“The sun is literally the center of the universe,” Edut says. “So in the astrology chart, it’s also central to who you are. It’s your energy source. It’s your fuel that you burn. It’s how you shine…Modern astrology really focuses on how you shine in the world, what you want to do when you wake up every day, so it makes sense to look at the sun [since] that’s the thing that wakes us up every morning.” Edut also adds: “The sun is the life-giver, so think about your sun sign as: Where do you give life to other people? What is your life here for? Where is that place that you energize other people, that you light them up, that you want to share with them? The sun often has that answer.”

It can take a few minutes for someone’s sun sign to reveal itself, Edut says, but if she wants to guess, she’ll often ask people question like: “What do you do? Where do you like to go?” She explains, “The way people move through their day-to-day lives, it becomes very obvious.”

How can you calculate your sun sign?

Thankfully, your sun sign should be easy to calculate: just take a look at the dates for each sun sign, and figure out where your birthday falls. The only caveat is if you’re born on the cusp of a sign i.e. the first or last day of a sign, because the sun changes signs at a specific time every year, Edut says. So if you want to know your sun sign for sure, you can use your time, date, and place of birth to get your full, accurate birth chart.

How your sun, rising, and moon signs all work together

When it comes to your full birth chart, these are considered your “big three” signs, and they can often give you a good snapshot into your personality. Edut explains that your sun sign often has a lot in common with your rising sign, which is very much about your outward personality. “But [your rising sign] doesn’t always show who you are,” she says. “It’s your mask, your social front, whereas the sun is a genuine radiance that you have.” The moon, on the other hand, is more about “how your emotions are, how you feel about everything you do.”

Though the rest of your birth chart helps color every aspect of who you are, Edut says that she sees the sun sign as your main hue. For example, she explains, “All Capricorns are green, but some are mint green, some are forest green, some are khaki, olive green. The rest of the chart kind of tints you, but you probably feel a kinship with other Capricorns, even if your interests are totally different. There’s this core way that you shine.”

Sun signs by element

Earth

Taurus: April 20–May 20

Virgo: August 23–September 22

Capricorn: December 22–January 19

“Earth signs need to feel that they’re doing something that’s secure and stable and providing for themselves, providing for their people,” Edut says. “Something that is in line with their values more than anything and sustainable. That sounds boring, but it’s really it’s kind of a nice feeling.”

Fire

Aries: March 21–April 19

Leo: July 23–August 22

Sagittarius: November 22–December 21

These three are often the creative ones, according to Edut, even in the sense of creating a family. “They have to live their passion. If they’re not lit up about it, if they’re not passionate about what they’re doing, their light goes out.”

Water

Cancer: June 21–July 22

Scorpio: October 23–November 21

Pisces: February 19–March 20

The water sun signs live from their hearts, Edut says, “making sure that the people around them feel loved, feel whole.” Oftentimes, she adds, that means these sun signs will find themselves in nurturing roles or creating things that make other people’s lives more comfortable.

Air

Aquarius: January 20–February 18

Gemini: May 21–June 20

Libra: September 23–October 22

Lastly, the air sun signs are all about ideas and communication, Edut explains. “They’re the ones who get us thinking about new things, talking about different things. They don’t mind changing the current. They bring people together in communities and friendships and collaborations.” For these three, it’s more about who they’re with than what they’re doing.

Madison is a senior writer/editor at ELLE.com, covering news, politics, and culture. When she’s not on the internet, you can most likely find her taking a nap or eating banana bread.