What are the twelve zodiac signs?

The idea, in plain language.

The signs are the part of astrology everyone meets first, usually as "what's your sign?" at a party. What that question really asks is: which sign was the Sun in on your birthday? But here is the fuller truth, and it is better news. Every planet in your chart sits in a sign, so you are not one sign, you are a whole weather system of them. The sign is not who a planet is. It is how that planet does things, the style it wears.

The twelve sort into four families called the elements: fire, earth, air, and water. Meet them family by family. The dates below are the Sun's approximate stay in each sign; they shift by a day or so year to year, which is why we say "about."

The fire signs (warmth, spark, instinct)

Aries(about March 21 to April 19, ruled by Mars). The zodiac's opening yes. Aries moves first and asks later, honest as a struck match, brave as a reflex. Where Aries lives in a chart, things begin.

Leo (about July 23 to August 22, ruled by the Sun). The warm center of the room. Leo is generous, loyal, and a little theatrical, and its secret is that the shine is for sharing: Leo glows so others feel warmer.

Sagittarius (about November 22 to December 21, ruled by Jupiter). The arrow aimed at the horizon. Sagittarius wants the bigger map, the far country, the honest question, and will tell you the truth while laughing.

The earth signs (body, patience, the practical)

Taurus (about April 20 to May 20, ruled by Venus). The pleasure of real things. Taurus is slow on purpose, steady as a garden, and keeps its word the way soil keeps a seed.

Virgo (about August 23 to September 22, ruled by Mercury). Care disguised as detail. Virgo notices the loose thread and quietly mends it, and its love language is usually help.

Capricorn (about December 22 to January 19, ruled by Saturn). The long climb. Capricorn is patient ambition, the builder of things that outlast the weather, dry wit included at no extra charge.

The air signs (thought, language, connection)

Gemini (about May 21 to June 20, ruled by Mercury). The question in the middle of the sentence. Gemini is curious, quick, and delighted by two of everything, including two answers.

Libra (about September 23 to October 22, ruled by Venus). The art of balance. Libra hears both sides, sets the table beautifully, and believes fairness is a kind of beauty too.

Aquarius (about January 20 to February 18, ruled by Uranus). The friend of the future. Aquarius sees the pattern, and the exception to it, and cares for people in wide, inventive circles.

The water signs (feeling, memory, intuition)

Cancer (about June 21 to July 22, ruled by the Moon). Home as a feeling. Cancer is tender and protective, remembers everything, and makes belonging wherever it settles.

Scorpio (about October 23 to November 21, ruled by Pluto). Depth over surface. Scorpio feels all the way down, keeps faith with the truth of things, and would rather be real than comfortable.

Pisces (about February 19 to March 20, ruled by Neptune). The soft edge where feeling becomes imagination. Pisces is porous, kind, and quietly artistic, the sign that dreams with the door open.