The Sun in the Complete Horoscope

The Description of Your Natural State in Classical Astrology

The fundamental force of life and spirit,
behaving according to its position,
dominating in each moment of stillness.

The sun is the most important heavenly body for our existence on Earth, and by far the biggest in our solar system. Also in astrology its importance vastly surpasses that of the other heavenly bodies.

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When we talk about our Zodiac sign or star sign, we actually refer to the position of the sun at the moment of birth. Those who are Aries have the sun in Aries in their horoscope, and so on.

From our geocentric perspective, the sun moves around the whole Zodiac in a year, spending one month in each sign. The dates for each sign differ slightly from year to year, depending on our system of leap years. Below are the normal dates for the sun in each sign, but each change from one sign to the next can differ a day. In rare cases, depending on your exact time of birth, it can differ two days. So, if you are born around the date of change from one sign to another, make sure to check your exact horoscope. See the instructions here: Your Own Horoscope

The sun sign dates:

Aries March 21 — April 19

Taurus April 20 — May 20

Gemini May 21 — June 20

Cancer June 21 — July 22

Leo July 23 — August 22

Virgo August 23 — September 22

Libra September 23 — October 22

Scorpio October 23 — November 21

Sagittarius November 22 — December 21

Capricorn December 22 — January 19

Aquarius January 20 — February 19

Pisces February 20 — March 20

The sun and its glyph.
The sun and its astrological glyph.

The Sun in the Zodiac

Here are short descriptions of how each Zodiac sign influences the sun, your natural state, when that's where it is in your natal chart. For more elaborate descriptions of your sun sign traits, check the links at the bottom of the page.

Aries brings unrest and vitality.

Taurus brings patience and calm.

Gemini brings joy and a light-hearted manner.

Cancer brings caring and commitment.

Leo brings pride and integrity.

Virgo brings diligence and scrutiny.

Libra brings a logical mind sticking to principles.

Scorpio brings secrecy and inner passion.

Sagittarius brings integrity and independence.

Capricorn brings an ambition to accomplish great things.

Aquarius brings thoughtfulness and sincerity in all.

Pisces brings a compassionate nature and unrest.

Ruler

The sun rules over Leo, which means that it tends to be the most obvious and enforced in that sign. It exalts in Aries, another sign of the element fire. There is no sign where the sun is particularly weakened or alienated.

The Sun, by Beham.
The Sun and its traits. Woodcut by Hans Sebald Beham, from the 1530s.

Your basic state of mind

The sun rules over your basic personality, the way you are before you engage in something that awakes another planetary force. The horoscope is a dynamic thing. The planets are forces, energies, with their particular traits and modes of expression. But the sun is neutral in itself, so it becomes its position in each horoscope — for example the Zodiac sign it's in, but it is also influenced by any aspects to other planets.

Normally, it is when we relax and involve in nothing particular that we express our sun position the most.

Zodiac Sign Traits of Your Father

The sun in the horoscope also shows a lot about your relation to your father, or the father figure in your family. The moon shows your relation to your mother, and any aspects between the two in your horoscope shows their relation to one another, at least as it comes across to you.

Men tend to identify with their father, at least as adults. Women often do the same with their mothers. It is also quite common that men find wives that are somewhat similar to their mothers, as shown by the moon in their horoscopes. Again, women tend to do the same with their husbands: they are attracted to men with some links to the sun of their horoscope.

It's not certain, though, and it depends quite a lot on the horoscope as a whole. Other factors can alter it.

Helios, the Greek sun god. Athenian red-figure krater, 5th century BC.

Planet age

Each of the heavenly bodies represents a period in your life of about seven years. In the case of the moon it is early adulthood, from about 21 to 28 years of age.

The position of the sun in your horoscope reveals what that period of your life is like, generally speaking. The twenties is the period in life where we start to bloom as adult individuals, showing who we really are. That's to a large extent the character that the sun in our horoscope shows.

Zodiac sign symbols (glyphs). From left to right: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.

Your Zodiac Star Sign

The Zodiac sign of the sun at your birth is called your star sign or sun sign. To learn more about what that means, please visit the webpage dedicated to your Zodiac sign:

Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer

Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio

Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces

The Planets

Here are the planets and other celestial points used in astrology, with links to the webpage of each:

Planets and Celestial Points

Sun

Mars

Neptune

Zodiac Sign Calculator

If you're unsure of your Zodiac sign, or if you want to know on what degree (between 0° and 30°) of the sign the sun was at your birth, please visit the Zodiac sign calculator. It's very easy to use, and then you'll know for sure. (I designed this calculator, but it's moved to another website.)

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