The 12 zodiac signs in order are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The list starts at 0° Aries and runs around the Sun's yearly path in 30° steps, so Pisces, the 12th sign, ends where Aries begins again.
What are the zodiac signs in order, with symbols and elements?
Each sign has a symbol name, one of four elements and one of three modalities. The table follows Wikipedia's overview of Western astrological signs. The longitude column is where each sign sits on the ecliptic, the Sun's apparent path through the year.
| No. | Sign | Symbol name | Longitude | Element | Modality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aries | The Ram | 0° to 30° | Fire | Cardinal |
| 2 | Taurus | The Bull | 30° to 60° | Earth | Fixed |
| 3 | Gemini | The Twins | 60° to 90° | Air | Mutable |
| 4 | Cancer | The Crab | 90° to 120° | Water | Cardinal |
| 5 | Leo | The Lion | 120° to 150° | Fire | Fixed |
| 6 | Virgo | The Maiden | 150° to 180° | Earth | Mutable |
| 7 | Libra | The Scales | 180° to 210° | Air | Cardinal |
| 8 | Scorpio | The Scorpion | 210° to 240° | Water | Fixed |
| 9 | Sagittarius | The Archer | 240° to 270° | Fire | Mutable |
| 10 | Capricorn | The Goat | 270° to 300° | Earth | Cardinal |
| 11 | Aquarius | The Water-bearer | 300° to 330° | Air | Fixed |
| 12 | Pisces | The Fish | 330° to 360° | Water | Mutable |
Each range includes its first degree but not its last, so 30° is the first point of Taurus, not part of Aries. The labels in the table are tradition. They place a sign in a pattern; they don't describe a person.
Why does the order start with Aries?
In the tropical zodiac, the count begins at the First Point of Aries: the Sun's position at the March equinox. Wikipedia puts it this way: "The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox." That is spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
The next March equinox is on 20 March 2027 at 20:25 UTC, by Astronomy Engine 2.1.19, an open-source astronomy library. Your local date can differ: in Tokyo that moment is already 21 March.
NinePath uses the tropical zodiac.
The signs are not the same as the constellations they are named after. Because of precession, a slow wobble of Earth's axis, the March equinox point has moved from the constellation Aries into Pisces since Babylonian times. Hindu astrology corrects for this shift; the tropical zodiac keeps 0° Aries at the equinox.
Is there a pattern in the order?
Yes. Two cycles repeat through the list:
- Elements run fire, earth, air, water, three times over.
- Modalities run cardinal, fixed, mutable, four times over.
So every sign has its own pair. Aries is the cardinal fire sign and Leo the fixed fire sign. Signs six places apart sit opposite each other on the wheel, such as Aries and Libra, or Taurus and Scorpio.
Your sun sign is the sign the Sun was in on your birth date. For how it differs from the sign on the horizon, see rising sign vs sun sign.
What this means for your day
For your day
Do
Say the 12 signs in order once, then check yourself against the table.
Don't
Don't read a sign's place in the order as a rank of better or worse.
Questions people ask
How many zodiac signs are there?
There are 12 signs in the tropical zodiac, each 30° wide. The Sun's path also crosses the constellation Ophiuchus, but that is a constellation, not one of the 12 signs.
What is the last zodiac sign?
Pisces is the 12th and last sign, from 330° to 360°. After it, the cycle starts again at 0° Aries.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Astrological sign. The order from the First Point of Aries, the table of symbol names, longitudes, elements and modalities, the closed and open ranges, the opposite pairs, and Hindu astrology correcting for precession.
- Wikipedia: Zodiac. Twelve equal signs of 30° along the ecliptic, precession moving the March equinox point from Aries into Pisces, and the ecliptic crossing Ophiuchus.
- Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 (open-source library by Don Cross). The March equinox of 2027 at 20:25 UTC, computed for this article.