A zodiac season is the time the Sun spends in one zodiac sign, about a month. Scorpio season began on 23 October 2026 at 09:38 UTC, and Sagittarius season starts on 22 November 2026 at 07:24 UTC. The table below gives the starts of all 12 zodiac seasons from October 2026 to September 2027.
What is a zodiac season?
In Western astrology, the signs are twelve 30-degree sections of the Sun's yearly path across the sky, as seen from Earth. By definition, Aries starts where the Sun is at the March equinox. A season runs from the moment the Sun enters a sign until it enters the next one.
The dates come from astronomy, not interpretation. Four of the starts fall on the equinoxes and solstices: Capricorn, Aries, Cancer and Libra begin at the same second as the December solstice, the March equinox, the June solstice and the September equinox.
When does each season start in 2026 and 2027?
| Season | Starts (UTC) | Length (days) |
|---|---|---|
| Scorpio | 23 Oct 2026, 09:38 | 29.9 |
| Sagittarius | 22 Nov 2026, 07:24 | 29.6 |
| Capricorn | 21 Dec 2026, 20:50 | 29.4 |
| Aquarius | 20 Jan 2027, 07:30 | 29.6 |
| Pisces | 18 Feb 2027, 21:34 | 30.0 |
| Aries | 20 Mar 2027, 20:25 | 30.5 |
| Taurus | 20 Apr 2027, 07:17 | 31.0 |
| Gemini | 21 May 2027, 06:18 | 31.3 |
| Cancer | 21 Jun 2027, 14:11 | 31.5 |
| Leo | 23 Jul 2027, 01:04 | 31.3 |
| Virgo | 23 Aug 2027, 08:14 | 30.9 |
| Libra | 23 Sep 2027, 06:01 | 30.4 |
Each season ends when the next one starts. Libra season 2027 ends when Scorpio season starts on 23 October 2027 at 15:33 UTC. The times come from Astronomy Engine 2.1.19, an open-source astronomy library: the Sun's apparent position as seen from Earth, in the tropical zodiac. All times are in UTC, to the nearest minute.
Your local date can differ. Leo season starts at 01:04 UTC on 23 July 2027, which is 21:04 on 22 July in New York (UTC−4 in summer).
Why are some seasons longer than others?
Earth's orbit is slightly oval. Kepler's second law says that a planet travels faster when it is closer to the Sun. Earth is closest on 3 January 2027, so the Sun seems to move fastest through the signs around the turn of the year. From October 2026 to October 2027, the shortest is Capricorn, 29.4 days, and the longest is Cancer, 31.5 days.
The start times also move from year to year, because a year isn't a whole number of days. Aries season began at 14:46 UTC on 20 March 2026 and begins at 20:25 UTC on 20 March 2027. For how your sun sign differs from your rising sign, see rising sign vs sun sign.
What this means for your day
For your day
Do
Check the start time in UTC, then convert it to your own time zone.
Don't
Don't rely on a fixed date range if you were born on a season's first day.
Questions people ask
When does Scorpio season start?
In 2026 it started on 23 October at 09:38 UTC and runs until 22 November at 07:24 UTC. In 2027 it starts on 23 October at 15:33 UTC.
Do zodiac seasons start on the same date every year?
Not always. The dates may differ by a day or so from one year to another, and the time of day changes every year.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Astrological sign. The signs as twelve 30-degree sectors of the Sun's path, and Aries starting at the Sun's position at the March equinox.
- Wikipedia: Kepler's laws of planetary motion. The second law: a planet travels faster when it is closer to the Sun.
- Wikipedia: Sun sign astrology. Sun sign dates may differ from one year to another by a day or so.
- Don Cross, Astronomy Engine 2.1.19, an open-source astronomy library. Used to compute the start times, the season lengths and the date Earth is closest to the Sun.