New zodiac signs and the 13th sign
Your Western zodiac sign hasn’t changed: it is still counted from the seasons, starting at the spring equinox. The “new zodiac signs” and the 13th sign come from a different count: the constellations the Sun passes in front of, which are thirteen and uneven. Vedic astrology counts a third way, by the stars, in twelve equal signs. Below are this year’s dates all three ways, worked out from the sky.
Put in your birthday below to see your sign all three ways.
Zodiac sign dates in 2026, counted three ways
Worked out from the Sun’s position each day at noon (UTC), so a date on the edge can belong to either neighbour depending on the hour. The dates move by a day or so from year to year.
| Sign | By the seasons (Western) | By the stars (Vedic) | By the constellations (the “new” dates) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | 21 March to 19 April | 14 April to 14 May | 19 April to 14 May |
| Taurus | 20 April to 20 May | 15 May to 14 June | 15 May to 21 June |
| Gemini | 21 May to 20 June | 15 June to 16 July | 22 June to 20 July |
| Cancer | 21 June to 22 July | 17 July to 16 August | 21 July to 10 August |
| Leo | 23 July to 22 August | 17 August to 16 September | 11 August to 16 September |
| Virgo | 23 August to 22 September | 17 September to 17 October | 17 September to 31 October |
| Libra | 23 September to 22 October | 18 October to 16 November | 1 to 23 November |
| Scorpio | 23 October to 21 November | 17 November to 15 December | 24 to 29 November |
| Ophiuchus | not a sign | not a sign | 30 November to 18 December |
| Sagittarius | 22 November to 21 December | 16 December to 13 January | 19 December to 19 January |
| Capricorn | 22 December to 19 January | 14 January to 12 February | 20 January to 16 February |
| Aquarius | 20 January to 18 February | 13 February to 14 March | 17 February to 12 March |
| Pisces | 19 February to 20 March | 15 March to 13 April | 13 March to 18 April |
See your Sun, Moon and rising sign both ways, for your exact birth time
Where the 13th sign comes from
The Sun’s yearly path across the sky crosses thirteen constellations, not twelve. The thirteenth, Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, sits between Scorpius and Sagittarius, and this year the Sun is in front of it from 30 November to 18 December.
Astronomers fixed the borders between the constellations in 1930, and they are uneven: this year the Sun spends 45 days in front of Virgo and only 6 in front of Scorpius. Astrology has never used those borders. Both the Western and the Vedic zodiac split the year into twelve equal signs of 30 degrees, named after the constellations but not the same thing. That is why neither one has an Ophiuchus.
Why the dates drifted
The Western zodiac is tied to the seasons: Aries always begins at the spring equinox, around 20 March. The stars behind the Sun slowly slip against the seasons, about one degree every 72 years. About 1,700 years ago the two counts lined up. Today they sit about 24 degrees apart.
So counted by the stars, the Sun enters each sign about 24 days after the Western date. This year it enters Aries by the stars on 14 April, not 21 March. That is the change the stories are noticing, and it is the count Vedic astrology has always used.
So which sign is yours?
If you read Western horoscopes, your Western sign is still yours: they are written for the seasons. Counted by the stars, the Vedic way, your sign is usually the one before. The constellation dates are astronomy: true about the sky, but a thirteen-sign zodiac is a modern idea, and neither tradition uses it.
To see your Sun, Moon and rising sign by the stars and by the seasons, side by side, use the free sidereal sign calculator.
Did NASA change the zodiac?
The stories often say so. In 2016 NASA explained on its Space Place site that it had described the constellations, which is astronomy, and had changed no one’s sign. The same posts come back every year or two, and the answer is the same.
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Open the sample readingWhat are the new zodiac sign dates?
They are the dates the Sun spends in front of each of the thirteen constellations. In 2026: Capricornus 20 January to 16 February, Aquarius 17 February to 12 March, Pisces 13 March to 18 April, Aries 19 April to 14 May, Taurus 15 May to 21 June, Gemini 22 June to 20 July, Cancer 21 July to 10 August, Leo 11 August to 16 September, Virgo 17 September to 31 October, Libra 1 to 23 November, Scorpius 24 to 29 November, Ophiuchus 30 November to 18 December, Sagittarius 19 December to 19 January. They move by a day or so from year to year.
What is the 13th zodiac sign?
Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer: a constellation the Sun passes in front of between Scorpius and Sagittarius, this year from 30 November to 18 December. It is a constellation, not a sign: both astrological zodiacs use twelve equal signs.
Am I an Ophiuchus?
If you were born between about 30 November and 18 December, the Sun was in front of the constellation Ophiuchus. In astrology your sign is still Sagittarius by the seasons, and usually Scorpio by the stars.
Did my zodiac sign change?
Your Western sign didn’t: it is still counted from the seasons. Counted by the stars, the Vedic way, it is probably one sign earlier, because the two counts have drifted about 24 degrees apart. The sidereal sign calculator shows yours both ways.
Did NASA add a new zodiac sign?
NASA describes constellations, not signs. In 2016 it explained that it hadn’t changed anyone’s sign: the constellation dates are astronomy, and astrology’s signs are a separate, older count.
Why do Vedic signs change around the 14th of each month?
Counted by the stars, the Sun enters each sign about 24 days after the Western date, so most Vedic sign changes fall in the middle of the month. Capricorn begins on 14 January, the day India celebrates as Makar Sankranti.
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