The 12 Western Zodiac Signs

The Western zodiac divides the year into twelve signs, each tied to the position of the sun at your birth — from Aries in late March through Pisces the following spring. Where the Chinese system keys off your birth year, this one keys off your birth date, and the result is the sun sign most people already know. Each sign is shaped by three things working together: its element (Fire, Earth, Air, or Water), its modality (Cardinal, Fixed, or Mutable), and its ruling planet.

Compatibility here is read through those same building blocks. Signs that share a complementary element tend to understand each other easily; modality explains how two people handle change and initiative. Browse any sign below for its full profile, or read how we turn elements and modalities into a score on the methodology page.