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The Basics of Astrology



The Sun Sign in Astrology

“The Sun rules our inner personalities - who we are to those who know us best.” ~Rosemary Breen, Horoscope Compatibility for All the Zodiac Signs

the sun sign in astrology

The Sun is an important part of Astrology. Ancient Civilizations understood the importance of the Sun; a life-giving entity that bestowed light and heat upon earth. The Sun was well appreciated and well respected. Early cultures began associating the Sun with specific characteristics and attributes that symbolically represented it's importance, and the effects it had on terrestrial life. The relative position of the sun at birth is a central part of astrology, because one would share certain sun-sign characteristics depending on the month (sun-sign) they were born under.

In Astrology, the Sun Sign is also know as a the Star Sign, and often just referred to as the "astrological sign" or even the "zodiac sign". They are all one in the same, and everyone on earth has one. The Zodiac is actually a belt/band of constellations that the sun, moon, and other planetary bodies appear to move through as they travel across the skies. In Astrology, the Zodiac is divided up into twelve different sections or astrological signs (sun signs). The Sun (which can actually be considered a planet in astrology) takes about thirty days to travel through each of the twelve astrological signs.The sun doesn't really move of course, but it appears to circle the heavens from our perspective here on earth.

The sun's journey though the Zodiac completes one calendar/astrological year. Your Sun Sign is derived from the section of the Zodiac where the Sun was placed at the time of your birth. It's easy to find of course because all you need to know is your month and day of birth.

The twelve astrological sun signs are, in order, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Each sun sign has a general set of characteristics or traits associated with them. Whatever section/sign of the zodiac that the sun was in at the time of birth would give the individual some of the general traits associated with the sign.

For example, those born when the sun was in the sector of the zodiac known as "Pisces" will all share similar general characteristics, and some assumptions can be made about them, but knowing the exact time and place of ones birth, and the positions of the planets, and other astrological details would give the individual a unique snapshot of there inner nature, positive and negative personality traits, influences, talents, challenges, and probable futures.

the sun In astrology, the sun is considered a planet and is the ruler of the astrological sign of "Leo". Astrologically the sun represents the conscious ego, individual self and its expression, personal will power, pride, authority and qualities of leadership. It is the life force of an individual and can be associated with qualities of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality. The Sun in your chart shows the core of your potential and sets the direction you want to take in life.

In Chinese Astrology, the Sun represents Yang, the active, assertive masculine life principle. In Indian astrology, the Sun is called Surya and represents the soul, kingship, highly placed persons, father. In Greek and Roman mythology the sun is represented by Apollo, the god of light.

The horoscopes that you see in newspapers and magazines can be vague and not entirely accurate because they are being based on just the Sun Sign. This form of "newspaper" astrology is known as Sun-sign astrology is actually a more simplified system of astrology which only consider the position of the Sun at the time of ones birth in order to make a broad description of the indiividual or general prediction.

The Sun alone does not give a complete or accurate description of an individual in astrology, and can not be used to make any predictions, but the sun sign is still very important in astrology and can say a lot about an individual.

There is much more to Astrology then just your Sun Sign. Your personality is a unique combination of influences from not only the Sun, but from the Moon and all of the Planets in the solar system. The positions and movements of each of these celestial bodies at the time and place of your birth can give you a more detailed and accurate picture of who you are, and what lies ahead.

To find out what Your Astrological Sun Sign is find your birth date below and click on the name of your sign to learn a little more about who you are.

example: If your were born on november 11th, your sun sign would be "scorpio". If your birthdate falls on the cusp of either the beginning or end of a sun sign date, then you are influenced by both astrological signs.

sun sign aries
ARIES

March 21 to April 20

sun sign taurus
TAURUS

April 21 to May 20

sun sign gemini
GEMINI

May 21 to June 21

sun sign cancer
CANCER

June 22 to July 22

sun sign leo
LEO

July 23 to August 22

sun sign virgo
VIRGO

August 23 to September 22

sun sign libra
LIBRA

September 23 to October 22

sun sign scorpio
SCORPIO

October 23 to November 22

sun sign sagittarius
SAGITTARIUS

November 23 to December 21

sun sign capricorn
CAPRICORN

December 22 to January 20

sun sign aquarius
AQUARIUS

January 21 to February 19

sun sign pisces
PISCES

February 20 to March 20

Note: The dates above are listed according to the traditional Western (Tropical) Zodiac, as opposed to the Eastern (Sidereal) Zodiac.


Does your sun sign fall on a cusp?

Sun Signs change approximately every 30 days. So looking at the chart above we can see that around February 19th, the Sun is moving out of Capricorn and into sign of Aries. The days surrounding the transition of one sign into the next is considered the Cusp. For example, anyone born between November 23 between December 21 is a Sagittarius, but if your birthday falls on the December 21st then you are on the Cusp of Capricorn and may share similar characteristics with that sign as well.

Keep in mind that the approximate beginning and end dates of a transition from one sign into the next may vary depending on the source. If you are very close to or on the cusp you might want to check an ephemeris to find out exactly when the sun made it's transition during the month in question. But even if you are on a cusp, or are not sure, you can consider which sign feels more like "you" and most likely it will be correct.

See also: Funny Zodiac Sign Descriptions

Next Section: The Moon Sign

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