From our perspective on Earth, the Sun appears to travel across the sky daily. Over the course of a year, however, its position shifts against the backdrop of more distant stars. Although daylight prevents us from seeing the stars behind the Sun, the Sun is continuously positioned in front of a distant star field. Astronomers group these distant stars into constellations, meaning the Sun is always “in” one of these groupings. This apparent movement is simply a reflection of Earth’s orbital journey around our star.
The Ecliptic and the Zodiac
The Sun’s apparent yearly path across the celestial sphere is an imaginary line known as the ecliptic. This line is a direct projection of Earth’s orbital plane onto the sky, which all planets, the Moon, and the Sun appear to follow.
The Zodiac is the specific band of constellations that lie along the ecliptic. Although historically divided into twelve equal sections, the actual constellations are irregular in size and shape. This irregularity causes the Sun to spend varying amounts of time in each one.
The Astronomical Answer Where the Sun Really Is
The Sun is always moving through one of the 13 constellations that intersect the ecliptic, a list established by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1930. The Sun spends varying amounts of time in each constellation throughout the year:
- Sagittarius (December 18 – January 18)
- Capricornus (January 19 – February 15)
- Aquarius (February 16 – March 11)
- Pisces (March 12 – April 18)
- Aries (April 19 – May 13)
- Taurus (May 14 – June 19)
- Gemini (June 20 – July 20)
- Cancer (July 21 – August 9)
- Leo (August 10 – September 15)
- Virgo (September 16 – October 30)
- Libra (October 31 – November 22)
- Scorpius (November 23 – November 29)
- Ophiuchus (November 30 – December 17)
Why Constellations Do Not Match Astrological Signs
Precession of the Equinoxes
The dates for the 12 traditional astrological signs do not align with the actual astronomical positions of the constellations, primarily due to the precession of the equinoxes. This effect is caused by the slow, conical wobble of the Earth’s axis, which takes approximately 25,800 years to complete one full cycle.
This gradual shift means the Earth’s orientation relative to the stars changes over long periods. When the Babylonians formalized the Zodiac over 2,000 years ago, the spring equinox occurred when the Sun was located in Aries, establishing the “First Point of Aries.” Precession has since caused the equinox point to shift westward against the stellar background.
Tropical vs. Sidereal Zodiac
Today, the Sun is actually in the constellation Pisces at the moment of the spring equinox. Western astrology, or the Tropical Zodiac, ignores this astronomical shift, basing its signs on the seasons instead. It uses a fixed framework where the start of Aries is permanently tied to the spring equinox, regardless of the constellation behind it.
This distinction explains why the Sun is in Scorpius for only about seven days, while the astrological sign of Scorpio spans a full month. The traditional system also excludes Ophiuchus, even though the Sun spends about 18 days moving through it annually. Astronomical dates reflect the current position of the Sun among the stars, whereas Western astrology reflects a seasonal calendar.