Quality
The fixed signs
Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius — the four signs that sit 90 degrees apart on the ecliptic. Groupings of four like this are called quadruplicities, or modalities.
- Taurus20 April – 20 May
- Leo23 July – 22 August
- Scorpio23 October – 21 November
- Aquarius20 January – 18 February
Why these four
Each of these signs holds the middle of a season, when the weather has settled into itself. Starting at Taurus and stepping a quarter of the way round the circle three times lands on the other three, so the group is a square drawn in the zodiac. Twelve divides by four, which is the whole of the arithmetic: each element contributes exactly one sign to each quality, and each quality takes one sign from each element.
What the tradition makes of it
In Western astrological tradition the fixed signs are associated with persistence, and the stubbornness that is the same trait seen from outside. That is a statement about a tradition of reading, not a claim about anyone born under one of these four signs, and this site makes no such claim.
When the sun is in each of them
| Sign | Element | Sun enters, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Taurus | Earth | 20 April, 01:39 UTC |
| Leo | Fire | 22 July, 19:13 UTC |
| Scorpio | Water | 23 October, 09:38 UTC |
| Aquarius | Air | 20 January, 01:45 UTC |
Worked out from the sun's position with the VSOP87 planetary theory, to the minute. Why the dates shift →