The Twelve Signs

The zodiac is a belt of sky that the Sun, Moon and planets appear to travel along. Astrology cuts that belt into twelve equal slices of 30 degrees each, making a full circle of 360 degrees. Each slice is a sign. When someone says "my Sun is in Leo", they mean that at the moment of their birth the Sun stood in the Leo slice.

How the wheel is built

In the commonly used tropical zodiac, the circle starts at the moment of the northern-hemisphere spring equinox, when day and night are about equal. That point is 0 degrees of Aries, and the signs follow in a fixed order. The signs are therefore tied to the seasons rather than to the star patterns that share their names.

The order is: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. In Thai they are เมษ, พฤษภ, เมถุน, กรกฎ, สิงห์, กันย์, ตุลย์, พิจิก, ธนู, มังกร, กุมภ์ and มีน.

A quick feel for each

• Aries: direct, energetic, quick to begin.
• Taurus: steady, sensual, loyal to what it values.
• Gemini: curious, talkative, adaptable.
• Cancer: protective, emotional, home-minded.
• Leo: warm, expressive, generous.
• Virgo: practical, detail-aware, helpful.
• Libra: fair-minded, social, harmony-seeking.
• Scorpio: intense, private, transformative.
• Sagittarius: adventurous, candid, meaning-hungry.
• Capricorn: disciplined, ambitious, patient.
• Aquarius: independent, inventive, idea-driven.
• Pisces: imaginative, compassionate, porous.

Reading signs wisely

A sign describes how a planet tends to behave, not what it must do. The planet is the "who", the sign is the "how", and the house is the "where". Your Sun sign is only one voice in the chart, alongside the Moon, the Ascendant and everything else. Use the sign descriptions as prompts for self-reflection, not as boxes.