♐︎ Sagittarius · ♑︎ Capricorn

December 21 Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius or Capricorn — Traits

The December 21 zodiac sign is Sagittarius or Capricorn, depending on the year and the time of birth. The Sun leaves Sagittarius for Capricorn on or about December 21, at a different moment each year, so a birth on this date can fall either side of the change. Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign and Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign. In 2026 the change falls at 20:50 UTC on December 21. The year-by-year list further down shows which.

Jane Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson and Frank Zappa were born on December 21. StarMap has birth charts for 17 people born on this date, listed here with the best known first.

The stars over any place on December 21 stand differently in every year and at every hour: see the sky on this date for a year, a time and a place of your choosing, drawn as a star map.

Sagittarius or Capricorn traits

If your Sun is in Sagittarius: You seek. Meaning, distance and the bigger picture pull you forward, and your honesty is a kind of generosity. The lesson of a Sagittarius Sun is that the journey also needs somewhere to land.

If your Sun is in Capricorn: You endure. Ambition, patience and a dry sense of humour carry you up long slopes other people give up on. A Capricorn Sun learns, eventually, that rest is part of the climb.

Your Sun sign is one part of a chart. The Moon and the rising sign, which need the time and place of birth, say as much about you. StarMap is for entertainment and self-reflection.

Born on December 21? Find out which side of the change you are on.

Your Sun, Moon and rising sign from the real sky at your birth. Free, no account needed.

Famous birthdays on December 21

Jane Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson and Frank Zappa were born on December 21. StarMap has birth charts for 17 people born on this date, the best known first.

December 21, year by year: Sagittarius or Capricorn

Times are UTC. A birth in another time zone happened at a different clock time, so within a few hours of the change the place of birth decides the sign as much as the hour does. A chart drawn from the full birth details settles it.

Years in which the Sun entered Capricorn on December 21

1940 at 23:54
1944 at 23:15
1948 at 22:33
1952 at 21:43
1956 at 20:59
1960 at 20:25
1964 at 19:49
1968 at 19:00
1972 at 18:13
1976 at 17:35
1977 at 23:23
1980 at 16:56
1981 at 22:51
1984 at 16:22
1985 at 22:08
1988 at 15:28
1989 at 21:22
1992 at 14:43
1993 at 20:25
1996 at 14:06
1997 at 20:07
2000 at 13:37
2001 at 19:21
2004 at 12:41
2005 at 18:35
2008 at 12:03
2009 at 17:46
2010 at 23:38
2012 at 11:11
2013 at 17:11
2014 at 23:03
2016 at 10:44
2017 at 16:28
2018 at 22:22
2020 at 10:02
2021 at 15:59
2022 at 21:47
2024 at 09:20
2025 at 15:03
2026 at 20:50

Sagittarius all day: 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023.

Signs are computed from the Sun’s position with the astronomy-engine ephemeris, checked against Swiss Ephemeris, for every year from 1900 to 2026. Birth dates and places come from Wikidata. A sign is shown beside a name only when it holds for the whole of the birth date; where it does not, both possibilities are given. How to read a birth chart.

Photo credits (16 photos from Wikimedia Commons)

Each link opens the photo’s page on Wikimedia Commons, which states its author and licence.