Zodiac sign · Cardinal earth · ruled by Saturn

Capricorn

Capricorn is the Sun sign of anyone born while the Sun is in Capricorn: in 2026, from 21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC to 20 January 2027, 07:29 UTC. The dates move by up to a day from year to year, so a birthday at either end needs the year, and sometimes the hour, to settle its sign. The Sun is next in Capricorn from 21 December 2026.

Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn; its symbol is the sea-goat. Astrologers read it for the way it endures. Of the 6,194 well-known people in StarMap's dataset, 468 have the Sun in Capricorn for the whole of their birth date; Basshunter, Elvis Presley and Marlene Dietrich are among them. 29 more were born on a day the Sun entered or left Capricorn and are left out, because the hour decides and StarMap has no birth time for them.

Basshunter and Elvis Presley were both born with the Sun in Capricorn.Is your Sun in Capricorn?Draw your birth chart, free: your Sun, Moon and rising sign from the real sky

Capricorn dates, year by year

Year	The Sun enters Capricorn	and leaves
2025	21 December 2025, 15:03 UTC	20 January 2026, 01:44 UTC
2026	21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC	20 January 2027, 07:29 UTC
2027	22 December 2027, 02:42 UTC	20 January 2028, 13:22 UTC
2028	21 December 2028, 08:20 UTC	19 January 2029, 19:01 UTC

The Sun is next in Capricorn from 21 December 2026. The dates are the same everywhere on Earth, in UTC; in a time zone far from Greenwich the entry can fall on the evening before or the morning after.

Born on the edge: 21 December and 20 January

21 December, the first day of Capricorn season this year, is shared with Sagittarius. Since 1900, the Sun was in Capricorn all day in 0 years, in Sagittarius all day in 87, and changed sign during the day in 40, when the hour and place of birth decide.
20 January, the last day of Capricorn season this year, is shared with Aquarius. Since 1900, the Sun was in Capricorn all day in 24 years, in Aquarius all day in 6, and changed sign during the day in 97, when the hour and place of birth decide.

The three decans of Capricorn in 2026

Astrologers divide each sign into three decans of ten degrees, and read the second and third as coloured by the other two earth signs (Taurus and Virgo). The Sun takes about ten days to cross each.

Decan 1 · 0° to 10° · 21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC to 31 December 2026, 16:27 UTC
Decan 2 · 10° to 20° · 31 December 2026, 16:27 UTC to 10 January 2027, 11:52 UTC
Decan 3 · 20° to 30° · 10 January 2027, 11:52 UTC to 20 January 2027, 07:29 UTC

Capricorn traits

Capricorn endures. The sign is read for ambition, patience and structure: a long view, a dry wit, and a willingness to do the slow unglamorous work that gets a thing built. A Capricorn Sun tends to be serious when young and lighter with age, reserved in feeling, and more loyal than it looks.

The shadow side is the climb that never ends: pessimism, rigidity, a status-consciousness that measures people by their position, and a difficulty with rest. Astrologers describe the sign's work as learning that rest is part of the ascent.

Capricorn in love

In love, Capricorn is slow, careful and then constant. It shows commitment by showing up, year after year, and it finds romance easier to practise than to declare. Its lesson is that a partner wants to be let in, not only provided for.

Capricorn at work

At work, Capricorn is the one still there at the end: management, building, institutions, anything that rewards persistence and responsibility. It respects competence and expects it. The risk is becoming the job; the gift is that what it builds tends to stand.

What people get wrong: that Capricorn is dull. The sign has the driest humour in the zodiac and a late-blooming lightness that surprises people who knew it young. The seriousness is a strategy for getting somewhere, and once it has arrived the goat is good company, with stories from the climb it never told on the way up.

A Sun sign is one placement of ten. The Moon, the rising sign and the planets change how it plays out: a Capricorn Sun with a Cancer Moon reads differently from one with the Moon in Capricorn too. Draw your whole chart to see yours.

Famous Capricorn Suns

All 468 famous Capricorn Suns, best known first, each with a birth chart.

Capricorn in the rest of the chart

The Sun is not the only body that can be in Capricorn. Each of these has its own page: what it means, who has it, and when the body is in Capricorn.

Capricorn and the other signs

Same element (earth): Taurus and Virgo, a trine apart, read as the signs that understand Capricorn without trying.
Opposite: Cancer, six months away, read as the sign Capricorn is drawn to and argues with.
Same modality (cardinal): Aries and Libra, a square apart, the friction that gets things done.
Two signs either side: Pisces and Scorpio, a sextile apart, easy company of a different kind.

Capricorn with every sign, each pairing with the famous couples who have it: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.

Sun signs are the roughest measure of two people. Compare two whole charts for the aspects between them.

Questions people ask

What are the Capricorn dates?

In 2026 the Sun is in Capricorn from 21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC to 20 January 2027, 07:29 UTC. Most years it enters on 21 December or the day either side and leaves on 20 January or the day either side; the table above gives the minute for each year. A birthday on one of those edge days needs the year, and sometimes the time and place of birth, to settle its sign.

Is 21 December a Capricorn or a Sagittarius?

Not always. 21 December is the first day of Capricorn season in 2026, but the Sun's sign on that date depends on the year: of the 127 years from 1900 to 2026, in 87 it was in Sagittarius all day and in 40 it entered Capricorn during the day, so the hour and the place of birth decide. The birthday page for 21 December lists every year.

Is 20 January a Capricorn or a Aquarius?

Not always. 20 January is the last day of Capricorn season in 2026, but the Sun's sign on that date depends on the year: of the 127 years from 1900 to 2026, in 24 the Sun was in Capricorn all day, in 6 it was in Aquarius all day and in 97 it left Capricorn for Aquarius during the day, so the hour and the place of birth decide. The birthday page for 20 January lists every year.

What planet rules Capricorn?

Saturn. The ruler is read as the sign's manner: where Saturn sits in a Capricorn Sun's own chart colours how the sign shows.

What element is Capricorn?

Earth, with Taurus and Virgo: the three earth signs sit a third of the zodiac apart and are read as easy company for one another. Capricorn is also cardinal, like Aries and Libra and Cancer, which share its way of acting and are read as the signs it rubs against.

Which famous people are Capricorn?

Basshunter, Elvis Presley, Marlene Dietrich, Simone de Beauvoir and Muhammad Ali all have the Sun in Capricorn. StarMap lists 468 well-known Capricorn Suns, each with a birth chart computed from their birth date and place.

Are Capricorn men and Capricorn women different?

Not in the chart: astrology reads the Sun in Capricorn the same way whatever a person's gender. What people describe as the Capricorn man is usually Mars in a chart, how someone pursues what they want, and the Capricorn woman Venus or the Moon, how they love and what they need; each has its own page for Capricorn, with the famous people who have it.

Capricorn horoscopes

Dates are computed from the Sun’s position with the astronomy-engine ephemeris, checked against Swiss Ephemeris, in the tropical zodiac. Birth data comes from Wikidata; a person is listed only when the Sun was in Capricorn for the whole of their birth date. Readings describe tendencies, for entertainment and self-reflection; StarMap predicts nothing. All twelve signs.

Photo credits (12 photos from Wikimedia Commons)

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

♑︎Capricorn