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Sun, Moon & Rising Sign Calculator
Your birth details
Your birthplace is not in the list? Choose “Add your own place” and type the place name and its latitude, longitude and UTC offset below.
For entertainment only — astrology is not science. The Sun sign follows your birth date, while the Moon and Rising signs are estimates from simplified astronomy. The Rising sign needs an exact birth time and place: a few minutes can change it near a sign boundary.
The Moon and Rising signs are estimates from simplified astronomy. The Rising sign is sensitive to birth time: a few minutes can change it near a sign boundary.
Example: born 15 June 1990 at 12:00 PM in New York City — Sun Gemini, Moon Cancer (2.8 days, waxing crescent), Rising Virgo.
Behind the numbers
How your three signs are calculated
Your Sun sign is the zodiac sign the Sun was in on your birth date — that is the sign most people know, and it only needs the date. Your Moon sign is where the Moon was: the Moon moves about 13° a day through the zodiac, so it needs the date and time, and this calculator works it out from the Moon's age (days since the last new Moon). Your Rising sign (ascendant) is the sign that was rising over the eastern horizon at the moment and place you were born. It turns over roughly every two hours, so it needs the exact birth time and the latitude and longitude of the birthplace. The calculator works out local sidereal time from those numbers, then finds the point of the zodiac crossing the eastern horizon.
Sun longitude ≈ 280.46° + 0.9856° × days since 1 Jan 2000, and the sign is the 30° slice it falls in (0–30° Aries, 30–60° Taurus, and so on). Moon age is the days since the last new Moon (the lunar cycle is 29.53 days), and Moon longitude ≈ Sun longitude + Moon age × 12.19°. Local sidereal time comes from the date, the UTC time and the longitude, and the ascendant is the ecliptic point whose altitude is zero on the eastern horizon at that moment. Worked example: 15 June 1990, 12:00 PM in New York (UTC−4) is 16:00 UTC. The Sun's longitude works out to 83.7°, in Gemini (60–90°). The Moon is 2.8 days past new Moon, so its longitude is about 83.7 + 2.8 × 12.19 = 117.5°, in Cancer (90–120°). Local sidereal time is 69.7°, and the ecliptic point rising over New York at that moment is 163.9°, in Virgo (150–180°).
Reference
Sun sign dates
| Sign | Dates (approx.) | Sign | Dates (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mar 21 – Apr 19 | Libra | Sep 23 – Oct 22 |
| Taurus | Apr 20 – May 20 | Scorpio | Oct 23 – Nov 21 |
| Gemini | May 21 – Jun 20 | Sagittarius | Nov 22 – Dec 21 |
| Cancer | Jun 21 – Jul 22 | Capricorn | Dec 22 – Jan 19 |
| Leo | Jul 23 – Aug 22 | Aquarius | Jan 20 – Feb 18 |
| Virgo | Aug 23 – Sep 22 | Pisces | Feb 19 – Mar 20 |
Dates can shift by a day in some years, so a birthday on a sign boundary should be checked with the time as well as the date.
Worked examples
Example readings
| Birth | Sun | Moon | Rising |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun 1990, 12:00, New York | Gemini | Cancer | Virgo |
| 15 Jun 1990, 06:00, New York | Gemini | Cancer | Cancer |
| 1 Jan 2000, 12:00, London | Capricorn | Pisces | Pisces |
Notice the first two rows: the same birthday, six hours apart, keeps the same Sun and Moon signs but the Rising sign changes from Cancer to Virgo. That is why the birth time matters so much for the Rising sign.
Tips for an accurate reading
Use the exact birth time from your birth certificate — a rounded time can put the Rising sign in the wrong sign.
If your birthplace is not in the list, choose “Add your own place” in the dropdown and type the place name, then its latitude, longitude and UTC offset — you can look them up in any map app.
Set the UTC offset for the birth date, not today: New York is −5 in January (standard time) and −4 in June (daylight saving).
If you were born near a sign boundary (a cusp), check the result with the time included — the date alone cannot settle it.
The Moon changes sign roughly every two and a half days, so the birth date alone is usually enough for the Moon sign, but the time sharpens it.
Remember this is entertainment: the signs describe an astrological tradition, not a scientific measurement of personality.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What are the "big three" in astrology?
The Sun sign (your birth-date sign), the Moon sign (where the Moon was) and the Rising sign (what was rising when you were born). Together they are the starting point of most modern birth-chart readings: Sun for the core self, Moon for feelings, Rising for first impressions.
Why do I need my birth time for the Rising sign?
The Rising sign changes about every two hours as the Earth turns, so it is the only one of the three that depends closely on the time of day. Without a birth time it cannot be worked out at all — the date and place alone are not enough.
How accurate is this Moon sign?
It is an approximation. The Moon's real position needs a full ephemeris, and this calculator uses a simplified formula good to a few degrees. That is almost always enough to pick the right sign, except within a few degrees of a sign boundary.
Is astrology scientifically proven?
No. Studies have not found that birth signs predict personality or life events, and astronomers point out that the zodiac constellations have drifted from the tropical signs over the centuries. This calculator is for fun and for learning how the signs are traditionally worked out.