♌︎ Sun at ~24° Leo · third decan · Mars

August 17 zodiac sign: Leo, third decan

If you were born on August 17, your sign is Leo, the fire sign ruled by Sun: the Sun is in Leo on this date in every year from 1980 to 2030. The Sun sits about 24° into Leo on this date, in the third decan, where Leo's core takes on a Mars flavour. Here's what the date fixes, and what only your birth time can tell you.

Your sign: Leo

The fixed fire sign that brings warmth and refuses to be small.

A Leo Sun puts the Sun in its own sign — your core identity is amplified, radiant, and visible. You generate energy that other people warm themselves on. The friend whose laugh fills the room, the colleague who turns a project into something people are proud to be part of, the host who makes a dinner party an actual event — that's you, in your element.

The date fixes the Sun; the hour fixes the rest. A Leo born August 17 in the late morning has Libra rising, and a different first impression from one born at dawn. Your rising sign needs the birth time; the twelve Leo Sun combinations show what each one changes.

Leo dates, traits & compatibility → · What a Leo birth chart looks like →

In the US (2000–2014), an average of 11,765 babies were born on each August 17, rank 79 of 366 dates; Leo is number 1 of 12 signs (8.96%). What's the most common zodiac sign?

The Moon on August 17, 1980–2030

Across the 51 years from 1980 to 2030, the Moon at noon UTC on August 17 was most often in Aries, Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, and Capricorn (5 years each) and least often in Taurus and Cancer (3 years each). Unlike the Sun, the Moon sign depends on the birth year. On August 17, 2026, the Moon moves from Libra into Scorpio at 21:46 UTC.

In 24 of those 51 years (47%) the Moon changed sign during August 17 itself, so in those years the birth time decides the Moon as well as the rising sign. Cells with an arrow mark them, with the UTC time of the change. The Moon was exactly full on August 17 in 1989 and 2027, and new in 1993 and 2012.

Find your birth year. One sign means the Moon spent the whole UTC day there; an arrow means it changed sign that day, at the UTC time shown: born before it, the first sign; after it, the second. The Moon sign calculator settles it in seconds; your birth chart adds the rising sign and houses.

Times in UTC: a birth late in the evening in the Americas, or early in the morning in Asia, can fall on the neighbouring UTC date.

August 2026: full moon August 28, 2026, Pisces · new moon August 12, 2026, Leo.

Your decan: the third decan of Leo

Each sign is divided into three 10° decans, and each decan has a sub-ruler that shades the sign's core. Degrees 20–30 of Leo belong to Mars: your drive — how you take action, what makes you angry, and what you fight for. Read it as Leo with a Mars accent — the fire core is unchanged, the emphasis moves.

Decan tarot card · Golden Dawn attribution

Seven of Wands

Defence · Perseverance · Standing ground. The card assigned to this ten-degree slice of the zodiac — a birthday card in the same sense a sun sign is a birthday sign: one lens on the date, not a verdict.

Read the Seven of Wands in full on My Day Check →

All the tarot cards for August 17: decan, sign, ruling planet and year card →

What the date can't tell you

The Sun is one placement out of ten. Your Moon sign changes every two to three days, so Leos born on August 17 in different years have different Moons; your rising sign changes every two hours and needs a birth time and place. Those two carry most of what people mean by "personality" in a chart.

Born August 17? Add your year, time and place

Your Moon and rising depend on the year and hour. Computed here in a few seconds — then your full chart with a preview of its reading, no sign-up.

Or browse the twelve possibilities: Leo Sun with each Moon → · just my Moon sign · how the free birth chart calculator works

Classic matches for an August 17 birthday

By sun sign, Leo pairs most easily with Aries, Sagittarius, Gemini, Libra. Sun-sign compatibility is the coarse layer; the couple reading compares both full charts.

Common questions

What zodiac sign is August 17?

August 17 is Leo, the fixed fire sign ruled by Sun. The Sun sits at roughly 24° Leo on this date, in the third decan.

What decan is August 17?

The third decan of Leo (20°–30°), sub-ruled by Mars. Decans divide each sign into three 10° slices; the sub-ruler adds a second flavour to the sign's core — here your drive — how you take action, what makes you angry, and what you fight for.

What tarot card is August 17?

In the Golden Dawn system each decan has a minor arcana card: for the third decan of Leo it is the Seven of Wands (defence, perseverance, standing ground). It's a birthday card in the same way a sun sign is — one lens, not a verdict.

What Moon sign is someone born on August 17?

It depends on the year, and in 47% of years on the hour too. For example: in 1980, Scorpio; in 1990, Cancer; in 2000, Pisces; in 2010, Scorpio or Sagittarius; in 2020, Cancer or Leo. Over 1980–2030 the Moon on August 17 was most often in Aries, Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, and Capricorn. A birth time and place pin it down.

Does everyone born on August 17 have the same chart?

No. They share the Sun in Leo, but the Moon changes sign every two to three days, the rising sign every two hours, and the outer planets by year. Two people born August 17 in different years can have almost nothing else in common in their charts.