December 20 zodiac sign: Sagittarius, not Capricorn
If you were born on December 20, your sign is Sagittarius, not Capricorn: from 1980 to 2030 the Sun always enters Capricorn on December 21 or 22, so this date is Sagittarius at any hour. The Sun sits about 28° into Sagittarius on this date, in the third decan, where Sagittarius's core takes on a Saturn flavour. Here's what the date fixes, and what only your birth time can tell you.
Your sign: Sagittarius
The mutable fire sign that aims at the bigger picture and refuses to be domesticated.
A Sagittarius Sun is built around expansion and meaning. You're the friend who has lived in three countries, who keeps reading philosophy at 2am, who wants to know what people actually think rather than what they're supposed to say. Your optimism is real — not the brittle "everything happens for a reason" kind, but a genuine sense that life is interesting and worth showing up for.
- ElementFire
- ModalityMutable
- RulerJupiter
- SeasonNovember 22 – December 21
The date fixes the Sun; the year and hour fix the rest. A Sagittarius born December 20 with the Moon in Sagittarius runs on a different inner weather from one with the Moon in Sagittarius: see Sagittarius Sun, Sagittarius Moon. Your rising sign needs the birth time; the twelve Sagittarius Sun combinations show what each one changes.
Sagittarius dates, traits & compatibility → · What a Sagittarius birth chart looks like →
In the US (2000–2014), an average of 12,440 babies were born on each December 20, rank 6 of 366 dates; Sagittarius is number 10 of 12 signs (7.95%). What's the most common zodiac sign?
The Moon on December 20, 1980–2030
Across the 51 years from 1980 to 2030, the Moon at noon UTC on December 20 was most often in Taurus (6 years) and least often in Leo, Capricorn, and Pisces (3 years each). Unlike the Sun, the Moon sign depends on the birth year. On December 20, 2026, the Moon stays in Taurus the whole UTC day.
- 1980 Gemini
- 1981 Libra → Scorpio 23:39
- 1982 Aquarius
- 1983 Gemini → Cancer 06:02
- 1984 Scorpio → Sagittarius 06:58
- 1985 Aries
- 1986 Leo
- 1987 Sagittarius → Capricorn 21:08
- 1988 Taurus → Gemini 21:43
- 1989 Virgo → Libra 03:45
- 1990 Capricorn → Aquarius 02:59
- 1991 Gemini
- 1992 Scorpio
- 1993 Pisces
- 1994 Cancer → Leo 21:13
- 1995 Scorpio → Sagittarius 03:13
- 1996 Taurus
- 1997 Virgo
- 1998 Capricorn
- 1999 Taurus → Gemini 17:39
- 2000 Libra → Scorpio 13:12
- 2001 Aquarius → Pisces 06:09
- 2002 Cancer
- 2003 Scorpio
- 2004 Aries
- 2005 Leo
- 2006 Sagittarius → Capricorn 16:39
- 2007 Taurus
- 2008 Libra
- 2009 Aquarius
- 2010 Gemini
- 2011 Libra → Scorpio 10:33
- 2012 Pisces → Aries 07:43
- 2013 Cancer → Leo 06:48
- 2014 Sagittarius
- 2015 Aries
- 2016 Virgo
- 2017 Capricorn
- 2018 Taurus → Gemini 14:34
- 2019 Libra
- 2020 Pisces
- 2021 Cancer
- 2022 Scorpio
- 2023 Aries
- 2024 Leo → Virgo 07:37
- 2025 Sagittarius → Capricorn 04:52
- 2026 Taurus
- 2027 Virgo → Libra 12:13
- 2028 Aquarius
- 2029 Gemini
- 2030 Libra → Scorpio 11:51
In 21 of those 51 years (41%) the Moon changed sign during December 20 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 December 20 in 1983 and 2029, and new in 1987, 2006, and 2025.
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.
December 2026: full moon December 24, 2026, Cancer · new moon December 9, 2026, Sagittarius.
Your decan: the third decan of Sagittarius
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 Sagittarius belong to Saturn: where you face limitation and, through facing it, build mastery. Read it as Sagittarius with a Saturn accent — the fire core is unchanged, the emphasis moves.
Ten of Wands
Burden · Responsibility · Completion. 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 Ten of Wands in full on My Day Check →All the tarot cards for December 20: 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 Sagittarians born on December 20 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 December 20? 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.
Your big three
- Sun
- Moon
- Rising
If you want it read afterwards: the full reading of your chart, written by AI, is $3.99, one-time. See a sample reading
Or browse the twelve possibilities: Sagittarius Sun with each Moon → · just my Moon sign · how the free birth chart calculator works
Classic matches for a December 20 birthday
By sun sign, Sagittarius pairs most easily with Aries, Leo, Libra, Aquarius. Sun-sign compatibility is the coarse layer; the couple reading compares both full charts.
Common questions
What zodiac sign is December 20?
December 20 is Sagittarius, the mutable fire sign ruled by Jupiter. The Sun sits at roughly 28° Sagittarius on this date, in the third decan.
What decan is December 20?
The third decan of Sagittarius (20°–30°), sub-ruled by Saturn. Decans divide each sign into three 10° slices; the sub-ruler adds a second flavour to the sign's core — here where you face limitation and, through facing it, build mastery.
What tarot card is December 20?
In the Golden Dawn system each decan has a minor arcana card: for the third decan of Sagittarius it is the Ten of Wands (burden, responsibility, completion). 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 December 20?
It depends on the year, and in 41% of years on the hour too. For example: in 1980, Gemini; in 1990, Capricorn or Aquarius; in 2000, Libra or Scorpio; in 2010, Gemini; in 2020, Pisces. Over 1980–2030 the Moon on December 20 was most often in Taurus. A birth time and place pin it down.
Does everyone born on December 20 have the same chart?
No. They share the Sun in Sagittarius, 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 December 20 in different years can have almost nothing else in common in their charts.