♐︎ Sun at ~29° Sagittarius · third decan · Saturn

December 21 zodiac sign: Sagittarius or Capricorn?

If you were born on December 21, you're Sagittarius or Capricorn depending on the time: Sagittarius before the Sun enters Capricorn, Capricorn after. The Sun crosses from one sign to the other on this date in 32 of the 51 years from 1980 to 2030, and the minute shifts from year to year (2026: December 21, 20:50 UTC). At noon UTC it's Sagittarius in 90% of years; the exact minute of the change for every year is below.

Sagittarius or Capricorn? Check your year

The Sun's entry into Capricorn shifts by a few hours from year to year. Find your birth year, convert your birth time to UTC, and compare: born before the time shown, you're Sagittarius; after it, Capricorn. Years missing from the list had the crossing on a neighbouring day (the Sun was in one sign for the whole of December 21).

1980 16:56 UTC1981 22:50 UTC1984 16:22 UTC1985 22:07 UTC1988 15:28 UTC1989 21:22 UTC1992 14:43 UTC1993 20:25 UTC1996 14:06 UTC1997 20:07 UTC2000 13:37 UTC2001 19:21 UTC2004 12:41 UTC2005 18:35 UTC2008 12:03 UTC2009 17:46 UTC2010 23:38 UTC2012 11:11 UTC2013 17:10 UTC2014 23:02 UTC2016 10:44 UTC2017 16:28 UTC2018 22:22 UTC2020 10:02 UTC2021 15:59 UTC2022 21:47 UTC2024 09:20 UTC2025 15:02 UTC2026 20:50 UTC2028 08:19 UTC2029 14:14 UTC2030 20:09 UTC

Not sure about the time zone or the minutes? Compute your chart — it does the conversion and settles the sign. Or read the Sagittarius–Capricorn cusp: which are you?

Your sign: Sagittarius (or Capricorn)

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.

The date fixes the Sun; the hour fixes the rest. A Sagittarius born December 21 in the late evening has Leo rising, and a different first impression from one born at dawn. 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 → · Capricorn dates and traits →

In the US (2000–2014), an average of 11,976 babies were born on each December 21, rank 53 of 366 dates; Sagittarius is number 10 of 12 signs (7.95%). What's the most common zodiac sign?

The Moon on December 21, 1980–2030

Across the 51 years from 1980 to 2030, the Moon at noon UTC on December 21 was most often in Cancer (6 years) and least often in Leo, Virgo, and Aquarius (3 years each). Unlike the Sun, the Moon sign depends on the birth year. On December 21, 2026, the Moon moves from Taurus into Gemini at 22:27 UTC.

In 26 of those 51 years (51%) the Moon changed sign during December 21 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 21 in 1980, 1991, and 2010; it was never new on this date between 1980 and 2030.

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.

Decan tarot card · Golden Dawn attribution

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 21: 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 21 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 21? 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: Sagittarius Sun with each Moon → · just my Moon sign · how the free birth chart calculator works

Classic matches for a December 21 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

Is December 21 Sagittarius or Capricorn?

Both are possible. On December 21 the Sun moves from Sagittarius into Capricorn in most years, at a time that ranges from 08:19 UTC to 23:38 UTC UTC across 1980–2030 (in some years the crossing falls on the neighbouring day). Convert your birth time to UTC and compare it with the crossing for your year in the table above — before it you're Sagittarius, after it Capricorn.

What zodiac sign is December 21?

December 21 is a cusp day between Sagittarius and Capricorn; at noon UTC it falls in Sagittarius in 90% of years between 1980 and 2030. Your birth year and hour decide it.

What decan is December 21?

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 21?

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 21?

It depends on the year, and in 51% of years on the hour too. For example: in 1980, Gemini or Cancer; in 1990, Aquarius; in 2000, Scorpio; in 2010, Gemini or Cancer; in 2020, Pisces or Aries. Over 1980–2030 the Moon on December 21 was most often in Cancer. A birth time and place pin it down.

Does everyone born on December 21 have the same chart?

No. They share the Sun in Sagittarius or Capricorn, 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 21 in different years can have almost nothing else in common in their charts.