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Sun in sign

The Sun in Capricorn

Capricorn is cardinal earth, ruled by Saturn. This page covers what that means for the Sun, how often it happens, and when.

  • Sun
  • Capricorn
Element
Earth
Modality
Cardinal
Ruler
Saturn
Dignity of the Sun
No essential dignity in the traditional scheme
Last in Capricorn
until 20 January 2026, 01:44 UTC
Next in Capricorn
from 21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC
Next visit lasts
about 29 days

How common

1 in 13

7.96% of 2,000,000 simulated births have the Sun in Capricorn.

3rd rarest of 12signs

In plain words

  • Sun in Capricorn

    In Capricorn, the Sun expresses itself in a disciplined, long-term way.

Generic readingA generic description in the style of modern astrology, the same for everyone who has this placement. Not a prediction.

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What does the Sun in Capricorn mean?

  1. What the Sun governs

    The Sun expresses itself

    Astrologers treat the Sun as the body that expresses itself. It does that in every sign; the sign changes only the manner.

  2. What Capricorn adds

    In a disciplined, long-term way

    Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign. Fire, earth, air and water are the four elements; earth is classically cold and dry. Modalities group the signs by their place in a season: cardinal signs open a season. Its ruler is Saturn. Traditional astrology gives the Sun no domicile, exaltation, detriment or fall in Capricorn.

  3. How common it is

    About 1 in 13

    Sun in Capricorn: 7.96% of simulated births, about 1 in 13; 3rd rarest of 12.

How common is the Sun in Capricorn?

How common is the Sun in each sign?

An even split of the 12 signsBars start at zero.Share of simulated births with the Sun in each of the 12 signs. Share of 2,000,000 simulated births (1950–2024), tropical zodiac.

When is the Sun in Capricorn?

Sun in Capricorn, last pass
ended 20 Jan 2026
21 December 2025, 15:03 UTC to 20 January 2026, 01:44 UTC (about 29 days)
Sun in Capricorn, next pass
from 21 Dec 2026
21 December 2026, 20:50 UTC to 20 January 2027, 07:29 UTC (about 29 days)

Last, current and next passes

  1. Sun in Capricorn

    21 Dec 2025 → 20 Jan 2026 · about 29 days

    last pass

  2. Sun in Capricorn

    21 Dec 2026 → 20 Jan 2027 · about 29 days

    next pass

  • Each year the Sun is in Capricorn from about 21–23 December to 19–21 January (UTC dates, 1900–2050).

As of 16 October 2026, 12:20 UTC. Dates are UTC, tropical zodiac, read from the ephemeris's table of sign entries. This page refreshes hourly.

How do different traditions read the Sun in Capricorn?

AI-written text that an AI research review then checked against sources. No person has reviewed it; the notes and references behind each check are under its label.

Hellenistic

The astrology of the Greek-speaking Mediterranean from roughly the 1st century BCE to the 7th century CE, as recorded by authors such as Vettius Valens, Dorotheus and Ptolemy.

AI-written, checked by AI

1 Oct 2026

The Sun in Capricorn sits in a feminine, cardinal earth sign, and Capricorn begins at the December solstice, when daylight in the northern hemisphere is shortest. That is a verifiable astronomical fact; the tradition's reading comes after it. The tradition lists no domicile, exaltation, detriment or fall for the Sun here, though Capricorn is the Moon's detriment and Mars's exaltation. Domicile is the sign a planet rules, its home. Saturn is the domicile lord and, like the Sun, belongs to the day team, so Hellenistic astrologers place lord and planet on the same team. Sect is the tradition's way of sorting the planets into a day team and a night team. Saturn is a malefic, a planet the tradition treats as difficult in nature; sharing a team does not make the relationship easy, only coherent. Saturn's sign, house and dignity are the next facts to read.

A note on “detriment”: the early Hellenistic texts note a planet opposite its own sign without naming it. The term is defined only in late and medieval sources, and scholars disagree on whether the idea was implicit earlier.

Sources

  • Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I
  • Vettius Valens, Anthology, Book I
  • Chris Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune (2017)

What was checked

An AI research review checked this text against sources on 1 Oct 2026. No person has reviewed it.

Reviewer's notes

Checked sign element, modality and gender, domicile, exaltation, detriment and fall against the project data and Ptolemy, plus sect and sign relationships; all consistent. Changed: 'sect-mates' reworded as same team. Detriment is stated as a table fact where it appears; its Hellenistic status is disputed (secondary source only). Source works confirmed to exist and to treat the topic (Valens Book I opened; others via secondary pages).

Sources consulted

  • Loeb text of Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos I: planet genders (I.6), diurnal/nocturnal planets and Mercury as morning/evening star (I.7), masculine/feminine and bicorporeal signs (I.11–12), houses of Sun, Moon and Saturn (I.17), exaltations and depressions (I.19); Ptolemy does not rank domicile above exaltation penelope.uchicago.edu (opens in a new tab)
  • Riley's translation, Valens Anthology Book I: day/night sect of each planet, and the natures of the signs (house of, masculine/feminine, bicorporeal) skyscript.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
  • table of dignities; Hellenistic authors treated domicile, exaltation, triplicity and bounds as comparably influential, ranking and point scores came later (secondary source) en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
  • June solstice: Sun at its northernmost position; December solstice: shortest daylight in the north en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
  • Anthology, ten books, c. 150–175 CE, Riley translation online en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
  • Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune, February 2017, survey of the tradition's techniques goodreads.com (opens in a new tab)

Modern psychological

The 20th-century Western approach shaped by Alan Leo, Dane Rudhyar and Liz Greene, drawing on Jungian psychology.

AI-written, checked by AI

1 Oct 2026

Capricorn is the tenth sign, a cardinal earth sign with negative polarity, the sign opposite Cancer. Modern psychological astrology reads a Sun here as an identity formed through structure, responsibility and the pursuit of lasting achievement. Cardinal earth is associated with initiating practical projects and accepting the work they require. The tension authors describe is a self defined too closely by status or duty, with warmth held back until a task is finished. Hellenistic astrologers give the Sun no domicile, exaltation, detriment or fall in Capricorn, which belongs to Saturn. They read it through Saturn's condition and sect (day or night chart). Modern writers more often treat Saturn's association with limits as a psychological theme, a framing the Hellenistic technique does not use.

Sources

  • Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas, The Luminaries: The Psychology of the Sun and Moon in the Horoscope (1992)
  • Stephen Arroyo, Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements (1975)
  • Robert Hand, Horoscope Symbols (1981)

What was checked

An AI research review checked this text against sources on 1 Oct 2026. No person has reviewed it.

Reviewer's notes

Sign/element/modality, ruler and dignity claims checked against the project reference data and Wikipedia; the per-sign tendencies attributed to modern authors are tradition-level and not confirmed against the books themselves (no secondary page opened for this sign). Narrowed the Hellenistic "no rank" wording to "no domicile, exaltation, detriment or fall" so the claim matches the four dignities checked.

Sources consulted

Where they differ

Hellenistic astrology reasons from technique: essential dignity, sect and configuration by sign. Modern psychological astrology reasons from element, modality and the planet's function. They start from different questions, so the same placement can read differently, and neither reading is the verdict. Both use the tropical zodiac here.

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