Image: the zodiacal light over Utah in March 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The elements are a convention, not something you'll see in the sky. They go back to the four classical elements of ancient Greek thought, which astrologers attached to the signs in order around the zodiac: fire, earth, air, water, then round again.
The four zodiac elements and their signs
| Element | Signs |
|---|---|
| Fire | Aries, Leo, Sagittarius |
| Earth | Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn |
| Air | Gemini, Libra, Aquarius |
| Water | Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces |
Because they repeat in that order, signs of the same element are always four apart around the zodiac, which makes each group a triangle on a chart of the signs.
The star patterns behind each sign
The signs are named after real constellations along the Sun's path. From the UK, the fire constellations are seasonal opposites: Leo is a spring sight, Sagittarius sits low in summer and Aries is up on autumn and winter evenings. The water group includes the faintest constellation in the zodiac, Cancer, and one of the brightest, Scorpius, whose red star Antares is low in the south in June.
Gemini, the air sign people most often ask about, is easy to find on winter evenings: two bright stars side by side, Castor and Pollux, up and to the left of Orion. Virgo, an earth sign, is the largest of all the zodiac constellations.
The zodiac signs and constellations guide explains why the sign dates and the constellations no longer line up, and every sign is drawn in our series of constellation prints.
