If your birthday is in January before 20 January, your star sign is Capricorn. From 20 January onwards it is Aquarius. The changeover can move by a day in some years, so for a birthday right on 20 January it's worth checking the year.
January zodiac sign dates
- Capricorn: 22 December to 19 January
- Aquarius: 20 January to 18 February
Where the Sun really is in January
Until about 19 January the Sun is in Sagittarius, not Capricornus, and it crosses into Capricornus for the rest of the month. People born in the first three weeks of January are Capricorns by sign, but the Sun on their birthday sat in front of the stars of Sagittarius.
The January gap between sign and constellation comes from the slow wobble of the Earth's axis. The zodiac signs and constellations guide explains why Capricorn and Aquarius have drifted, and Ophiuchus is the one the signs leave out.
What is in the January evening sky
January evenings from the UK are the best of the year for constellations: Orion stands high in the south, Taurus and the Pleiades above it, and Gemini's twin stars Castor and Pollux to the left. Capricornus and Aquarius are both lost in the Sun's glare.
Capricorn and Aquarius in the sky
The brightest point of Capricornus is Deneb Algedi, and of Aquarius, Sadalsuud. Both are drawn in the series of twelve Capricorn constellation print and Aquarius constellation print, in near-black, gold and warm ivory.
Capricorn and Aquarius belong to different elements: the zodiac elements guide sorts all twelve signs into fire, earth, air and water.
For a January birthday, a personalised star map charts the stars over the place someone was born, on the night itself, and the preview is free.