December zodiac signs
December has two zodiac signs: Sagittarius and then Capricorn. From 1950 to 2010, the Sun entered Capricorn on December 21 in 25 years and December 22 in 36 years, in UTC.
December birthdays go from Sagittarius into Capricorn, with the change around the December solstice, the shortest day in the north. Sagittarius is read as optimistic and hard to pin down, and Capricorn as responsible and quietly ambitious. Both are read as looking a long way ahead, one at where they could go and the other at what they could build. People born this month also tend to share their birthday with the holidays, and to have views on that.
Every date in the month
| Date | Sign | Decan | Number | Daylight at 40° north |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1 | Sagittarius | first | 1 | 9h 32m |
| December 2 | Sagittarius | second, first | 2 | 9h 31m |
| December 3 | Sagittarius | second | 3 | 9h 30m |
| December 4 | Sagittarius | second | 4 | 9h 29m |
| December 5 | Sagittarius | second | 5 | 9h 28m |
| December 6 | Sagittarius | second | 6 | 9h 27m |
| December 7 | Sagittarius | second | 7 | 9h 26m |
| December 8 | Sagittarius | second | 8 | 9h 25m |
| December 9 | Sagittarius | second | 9 | 9h 24m |
| December 10 | Sagittarius | second | 1 | 9h 24m |
| December 11 | Sagittarius | second | 11 | 9h 23m |
| December 12 | Sagittarius | third, second | 3 | 9h 22m |
| December 13 | Sagittarius | third | 4 | 9h 22m |
| December 14 | Sagittarius | third | 5 | 9h 21m |
| December 15 | Sagittarius | third | 6 | 9h 21m |
| December 16 | Sagittarius | third | 7 | 9h 21m |
| December 17 | Sagittarius | third | 8 | 9h 20m |
| December 18 | Sagittarius | third | 9 | 9h 20m |
| December 19 | Sagittarius | third | 1 | 9h 20m |
| December 20 | Sagittarius | third | 2 | 9h 20m |
| December 21 | Sagittarius | third | 3 | 9h 20m |
| December 22 | Capricorn or Sagittarius | first, third | 22 | 9h 20m |
| December 23 | Capricorn | first | 5 | 9h 20m |
| December 24 | Capricorn | first | 6 | 9h 20m |
| December 25 | Capricorn | first | 7 | 9h 20m |
| December 26 | Capricorn | first | 8 | 9h 20m |
| December 27 | Capricorn | first | 9 | 9h 21m |
| December 28 | Capricorn | first | 1 | 9h 21m |
| December 29 | Capricorn | first | 11 | 9h 22m |
| December 30 | Capricorn | first | 3 | 9h 22m |
| December 31 | Capricorn | first, second | 4 | 9h 23m |
The day each sign begins
The usual dates for a sign are an average. The Sun's entry moves by a day or more from year to year, and this is every day it fell on from 1950 to 2010, in UTC.
| The Sun entered Capricorn on | Years | First and last |
|---|---|---|
| December 21 | 25 | 1952 to 2010 |
| December 22 | 36 | 1950 to 2007 |
Eclipses in this month
Every eclipse that peaked in December from 1950 to 2010: December 2, 1956: solar, partial; December 4, 1964: solar, partial; December 4, 1983: solar, annular; December 4, 2002: solar, total; December 8, 1965: lunar, penumbral; December 9, 1992: lunar, total; December 10, 1973: lunar, partial; December 13, 1974: solar, partial; December 14, 1955: solar, annular; December 14, 2001: solar, annular; December 15, 1982: solar, partial; December 19, 1964: lunar, total; December 20, 1983: lunar, penumbral; December 21, 1991: lunar, partial; December 21, 2010: lunar, total; December 24, 1973: solar, annular; December 24, 1992: solar, partial; December 25, 1954: solar, annular; December 25, 2000: solar, partial; December 30, 1963: lunar, total; December 30, 1982: lunar, total; December 30, 2001: lunar, penumbral; December 31, 2009: lunar, partial.
Who you tend to match with
Sagittarius: closest Aries, Leo and Libra; hardest Pisces.
Capricorn: closest Virgo, Pisces and Taurus; hardest Libra.
How these dates are worked out
We take each position from astronomy-engine, the open-source astronomy library behind our birth charts, at noon UTC on the date, in the tropical zodiac our charts use. Changes of sign and New and Full Moons are searched to the minute in UTC, and eclipses are dated by the moment they peak. If you were born close to a change, your birth time and place decide. How we calculate the sky shows the checks.