January 21 zodiac sign
Most years, January 21 finds the Sun at about 1° Aquarius near the bold star Altair, though in a few years the changeover from Capricorn happens during the day itself.
- Sun at 0°–3° Aquarius
- 1st decan · Saturn (modern: Uranus)
- Cusp birthday
- On the star Altair
January 21 in profile
Usually the Sun is already about 1° into Aquarius on this date, the raw first degrees of the fixed air sign, inside a first decan ruled by Saturn (Uranus in modern practice). In a few years the changeover happens during the day, so a January 21 person may be either Aquarius or Capricorn depending on the birth year and time; there is no in-between sign. Traditional astrology links Altair, the bright star of the Eagle, with boldness and daring. Saturn connects both signs, giving stamina beneath the originality.
Recharging needs space and a change of input: a solitary walk through an unfamiliar part of town, a night of stargazing, an evening reading about something unrelated to work. Crowds can energise them for a while, and then they slip away to be alone. The Capricorn version leans toward restful routine, the Aquarius version toward novelty. Both need time where nobody expects anything of them.
They take risks on ideas more than on physical danger. They will back an unpopular proposal at work, change careers for a principle or move somewhere because the community there thinks differently. Their courage is calm and deliberate. Checking now and then whether a stand is still useful, or has become a habit of contrarianism, lets them drop a few small battles gracefully.
Capricorn or Aquarius?
The Sun moves from Capricorn into Aquarius around January 21, and the exact moment shifts from year to year. Between 1930 and 2040 it happened during the UTC day of January 21 in 10 years out of 111, at a median of 03:18 UTC. In 101 years it was already Aquarius all day. So a January 21 birthday is Capricorn or Aquarius depending on the year and the time, never a blend of the two.
The Sun on January 21, year by year (UTC)
- 1970Aquarius all day
- 1971Aquarius all day
- 1972Aquarius all day
- 1973Aquarius all day
- 1974Aquarius all day
- 1975Aquarius all day
- 1976Aquarius all day
- 1977Aquarius all day
- 1978Aquarius all day
- 1979Aquarius all day
- 1980Aquarius all day
- 1981Aquarius all day
- 1982Aquarius all day
- 1983Aquarius all day
- 1984Aquarius all day
- 1985Aquarius all day
- 1986Aquarius all day
- 1987Aquarius all day
- 1988Aquarius all day
- 1989Aquarius all day
- 1990Aquarius all day
- 1991Aquarius all day
- 1992Aquarius all day
- 1993Aquarius all day
- 1994Aquarius all day
- 1995Aquarius all day
- 1996Aquarius all day
- 1997Aquarius all day
- 1998Aquarius all day
- 1999Aquarius all day
- 2000Aquarius all day
- 2001Aquarius all day
- 2002Aquarius all day
- 2003Aquarius all day
- 2004Aquarius all day
- 2005Aquarius all day
- 2006Aquarius all day
- 2007Aquarius all day
- 2008Aquarius all day
- 2009Aquarius all day
- 2010Aquarius all day
- 2011Aquarius all day
- 2012Aquarius all day
- 2013Aquarius all day
- 2014Aquarius all day
- 2015Aquarius all day
- 2016Aquarius all day
- 2017Aquarius all day
- 2018Aquarius all day
- 2019Aquarius all day
- 2020Aquarius all day
- 2021Aquarius all day
- 2022Aquarius all day
- 2023Aquarius all day
- 2024Aquarius all day
- 2025Aquarius all day
- 2026Aquarius all day
- 2027Aquarius all day
- 2028Aquarius all day
- 2029Aquarius all day
- 2030Aquarius all day
Calculated by Lunonis from the same ephemeris code as our charts (astronomy-engine, checked against Swiss Ephemeris): geocentric, tropical zodiac, true equinox of date. Times are UTC: add or subtract your time zone’s offset, which can move the change to the day before or after.
Your Moon sign depends on the year
The Sun is in the same place on January 21 every year; the Moon is not. It changes sign every two and a half days, so people who share this birthday can have any of the twelve Moon signs. Here is where it was on January 21 in recent years, from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC (an arrow means it changed sign during the day).
- 2017Scorpio
- 2018Pisces
- 2019Cancer → Leo
- 2020Sagittarius
- 2021Taurus
- 2022Virgo
- 2023Capricorn → Aquarius
- 2024Gemini
- 2025Libra → Scorpio
- 2026Aquarius → Pisces
Compatible signs for an Aquarius
Sun-sign compatibility starts from the element. Aquarius gets on most easily with its own element and with the two sextile signs, and feels the strongest pull from its opposite. The full charts decide how a real pairing feels.
A gift for a January 21 birthday
A night under clear skies: a trip to a dark-sky area with a good pair of binoculars, a star map and a flask of something hot.
Asked about January 21
What zodiac sign is January 21?
January 21 can be Capricorn or Aquarius. The Sun changed from Capricorn to Aquarius during this date in 10 of the 111 years from 1930 to 2040, so the answer depends on the birth year, time and place. The year-by-year list above shows when; a birth chart gives the exact answer.
Is January 21 a cusp birthday?
Yes. January 21 is one of the days the Sun leaves Capricorn for Aquarius. People call it the Capricorn–Aquarius cusp, but there is no blended sign: someone born before the change is Capricorn, after it Aquarius.
What decan is January 21?
January 21 falls in the 1st decan of Aquarius. In the triplicity system we use, that decan belongs to Aquarius and its ruler Saturn (modern: Uranus), which colours the Aquarius Sun with a little of Aquarius.
Your birthday is only the Sun
A January 21 birthday tells you where the Sun was. The Moon, the Rising sign and eight more planets each sit somewhere of their own, and they depend on the year, the hour and the place. The free calculator shows all of them.