Taurus Zodiac Sign: Dates, Traits and Personality

The Taurus zodiac sign belongs to people born between April 20 and May 20, with the edges moving by a few hours from year to year. It is the second sign, a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus, and it falls in the middle of spring, when the season has settled in. For the full circle of signs, see the zodiac guide. Here the focus is the bull alone.

Fact	Taurus
Usual dates	April 20 to May 20
Sun enters Taurus, 2026	April 19, 9:39 p.m. ET
Sun leaves Taurus, 2026	May 20, 8:37 p.m. ET
Element	Earth
Modality	Fixed
Ruler	Venus
Opposite sign	Scorpio
Symbol	The bull

Taurus dates and the 2026 changeover

The printed range is a convenience. What decides your sign is where the Sun stood at the minute you were born, and the Sun reaches the start of Taurus at a slightly different time each spring.

In 2026 the NovaOracles astronomy engine puts that moment at 9:39 p.m. EDT on April 19, which was already April 20 at 01:39 UTC. The time zone matters here. Someone born in New York at 10 p.m. that night is a Taurus, even though the calendar still reads April 19 and many tables would call it Aries. A birth earlier the same day is Aries. Taurus season then ran until May 20 at 8:37 p.m. EDT, when the Sun moved into Gemini, so a birth on May 20, 2026, after 8:37 p.m. is Gemini. All times here are Eastern. For a birthday close to either edge in any other year, the zodiac sign dates tool reads the Sun's actual position for that date.

Element, modality and ruler

Taurus is the first of the three earth signs, with Virgo and Capricorn to follow. Earth is the element tradition ties to the body, to what can be touched and built, and to results that last. Fixed signs sit in the middle of a season, and the fixed quality adds persistence: once Taurus has chosen a direction, it holds it.

Venus rules Taurus, as it also rules Libra. In Libra, tradition shows Venus as charm and fairness between people; in Taurus the same planet turns toward the senses: good food, fabric, music, a garden, money kept safe. The opposition across the zodiac is Scorpio. Taurus is about what you own and enjoy in plain sight, Scorpio about what is shared and hidden, and the pair sit on the same axis. The symbol is the bull, drawn in the glyph ♉ as a circle with horns.

Taurus traits and personality

The traits tradition gives Taurus start with steadiness. The bull is known for patience, a calm presence and a loyalty that does not waver once it is given. Taurus is said to have a good eye for quality and a practical streak, preferring a sure step to a bold leap. Many people find a Taurus friend easy to lean on because the mood rarely swings.

The same traits cast a shadow. Patience can harden into stubbornness, and a love of comfort can turn into resistance to anything new, even change that would help. Tradition also flags possessiveness, the urge to keep hold of people and things. There is a slow-burning temper too: Taurus takes a long time to get angry and a long time to calm down. How much of this fits you is yours to judge. The sign itself comes only from the date and time of birth.

Taurus in love and compatibility

In love, Taurus is described as slow to commit and hard to shake once committed. Affection shows up physically, through meals, touch and time spent together, more than through speeches. Security matters, and so does a partner who is not in a hurry.

Tradition reads the other earth signs as the smoothest company. Taurus and Virgo share a practical outlook, and Taurus and Capricorn share patience and long-term plans. The opposite sign brings the strongest pull and the most to negotiate, as Taurus and Scorpio shows. Water signs in general tend to soften the bull, while quick air signs can test its patience. For two real people, the compatibility calculator looks at both charts in full.

Taurus at work

At work, Taurus is the one who keeps going after everyone else has lost interest. Tradition pairs the sign with craft, cooking, gardening, design, banking and building trades, all fields where steady effort pays off over months and years. A Taurus does its best work with clear expectations, a pleasant workspace and enough time to do the job properly. Rushed deadlines and constant reorganizing are where the bull digs in its heels.

More to you than a Taurus Sun

A Sun in Taurus says a lot, and it still leaves out most of the chart. The Moon sign speaks to your inner life, and the rising sign, set by the exact time and place of birth, describes the first impression you make. A Taurus with a Gemini rising can come across as quick and chatty long before anyone notices the steady core. The big three tool shows all three signs together, and what a rising sign really is explains the second of them in plain terms.

Before Taurus in the zodiac comes Aries; after it comes Gemini.