Is April 20 Aries or Taurus?
Los Angeles is the closest thing to a coin toss for an April 20 birthday. From 1930 to 2029 the Sun enters Taurus there on the 19th in 51 years, which makes all of the 20th Taurus. In the other 49 years the switch came on the 20th itself, so babies born before that minute were still Aries. New York had the switch on the 20th in 61 years, and Chicago in 58, which leaves more split birthdays there.
The Sun’s move into Taurus can fall on two dates at once, depending on the clock. In 2026 it came at 1:39 AM UTC on April 20. That was still the evening of the 19th in New York and Los Angeles, but late morning on the 20th in Sydney. The year chart that follows lists the switch day for every year from 1930 to 2029 in your own time zone. Pick your birth year there and the exact minute comes up.
The day Taurus began, 1930 to 2029
Dates in Universal Time (UTC)
- Apr 19, 22 years
- Apr 20, 76 years
- Apr 21, 2 years
Aries in April: the Sun and Venus decans
An April Aries belongs to the second or third decan of the sign. The opening ten degrees, ruled by Mars and pictured by the Two of Wands, run out on March 30 or 31. From about March 30 to April 9 the Sun rules the decan, and the Golden Dawn tied it to the Three of Wands, Lord of Established Strength. From about April 10 to 19 Venus takes over with the Four of Wands, Lord of Perfected Work.
Aries is cardinal fire, the sign that opens the zodiac at the March equinox. Mars is its traditional ruler and The Emperor is its major arcana card, so tradition gives the sign a taste for command. The Sun decan reads as confidence already tested, like the figure on the cliff in the Three of Wands watching ships at sea. The Venus decan adds warmth and a wish to celebrate what got built, the garland strung across the Four of Wands.
A mid-April Aries still acts first and talks later, as the tradition goes, but cares more about who gets to enjoy the result. Venus rules partnership, so Aries compatibility with each sign is worth a look for anyone born April 10 or later.
Taurus opens under Mercury and the Five of Pentacles
Almost every April Taurus is a first-decan Taurus, born while the Sun crosses the opening ten degrees of the sign. The Golden Dawn gave this stretch to Mercury and to the Five of Pentacles, Lord of Material Trouble. The Moon decan and its Six of Pentacles usually begin on April 29 or 30, so most April 30 birthdays in the US now belong there. The Saturn decan falls in May.
Taurus is fixed earth, ruled by Venus, with The Hierophant as its major arcana card. In the tradition, Mercury in the first decan adds a quick, trading mind to a sign known for patience. The card’s title sounds grim, and the picture shows two people in the snow passing a lit church window. Tradition reads it as worry about money and comfort, and as a reminder that help is often nearer than it seems. In that reading, an April-born Taurus plans for lean times before they arrive.
Astrologers read Venus, the ruler of the Bull, as putting steady partnership at the center of the sign. The page on which signs suit a Venus-ruled Taurus goes through its match with every sign.
Why an Easter baby is always Aries or Taurus
Western Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25, so a baby born on that Sunday is an Aries or a Taurus. The Western churches set it on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon, a full moon taken from church tables on or after March 21. That March 21 is a fixed stand-in for the March equinox. The real equinox, which starts Aries, falls on March 20 or 21 UTC in every year from 1930 to 2030. The earliest Easter comes after it, so an Easter baby is never a Pisces.
Most Easters fall in Aries, and only late ones cross the line. Easter 2025 came on April 20, after the Sun had entered Taurus at 7:56 PM UTC on the 19th, so every baby born that Sunday in the 50 states was a Taurus. The latest possible date, the 25th, last came in 1943 and returns in 2038. A late Easter also shares its sign with the Taurus card of the Major Arcana, The Hierophant, the card of church teaching and ritual.
Famous April birthdays
- Maya AngelouApr 4, 1928, AriesPoet and memoirist, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- Kareem Abdul-JabbarApr 16, 1947, AriesBasketball, six NBA MVP awards
- Ella FitzgeraldApr 25, 1917, TaurusJazz singer, the First Lady of Song
- Ulysses S. GrantApr 27, 1822, Taurus18th US president, Union general
Questions people ask
What zodiac sign is April 19?
April 19 is mostly Aries, but in recent years it is often the day Taurus begins. In New York the Sun never entered Taurus on the 19th in the 1930s, yet it does in 8 of the 10 years from 2020 to 2029. On a switch day, a birth before that minute is Aries and a birth after it is Taurus.
What element are the April zodiac signs?
The April signs are fire and then earth. Aries, the sign for most of the month, is cardinal fire and is read as quick to start. Taurus, from about April 20, is fixed earth and is read as slow to change. In Australia and New Zealand April falls in autumn, but the signs and their dates stay the same.
What is the April birthstone?
The April birthstone is the diamond, the only stone for the month on the American Gem Society list. The April birth flowers are the daisy and the sweet pea, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Birthstones follow the calendar month, not the zodiac sign, so April’s Aries and Taurus babies share one stone.
Will Easter babies in the next few years be Aries or Taurus?
Easter babies from 2027 to 2029 will be Aries, and those born on Easter 2030 will be Taurus. Easter falls on March 28, 2027, April 16, 2028 and April 1, 2029, all before the Sun reaches Taurus. Easter 2030 is on the 21st, after the Sun enters Taurus on the 20th UTC.