July zodiac sign: Cancer or Leo?
A July birth falls under Cancer or Leo.
- Cancer
- Leo
- aphelion
The July sign at a glance
July moves from Cancer’s sensitivity to Leo’s radiance; the changeover is read to the minute, year by year.
- July 1 to 21
- ♋︎ Cancer
- July 24 to 31
- ♌︎ Leo
- July 22 to 23
- Depending on the year and time
- In 2026
- Leo from July 22
By Thomas Guilhot · updated
The signs of July
In July, two signs follow each other
The Sun leaves Cancer for Leo between July 22 and 23, depending on the year.
- CancerJuly 1 to 21, sometimes until the 23rd
- Sign dates
- June 21 – July 22 (approximate)
- Element, modality
- Water, cardinal
- Ruler
- Moon
Cancer embodies shelter: protecting what is fragile, keeping memory, making every place a home.
The Cancer sign - LeoJuly 24 to 31, sometimes from the 22nd
- Sign dates
- July 23 – August 22 (approximate)
- Element, modality
- Fire, fixed
- Ruler
- Sun
Leo embodies the radiant heart: expressing yourself fully, giving warmth, accepting being seen.
The Leo sign
Go further
- JulySame month
- Ruby stone meaning and propertiesJuly birthstone (1912 list)
How is it calculated?
The Sun enters Leo at a precise moment, legal time in Paris: before, Cancer; after, Leo.
Why the change does not always fall on the same day
In early July, Earth reaches aphelion, its greatest distance from the Sun: about 152 million kilometers (94 million miles), compared with 147 million (91 million) in January. It then moves a little more slowly, and the Sun seems to saunter along the zodiac. Cancer, crossed at that time, is the longest of the twelve signs: a little over 31 days.
This slowing pushes the boundary with Leo toward the end of the month. Popular tables that assign an equal length to each sign are therefore prone to error in summer. The calendar adds its own drift: a delay that builds up three years in a row, made up by the leap year, and a slight advance of the date over the course of the 21st century. As a result, the same July date can fall in Cancer one year and in Leo the next.
Around the changeover, three pieces of information become necessary: the year, the time recorded on the certificate, and the city. The grid gives the moment in Paris legal time, daylight saving included. For the rest of the month, Cancer or Leo follows from the date alone. From the Moon’s sign we arrive at the Sun’s only domicile: tradition sees in it the moment when summer takes the stage, after the one when it takes shelter.
- Earliest
- July 22, 20288:53 AM
- Latest
- July 23, 19438:04 PM
- Spread
- 35 hoursOver 90 years, Paris time
- In 2026
- July 229:13 PM
The day of the change, from 1940 to 2029
Outside France, the local time differs: the tool takes it into account.
- 1940July 232:34 AM
- 1941July 238:26 AM
- 1942July 232:06 PM
- 1943July 238:04 PM
- 1944July 231:55 AM
- 1945July 237:45 AM
- 1946July 2312:36 PM
- 1947July 236:14 PM
- 1948July 2312:07 AM
- 1949July 235:56 AM
- 1950July 2311:29 AM
- 1951July 235:20 PM
- 1952July 2211:07 PM
- 1953July 234:52 AM
- 1954July 2310:44 AM
- 1955July 234:24 PM
- 1956July 2210:20 PM
- 1957July 234:14 AM
- 1958July 239:50 AM
- 1959July 233:45 PM
- 1960July 229:37 PM
- 1961July 233:23 AM
- 1962July 239:18 AM
- 1963July 232:59 PM
- 1964July 228:52 PM
- 1965July 232:47 AM
- 1966July 238:22 AM
- 1967July 232:16 PM
- 1968July 228:07 PM
- 1969July 231:48 AM
- 1970July 237:36 AM
- 1971July 231:14 PM
- 1972July 227:02 PM
- 1973July 2312:55 AM
- 1974July 236:29 AM
- 1975July 2312:21 PM
- 1976July 227:18 PM
- 1977July 231:03 AM
- 1978July 237:00 AM
- 1979July 2312:48 PM
- 1980July 226:41 PM
- 1981July 2312:39 AM
- 1982July 236:15 AM
- 1983July 2312:04 PM
- 1984July 225:58 PM
- 1985July 2211:36 PM
- 1986July 235:24 AM
- 1987July 2311:06 AM
- 1988July 224:51 PM
- 1989July 2210:45 PM
- 1990July 234:21 AM
- 1991July 2310:11 AM
- 1992July 224:09 PM
- 1993July 229:50 PM
- 1994July 233:41 AM
- 1995July 239:29 AM
- 1996July 223:18 PM
- 1997July 229:15 PM
- 1998July 232:55 AM
- 1999July 238:44 AM
- 2000July 222:42 PM
- 2001July 228:26 PM
- 2002July 232:14 AM
- 2003July 238:04 AM
- 2004July 221:50 PM
- 2005July 227:40 PM
- 2006July 231:17 AM
- 2007July 237:00 AM
- 2008July 2212:54 PM
- 2009July 226:36 PM
- 2010July 2312:21 AM
- 2011July 236:11 AM
- 2012July 2212:00 PM
- 2013July 225:55 PM
- 2014July 2211:41 PM
- 2015July 235:30 AM
- 2016July 2211:30 AM
- 2017July 225:15 PM
- 2018July 2211:00 PM
- 2019July 234:50 AM
- 2020July 2210:36 AM
- 2021July 224:26 PM
- 2022July 2210:07 PM
- 2023July 233:50 AM
- 2024July 229:44 AM
- 2025July 223:29 PM
- 2026July 229:13 PM
- 2027July 233:04 AM
- 2028July 228:53 AM
- 2029July 222:41 PM
Born on the day itself? Enter the time (and the place, outside France): the tool decides to the minute. Calculate my sign
Frequently asked questions about the July zodiac sign
What is the zodiac sign for a July birth?
Cancer for a little over three weeks, Leo for the end of the month. July is one of the months where the boundary falls latest, because the Sun crosses Cancer slowly. The moment of the changeover, specific to each year, appears further up; outside those days, the day of birth is enough.
Born on the day the sign changes in July: Cancer or Leo?
You need to know the time and compare it with that year’s changeover moment. Before it, the Sun is finishing its crossing of Cancer; after it, it has moved into Leo. Since July falls in daylight saving time, the time on the certificate is two hours ahead of universal time: the calculator does the conversion, including for a birth abroad.
Why is Cancer the longest sign?
Because the Sun crosses it at the moment when Earth is farthest from it, and therefore slowest. The difference from the winter signs reaches almost two days: Cancer lasts a little over 31 days, Capricorn a little under 30. This inequality is one of the reasons the dates of the signs are not spread evenly across the months.