Each zodiac sign has a symbol, the creature, person or object it's named after, and a glyph, the shorthand mark astrologers write on charts. Most glyphs are simplified pictures of the symbol: the glyph for Aries is a ram's horns, Taurus a bull's head, Gemini two upright pillars like the Roman numeral II, Libra a balance, and Pisces two fish joined by a cord.
Some glyphs are easy to read once you know what to look for; a few have origins that nobody is quite sure of. Here are all twelve, where they came from, the myths attached to some of them, and the other glyphs you'll meet on a birth chart.
All twelve symbols and glyphs
| Sign | Symbol | What the glyph shows |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | The ram | Two curved horns joined at the base, like a V with curled tips |
| Taurus | The bull | A circle for the head, topped with a crescent of horns |
| Gemini | The twins | Two upright lines joined top and bottom, like a Roman II |
| Cancer | The crab | Two curls side by side, often read as claws |
| Leo | The lion | A small loop with a sweeping tail, read as mane and tail |
| Virgo | The maiden | An M-like shape with a closed loop on the last stroke |
| Libra | The scales | A line with a raised arch above it: a balance beam |
| Scorpio | The scorpion | An M-like shape ending in an arrowhead, the sting |
| Sagittarius | The archer | An arrow pointing up and to the right |
| Capricorn | The sea-goat | A V-like stroke that ends in a looped fish tail |
| Aquarius | The water bearer | Two parallel zigzag lines, read as water |
| Pisces | The two fish | Two outward-facing arcs linked by a horizontal line |
For what each sign is associated with, see our zodiac signs pages, and for the elements and modes behind them, zodiac elements and modalities.
Where the glyphs came from
The constellations behind the signs are ancient, most of them inherited by the Greeks from Babylonian astronomy. The glyphs are much younger. The earliest recognizable versions appear in medieval Byzantine manuscripts, and their modern shapes settled during the European Renaissance, as astrological books were copied and then printed.
Most are straightforward simplifications of a picture: horns, a head, a tail, a balance, water. A few have competing explanations. Virgo's glyph is sometimes said to come from the Greek letters for "parthenos," maiden, run together into one mark. Capricorn's glyph is usually read as the goat's head and fishy tail drawn in a single stroke. The Cancer glyph, two interlocking curls, is commonly read as a crab's claws, though some see other shapes in it.
It's worth treating confident explanations of the glyphs with some caution. Their exact history is patchy, and many of the stories you'll find online are modern guesses.
Animals, people and one object
The word zodiac comes from Greek words meaning "circle of little animals," and seven of the twelve signs are animals: the ram, the bull, the crab, the lion, the scorpion, the sea-goat and the fish. Three are human: the twins of Gemini, the maiden of Virgo and the water bearer of Aquarius. Sagittarius is half and half, a centaur archer.
Libra is the only sign represented by an object. It has an interesting history: the Babylonians knew the stars as a balance, but Greek astronomers saw them as the claws of the neighboring Scorpion, and the scales came back into use in Roman times. Libra's glyph is sometimes also read as the Sun setting over the horizon, a nod to the autumn equinox, when the Sun enters Libra.
The myths behind a few symbols
Greek myths were attached to many of the constellations, and they still color how the signs are described:
- Aries is often linked with the golden ram that carried Phrixus to safety, whose fleece became the Golden Fleece.
- Taurus is the bull whose form Zeus took to carry off Europa.
- Gemini is Castor and Pollux, twin brothers so close that they shared immortality between them.
- Cancer is the crab sent by Hera to distract Heracles while he fought the Hydra.
- Leo is the Nemean lion, killed by Heracles as the first of his labors.
- Virgo is often identified with Astraea, a goddess of justice, or with a harvest goddess; the sign's brightest star, Spica, takes its name from the Latin for an ear of grain.
- Scorpio is the scorpion that killed the hunter Orion. The two were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so Orion sets as the Scorpion rises.
- Capricorn's sea-goat is older than the Greek myths, going back to Mesopotamian imagery of a goat with a fish's tail.
- Aquarius is often linked with Ganymede, cupbearer to the gods.
- Pisces is the two fish into which Aphrodite and Eros turned, in one telling, to escape the monster Typhon, tied together so they wouldn't lose each other.
The other glyphs on a birth chart
A free birth chart uses glyphs for the planets and points as well as the signs. The ones you'll see most:
- Sun: a circle with a dot in the center.
- Moon: a crescent.
- Mercury: a circle with a cross below and small horns on top, often compared to the messenger's winged staff.
- Venus: a circle above a cross, often explained as a hand mirror.
- Mars: a circle with an arrow pointing up and out, read as a shield and spear.
- Jupiter: a shape like the number 4, thought to come from the first letter of Zeus in Greek.
- Saturn: a shape like a lowercase h with a cross on its stem, thought to come from the first letters of Kronos.
- Uranus: either an H-like shape, from the initial of its discoverer William Herschel, or a circle with an arrow.
- Neptune: a trident.
- Pluto: either a P and L joined together, or a circle above a crescent above a cross.
- Chiron: a small key shape, which began as the letters O and K, for "Object Kowal," after its discoverer. Our guide to Chiron in astrology has the story.
- North Node: a horseshoe-like arch with circles at both ends.
The glyphs for each planet's sign are listed alongside, so "Venus glyph, 12, Taurus glyph" reads as Venus at 12 degrees Taurus. Our guide on how to read a birth chart for beginners walks through the rest of the wheel, and ruling planets of the zodiac signs shows which planet glyph belongs with which sign.
The four fixed signs on The World card
Some zodiac symbols turn up well outside astrology. On the tarot's World card in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, four figures sit in the corners: a human or angel, an eagle, a lion and a bull. They're commonly read as the four fixed signs, Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo and Taurus, and they come from the four living creatures in the biblical books of Ezekiel and Revelation, which medieval art also used for the four Evangelists.
That's where Scorpio's alternative symbol, the eagle, comes from. Some astrologers describe Scorpio as having several symbols, scorpion, eagle and sometimes phoenix, as a picture of the sign's capacity to change. Only the scorpion is the constellation; the others are later traditions.
Questions readers ask
What is the symbol for each zodiac sign?
Aries the ram, Taurus the bull, Gemini the twins, Cancer the crab, Leo the lion, Virgo the maiden, Libra the scales, Scorpio the scorpion, Sagittarius the archer, Capricorn the sea-goat, Aquarius the water bearer and Pisces the two fish.
Which zodiac sign has no living symbol?
Libra, represented by the scales. It's the only sign whose symbol is an object rather than an animal or a person.
Why is Scorpio sometimes shown as an eagle?
Scorpio is one of the four fixed signs linked with the four creatures of Ezekiel and Revelation, where the eagle takes the place of the scorpion. Over time, the eagle became a second, loftier symbol for the sign.
What does the Cancer symbol mean?
It's usually read as a crab's two claws, drawn as a pair of interlocking curls. Some astrologers also see it as two halves protecting a center, a picture of Cancer's protective nature. The glyph's exact origin isn't certain.
