Taurus Dates, Traits & Compatibility (Apr 20 to May 20)

Taurus illustration

Taurus runs April 20 to May 20, and its bull symbol comes from one of the more dramatic entrances in Greek mythology: a disguise so convincing that a princess climbed onto its back before realizing what was happening.

Dates, element, and modality

• Dates: April 20 to May 20 (inclusive)
• Element: Earth
• Modality: Fixed
• Symbol: The Bull, drawn as a circle with curved horns (♉)

Fixed signs land in the middle of a season, once the weather has settled into its pattern rather than just starting to shift, and Taurus sits in the thick of spring. Fixed modality is where astrology’s “stubborn” reputation for this sign actually comes from: it’s not about starting things or ending them, it’s about holding a course once it’s set.

The myth behind the symbol

The most common account, recorded across Greek sources, has Zeus transforming himself into a brilliant white bull to get close to Europa, a Phoenician princess he’d fallen for. He mingled with her father’s cattle on the shore until she climbed onto his back, at which point he waded into the sea and swam all the way to Crete. Europa realized only mid-journey that this was no ordinary bull. Once ashore, Zeus revealed himself, and their son Minos went on to become the legendary king of Crete. Illustrations of the constellation traditionally show only the bull’s head and front half, as though the rest of him is still submerged from that swim.

Ruling planet

Taurus is traditionally ruled by Venus, the planet associated in astrology with beauty, comfort, and sensory pleasure, which pairs neatly with an Earth sign built around Fixed steadiness. As with every sign on this list, this is a symbolic chart assignment inherited from ancient astrology, not a real orbital or physical link between Venus and the constellation Taurus; the planet doesn’t sit “in” the constellation any more than any other planet does.

Personality lore

Fixed Earth is a specific pairing, and it shows up in how Taurus gets described compared to the other Earth signs. Virgo (Mutable Earth) is often framed as adaptable and detail-oriented, while Capricorn (Cardinal Earth) gets cast as the ambitious starter. Taurus, being Fixed, is the one astrology writers describe as patient to the point of immovability, loyal to routines, and drawn to physical comfort: good food, familiar textures, a steady home base. That’s Fixed-plus-Earth logic, not a random adjective pile.

Compatibility

Popular charts pair Taurus most often with Virgo and Capricorn, the other two Earth signs, on the idea that shared-element signs value the same things (stability, follow-through, tangible results). Water signs, especially Cancer and Pisces, are the other classic pairing, on the logic that Water nourishes Earth the way rain feeds soil. As always, compatibility lists vary by tradition and are best read as entertainment.

Tropical zodiac vs the night sky

Taurus’s dates come from the tropical zodiac, which is a seasonal calendar system, not a live map of the night sky. This is the honest caveat worth stating once: none of this is science. Astronomy studies the actual positions of stars and planets; astrology assigns cultural meaning to birth dates using an older, symbolic framework, and the two shouldn’t be confused for each other. Because Earth’s axis slowly wobbles over a roughly 26,000-year cycle (precession), the constellation actually behind the sun on any given date has shifted since these zodiac boundaries were fixed in antiquity. NASA’s explainers on this topic also mention Ophiuchus, a 13th constellation the ecliptic technically passes through that never got a tropical sign. If you were born within a day or two of April 20, it’s worth checking the Aries page too, since some charts place that cusp a day earlier or later.

Nearby signs

Compare Aries and Gemini, or browse the full Western zodiac hub. Taurus birthdays span two birthstone months, April and May, a separate tradition from sun signs.

Enter your birth date in the birthday calculator to confirm your sign, weekday, and moon phase, and see methodology for how this site classifies dates.