The signs of the Zodiac in French

The Zodiac, or les signes du zodiaque in French, is a belt of twelve constellations along the route taken by the sun, moon and planets across the sky over the course of a year. Each zodiac sign corresponds to a period of roughly one month, originally defined by the sun’s position within the associated constellation. Over the thousands of years since this system was first developed, however, the constellations have gradually shifted due to the precession of the Earth’s axis, and so as a result the traditional zodiac dates no longer align precisely with the constellations.

The zodiac remains a popular reference point around the globe for those interested in astrology. Many believe that one's star sign determines their personality, and every morning millions of people check in with their horoscope to see how the events of the day are destined to pan out.

Aries (Ram) - le Bélier
Taurus (Bull) - le Taureau
Gemini (Twins) - les Gémeaux
Cancer (Crab) - le Cancer
Leo (Lion) - le Lion
Virgo (Maiden) - la Vierge
Libra (Weighing scales) - la Balance
Scorpio (Scorpion) - le Scorpion
Sagittarius (Centaur) - le Sagittaire
Capricorn (Goat) - le Capricorne
Aquarius (Water-bearer) - le Verseau
Pisces (Fish) - les Poissons

You'll have noticed that the names for each of the signs of the Zodiac are very different in French from how they are in English. That's because English normally uses the Latin name for the creature, object or phenomenon represented by each of the constellations, while French uses the standard French name. By learning the signs of the Zodiac in French, therefore, you're also learning some of the French names such bull and scales for example.

Each of the signs of the zodiac corresponds to a period of about a month. To find your star sign, check under which period your birthday falls.