Constellation
Sagittarius
Sagittarius is the zodiac constellation of the archer, a centaur drawing a bow, whose brightest stars form an unmistakable teapot. The Sun passes in front of it from about 18 December to 19 January.
The myth
Sagittarius is a centaur, half man and half horse, drawing a bow and aiming the arrow straight at the heart of the scorpion beside him. In the stories he is a wise and skilled hunter, forever holding the beast in his sights.
How to find it
Forget the archer and look for a teapot. The bright stars of Sagittarius form an unmistakable teapot shape, lid, handle, spout and all. When you look here you are looking toward the crowded centre of our own galaxy, so on a dark night the Milky Way seems to pour out of the spout like steam. It sits low in the south on summer evenings from the northern hemisphere and high overhead from the southern.
When the Sun is there
Hali’s calculations with the official star boundaries put the Sun in front of Sagittarius from about 18 December to 19 January in 2026, an average of 32.8 days a year. The sign Sagittarius ran from 22 November to 21 December in 2026, and for most of that time the Sun was crossing Ophiuchus. A Sagittarius Sun spent only 3.8 of its 29.6 days in front of the archer by Hali’s figures. People born under the sign Capricorn had the Sun in front of Sagittarius for 29 of their sign’s 29.4 days.
The centre of the galaxy
The heart of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius, hidden behind thick dust, and astronomers have found a black hole there millions of times heavier than the Sun. The ecliptic passes within a few degrees of the galactic centre, and the Sun crosses that stretch each December. Some modern astrologers mark the point in their charts for that reason.
A star you can find in your chart
Kaus Australis, the brightest star of the teapot, sits at 5 degrees of the sign Capricorn in 2026 by Hali’s star positions, and the Sun passes it around 27 December each year. It marks the southern end of the archer’s bow, which is what its part Arabic, part Latin name means.
Sign and constellation
Your Sagittarius sign is a season-based slice of the zodiac, not this star pattern. See why your star sign is not a constellation. The Sagittarius sign guide covers the sign, the Sagittarius dates page lists when it starts each year, and the real sky tool shows which constellation was really behind your Sun.
Questions
Why do people call Sagittarius the Teapot?
Because its brightest stars really do make a clear teapot shape, far easier to see than the archer. On a dark night the Milky Way rises from the spout like steam.
Is the December solstice in Sagittarius?
In the stars, yes. In 2026 Hali's calculations have the Sun entering the constellation Sagittarius on 18 December, three days before the solstice. In the tropical zodiac the solstice is always the start of the sign Capricorn.
Sources: Standard references and Greek myth. Hali Sun in constellation times, 1950 to 2029, official IAU boundaries.