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The Sun is in sidereal Cancer from July 16, 2026 to August 17, 2026 in 2026, computed with the Lahiri ayanamsa. The window begins in mid-July, when the Sun is actually traversing the dim but astronomically significant Cancer star cluster — including the Beehive (M44) — rather than the tropical Cancer that opens on the June solstice.
Tropical Cancer famously begins at the summer solstice — the moment when the Sun reaches its northernmost point on the ecliptic. In Ptolemy’s model that coincided with the Cancer constellation, which is why ancient astrologers called the solstice point the "Tropic of Cancer." Precession has since moved the solstice point backward through 24.21° of actual sky, into what is now the end of the Gemini star band. So when the Sun crosses 0° tropical Cancer on June 21, it sits at approximately 6° sidereal Gemini under the Lahiri calculation. The Sun only reaches sidereal Cancer — the actual constellation — roughly 24 days later. Sidereal astrology preserves the original connection between sign names and star patterns; tropical astrology preserves the seasonal connection.
Why sidereal differs from tropical →
The Cancer ingress shifts by about 20 minutes per decade under the Lahiri ayanamsa’s steady 50.3 arcsecond annual increment. In 2026 the Sun enters sidereal Cancer around July 16; in 2036 it will be July 16, a few hours later. The Sun exits sidereal Cancer around August 17, entering Leo for the next 31-day arc. If your birth date falls within 24 hours of either boundary, the year-specific table below gives you the exact UTC crossing time. For all other Cancer Suns the date is stable to within a few hours regardless of year.
| Year | Sun enters | Sun exits |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | July 16, 2023 | August 17, 2023 |
| 2024 | July 16, 2024 | August 16, 2024 |
| 2025 | July 16, 2025 | August 16, 2025 |
| 2026 | July 16, 2026 | August 17, 2026 |
| 2027 | July 17, 2027 | August 17, 2027 |
| 2028 | July 16, 2028 | August 16, 2028 |
| 2029 | July 16, 2029 | August 16, 2029 |
Enter your birth date to find which sidereal sign the Sun was in.
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