Is August 23 Leo or Virgo?
In New York the start of Virgo falls on August 23 in 69 of the 100 years from 1930 to 2029. In those years the 23rd is the switch day itself. A baby born before the exact moment is a Leo, and one born after it is a Virgo. In the other 31 years the change came on the 22nd, so all of the 23rd belonged to the new sign. Chicago counts 65 years on the 23rd against 35 on the 22nd, and Los Angeles comes closest to even at 56 against 44.
The 2026 change shows one moment landing on two dates. The Sun entered Virgo at 2:19 AM UTC on August 23, 2026. New York clocks read 10:19 PM on the 22nd, and Los Angeles clocks read 7:19 PM. Sydney was already at 12:19 PM on the 23rd. The year table on this page sets every year from 1930 to 2029 on your own clock, and choosing your birth year there brings up the exact minute.
The day Virgo began, 1930 to 2029
Dates in Universal Time (UTC)
- Aug 22, 19 years
- Aug 23, 76 years
- Aug 24, 5 years
August Leos and the Six and Seven of Wands
Leo births in August fall almost entirely in the second and third decans of the sign. The Golden Dawn tied each 10-degree slice of Leo to a planet and a card from the suit of Wands. From about August 2 to 11 the slice belongs to Jupiter and the Six of Wands, titled Lord of Victory. From about August 12 to 22 it belongs to Mars and the Seven of Wands, Lord of Valour. The 1st of August usually still falls in the Saturn decan, the Five of Wands.
In the tradition, Jupiter and Mars give the August Leo two shades of the same fire. Leo is a fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun, which tradition reads as steady warmth that holds its place. Under Jupiter that warmth turns outward as generosity and public credit, like the laurel-crowned rider on the Six. Under Mars it turns protective, like the figure on the Seven defending high ground against six staves below. The sign’s major card is Strength, a woman calmly holding a lion’s jaws. Astrologers also weigh element and modality in pairings, and the page on Leo compatibility covers all twelve, Virgo included.
Virgo’s first decan: the Sun at the workbench
Every Virgo born in August belongs to the first decan of the sign, which runs from about August 23 to September 1. The Golden Dawn gave this decan to the Sun and to the Eight of Pentacles, called Lord of Prudence. The pairing is unusual. The Sun rules Leo, so the planet of the sign just left stays on as the ruler of these first Virgo days.
Mercury rules Virgo as a whole, and tradition reads a mutable earth sign under Mercury as practical intelligence. The Eight of Pentacles turns that into a single picture. An apprentice sits at a bench and carves one coin after another, with finished ones hung beside him. Under the Sun, that patient craft also wants to be seen and signed. The major card of the sign is the Hermit, who holds up a lantern to look closely. The pairing with Leo, the sign that holds most of August, is one of twelve in how Virgo gets on with other signs.
Spica, the ear of wheat in the maiden’s hand
Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, takes its name from the Latin spica virginis, the virgin’s ear of grain. The maiden of the sign is pictured holding that ear of wheat, and the star marks it. Spica ranks among the 20 brightest stars in the night sky and lies about 250 light-years away. Long before the Latin name, Babylonian sky-watchers called part of these stars The Furrow, a figure of the goddess Shala and her ear of grain. Greeks and Romans later saw Demeter and Persephone in the same figure.
August frames the grain harvest from both ends. Lammas falls on August 1 in some English-speaking countries, and its name comes from the Old English for loaf mass. A loaf made from the new grain is brought to church that day. About three weeks later the Sun enters the maiden’s sign, while the late-summer harvest is under way across the Northern Hemisphere. Readers in Australia and New Zealand meet the same image in late winter, so for them it is a picture borrowed from northern fields.
Famous August birthdays
- Neil ArmstrongAug 5, 1930, LeoAstronaut, first person to walk on the Moon
- Julia ChildAug 15, 1912, LeoChef, Mastering the Art of French Cooking
- Ingrid BergmanAug 29, 1915, VirgoActress, Ilsa in Casablanca
- Mary ShelleyAug 30, 1797, VirgoNovelist, author of Frankenstein
Questions people ask
What zodiac sign is August 22?
August 22 is Leo for most birthdays, but in some years Virgo began partway through the day. On UTC that happens in 19 of the 100 years from 1930 to 2029, all of them from 1980 on. Los Angeles clocks show it in 44 years. In Sydney and Auckland, the 22nd is Leo every time. Your birth year and hour decide it.
What is the birthstone for August?
August has three birthstones on the modern American list: peridot, spinel and sardonyx. Spinel is the newest, added in 2016 by the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America. The birth flowers of the month are the gladiolus and the poppy. Birthstones follow the calendar month, so Leos and Virgos born in August share them.
What element is an August zodiac sign?
Most August birthdays are fire, because Leo is a fire sign. From the switch, usually on August 22 or 23, the Sun is in Virgo, an earth sign, so the last 8 to 10 days of the month are earth. Leo is fixed and ruled by the Sun. Virgo is mutable and ruled by Mercury.
Is the Sun in the constellation Virgo in late August?
No, in late August the Sun still stands in front of the stars of Leo. It crosses the constellation Virgo from about September 16 to October 30 in the years 1990 to 2062, and passes about 2 degrees north of Spica around October 16. The sign Virgo is counted from the March equinox, so it starts weeks before the stars do.