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August 23 – September 22 · Earth

Virgo birthstones

Virgo carries Sapphire and Carnelian in the zodiac tradition.

US births under Virgo
8.94% rank 2 of 12 signs
Born in September
71.1% of Virgo births
Fine for a daily ring
2 of 2 Sapphire, Carnelian

US SSA births 2000–2014 (FiveThirtyEight); our gemstone reference.

More on Virgo: the Virgo sign, Virgo horoscope today and Virgo compatibility.

The signs either side: Leo birthstones and Libra birthstones.

Virgo Birthstone: Sapphire and Carnelian and What They Mean

Sapphire

Composition Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) — corundum colored by iron and titanium
Hardness · System 9 · Trigonal

Padparadscha — a pink-orange sapphire named after the lotus flower — is the rarest color and outprices most blues.

Traditionally associated with judgment, focus and keeping a promise.

Carnelian

Composition Chalcedony colored by iron oxide
Hardness · System 6.5–7 · Trigonal

Like sardonyx, it carries the old claim that hot sealing wax will not stick to it, which is often given as the reason it dominated ancient seal-making.

Traditionally associated with drive, appetite and getting started.

The reasoning

Why Virgo gets Sapphire and Carnelian

Virgo is ruled by Mercury and belongs to the harvest, and its two stones split the sign's two sides. Sapphire, the September stone, stands for precision, judgment and keeping one's word — the qualities Virgo is known for at work. Carnelian, a warm orange chalcedony, is the corrective, offered to a sign that can polish a plan forever without launching it. Ancient engravers chose carnelian for seals because it holds fine detail, a quiet nod to Virgo's love of craft.

Other stones often given to Virgo

Peridot Jade Agate

Two systems, one birth date

Virgo spans 2 calendar months, so you have more than one birthstone

Zodiac stones Sapphire, Carnelian
Months it covers August and September
Stones of those months Peridot, Spinel, Sapphire
In both systems Sapphire

August 23 – September 22 — so the sign opens in one month and closes in another. Why the two lists never line up → · The monthly chart →

Most Virgo birthdays fall in September, so a jeweler working from the monthly chart will usually hand this sign Sapphire, the September stone: only 9 of its days are in August. Births follow the calendar closely here: in 2000–2014, August took 28.9% of the sign’s US births for 29.0% of its days.

Carnelian appears in neither the modern nor the traditional monthly list — one of just four such stones across the twelve signs.

August Peridot, Spinel September Sapphire

The stones themselves

Stone Mohs Crystal system Main sources
Sapphire 9 Trigonal Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar
Carnelian 6.5–7 Trigonal India, Brazil, Uruguay

Sapphire (9) suits an everyday ring if you watch for fracture filling in some stones; so does Carnelian (6.5–7), where the thing to watch is long sunlight, which fades the orange. What the scale means →

Virgo birthstones on the Mohs hardness scale
Virgo birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale with the Virgo zodiac stones (Sapphire 9, Carnelian 6.5–7) filled and the stones of its calendar months outlined.Sapphire: Mohs 9Sapphire 9Carnelian: Mohs 6.5–7Carnelian 6.5–7Peridot: Mohs 6.5–7Peridot 6.5–7Spinel: Mohs 8Spinel 8Garnet: Mohs 6.5–7.5Amethyst: Mohs 7Citrine: Mohs 7Rose Quartz: Mohs 7Clear Quartz: Mohs 7Smoky Quartz: Mohs 7Aquamarine: Mohs 7.5–8Emerald: Mohs 7.5–8Bloodstone: Mohs 6.5–7Peridot: Mohs 6.5–7Sardonyx: Mohs 6.5–7Zircon: Mohs 6–7.5Carnelian: Mohs 6.5–7Onyx: Mohs 6.5–7Agate: Mohs 6.5–7Tiger's Eye: Mohs 6.5–7Aventurine: Mohs 6.5–7Diamond: Mohs 10Pearl: Mohs 2.5–4.5Alexandrite: Mohs 8.5Moonstone: Mohs 6–6.5Labradorite: Mohs 6–6.5Pyrite: Mohs 6–6.5Ruby: Mohs 9Sapphire: Mohs 9Spinel: Mohs 8Topaz: Mohs 8Opal: Mohs 5.5–6.5Rhodonite: Mohs 5.5–6.5Tourmaline: Mohs 7–7.5Turquoise: Mohs 5–6Lapis Lazuli: Mohs 5–6Hematite: Mohs 5–6Tanzanite: Mohs 6–7Jade: Mohs 6–7Obsidian: Mohs 5–5.5Malachite: Mohs 3.5–4Amber: Mohs 2–2.5Selenite: Mohs 2Fluorite: Mohs 4Sodalite: Mohs 5.5–6Kyanite: Mohs 4.5–7Lepidolite: Mohs 2.5–31Talc2Gypsum3Calcite4Fluorite5Apatite6Orthoclase7Quartz8Topaz9Corundum10Diamondfingernail 2.5window glass 5.5household dust (quartz) 7Source: Mohs scale minerals · ranges from our 43-stone referenceastrohot.com
Virgo birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale with the Virgo zodiac stones (Sapphire 9, Carnelian 6.5–7) filled and the stones of its calendar months outlined.Sapphire: Mohs 9Sapphire 9Carnelian: Mohs 6.5–7Carnelian 6.5–7Peridot: Mohs 6.5–7Peridot 6.5–7Spinel: Mohs 8Spinel 81Talc2Gypsum3Calcite4Fluorite5Apatite6Orthoclase7Quartz8Topaz9Corundum10Diamondfingernail 2.5glass 5.5dust 7Source: Mohs scale minerals · ranges from our 43-stone referenceastrohot.com

Virgo’s zodiac stones: Sapphire 9, Carnelian 6.5–7. The August and September month stones it also covers: Peridot 6.5–7, Spinel 8. Sapphire and Spinel stay at 7 or harder across their whole range, so dust cannot scratch them.

Cite this page

AstroHot. “Virgo Birthstone: Sapphire and Carnelian and What They Mean.” Accessed October 29, 2026. https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-zodiac/virgo/

For Wikipedia {{cite web |title=Virgo Birthstone: Sapphire and Carnelian and What They Mean |url=https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-zodiac/virgo/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-29}}