Decan 1 · 1–10°
Sub-ruler: Mercury
Double Mercury — the most analytical and the most self-critical.
Roughly the first ten days of the sign.
August 23 – September 22 · Earth · Mutable · ruled by Mercury
Virgo
Virgo covers August 23 – September 22 and is the 6th sign of the zodiac: earth, mutable, ruled by Mercury. Its keynote is precision, usefulness and noticing what is off. In 2026 the Sun spends 30.91 days in it — the 5th longest of the twelve, because the signs are not equal in length.
DatesAugust 23 – September 22
SymbolMaiden
ElementEarth
ModalityMutable
Ruling planetMercury
House6
PolarityNegative
Lucky numbers5, 3
Lucky dayWednesday
ColourNavy, grey
BirthstoneSapphire, carnelian
Best matches
Taurus, Capricorn, Cancer
Hardest matches
Libra, Aries, Aquarius
Rules the bodyDigestive system
Calculated, not approximated
Exact Virgo dates for 2026
Sun enters Virgo
23 August, 02:28 UTC
Sun leaves Virgo
23 September, 00:16 UTC
Length this year
30.9 days
Every other site prints "August 23 – September 22" with a note that dates "may vary by a day". They vary because the Sun crosses the boundary at a specific moment, and that moment shifts each year — but it is not unknowable.
The figures above are computed: the Sun enters Virgo when its ecliptic longitude reaches 150°, and that crossing is found to the minute. If you were born near a boundary, this is the answer you actually needed.
Calculated from the Sun's actual motion
The zodiac signs are not equal
Virgo lasts
30.91 days
Rank by length
5 of 12
Share of all births
8.86%
If signs were even
30.44 days · 8.33%
Everyone assumes the twelve signs are equal months. They are not. Virgo runs 30.91 days in 2026, against 29.20 for the shortest and 31.45 for the longest — a spread of well over two days.
The cause is Kepler's second law. Earth's orbit is an ellipse, and the planet moves slowest at aphelion in early July — so the Sun takes longer to cross the summer signs than the winter ones. Cancer, Gemini and Leo are the long ones; Capricorn, Sagittarius and Aquarius the short.
All twelve, measured
| Sign | Days in 2026 | Rank | Share of births |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | 31.45 | 1 | 8.86% |
| Gemini | 31.33 | 2 | 8.56% |
| Leo | 31.3 | 3 | 9.05% |
| Taurus | 30.96 | 4 | 8.24% |
| Virgo | 30.91 | 5 | 8.86% |
| Aries | 30.45 | 6 | 8.18% |
| Libra | 30.4 | 7 | 8.62% |
| Pisces | 29.95 | 8 | 7.91% |
| Scorpio | 29.9 | 9 | 8.05% |
| Aquarius | 29.59 | 10 | 7.75% |
| Sagittarius | 29.56 | 11 | 8% |
| Capricorn | 29.2 | 12 | 7.91% |
Birth shares combine two separate effects: the uneven length of the signs, and the fact that births themselves are seasonal — the northern hemisphere peaks in July to September. Both push in the same direction, which is why Leo and Virgo come out ahead of Aquarius and Pisces by more than a percentage point.
Rarely covered
The three Virgo decans
Each sign divides into three ten-degree segments, and each has its own sub-ruler. Two people can both be Virgo and read as noticeably different because they fall in different decans — roughly, early, middle or late in the sign.
Decan 2 · 11–20°
Sub-ruler: Saturn
Disciplined and serious. The hardest worker of the three.
Roughly the middle ten days of the sign.
Decan 3 · 21–30°
Sub-ruler: Venus
Warmer and more aesthetic. Precision applied to beauty.
Roughly the last ten days of the sign.
Virgo personality
Analytical
Critical
Helpful
Anxious
Meticulous
Strengths
Spots the flaw everyone else missed, and fixes it rather than pointing at it.
Weaknesses
Applies the same scrutiny to itself until nothing is ever finished well enough.
Virgo is the one mutable earth sign — and that pairing is the whole explanation. The element sets temperament: earth signs test everything against what can be touched. The modality decides what happens when circumstances change: mutable signs adapt to it.
There are exactly twelve combinations of four elements and three modalities, and each is occupied by one sign. That is why no two signs are interchangeable, and why Virgo cannot be swapped for the other earth signs without changing the meaning.
The Virgo man and woman
Virgo man
Helpful, precise and quietly critical. Shows love through practical acts.
Virgo woman
Capable and self-editing. Notices everything, including things she would rather not.
Worth saying plainly: nothing in astrology assigns different meanings to a sign by gender. These descriptions reflect how the traits are conventionally written about, not a separate system — and plenty of people will recognise themselves in the other one.
Virgo in each area of life
In love and relationships
Shows love through practical help. Criticism is often affection badly aimed.
As a friend
The one who actually helps — with the move, the form, the difficult email.
At work
Exceptional where accuracy matters. Struggles to delegate and to stop editing.
Career that suits
Health, editing, analysis, administration, research — anywhere accuracy is the product.
With money
Careful and detailed. Knows the balance to the penny.
As a child
Anxious, tidy and eager to be useful. Needs reassurance that good enough is allowed.
As a parent
Attentive and practical. Risks correcting more often than praising.
Health and the body
Digestive system — Virgo rules it, and anxiety shows there first.
Virgo compatibility with every sign
Ranked by the angle between the two signs on the wheel — the same geometry astrology uses for aspects. Signs 120° apart share an element and form a trine; 90° apart is a square. Nothing here is a matter of opinion.
| With | Aspect | Angle | Score | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taurus | Trine | 120° | 88% | Earth |
| Capricorn | Trine | 120° | 88% | Earth |
| Cancer | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Water |
| Scorpio | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Water |
| Virgo | Conjunction | 0° | 78% | Earth |
| Pisces | Opposition | 180° | 75% | Water |
| Gemini | Square | 90° | 62% | Air |
| Sagittarius | Square | 90° | 62% | Fire |
| Leo | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Fire |
| Libra | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Air |
| Aries | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Fire |
| Aquarius | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Air |
Famous Virgos
Beyoncé, Keanu Reeves, Freddie Mercury, Agatha Christie
Lists like this are the weakest evidence in astrology and the most quoted. With roughly a twelfth of all people in any sign, every sign has impressive members — picking four of them proves nothing. Read it as trivia, not as support.
Common questions about Virgo
What are the exact Virgo dates?
August 23 – September 22 as usually published. In 2026 specifically the Sun enters on 23 August am31 02:28 UTC and leaves on 23 September am30 00:16 UTC.
Who is Virgo most compatible with?
By aspect, Taurus, Capricorn, Cancer. Those sit at the easiest angles on the wheel — but sun signs are one factor of many, and a difficult angle describes friction rather than failure.
What is a Virgo decan?
A ten-degree third of the sign with its own sub-ruler: Mercury, Saturn, Venus. It is why two people of the same sign born three weeks apart can read quite differently.
What body part does Virgo rule?
Digestive system — Virgo rules it, and anxiety shows there first.
Is the Virgo man different from the woman?
Not in the system itself — astrology assigns no gendered meaning to a sign. The separate descriptions above reflect convention in how signs are written about, nothing more.