Virgo Zodiac Sign: Dates, Traits and Personality

The Virgo zodiac sign runs from August 23 to September 22, though in some years the first or last day belongs to a neighbor for a few hours. Virgo is the sixth sign, a mutable earth sign ruled by Mercury, and it closes out summer right up to the September equinox. The zodiac guide lays out the full wheel; here you get Virgo's exact 2026 dates, its element and ruler, and the character that tradition reads into the sign.

Fact	Virgo
Usual dates	August 23 to September 22
Sun enters Virgo, 2026	August 22, 10:19 p.m. ET
Sun leaves Virgo, 2026	September 22, 8:05 p.m. ET
Element	Earth
Modality	Mutable
Ruler	Mercury
Opposite sign	Pisces
Symbol	The maiden with a sheaf of grain

Virgo dates and the 2026 edges

On a calendar, Virgo is a tidy block of late summer. In the sky, the edges are moments, and in 2026 both of them fell in the evening on Eastern time.

The Sun entered Virgo on August 22 at 10:19 p.m. EDT, so an East Coast birth on August 22 from 10:19 p.m. on is Virgo, a day ahead of the usual table. It left Virgo at the September equinox, September 22 at 8:05 p.m. EDT, which in UTC was 00:05 on September 23. That gap is why some sources list the 2026 equinox on September 22 and others on September 23. For a birth in New York on September 22, the sign is Libra from 8:05 p.m. on and Virgo before that. Both instants are computed to the minute by the NovaOracles astronomy engine. Births near either edge in other years can be checked with the zodiac sign dates tool.

Earth, mutable, ruled by Mercury

Virgo is the second earth sign, after Taurus and before Capricorn. Earth in astrology means the practical and the concrete: the body, daily routine, work that produces something you can hold. The mutable modality is the quality of transition, and Virgo marks the turn from summer toward fall, when the harvest is sorted and stored.

Mercury rules Virgo as it rules Gemini. In airy Gemini tradition hears Mercury as talk and curiosity; in earthy Virgo it becomes analysis, method and skill with the hands. Across the wheel lies Pisces, Virgo's opposite. Virgo sorts, names and fixes, and Pisces dissolves boundaries and trusts the tide, so the axis between them runs from precision to imagination. The symbol is a young woman holding a sheaf of wheat or an ear of grain, a figure tied to harvest goddesses, and the glyph ♍ looks like a letter m with a looped tail.

Virgo traits: the careful eye and its cost

Tradition describes Virgo as the sign that notices. Details others skip, Virgo catches, and it tends to see how a process could run a little better. Helpfulness is central: a Virgo often shows affection through small, practical acts, like fixing the thing that broke or remembering what you needed. Modesty and a dry sense of humor round out the portrait.

The cost of that careful eye is that it also turns inward. Tradition names self-criticism and worry as the Virgo shadow, along with perfectionism that can delay a finished job, and a habit of offering corrections that others hear as criticism. Rest can feel undeserved until everything is in order. It is an old description to compare with your own experience. Your sign comes from your birth date and time, whether or not you are tidy.

Virgo in love and compatibility

In relationships, Virgo is said to love through attention to detail: the coffee made the way you like it, the problem solved before you mentioned it. Trust builds slowly, and Virgo often needs a partner who does not mistake reserve for coolness.

Tradition finds the smoothest matches among the earth signs. Taurus and Virgo share a grounded, patient pace, and Virgo and Capricorn share a serious work ethic. The opposite-sign pairing, Virgo and Pisces, meets logic with intuition and has much to teach both sides. For two actual people, the compatibility calculator compares full charts.

Virgo at work

Virgo's traditional strengths suit work where accuracy counts. Tradition likes to mention editing, research, accounting, health care and skilled crafts. A Virgo is often the colleague who keeps the documentation current and spots the mistake before it ships. Chaos, vague goals and careless shortcuts are what wear this sign out.

Where Virgo meets the rest of your chart

The Sun in Virgo is one strand of a birth chart. Your Moon sign shapes your emotional needs, and your rising sign, which depends on the exact time and place of birth, colors your first impression. A Virgo with a Leo Moon may be more open about feelings and more comfortable in the spotlight than the textbook Virgo. The big three tool combines all three, and Sun, Moon and rising explains how the layers work together.

Virgo follows Leo and comes before Libra.