If your birthday is in August before 23 August, your star sign is Leo. From 23 August onwards it is Virgo. The changeover can move by a day in some years, so for a birthday right on 23 August it's worth checking the year.
August zodiac sign dates
- Leo: 23 July to 22 August
- Virgo: 23 August to 22 September
Where the Sun really is in August
The Sun is in Cancer until about 10 August and in Leo for the rest of the month. Leo birthdays in late July and early August fall with the Sun in Cancer, the faintest of all the zodiac constellations.
The August gap between sign and constellation comes from the slow wobble of the Earth's axis. The zodiac signs and constellations guide explains why Leo and Virgo have drifted, and Ophiuchus is the one the signs leave out.
What is in the August evening sky
August brings proper darkness back and the Perseid meteors, which peak around 12 to 13 August. The Summer Triangle is still high, and Capricornus is low in the south.
Leo and Virgo in the sky
The brightest point of Leo is Regulus, and of Virgo, Spica. Both are drawn in the series of twelve Leo constellation print and Virgo constellation print, in near-black, gold and warm ivory.
Leo and Virgo belong to different elements: the zodiac elements guide sorts all twelve signs into fire, earth, air and water.
For a August birthday, a personalised star map charts the stars over the place someone was born, on the night itself, and the preview is free.