September 22 at a glance
- Zodiac sign
- ♍ Virgo
- Element and modality
- earth, mutable
- Ruling planet
- Mercury
- Place in the sign
- Day 31 of Virgo; Libra starts 1 day later on the calendar
- Decan
- 3 of 3, ruled by Taurus (September 12 to 22)
- Cusp
- Virgo to Libra
- Birthday number
- 22, a master number
- September birthstone
- Sapphire
Ask about the zodiac sign for September 22
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The equinox, equal night and the scales
The September equinox is the instant the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south, 180 degrees along the ecliptic and the astrological start of Libra. The Latin root of the word means equal night, because day and night are nearly equal in length everywhere, which is why a sign symbolised by scales opens here. Libra is the only sign pictured as an object rather than a creature.
Calendars list the equinox on September 22 or 23, depending on the year, and the date is not always the same for all time zones. The table on this page prints the UTC dates over five decades and the next three equinox times from our ephemeris.
Is September 22 a cusp date?
A September 22 birthday before the equinox is read as the end of Virgo, a mutable earth sign, the sign at its most exacting and service-minded. After the equinox the tradition switches to Libra, a cardinal air sign, and the emphasis moves to balance and to relationships. The popular name for the seam is the Cusp of Beauty, and names for it vary between books.
The standard table gives Virgo. The change from Virgo into Libra can reach September 22 in some year and time zone within 2000 to 2050, so a birth on this date can belong to either sign.
Across 2000 to 2050 (51 years) the Sun entered Libra on these UTC dates: September 22 in 32, September 23 in 19.
Within those years the entry into Libra fell on September 22 between 07:50 and 23:20 UTC; on September 23 between 00:10 and 10:40 UTC. Clocks in populated time zones run from UTC-10 to UTC+12, so the same instant can read as the day before or the day after, and your birth time and birth place decide which side of it you were born.
| Year | Sun enters Libra |
|---|---|
| 2027 | about Sep 23, 06:00 UTC |
| 2028 | about Sep 22, 11:50 UTC |
| 2029 | about Sep 22, 17:30 UTC |
Born near that moment? The sun sign calculator takes your year, time and time zone.
The Virgo decan for September 22
September 22 falls in decan 3 of Virgo, September 12 to 22, ruled by Taurus. Each sign is cut into three decans of about ten days, ruled in turn by the sign itself and the next two signs of its element.
Taurus, another earth sign, governs the third Virgo decan, and tradition reads this stretch as the most grounded and sensual of the three. A Libra birth on the same day instead begins the first Libra decan, ruled by Libra itself.
Birthday number 22 for September 22
The day 22 is already a single digit. Most numerology systems keep it unreduced as a master number.
A 22 is a master number, and the way numerologists often put it is that the 2 appears twice, as a pair holding a balance, which suits the equinox: two pans of a scale at the same level. Whether the date is a Virgo or a Libra, the 22 stays a 22 in this tradition, though everyday readings reduce it to 4.
The September birthstone
Birthstones follow the month and not the day, so a birthday on September 22 shares Sapphire with every other September birthday. See September birthstones.
September 22 zodiac questions
Virgo or Libra: which is September 22?
It depends on the year, your birth time and your birth place. The equinox, which begins Libra, has landed on September 22 in UTC in some years; the page prints how often, and the sun sign calculator checks your birth.
Why do some sites say Libra starts on September 22?
Because the equinox does fall on that date in a share of years. A site that publishes one table must choose a date, and the common choice is September 23.
Is September 22 the first day of autumn?
In the northern astronomical calendar, autumn begins at the equinox, which is September 22 or 23. Meteorologists count from September 1.
Dates next to September 22
Other September dates with their own page: September 16.
A birthday date is one piece of the chart
Our astrologers read the Moon, rising sign, houses and transits that a date cannot show.
A page cannot know your situation
This describes what the symbol generally means. If you want another perspective on your situation, describe it to a human reader. Your first question and answer carry no reading charge, once per person. Paid messages draw from a balance you add only if you choose to continue.