Zodiac Sign

Leo

July 23 – August 22 · Fire · Sun

Traditional BirthstoneRuby

Modern BirthstonePeridot / Spinel

ElementFire

Ruling PlanetSun

Associated crystals

RubyOpen in the Dictionary CarnelianOpen in the Dictionary Tiger's EyeOpen in the Dictionary SunstoneOpen in the Dictionary AmberOpen in the Dictionary

Associated herbs

RosemaryOpen in the Dictionary ChamomileOpen in the Dictionary CalendulaOpen in the Dictionary St. John's WortOpen in the Dictionary CinnamonOpen in the Dictionary

Source Tradition

In Hellenistic astrology, Leo is the house of the Sun—the only zodiac sign ruled by a luminary. Ptolemy placed Leo in the Fire-triplicity (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) governed by the Sun by day and Jupiter by night. The ruby has been Leo's stone since at least the 1st century CE: the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder described rubies as possessing 'the fire of the Sun.' In the Hindu Navaratna, ruby (manikya) is the Sun's gem. Peridot became August's modern birthstone in 1912, with spinel added in 2016.

Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I; Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XXXVII, ca. 77 CE; Hindu Navaratna tradition; Jewelers of America, 1912 and 2016 updatesExplore sourcing notes in the Appendix