Illustration of the constellation of Virgo. Virgo is the sixth sign of the Zodiac. The constellation is depicted as an angel holding a sheaf of wheat. The Sun is in Virgo between 23 August and 22 September. It is a large and important constellation, containing the point (at centre right) where the Suns path, the ecliptic (black and red line), crosses the celestial equator. The star representing the sheaf of wheat, Spica, is the 16th brightest in the sky. Illustration is based on a sky map by the Polish- German astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), which was published posthumously in 1690.