Born in July

The name and the season

July was originally Quintilis, the 'fifth' month of the Roman year that began in March. In 44 BCE, the year of his assassination, it was renamed Iulius in honour of Julius Caesar, who had been born in it and whose calendar reform had given the Roman world the solar year of 365¼ days. The Anglo-Saxons called it Æfterra Litha, 'after midsummer'. In the northern hemisphere it is usually the hottest month, and the 'dog days' that run from early July into August take their name from Sirius, the Dog Star, whose rising with the sun the Greeks and Romans associated with the most oppressive heat of the year.

Festivals and folklore

The Romans held the Ludi Apollinares, games in honour of Apollo, in the first half of July. In English weather lore St Swithin's Day, 15 July, decides the summer: if it rains that day, it will rain for forty days more, a belief tied to the legend that the bishop's relics were moved against his wishes. In Japan and China the 'seventh evening' festival (Tanabata, Qixi) celebrates the annual meeting of the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd, the stars Vega and Altair, separated by the Milky Way; Japan keeps it on 7 July, China on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Many harvest and saints' festivals of southern Europe also fall in July, including the feast of St James on 25 July, patron of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Birthstone and birth flower

The ruby, the red variety of corundum, is July's stone in the modern list. Sanskrit writers called it ratnaraj, 'king of gems', and in Indian astrology it is the stone of the Sun in the Navaratna, the nine planetary gems. European lapidaries believed it warned its owner of danger by darkening, and associated it with courage, passion and nobility. Older traditional lists give turquoise or onyx for July instead. The month's flowers are the larkspur, read in the Victorian language of flowers as lightness of spirit, and the water lily, an emblem of purity of heart.

Traits tradition gives to people born this month

July is shared by Cancer and Leo, water and fire, moon and sun, and popular portraits of July-born people combine tenderness with warmth and pride. They are traditionally described as loyal, protective and generous, devoted to family and friends, with a flair for hospitality and a love of being appreciated. Almanacs warn that they may be easily hurt, hold on to grievances or need reassurance more than they show. These descriptions belong to tradition and popular astrology; they have not been confirmed by research into personality.