Famous birth charts · Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy’s chart in full
Born August 22, 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. The chart is cast for noon on the day, and everything shown here held all day long.
Point at a body or a sign to see its connections.
The chart, fact by fact
Planets
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The ten bodies astrology reads: the Sun, the Moon and eight planets. The planet says which part of a person it speaks for, the sign says how that part behaves, and the house says where in life it shows.
Sun in Leo
The Bright One. Warm, proud and generous.
29°05′
Moon in Cancer
The Moon moved from Cancer into Leo at 9:56 p.m. that day, local time: in Cancer for a birth before then, in Leo for one after.
24°53′
Mercury in Virgo
The Analyst. The editor’s eye.
2°10′
Venus in Leo
The Romantic. Grand, generous love.
1°21′
Mars in Aries
The Trailblazer. First through the door.
18°23′
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Jupiter in Virgo
The Improver. Faith in the useful.
29°27′
Saturn in Virgo
The Perfectionist. Mastery by the hour.
22°32′
Uranus in Gemini
20°11′
Neptune in Ariesretrograde
3°20′
Pluto in Taurusretrograde
11°22′
Beyond the planets
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Points read beside the planets. The rising sign, or Ascendant, is the sign coming up over the eastern horizon at the minute of birth: the first impression. The Midheaven is the highest point of the sky: career and public life. The North Node is where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s: the direction a life grows in. Chiron, a small body between Saturn and Uranus, is a lifelong sore spot and the gift it leaves for others. Black Moon Lilith, where the Moon’s orbit swings farthest from Earth, is what a person keeps untamed.
North Node in Sagittarius
The direction his life grows in: Sagittarius, free and far-ranging.
23°06′
Chiron in Pisces
In Pisces, Chiron is a tenderness that feels everything a little too much, and a gift for quiet compassion.
4°33′
Black Moon Lilith in Gemini
In Gemini, Lilith is the quick tongue that says out loud what the room only thinks.
14°15′
The rising sign and the Midheaven need the birth time to the minute, so they are left out.
Patterns
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When several aspects lock into one shape, such as a triangle or a cross, the planets in it act together, and the shape says how: easily, under strain, or with one planet as the focus.
Stellium
Three or more planets gathered in one sign or one house, so that part of the chart speaks loudest.
In his chart, his mind, his optimism and his discipline (Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn) gather in Virgo, and that part of life drew his attention first.
Aspects by strength
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An aspect is a set angle between two bodies in the sky at birth. Some angles flow, some rub, and some fuse two bodies into one. The number is how far the angle is from exact: the smaller it is, the stronger the link.
Only the aspects that held from the first minute of the day to the last are shown; each figure is for noon.
Saturn square North Node almost exact at 0.6°
Duty and growth competed: what he owed others and where he needed to go called for hard choices.
Mercury quincunx Neptune close at 1.2°
Meaning came to him before the words did, and clear speech followed the feeling.
Mars sextile Uranus close at 1.8°
Quick and inventive in action: he moved fast, broke with habit and made sudden changes work.
Venus sextile Jupiter close at 1.9°
Affection came to him with generosity attached: his heart and his optimism helped each other.
Venus trine Neptune close at 2.0°
A romantic with an artist’s eye: he saw the beauty in people and made it visible to others.
Saturn square Uranus close at 2.4°
Tradition and rebellion fought in him: he wanted security and freedom, and could rarely have both at once.
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Uranus opposition North Node close at 2.9°
The way forward asked for steadiness, and the urge for change kept breaking in.
The Sun conjunction Mercury wide at 3.1°
His mind and his identity were close together: he spoke as he thought, and his ideas were part of who he was.
Jupiter opposition Neptune wide at 3.9°
His hopes ran ahead of what was real, and he learned to check a beautiful idea against the facts.
The Sun quincunx Neptune wide at 4.3°
He kept redrawing the line between the life he had and the life he imagined.
Mars trine North Node wide at 4.7°
Courage moved him forward, and each bold step took him further along his path.
The Sun trine North Node wide at 6.0°
The direction his life took suited him: being himself and growing went hand in hand.
Jupiter square North Node wide at 6.3°
Easy hopes and the harder way forward went different ways, and real growth came from the harder one.
Jupiter conjunction Saturn wide at 6.9°
Optimism with a plan: his hopes were practical, and he built them slowly into something real.
Chart signature
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The chart’s balance at a glance: which of the four elements and three modes it leans on, which body is most connected, and any body standing alone.
Elements
Modes
The Moon changed sign that day; it is counted where it stood at noon.
Standing alone: Pluto. It makes no major aspect, so his intensity stayed out of sight, then surfaced all at once.
You and Claude Debussy
See where your chart meets Claude Debussy’s, and the signs you share.