Famous birth charts · Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau’s chart in full
Born July 12, 1817, Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse, Massachusetts, United States. 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 Cancer
The Protector. Home, memory and care.
19°53′
Moon in Gemini
The Moon moved from Gemini into Cancer at 12:54 p.m. that day, local time: in Gemini for a birth before then, in Cancer for one after.
29°32′
Mercury in Cancer
Mercury moved from Gemini into Cancer at 4:35 a.m. that day, local time: in Gemini for a birth before then, in Cancer for one after.
0°26′
Venus in Gemini
The Charmer. Love through conversation.
5°48′
Mars in Taurus
The Stayer. Slow to start, impossible to stop.
5°44′
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Jupiter in Sagittariusretrograde
The Globetrotter. The horizon is the point.
1°20′
Saturn in Piscesretrograde
The Kind Realist. Boundaries for a big heart.
5°28′
Uranus in Sagittariusretrograde
12°23′
Neptune in Sagittariusretrograde
22°12′
Pluto in Piscesretrograde
25°16′
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 Taurus
The direction his life grows in: Taurus, steady and sensual.
25°49′
Chiron in Pisces
In Pisces, Chiron is a tenderness that feels everything a little too much, and a gift for quiet compassion.
21°37′
Black Moon Lilith in Taurus
In Taurus, Lilith is an appetite for pleasure that sees no need to apologise.
8°41′
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 optimism, his independence and his imagination (Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune) gather in Sagittarius, and that part of life drew his attention first.
T-square
Two planets pull against each other, and a third stands at right angles to both, where the strain gathers.
In his chart, his heart (Venus in Gemini) and his optimism and his independence (Jupiter and Uranus, together in Sagittarius) face each other across the wheel, and his discipline (Saturn in Pisces) took the strain: the part of him that worked hardest.
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.
Mars sextile Saturn almost exact at 0.3°
His drive and his discipline worked together easily: he could push hard and keep going.
Venus square Saturn almost exact at 0.3°
Love felt like something to be earned, and he held back until he was sure of it.
Pluto sextile North Node almost exact at 0.6°
Deep change helped him forward: each time he started over, he went further.
Mercury quincunx Jupiter almost exact at 0.9°
The facts and the bigger picture needed constant reconciling, and he kept checking one against the other.
The Moon conjunction Mercury almost exact at 0.9°
He thought with his feelings: memory, mood and wit came together, and his words gave away what he felt.
The Sun quincunx Neptune close at 2.3°
He kept redrawing the line between the life he had and the life he imagined.
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Jupiter square Saturn wide at 4.1°
Growth and caution kept checking each other: he moved forward in bursts, then paused to consolidate.
Venus opposition Jupiter wide at 4.5°
He loved too much of a good thing: pleasure, praise and grand gestures ran past what one life could use.
Mercury trine Saturn wide at 5.0°
A patient, exact mind: he chose every word, and his thinking got sharper with practice.
Mercury square Pluto wide at 5.2°
His words had force: he spoke to persuade, and he kept his own counsel until the right moment.
The Sun trine Pluto wide at 5.4°
A quiet strength: under pressure he grew more focused, and he knew how to start over.
Jupiter opposition North Node wide at 5.5°
Easy hopes and the harder way forward went different ways, and real growth came from the harder one.
The Sun sextile North Node wide at 5.9°
The direction his life took suited him: being himself and growing went hand in hand.
Jupiter trine Pluto wide at 6.1°
Ambition with depth: he knew how to build influence, and he used it to make big changes.
Venus opposition Uranus wide at 6.6°
Love came in sudden starts and stops: he fell for people quickly and needed room just as quickly.
Saturn square Uranus wide at 6.9°
Tradition and rebellion fought in him: he wanted security and freedom, and could rarely have both at once.
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.
You and Henry David Thoreau
See where your chart meets Henry David Thoreau’s, and the signs you share.