Jonathan Franzen’s birth chart
WriterBorn August 17, 1959, Western Springs, Illinois, United States
Generous, loyal and born for a stage of some kind.
- SunLeoThe Bright One
- MoonAquariusThe Cool Head
- VenusVirgoThe Quiet Romantic
What his chart says about him
Who he is
Sun in Leo, the Bright One
Generous, loyal and born for a stage of some kind. Wants to be proud of the work and the people around him. He reaches for more than one life can hold: big plans, big promises, and a habit of saying yes before counting the hours.
The Sun square Jupiter (almost exact at 0.7°)
What he needs
Moon in Aquarius, the Cool Head
Feels at a little distance and thinks feelings through. Needs friends, freedom and room to be different.
How he loves
Venus in Virgo, the Quiet Romantic
Loves quietly and attentively. Shows care through thoughtful help and remembering the small things. Magnetic: affection and desire come together in him, and people notice.
Venus conjunction Mars (close at 2.5°)
How he thinks
Mercury in Leo, the Storyteller
Speaks with warmth and confidence and tells a great story. Thinks in big, bold ideas. Facts and dreams blur together in his mind: wonderful for stories, harder when details matter.
Mercury square Neptune (wide at 3.4°)
What drives him
Mars in Virgo, the Craftsperson
Diligent and exact. Puts effort into doing a thing properly, step by careful step.
The shape of his chart
In his chart, his identity, his mind and his independence (the Sun, Mercury and Uranus) gather in Leo, and that part of life draws his attention first. In his chart, earth signs hold the most planets: the practical and the solid.
The sky the day he was born
The Moon
Jonathan Franzen was born the day before a full Moon. At noon that day the Moon was 99% lit, in Aquarius. Tonight’s Moon
The day
It was a Monday, 37 days before the September equinox.
Venus retrograde
Venus was retrograde all the day Jonathan Franzen was born, as it was on 43 days of 1959. How often the famous were
Saturn return
For Jonathan Franzen, Saturn came back to where it stood at his birth in 2017, at 58: his second Saturn return, after the first in 1988. The third begins in 2047. When is yours?
Is yours here?
Signs that click with Leo
You and Jonathan Franzen
Would you be friends? Is there a spark? See where your chart meets his, and the signs you share.
Or someone you know: a partner, a friend or a parent. Compare two charts
The chart
Point at a body or a sign to see its connections.
The chart is cast for noon on the day, and everything shown here held all day long.
Jonathan Franzen’s chart in full
Every planet, point, pattern and aspect
More with the Sun in Leo
See allQuestions about his chart
What is Jonathan Franzen’s zodiac sign?
Leo. Jonathan Franzen was born on August 17, 1959, with the Sun in Leo, the Bright One. Generous, loyal and born for a stage of some kind. Wants to be proud of the work and the people around him.
What is Jonathan Franzen’s Moon sign?
Aquarius, the Cool Head. Feels at a little distance and thinks feelings through. Needs friends, freedom and room to be different.
What is Jonathan Franzen’s rising sign?
The rising sign needs the birth time to the minute, so this page leaves it out: everything on it held all day on August 17, 1959. Your own chart, cast from your birth time, gives yours.
What is Jonathan Franzen’s Venus sign?
Virgo, the Quiet Romantic. Loves quietly and attentively. Shows care through thoughtful help and remembering the small things.
How does your chart compare with Jonathan Franzen’s?
Set your chart beside Jonathan Franzen’s and see how the two meet, area by area: as friends, in love, in how you talk, working together and under one roof. It is free.
Sources and credits
Date and place of birth: Wikidata, and Jonathan Franzen’s Wikipedia article. The chart is cast for noon on the day.
Photo: David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (the licence). The file and its full credit.
The planets placed from DE440, the ephemeris NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory publishes.
A correction, or a request to take this page down: hello@underyourstars.com.
To cite this page: Jonathan Franzen’s birth chart, Under Your Stars, https://underyourstars.com/people/jonathan-franzen