Famous birth charts · Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje’s chart in full
Born September 12, 1943, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 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 Virgo
The Fixer. Precise, useful and kind.
18°35′
Moon in Aquarius
The Cool Head. Cool head, warm heart.
21°44′
Mercury in Libraretrograde
The Mediator. Both sides of the question.
9°28′
Venus in Virgoretrograde
The Quiet Romantic. Love in small attentions.
8°49′
Mars in Gemini
The Multitasker. Quick with the comeback.
9°57′
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Jupiter in Leo
The Big Heart. A generous heart, on display.
15°52′
Saturn in Gemini
The Serious Student. A serious mind.
25°57′
Uranus in Gemini
8°51′
Neptune in Libra
1°18′
Pluto in Leo
8°01′
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 Leo
The direction his life grows in: Leo, warm and dramatic.
15°39′
Chiron in Virgo
In Virgo, Chiron is the sense that no effort is ever quite enough, and a gift for patient, practical help.
6°24′
Black Moon Lilith in Leo
In Leo, Lilith is the wish to be seen whole, without shrinking to suit anyone.
12°19′
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 drive, his discipline and his independence (Mars, Saturn and Uranus) gather in Gemini, and that part of life draws 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.
Venus square Uranus exact at 0.0°
Love comes in sudden starts and stops: he falls for people quickly and needs room just as quickly.
Jupiter conjunction North Node almost exact at 0.2°
Generosity is part of his path: teaching, travel and big ideas move him forward.
Mercury trine Mars almost exact at 0.5°
A quick, direct mind: he makes decisions fast and says what he means.
Mercury trine Uranus almost exact at 0.6°
A quick, original mind: ideas arrive in flashes, and he sees answers others miss.
Uranus sextile Pluto almost exact at 0.8°
He can help change things at the root, and upheaval suits him.
Mars conjunction Uranus close at 1.1°
Electric: he acts on impulse, loves a risk and refuses to be told what to do.
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Venus square Mars close at 1.1°
In love he wants tenderness and a chase at once, and his relationships are rarely calm.
Mercury sextile Pluto close at 1.5°
A probing mind: he gets to the bottom of things, and his words have power when he chooses to use them.
Mars sextile Pluto close at 1.9°
Stamina and willpower: he keeps going long after others stop, and he does his best work under pressure.
Saturn square Neptune wide at 5.4°
The dream and the hard work seldom agree on terms: his discipline and his imagination ask different things of him.
The Sun square Saturn wide at 7.4°
Self-belief comes slowly and has to be earned, one result at a time, and every result counts.
Pluto conjunction North Node wide at 7.6°
A path of transformation: his direction in life asks him to change himself completely, more than once.
Jupiter conjunction Pluto wide at 7.9°
Large ambitions and the will to see them through: he works on a grand scale.
The Sun square Mars wide at 8.6°
He fights hard for what he wants, and his temper is part of his courage.
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
No water at all, so feelings come out in actions more than in words.
You and Michael Ondaatje
See where your chart meets Michael Ondaatje’s, and the signs you share.