Famous birth charts · Val McDermid
Val McDermid’s chart in full
Born June 4, 1955, Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom. 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 Gemini
The Messenger. Curious and many-sided.
13°03′
Moon in Sagittarius
The Moon moved from Scorpio into Sagittarius at 10:24 a.m. that day, local time: in Scorpio for a birth before then, in Sagittarius for one after.
0°47′
Mercury in Geminiretrograde
The Quick Wit. The messenger at home.
28°50′
Venus in Taurus
The Keeper. Slow, sensual and loyal.
19°13′
Mars in Cancer
The Defender. Fierce for its own.
6°09′
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Jupiter in Cancer
The Generous Host. A home with room for more.
28°23′
Saturn in Scorpioretrograde
The Stalwart. Strength under pressure.
16°01′
Uranus in Cancer
25°17′
Neptune in Libraretrograde
25°45′
Pluto in Leo
24°30′
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 her life grows in: Sagittarius, free and far-ranging.
26°22′
Chiron in Aquarius
In Aquarius, Chiron is the ache of not quite fitting in, and a gift for making room for every outsider.
5°11′
Black Moon Lilith in Sagittarius
In Sagittarius, Lilith is a free mind that keeps only the beliefs it chose.
9°33′
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 her chart, her drive, her optimism and her independence (Mars, Jupiter and Uranus) gather in Cancer, and that part of life draws her 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.
Uranus square Neptune almost exact at 0.5°
The urge for change and the longing for ideals clash, and she lives with both.
Neptune sextile North Node almost exact at 0.6°
Imagination helps her forward, through art, ideals and care for others.
Uranus quincunx North Node close at 1.1°
Sudden changes keep shifting the way forward, and she adapts each time.
Neptune sextile Pluto close at 1.2°
A quiet hunger for meaning under everyday life, and a tolerance for great change.
Pluto trine North Node close at 1.9°
Deep change helps her forward: each time she starts over, she goes further.
Jupiter quincunx North Node close at 2.0°
Some hopes have to be let go to fit the way forward, and she chooses which ones.
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The Moon trine Jupiter close at 2.4°
Good-hearted and generous: she feels looked after by life, and she passes that on.
Mercury opposition North Node close at 2.5°
Old ideas and the way forward are at odds, and she learns new ways of thinking to move on.
Jupiter square Neptune close at 2.6°
Her hopes run ahead of what is real, and she learns to check a beautiful idea against the facts.
The Sun quincunx Saturn close at 3.0°
The wish to shine and the wish to be careful need steady adjusting: she moves forward a step, then checks it.
Mercury trine Neptune wide at 3.1°
She thinks in pictures and music: her words carry a mood, and her imagination gives her ideas colour.
Jupiter conjunction Uranus wide at 3.1°
An inventive optimism: she believes in the new, and she takes leaps others would not.
Venus opposition Saturn wide at 3.2°
Love feels like something to be earned, and she holds back until she is sure of it.
Mercury sextile Pluto wide at 4.3°
A probing mind: she gets to the bottom of things, and her words have power when she chooses to use them.
Venus square Pluto wide at 5.3°
Love comes with high stakes: intense attachments, and a need to know exactly where she stands.
Mercury conjunction Mars wide at 7.3°
She thinks fast and speaks faster: her mind likes a contest, and her words have an edge.
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 Val McDermid
See where your chart meets Val McDermid’s, and the signs you share.