David Letterman: Astrological Article and Chart

Horoscope and chart of David Letterman

^* A planet less than 1° from the next House cusp is considered to be posited in the said House. 2° when the AS and the MC are involved

Astrological portrait of David Letterman (excerpt)

Disclaimer: these short excerpts of astrological charts are computer processed. They are, by no means, of a personal nature. This principle is valid for the celebrities included in our database. These texts provide the meanings of planets, or combination of planets, in signs and in houses, as well as the interpretations of planetary dominants in line with modern Western astrology rules. Moreover, since Astrotheme is not a polemic website, no negative aspect which may damage the good reputation of a celebrity is posted here, unlike in the comprehensive astrological portrait.

Introduction

Here are some character traits from David Letterman's birth chart. This description is far from being comprehensive but it can shed light on his/her personality, which is still interesting for professional astrologers or astrology lovers.

The dominant planets of David Letterman

When interpreting a natal chart, the best method is to start gradually from general features to specific ones. Thus, there is usually a plan to be followed, from the overall analysis of the chart and its structure, to the description of its different character traits.

In the first part, an overall analysis of the chart enables us to figure out the personality's main features and to emphasize several points that are confirmed or not in the detailed analysis: in any case, those general traits are taken into account. Human personality is an infinitely intricate entity and describing it is a complex task. Claiming to rapidly summarize it is illusory, although it does not mean that it is an impossible challenge. It is essential to read a natal chart several times in order to absorb all its different meanings and to grasp all this complexity. But the exercise is worthwhile.

In brief, a natal chart is composed of ten planets: two luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, three fast-moving or individual planets, Mercury, Venus and Mars, two slow-moving planets, Jupiter and Saturn, and three very slow-moving planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Additional secondary elements are: the Lunar Nodes, the Dark Moon or Lilith, Chiron and other minor objects. They are all posited on the Zodiac wheel consisting of twelve signs, from Aries to Pisces, and divided into twelve astrological houses.

The first step is to evaluate the importance of each planet. This is what we call identifying the dominant planets. This process obeys rules that depend on the astrologer's sensitivity and experience but it also has precise and steady bases: thus, we can take into account the parameters of a planet's activity (the number of active aspects a planet forms, the importance of each aspect according to its nature and its exactness), angularity parameters; (proximity to the four angles, Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant and Imum Coeli or Nadir, all of them being evaluated numerically, according to the kind of angle and the planet-angle distance) and quality parameters (rulership, exaltation, exile and fall). Finally, other criteria such as the rulership of the Ascendant and the Midheaven etc. are important.

These different criteria allow a planet to be highlighted and lead to useful conclusions when interpreting the chart.

The overall chart analysis begins with the observation of three sorts of planetary distributions in the chart: Eastern or Western hemisphere, Northern or Southern hemisphere, and quadrants (North-eastern, North-western, South-eastern and South-western). These three distributions give a general tone in terms of introversion and extraversion, willpower, sociability, and behavioural predispositions.

Then, there are three additional distributions: elements (called triplicity since there are three groups of signs for each one) - Fire, Air, Earth and Water - corresponding to a character typology, modality (or quadruplicity with four groups of signs for each one) - Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable - and polarity (Yin and Yang).

There are three types of dominants: dominant planets, dominant signs and dominant houses. The novice thinks astrology means only "to be Aries" or sometimes, for example, "to be Aries Ascendant Virgo". It is actually far more complex. Although the Sun and the Ascendant alone may reveal a large part of the character - approximately a third or a half of your psychological signature, a person is neither "just the Sun" (called the sign) nor just "the first house" (the Ascendant). Thus, a particular planet's influence may be significantly increased; a particular sign or house may contain a group of planets that will bring nuances and sometimes weaken the role of the Ascendant, of the Sun sign etc.

Lastly, there are two other criteria: accentuations (angular, succedent and cadent) which are a classification of astrological houses and types of decanates that are occupied (each sign is divided into three decanates of ten degrees each). They provide some additional informations.

These general character traits must not be taken literally; they are, somehow, preparing for the chart reading. They allow to understand the second part of the analysis, which is more detailed and precise. It focuses on every area of the personality and provides a synthesis of all the above-mentioned parameters according to sound hierarchical rules.

Astrological Quadrants for David Letterman

Each quadrant is a combination of the four hemispheres of your birth chart and relates to a character typology. The Southern hemisphere – the top of your chart, around the Midheaven – is associated with extraversion, action, and public life, whereas the Northern hemisphere prompts to introversion, reflexion, and private life. The Eastern hemisphere – the left part, around the Ascendant – is linked to your ego and your willpower, whereas the Western hemisphere indicates how other people influence you, and how flexible you are when you make a decision.

David Letterman, the diurnal South-eastern quadrant, consisting of the 10th, 11th and 12th houses, prevails in your chart: assertion and goals achievement are at the centre of your concerns. You are very keen to implement your dreams and your plans. You achieve your ambitions as soon as possible, whether through an active social life, highly charged friendly relations, or an urge to take actions in order to reap - in the eyes of the world, of course - the rewards of your dynamism. It is likely that spirituality or humanitarian actions are part of your motivations, sometimes at the price of some degree of isolation.

Elements, Modes and House Accentuations for David Letterman

David Letterman, here are the graphs of your Elements and Modes, based on planets' position and angles in the twelve signs:

David Letterman, Fire is dominant in your natal chart and endows you with intuition, energy, courage, self-confidence, and enthusiasm! You are inclined to be passionate, you assert your willpower, you move forward, and come hell or high water, you achieve your dreams and your goals. The relative weakness of this element is the difficulty to step back or a kind of boldness that may prompt you to do foolish things.

Like the majority of Earth signs, David Letterman, you are efficient, concrete and not too emotional. What matters to you is what you see: you judge the tree by its fruits. Your ideas keep changing, words disappear, but actions and their consequences are visible and remain. Express your sensitivity, even if it means revealing your vulnerability. Emotions, energy and communication must not be neglected; concrete action is meaningless if it is not justified by your heart, your intellect or your enthusiasm.

Air is under-represented in your natal chart, with only 6.97% instead of the average 25%. Air symbolizes the values of communication, exchanges with others, but also adaptability and flexibility abilities: if you don't get out of your cocoon to talk, to show interest in others, and to socialize, you may have problems understanding others. Because of your lack of flexibility or of your refusal to adapt yourself, you may be suddenly overwhelmed by events. You should get into the habit of talking, of phoning, and of thinking in terms of "mobility, flexibility, adaptability, change" in every circumstance. It will spare you so many troubles!

The twelve zodiacal signs are split up into three groups or modes, called quadruplicities, a learned word meaning only that these three groups include four signs. The Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable modes are more or less represented in your natal chart, depending on planets' positions and importance, and on angles in the twelve signs.

David Letterman, the Cardinal mode is dominant here and indicates a predisposition to action, and more exactly, to impulsion and to undertake: you are very keen to implement the plans you have in mind, to get things going and to create them. This is the most important aspect that inspires enthusiasm and adrenalin in you, without which you can grow weary rapidly. You are individualistic (maybe too much?) and assertive. You let others strengthen and improve the constructions which you built with fervour.

Houses are split up into three groups: angular, succedent and cadent.

The first ones are the most important ones, the most "noticeable" and energetic houses. They are the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses. Their cuspides correspond to four famous angles: Ascendant for the 1st house, Imum Coeli for the 4th house, Descendant, opposite the Ascendant, for the 7th house and Midheaven for the 10th house, opposite the Imum Coeli.

Planets are evaluated according to a whole set of criteria that includes comprehensive Western astrology rules. At their turn, planets emphasize specific types of houses, signs, repartitions etc., as previously explained.

Cadent houses, namely the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th houses, are very emphasized in your chart, David Letterman. They indicate important potential for communication, adaptability and flexibility. These houses are symbolically linked to the mind and intellect. The relative weakness implied by these characteristics indicates your tendency to hesitate or to be indecisive, but also your remarkable ability to start off again, which is a nice quality, finally: you can easily get yourself out of a tight spot thanks to your mobility and casualness, in the best sense of the term. This group of houses corresponds to evolutionary characteristics of your personality. However, they are only indications and you must include them in the rest of your chart in order to see whether they are validated or not!

N.B.: this dominant is a minor one.

Dominants: Planets, Signs and Houses for David Letterman

The issue of dominant planets has existed since the mists of time in astrology: how nice it would be if a person could be described with a few words and one or several planets that would represent their character, without having to analyse such elements as rulerships, angularities, houses, etc!

The ten planets - the Sun throughout Pluto - are a bit like ten characters in a role-play, each one has its own personality, its own way of acting, its own strengths and weaknesses. They actually represent a classification into ten distinct personalities, and astrologers have always tried to associate one or several dominant planets to a natal chart as well as dominant signs and houses.

Indeed, it is quite the same situation with signs and houses. If planets symbolize characters, signs represent hues - the mental, emotional and physical structures of an individual. The sign in which a planet is posited is like a character whose features are modified according to the place where he lives. In a chart, there are usually one, two or three highlighted signs that allow to rapidly describe its owner.

Regarding astrological houses, the principle is even simpler: the twelve houses correspond to twelve fields of life, and planets tenanting any given house increase that house's importance and highlight all relevant life departments: it may be marriage, work, friendship etc.

In your natal chart, David Letterman, the ten main planets are distributed as follows:

The three most important planets in your chart are Saturn, Venus and Mars.

Saturn is part of your dominant planets: among the facets of your character, you have a grave and serious side, wise and somewhat severe, since your concentration can be powerful, to the detriment of carelessness and friendliness.

You often look austere, but it is only an appearance, a kind of modesty or reserve; however, it is true that the Saturnian, who is fond of time, effort, asceticism, rigour and sobriety, may have popularity issues. Nevertheless, honesty and straightforwardness, reliability, as well as slow, wise and deep mental process, although not very popular and visible qualities, eventually become noticed and appreciated. Saturnians' second part of life is usually easier and more fulfilling.

Like the Jupiterian, your Saturnian facet prompts you to seek the essential, security, and longevity. However, the difference with the former is that you will never give priority to wealth or "the bigger, the better" philosophy for the sake of power. Saturn, like Jupiter, symbolizes social integration, and it is usually considered positive to have a harmonic Jupiter and Saturn in one's chart because of their social adaptation capacities.

Your vulnerability lies in your too serious and austere side, which may lead to unwanted loneliness and affective frustration. This generally does not last because Saturnians often hide deep down a golden heart that ends up revealing itself...

With Venus among your dominant planets, one of your first reflexes is... to please! Your look, your charm, and your seduction are omnipresent elements in your behaviour.

Your approach to things is connected to your heart, and for you, no real communication can flow if your interlocutors exude no sympathy or warmth. Cold and logical reasoning, clear thoughts and good sense are not important to you: if there is no affective bond with your environment, no connection can be established with the Venusian that you are, and nothing happens.

You have a strong artistic side, and you never neglect subjective but clear concepts such as pleasure, beauty, and also sensuality. However, sometimes to the detriment of efficiency, durability, logic, and... detachment.

Mars is one of your dominant planets and provides you with its efficient energy and enthusiasm: with a powerful Mars in your chart, action - but also will and ability to undertake - is not an empty word for you. You are active, dynamic, willing to fight, courageous, and you are never afraid to move mountains, even though risks are part of the adventures that you start with determination.

However, your patience is not always up to your boldness and a kind of feverishness, or even anger, can tarnish the quality of your achievements. That would be a pity since the Marsian is a champion in matters of efficiency! Mars symbolizes display of action, conquering spirit that favours discipline and order - beware of not being fussy - and lies at the frontier between action and brutality, between conquest and potential aggressiveness.

In your natal chart, the three most important signs - according to criteria mentioned above - are in decreasing order of strength Aries, Pisces and Capricorn. In general, these signs are important because your Ascendant or your Sun is located there. But this is not always the case: there may be a cluster of planets, or a planet may be near an angle other than the Midheaven or Ascendant. It may also be because two or three planets are considered to be very active because they form numerous aspects from these signs.

Thus, you display some of the three signs' characteristics, a bit like a superposition of features on the rest of your chart, and it is all the more so if the sign is emphasized.

Arian blood runs through your veins! You have that enthusiasm, frankness, courage, and fastness which usually make you so likeable in spite of your somewhat rough, naive, or violent side. As a bonus, Aries' gushing fire always gives you the impetus to make a fresh start, should you stumble or undergo life hardship!

Pisces is among your dominant signs and endows your personality with unlimited sources of emotions, dreams, imagination, and sensitivity, to the extent that you literally swim in a cloudy ocean of delightful impressions. These impressions are so intense and overwhelming that you don't really need to take action concretely, to show your dynamism or your willpower, since you already live so intensely with your feelings - you are as keen as a radar, always on the alert! That is why some people may not like your carelessness, and the lack of clarity in your opinions or actions; however they quickly notice your artistic talents, your poetic or artistic side, and your total lack of wickedness. Besides, you feel compassion for people in pain - empathy is one of your great qualities. Thanks to your flexibility, your intuition, and your generosity, you may spend an important part of your life helping others. And if you are creative or if you have well-known artistic talents, everybody will forgive your little flaws: absent-mindedness, lack of energy or of will, too dreamy temperament...

Capricorn is one of your dominant signs and endows you with a grave and serious style that seems to stick to you constantly. But if you have that reserved and cold side - as some extrovert people may think - on the other hand, you possess sturdy qualities: you are strong-willed and tough. Your long-term vision, your sense of duty, and your ambition are not affected by the derisory and erratic motions that seem to upset most mortals less steady than you. Besides, you are like a good wine, you age well and your natural solemnity or serious side paradoxically turns into an almost cheerful appearance, as you grow older. You are actually very sensitive when it comes to love. Faithful, caring, sweet, and sensitive, your behaviour is very different in your everyday, sentimental life. A golden heart beats under your tough and austere appearance...

The 12th, 4th and 11th houses are the most prominent ones in your birth chart. From the analysis of the most tenanted houses, the astrologer identifies your most significant fields or spheres of activity. They deal with what you are experiencing - or what you will be brought to experience one day - or they deal with your inner motivations.

The 12th house is emphasized in your chart: like the 8th house, it has a rich and complex meaning. Although its bad reputation is likely to scare most readers in the first place - it is indeed the house of hidden or isolated places, of solitude, of ordeals or enemies - it can also mean that a part of your life is very deep and intense. If your achievements are not visible in the public eye, you may fulfil yourself in a different but equally important way: you may be involved in secret activities, humanitarian causes, and projects in favour of disadvantaged people. You are likely to work in quiet and remote places. In many cases, you will gain from these hidden activities as many treasures as people who have a more public destiny. It may be because you sublimate your work, or only because you successfully carry out your task within your environment. There is no such things as a good or a bad house, because each area of life is necessary in its own way, and we need all of them, if we are to improve spiritually.

With an important 4th house in your chart, your private life, your intimacy, as well as your family and home, play a fundamental role. Your security and your family unit, the one you come from, but also the one you set up when you get married and start a family - or even as a bachelor living alone in your sweet home - are necessary for you to blossom. According to the Tradition, your father may play an important role in your life.

The 11th house is among your dominant houses. Therefore, social life and friendships are very important, even strategic to you.

You think that group activities, whether in the humanitarian field or simple gatherings of friends, are endless sources of inspiration and of enjoyment, provided that there are no tensed aspects in this sector. Everything human is important to you, often more important than your own success, unless your 10th house is also powerful.

After this paragraph about dominant planets, of David Letterman, here are the character traits that you must read more carefully than the previous texts since they are very specific: the texts about dominant planets only give background information about the personality and remain quite general: they emphasize or, on the contrary, mitigate different particularities or facets of a personality. A human being is a complex whole and only bodies of texts can attempt to successfully figure out all the finer points.

The Moon in Capricorn and in House 9: his sensitivity

Votre sensibilité est en retrait David Letterman : plus que tout autre, vous avez tendance à vous enfermer dans votre tour d'ivoire, quelque part conscient d'une forme de supériorité souvent réelle mais parfois surfaite. Vos humeurs ne sont pas visibles car vous les disciplinez et les contrôlez complètement de main de maître. Difficile pour quiconque de savoir si vous êtes heureux ou contrarié, rien ou presque ne se voit. Vous fuyez les situations où vous devez dévoiler vos émotions tant vous êtes peu démonstratif. Attention, il ne s'agit pas ici de votre comportement sur le plan amoureux qui peut être tout à fait différent, mais du mode sensible quotidien par lequel vous vous exprimez. La foule vous fait peur et vous vous sentez bien dans le calme et même la solitude. Bien armé pour rester équilibré en toutes circonstances, vous gagnerez petit à petit à "vous lâcher" et donner un peu plus de vous car vous en valez la peine ; cela est  plus facile lorsqu'un projet ou une ambition sont là pour justifier une extériorisation de ce que vous ressentez. Les effusions gratuites d'émotions, particulièrement en groupe, vous sont étrangères ou refoulées car vous avez une certaine peur de vous livrer comme si vous étiez sur la défensive, sans aucune raison la plupart du temps.

Vos émotions, David Letterman, vous poussent à expérimenter ce qui est lointain et étranger à vos racines. Vous êtes attiré en effet par l'inconnu ou ce qui est différent de vous, et c'est beaucoup en dehors des frontières que vous constatez que votre émotivité est exaltée ou... (excerpt)

Mercury in Pisces and in House 12: his intellect and social life

Votre pensée David Letterman fonctionne sur un mode plutôt instinctif et intuitif. Vous "ressentez" peut-être plus que vous ne comprenez, comme si votre raisonnement n'intervenait pas vraiment. Votre grande réceptivité et votre empathie naturelle vous rendent compréhensif, sympathique, chaleureux et bienveillant même si vous paraissez parfois quelque peu négligent, voire même insouciant. Facilement timide et anxieux, vous préférez vous effacer et vous isoler dans un lieu calme pour laisser libre cours à votre inspiration plutôt que de vous imposer. Bien que doté d'une vive imagination vous aurez parfois du mal à émerger du flot de vos pensées mystiques et irrationnelles et pourrez vous montrer encore plus inquiet et impressionnable. Apprenez donc à cultiver l'esprit logique et rationnel ainsi que la volonté, vous y gagnerez en confiance en soi et en créativité, vous verrez...

Vos pensées, David Letterman, restent souvent secrètes et pour des raisons qui viennent de votre éducation ou de votre propre nature, vous ne communiquez qu'avec discrétion et parcimonie. En fait, vous vous intéressez souvent à des buts nobles et compassionnels, sans en faire aucune publicité évidemment. Votre force... (excerpt)

Venus in Pisces and in House 11, and the Sun in Aries: his affectivity and seductiveness

Dans votre thème, le Soleil est en Bélier, Vénus en Poissons. Association paradoxale : à l'enthousiasme et la fraîcheur printanière d'un Soleil Bélier réagit la subtilité et la distance d'une Vénus Poissons. Vos aspirations (solaires) vous prédisposent aux emballements du coeur, à la spontanéité des échanges... mais vos désirs (vénusiens) se font et se brisent selon d'autres règles, insaisissables, irrationnelles parfois. Entre le début et la fin, la frontière est souvent ténue, l'équilibre fragile. Certains comportements affectifs peuvent paraître déroutants : ainsi, vous pouvez passer sans transition aucune de l'enthousiasme au renoncement. Parce que vos sens ne suivront pas vos idéaux, parce que vos désirs échappent aux modèles qui vous séduisent, aussi sincères qu'ils soient. L'être aimé ne sera pas nécessairement conforme à l'être rêvé, conceptualisé. Pour vous, l'attirance - ou la répulsion - repose sur d'ineffables impressions que les coups de tête d'un jour ne parviendront ni à effacer ni à construire. Si vous faites preuve, souvent, d'une certaine naïveté, vos sens feront vite la part de l'illusoire enthousiasme d'un jour et de l'essentielle harmonie sans laquelle deux êtres se repousseront tôt ou tard. Mieux vaut donc se méfier des déclarations enflammées du moment et tenir compte de votre délicate et très sélective affectivité. L'amour n'est pas simple ! Et s'il l'était, l'indifférence triompherait rapidement des sentiments les plus intenses.

La compassion et le don de vous-même : c'est sur ce mode romanesque que vous aimez et que vous souhaitez exprimer vos sentiments dont l'intensité en réalité n'a pas de limite, David Letterman. Avec exaltation et imagination vous rêvez autant que vous vivez vos relations amoureuses et la frontière entre le concret et vos espérances immenses est si ténue que vous ne savez plus vous-même parfois où elle se trouve, encore que votre sensualité particulièrement riche vous pousse à vivre concrètement ce que vous ressentez. Vous cherchez la communion et la passion avec votre partenaire et les envolées lyriques de vos sentiments déferlent de votre coeur par vagues sans que vous ne puissiez les contrôler, d'ailleurs vous n'en avez aucune envie car elles vous procurent une joie réelle presque voluptueuse et charnelle. Vous donnez beaucoup - parfois trop - et vous vous donnez vous-même entièrement, presque sans pudeur, livrant totalement votre vulnérabilité dans vos échanges amoureux parce que vous êtes sûr de la qualité et de la puissance de vos sentiments : ils sont si puissants et si envahissants que vous êtes certain qu'aucune barrière ne peut leur résister.

Vous êtes généralement d'une sociabilité impressionnante, David Letterman, et cette caractéristique forte de votre personnalité vous amène à louvoyer avec facilité entre amour et amitié, votre entourage proche ayant parfois du mal à faire la différence tant vous êtes avenant et charmant. Vous êtes prédisposé à obtenir... (excerpt)

The Ascendant is in Taurus and the ruler of the Ascendant is Venus, in Pisces: his behaviour

The ruler of the Ascendant, also referred to as the chart ruler, brings a few interesting nuances to the meanings provided by the Sun and the Ascendant. The sign in which the ruler of the Ascendant is posited fine-tunes the style of personality described by the Sun and the Ascendant. It may strengthen it if the sign is identical to either of them.

The ruler of the Ascendant, David Letterman, is Venus. It is posited in the sign of Pisces and endows you with a vivid imagination. You are a sensitive and emphatic dreamer, always on the lookout for the inspiration which enables you to take action, although there is a risk that you keep on waiting - not without displeasure - for the said inspiration. With your amazing intuition, you sense the truth even before you understand it, and more often than not, your personality is endearing and appreciated by everybody.

The Sun in Aries and in House 12: his will and inner motivations

David Letterman, votre désir d'accomplissement passe par une forme un peu particulière et originale, dans le sens que vous ne pouvez résister à l'attrait du mystère et d'un certain retrait par rapport aux évènements et aux situations. Vos penchants naturels vous poussent souvent à vous isoler et... (excerpt)

Mars in Aries and in House 12: his ability to take action

Impulsif, impatient, rapide et énergique vous ? Oui bien sûr, David Letterman. Vous êtes courageux et  capable d'efforts intenses et très importants sur une courte durée ; et quel rythme ! Que ce soit dans le sport ou bien sur le plan de la sexualité, vous n'êtes pas du genre à réfléchir, vous agissez, un peu "à la hussarde" et instinctivement. Vous parlez avec franchise sans vous soucier de l'opinion de l'autre et surtout sans supporter qu'il ne vous freine ou qu'il ne vous juge. Avec vous, cela passe ou cela casse, ce qui fait que tous vos échanges relationnels ne s'embarrassent pas de diplomatie ou de compromis. Vous êtes trop franc et trop entier pour perdre du temps avec de la finesse ou de la ruse mais c'est ce qui fait votre charme d'un certain côté car avec vous au moins, on sait à quoi s'en tenir.

L'action pour vous, David Letterman, ne se conçoit, un peu curieusement d'ailleurs pour la plupart des gens, que d'une façon cachée ou secrète. C'est plutôt cet aspect des choses, la forme donc, qui importe par rapport à ce que vous allez accomplir effectivement. Pas de publicité sur... (excerpt)

Conclusion

This text is only an excerpt from the portrait of of David Letterman, which we hope will inspire you to deepen your knowledge of astrology.

Regarding the sources of the birth data in our possession, kindly note that the pages we publish constitute a starting point for more detailed research, even though they seem useful to us. When the sources are contradictory, which occurs rarely, after having analysed them, we choose the most reliable one. Sometimes, we publish a birth date just because it is made available, but we do not claim that is it the best one, by no means.