Paul Morphy: Astrological Article and Chart

Horoscope and chart of Paul Morphy

Astrological portrait of Paul Morphy (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 Paul Morphy'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.

N.B.: as this celebrity's birth time is unknown, the chart is arbitrarily calculated for 12:00 PM - the legal time for his/her place of birth; since astrological houses are not taken into account, this astrological profile excerpt is less detailed than those for which the birth time is known.

The dominant planets of Paul Morphy

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.

Warning: when the birth time is unknown, which is the case for Paul Morphy, a few paragraphs become irrelevant; distributions in hemispheres and quadrants are meaningless, so are dominant houses and houses' accentuations. Therefore, some chapters are removed from this part.

For all paragraphs, the criteria for valuation are calculated without taking into account angles and rulerships of the Ascendant and of the Midheaven. The methodology retains its validity, but it is less precise without a time of birth.

Elements and Modes for Paul Morphy

The predominance of Water signs indicates high sensitivity and elevation through feelings, Paul Morphy. Your heart and your emotions are your driving forces, and you can't do anything on Earth if you don't feel a strong affective charge (as a matter of fact, the word "feeling" is essential in your psychology). You need to love in order to understand, and to feel in order to take action, which causes a certain vulnerability which you should fight against.

Cheers for communication and mobility, Paul Morphy! The predominance of Air signs in your chart favours and amplifies your taste for relations and for all kinds of short trips, whether real (travels) or symbolic (new ideas, mind speculations). You gain in flexibility and adaptability what you lose in self-assertion or in pragmatism.

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.

The Fixed mode corresponds to a majority of elements in your chart, Paul Morphy, and represents the desire for security and durability: you are able to concretely appreciate a situation and its stability. You definitely prefer to play the role of a loyal, obstinate and hard-working person, rather than to try new and risky experiences - beware, however, not to confuse obstinacy with intransigence. You structure, cement, and strengthen everything you find on your way: it is your nature, although you are not especially interested in swiftness: slow and steady...

Dominants: Planets, Signs and Houses for Paul Morphy

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, Paul Morphy, the ten main planets are distributed as follows:

The three most important planets in your chart are Uranus, Mercury and Saturn.

Uranus is among your dominant planets: just like Neptune and Pluto, Uranian typology is less clearly defined than the so-called classical seven planets that are visible to the naked eye, from the Sun to Saturn. However, it is possible to associate your Uranian nature with a few clear characteristics: Uranus rhymes with independence, freedom, originality, or even rebelliousness and marginality, when things go wrong...

Uranus is Mercury's higher octave and as such, he borrows some of its traits of character; namely, a tendency to intellectualize situations and emotions with affective detachment, or at least jagged affectivity.

Therefore, you are certainly a passionate man who is on the lookout for any kind of action or revolutionary idea, and you are keen on new things. Uranians are never predictable, and it is especially when they are believed to be stable and well settled that... they change everything - their life, partner, and job! In fact, you are allergic to any kind of routine, although avoiding it must give way to many risks.

With Mercury among your dominant planets, you are certainly cerebral, nervous, swift, curious, quick-witted, and you love to communicate. Your psychological pattern is intellectual, all the more so since Mercury is important, with its whole set of assets but also of weaknesses, obviously.

Your sensitivity, emotions, and heart's impulses give precedence to thinking, which can lead people to believe that you are a playful and witty but heartless person, intellectualizing situations and juggling with words and numbers whilst ignoring human aspects of things. Of course, it is said that cats always land on their feet - this is your Mercurian strength and your trump card!

Your weakness lies in your nervousness, and you may miss your goal because of your "over-intellectualization" that may be detrimental to other kind of energies such as instinct, spontaneity, heart, sensitivity, etc.

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...

In your natal chart, the three most important signs - according to criteria mentioned above - are in decreasing order of strength Cancer, Aquarius and Gemini. 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.

Cancer is one of your dominant signs and endows you with imagination and exceptionally shrewd sensitivity. Although suspicious at first sight - and even at second...- as soon as you get familiar with people and let them win your confidence, your golden heart eventually shows up, despite your discretion and your desire for security that make you return into your shell at the slightest alert! Actually, you are a poet and if you are sometimes blamed for your nostalgia and your laziness, it is because your intense inner life is at full throttle...

Aquarius is one of the most important signs in your natal chart: it endows your personality - at least one of its facets - with originality, to the point of eccentricity, in spite of a sometimes distant and humane side. Likeable and impassive at the same time, you are a paradoxical man, very hard to define because the two planets Uranus and Saturn blend their qualities to create the so complicated and endearing sign that inspires your character. Saturn's seriousness and impassivity is added to Uranus' rebellion, talent, individualism, charisma, extravagance, and unpredictability! One of your main characteristics is that you never open up on a personal basis, but you tend to do so easily in public. You are actually quite strange. Sexy and charming in public, despite your nice and sociable character, you could frustrate many of your admirers in private because of your impossibility to show deep and warm affection, emotions, tears... But appearance and reality are two different things anyway - you are a kind of a genius, or you have at least a tremendous charm with this sign. You have many friends and an active social life. If you are detached in your love life - only in this aspect, since the rest of chart will confirm it or not - this is no big deal!

With Gemini as a dominant sign, your qualities include being lively, curious, mobile, clever, and flexible: you often make others dizzy, and you may come across as a dilettante - a bit inquisitive, shallow, and insensitive because you may be too intellectualizing. However, your natural curiosity, a nice quality, and your quick humour, allow you to demonstrate to everyone how much they may gain from your company, and that your apparent flightiness hides an appetite (particularly mental) for life, which itself conceals a terrific charm!

After this paragraph about dominant planets, of Paul Morphy, 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 Aquarius: his sensitivity

Votre sensibilité Paul Morphy, est assez dénuée d'emportements ou de laisser-aller ; en effet, vous êtes plutôt du genre cérébral et de plus, vos besoins de sérénité intérieure et de liberté vous font ressentir les sentiments ou émotions comme des fardeaux. Assez flegmatique en apparence et presque détaché, vous êtes cependant d'une réactivité très rapide et d'une imagination fertile ce qui fait que vous appréciez particulièrement les réunions amicales où les échanges sont nombreux et variés. Vous ne faites pas étalage de vos émotions et semblez plutôt froid au premier abord mais ceux qui vous connaissent s'aperçoivent facilement que vous avez un sens de l'humour très original et bien à vous. Vous êtes d'une réceptivité remarquable et utilisez à merveille vos dons d'observation et votre détachement pour défendre vos idées  anticonformistes et rebelles. Votre obstination n'est plus à démontrer et il est très difficile de vous faire changer d'avis, d'autant plus que vous n'êtes pas trop vulnérable affectivement : il faudra argumenter un maximum et atteindre votre intellect pour réussir...

Mercury in Gemini: his intellect and social life

Une intelligence curieuse, une compréhension immédiate ainsi que des intérêts variés vous poussent Paul Morphy tout naturellement vers les autres en toutes circonstances afin d'échanger des idées et d'exercer votre sens de la répartie. Avec vous, les pensées comme les actions doivent être rapides et vous risquez de vous montrer impatient, voire critique et ironique avec les personnes qui ne peuvent soutenir votre rythme effréné. Très adaptable, vous pouvez facilement faire plusieurs choses à la fois tout en réfléchissant à une action future car vous avez sans cesse besoin d'être en mouvement. Et même si l'on vous reproche parfois une tendance à la superficialité, à la dispersion ainsi que votre goût à dissimuler quelque peu la vérité, vous vous sortirez toujours des situations délicates avec une facilité incroyable tant vous pouvez être astucieux, rusé et charmeur.

Venus in Cancer and the Sun in Cancer: his affectivity and seductiveness

Dans votre thème, le Soleil et Vénus sont tous deux en Cancer. Votre affectivité se fonde essentiellement sur les notions de tendresse, de sécurité, de protection mutuelle. Rien d'outrancier dans votre idéal du couple, mais une cellule-mère au sein de laquelle s'épanouissent sans heurt les sentiments. L'univers du Cancer est aussi fermé sur lui-même que subtil : vous attachez une importance considérable au rêve, à la douceur de vivre, l'absence de heurt... En théorie, bien sûr. Car rien ne dit que votre existence amoureuse soit conforme à cet idéal de quiétude. Et sans doute souffrez-vous plus que d'autres des tumultes et orages affectifs. Cette fragilité relative, la tradition l'évoque sans ambiguïté : le duo zodiacal Vénus-Soleil en Cancer se protège, s'isole. L'une des caractéristiques marquantes de votre affectivité est la manière très sélective avec laquelle se font les amitiés et désirs. Parce que vous savez la vulnérabilité de votre univers, vous vous montrez particulièrement sensible à l'accord préalable : l'amour ne peut être une lutte continuelle entre deux êtres. Mais pour peu que l'harmonie naturelle soit présente, vous savez mieux que d'autres instaurer un climat d'intimité et de tendresse apte à nourrir la relation pour longtemps. L'élu(e) de votre coeur est comme intégré, digéré au point de ne faire qu'un. Casanier le Cancer ? Non, mais intimiste, élitiste, fidèle à ses habitudes.}

Paul Morphy, vous êtes à la fois sensible, vulnérable et tendre. Quand vous aimez, c'est avec toute votre affection et c'est en toute confiance que votre partenaire peut s'abandonner dans une relation durable et sécurisante avec vous. Vous êtes si tranquille et tendre que vous pensez que cela suffit à gagner le coeur de votre partenaire, et vous avez souvent raison. Mais surtout, ne confondez pas donner et recevoir, vous avez tant besoin d'être aimé en retour que vous risquez d'être parfois un peu passif et à force d'être un peu exigeant, vous pouvez montrer un peu d'immaturité. La sécurité et la durée de la relation sont primordiales pour vous ainsi que  votre famille, qui est un refuge et même presque un sanctuaire où vous aimez vous cacher quand rien ne va plus. Vous rêvez aussi beaucoup d'amour, peut-être même trop, au détriment de ce que vous pourriez vivre concrètement si vous étiez un peu plus dynamique ou moins craintif d'être blessé mais rappelez-vous que l'on ne reçoit que si l'on donne.

The Sun in Cancer: his will and inner motivations

Psychologiquement, vous êtes d'une nature rêveuse, tournée vers la nostalgie du passé, vers la mère, vers la famille : tout en instinct, tout en protection ou défense de votre être vis-à-vis de l'extérieur, vous possédez une vie intérieure riche, une imagination fertile voire même infinie, une propension à éviter tout risque inutile, à rechercher la sécurité en ne vous  dévoilant que lorsque la confiance est là, une nostalgie du passé pour le sentiment de bien-être qu'il vous rappelle.

Né avec la marque de ce signe, vous êtes émotif, sentimental, paisible, imaginatif, sensible, fidèle, résistant, protecteur, vulnérable, généreux, romantique, tendre, poète, paternel ou maternel, rêveur, indolent, gourmand, dévoué, mais vous pouvez aussi être craintif, irréaliste, fuyant, passif, susceptible, angoissé, dépendant, entêté, lunatique, passéiste, paresseux, pesant, casanier ou hermétique.

L'amour au masculin : pour vous, Paul Morphy, en amour, vous êtes un tendre, un sensible, plutôt fidèle. Influencé par votre mère, vous recherchez inconsciemment une compagne qui vous apportera autant d'attention et d'affection que vous en receviez dans votre enfance. Casanier mais rêveur, vous vous épanouirez dans votre cocon familial au milieu de la famille que vous aurez créée, rêvant d'aventures et de voyages extraordinaires... que vous réaliserez quand même quelquefois mais surtout dans votre tête.

La tendresse compte pour vous plus que la sexualité même si elle est également un facteur de sécurité et de stabilité. Vous appréciez énormément de redevenir le petit enfant gâté que vous étiez, savourant les petits plats ou recevant les compliments réguliers dont vous avez tant besoin pour vous sentir rassuré.

Vous êtes sans doute à l'abri des drames, des complications de la vie car au moment même où une situation délicate intervient, vous préférez souvent la tuer dans l'oeuf en n'y donnant pas suite ou en rentrant dans votre coquille tranquillement, et en y ressortant quand l'orage est passé.

Votre foyer sera généralement heureux et riche, calme et harmonieux dans la durée.

Mars in Virgo: his ability to take action

Paul Morphy, vous savez à merveille utiliser votre énergie telle une flèche qui atteint sa cible avec précision : vous avez un oeil de lynx et l'acuité de votre esprit vous porte à agir avec méticulosité et efficacité. Comme un chirurgien avec son scalpel, vous savez exactement ce que vous souhaitez faire et vous faites évidemment partie des spécialistes et non des généralistes. Critique, pointilleux, extrêmement organisé, vous aimez prévoir et analyser, préférez maîtriser trop votre sujet que pas assez, même si vous devez y mettre le prix d'un effort soutenu et durable. Sexuellement, vous gardez un certain souci maniaque de la propreté et êtes souvent prédisposé à certains fantasmes de type fétichiste. Votre vie amoureuse se passe généralement très bien si vous évitez les imprévus dont vous avez horreur.

Conclusion

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

Since the birth time is unknown,, these portrait excerpts do not take into account the parameters derived from the time, which means, the domification (Ascendant, astrological houses, etc.). Nonetheless, these analyses remain accurate in any case.

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.