What zodiac sign was Charles Bukowski?

Charles Bukowski was a Leo: born August 16, 1920, which puts the Sun in Leo at the documented birth time. That is the Western star sign. In the Chinese zodiac they were a Metal Monkey.

What was Charles Bukowski's Chinese zodiac animal?

The Monkey, with the Metal element, from the Chinese lunar year of the August 16, 1920 birth.

What time was Charles Bukowski born?

22:00 local time in Andernach, Germany, per Astro-Databank (Rodden AA) (Rodden rating AA).

What was Charles Bukowski's rising sign?

Taurus rising, calculated from the documented 22:00 birth time in Andernach, Germany (Rodden rating AA: from a birth certificate, birth record or family bible, the most reliable class.).

What was Charles Bukowski's Life Path number?

Life Path 9, calculated in numerology from the August 16, 1920 birth date.

What was Charles Bukowski's Chiron sign?

Chiron in Aries at 9°, in the twelfth house. Position from JPL Horizons for the August 16, 1920 birth time.

Where was Charles Bukowski's Black Moon Lilith?

Mean Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn at 3°, in the ninth house. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.

What was Charles Bukowski's dominant planet?

Sun, on AsterNym's dominance score (11 points: rules the Sun sign, Leo; in its own sign, Leo; disposes Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune; angular in the fourth house; 2 major aspects). Mercury is second and Venus third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.

Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski (born August 16, 1920, Andernach, Germany, 22:00; died 1994), was a German-American writer. Bukowski is best remembered for The Most Beautiful Woman in Town, Tales of Ordinary Madness and Portions from a Wine-stained Notebook: Short Stories and Essays.

Charles Bukowski’s zodiac sign was Leo, and in the Chinese zodiac they were a Metal Monkey, with Life Path 9 in numerology.

How compatible are you with Charles Bukowski?

Your birthday, just below, gives your match percentage with Charles. Under a minute.

Your AsterNym Match

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Two details and you have your number with Charles. Under a minute, and it is real astrology, not a quiz.

Your result includes:

· Your compatibility percentage
· What attracts you to each other
· What you would bring to the match
· Where you might clash
· Whether you share lucky numbers, colours, stones or seasons

Charles Bukowski’s AsterNym identity

The Radiant Lightkeeper

Fire represents warmth, visibility and momentum. Fire-led charts are associated with enthusiasm, expression and the ability to encourage other people. Life Path 9 represents compassion: generosity, completion and the ability to consider more than one person’s experience.

Fire Day Master (BaZi) × fixed Sun × Life Path 9, on the intuitive plane.

How common is the name Charles in the U.S.?

#48

US rank in 2025

~2,447,135

Americans share it since 1880

1947

its peak year

US Social Security Administration public records

Charles’s lucky numbers, colours and stones

Traditional correspondences calculated from AsterNym’s astrology, wuxing and numerology system.

Lucky numbers

9 · 4

Lucky colours

White & Gold

Lucky day

Sunday

Direction

← West

Season

autumn

Stones

Peridot, Ruby, Rutilated Quartz

Flower constellation

🌸 Gladiolus · 🌻 Sunflower · 🤍 White Magnolia

Coral · Gold · Moonlight white

The same wuxing & numerology correspondences as your own print. One tradition, read for everyone

What the chart says

Charles, according to the stars

Core essence

Charles is warm the way the sun is warm: not trying, just doing it. The core of Charles is a big open heart and a need to be seen loving with it. They are generous with praise, with time, with the spotlight when they trust you, and they will remember every kindness you paid them for years. Loyal to a fault, and glad of the fault.

The vibe

Underneath, Charles is quietly running a checklist, and half of it is about you. The Moon in Virgo feels care as responsibility: did you eat, did you get home, is the thing you were worried about handled. What Charles needs to feel safe is order and the sense of being useful. Let them help, and thank them properly.

How Charles wants to be loved

Charles wants to be loved attentively. Venus in Virgo shows love through service, the fixed thing, the remembered appointment, and wants to be loved the same way: notice what they did. Big words matter less than the follow-through. Be reliable with Charles and they will quietly make your whole life run better.

How Charles creates

How Charles makes things happen: they light the room. A Yang Fire day master is the sun, warm, visible, impossible to ignore, generous with energy and expecting the same back. Charles creates in front of people and is at their best with an audience and a cause. The work is learning to rest before the fire does it for them.

Instinct

Instinct: Charles is witty and inventive, a Monkey year, and their gut reaction is to play with the problem. Clever, funny, curious, a little mischievous, and quick to land on their feet. The Metal year sharpens it: principled, determined, clear about what is right.

Purpose

Purpose: Life Path 9 is the humanitarian. Charles is here for the bigger picture, to give, to finish what others started and hand it on. Wise beyond their years, compassionate, a little world-weary, and learning to receive as freely as they give.

Triggers

Triggers: betrayal, and being handled. Mars in Scorpio means Charles runs hot underneath and cold on top; the anger is quiet, deep and long-remembered. They do not lose their temper, they decide. Point that focus at a goal and nothing survives in its way.

Computed from Charles's birth date, not guessed. The full working is below.

Where Charles sits

Six lines. Tap where you sit on each.

Charles’s dot is placed from the chart. Yours is wherever you put it.

Intimate circleWide network

Charles

You may draw energy from a wide network, many doors, lightly held.

DeliberateSpontaneous

Charles

You likely weigh most decisions but can move fast when it matters.

PrivateExpressive

Charles

You may wear your feelings openly. What you feel tends to show.

Cool off firstResolve immediately

Charles

You may want to resolve tension the moment it appears, rather than let it sit.

PracticalVisionary

Charles

You may be drawn to big possibilities. The practical follows after the vision.

Gradual trustImmediate chemistry

Charles

You may feel connection fast. Chemistry can arrive before the details do.

Tap each line where you sit.

All twelve of yours, from your birth date →

✦ A real star from their birth sky

Dedicate a star to Charles Bukowski

Three stars chosen from the real sky above Andernach on the night they were born. Choose the story that connects you.

Charles’s birth-sky starFawarisblue-white · CygnusFawaris, in Cygnus. A blue-white star, 82.2° above the horizon at the birth hour, the bright star nearest the zenith.Dedicate Fawaris →The warmest lightMirfakyellow-white · PerseusMirfak, in Perseus. A yellow-white star, 21.5° above the horizon at the birth hour, the warmest-toned bright star up that night.Dedicate Mirfak →

Read from the sky above Andernach at 22:00, the birth time on Charles Bukowski’s AA-rated record. Dedications are commemorative AsterNym records and do not rename or confer ownership of stars.

The quick version

Leo Sun

Warm, loud, hard to ignore.

Charles Bukowski's Sun was in Leo at the documented birth time. Traditional Leo readings associate the sign with warmth, visibility and generosity: a natural claim on attention and a habit of handing it back as encouragement. Astrologers describe it as the fixed fire sign, ruled by the Sun. The corresponding tension is pride, with the classical caution that the need to be seen can crowd out people who would rather not be.

Metal Monkey

Turns problems into games.

Charles Bukowski was born on August 16, 1920, which falls in a Metal Monkey year of the Chinese calendar. Traditional Monkey readings emphasise ingenuity, wit and the ability to find unconventional solutions to problems others have given up on. The Chinese almanacs describe the Monkey as the cleverest sign in the cycle, playful and quick. The corresponding caution in the tradition is mischief, and a trick played one time too many on the wrong person.

Life Path 9

Wide view, open hands.

Charles Bukowski's birth date, August 16, 1920, reduces to Life Path 9 under the numerology method AsterNym uses. Traditional Life Path 9 readings associate the number with compassion, generosity and completion: a wide view that takes in more than one person's experience. Numerologists describe it as the path of the humanitarian, the last single digit and the one that closes cycles. The corresponding tension is diffuseness, with the caution that caring about everyone can be easier than showing up for someone.

What stands out in Charles’s chart

Five of the ten planets sit in angular houses in Charles Bukowski's timed chart: Sun in the 4th house, Mercury in the 4th house, Mars in the 7th house, Jupiter in the 4th house and Neptune in the 4th house.
The tightest major aspect in Charles Bukowski's timed chart is Venus opposition Uranus, with an orb of about 2°.
Four planets, Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune, sit together in Leo, which astrologers call a stellium.
Charles Bukowski combines a Fire Day Master in BaZi with a fixed Sun and a Life Path on the intuitive plane, the combination AsterNym calls The Radiant Lightkeeper.

Charles’s birth chart

Computed from the documented birth time (From a birth certificate, birth record or family bible, the most reliable class.), with whole-sign houses from the Ascendant.

Whole-sign houses from the Ascendant.

Tap a planet, a sign, a house, an aspect line or an element to see what it means and what sits in it.

Lines drawn

Conjunction 0°

Sextile 60°

Square 90°

Trine 120°

Opposition 180°

Placements

Tap one to light it on the wheel.

AscendantTaurus

The working: aspects, Chiron and the asteroids, dominant planets and configurationsshow

Aspects, tightest first

VenusoppositionUranusseparating · 1.7° orb
Charles’s affections pull against their need for freedom from across the wheel.
VenussextilePlutoapplying · 2.6° orb
Charles’s affections open doors for their depths. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.
SaturnsextilePlutoseparating · 3.9° orb
Charles’s discipline opens doors for their depths. Nothing happens until someone makes the first move.
SunconjunctionJupiterapplying · 4.1° orb
Charles’s core identity and growth act as one.
UranustrinePlutoseparating · 4.3° orb
Charles’s need for freedom flows straight into their depths. Effortless, which is exactly why it gets taken for granted.
SunsquareMarsseparating · 5.2° orb
Charles’s core identity grinds against their drive.
JupiteroppositionUranusapplying · 6.4° orb
Charles’s growth pulls against their need for freedom from across the wheel. Two ends of one rope.
VenusconjunctionSaturnapplying · 6.5° orb
Charles’s affections and discipline act as one. Each makes the other louder.
MercuryconjunctionNeptuneapplying · 6.7° orb
Charles’s mind and imagination act as one.
MarssquareNeptuneseparating · 6.7° orb
Charles’s drive grinds against their imagination. The angle that irritates, and the one that teaches.

Chart signature

Elements

Fire4 of 10
Earth3 of 10
Air0 of 10
Water3 of 10

Modalities

Cardinal1 of 10
Fixed5 of 10
Mutable4 of 10

Counted across the ten planets by sign: Fire leads this chart, with no planets in Air signs.

Charles’s Chiron, Ceres, Eros, Hygiea and Lilith

Four minor bodies and the mean lunar apogee, placed in the same tropical zodiac as the planets above. None of these feed the chart signature, the rarity score or any ranking on this site: they are listed for readers who use them. Chiron, Ceres, Eros and Hygiea positions come from JPL Horizons; Black Moon Lilith is the mean apogee, the point most published Lilith tables use. The readings are the modern tradition’s, not AsterNym’s.

⚷ Chiron ℞Aries 9°59′ · House 12
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
Chiron in Aries is read as a sore spot around asserting oneself: Charles may have learnt early that going first costs something, and built a way of leading that does not need permission.
⚳ CeresGemini 22°52′ · House 2
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
Ceres in Gemini is read as nurture through talk and attention. The tradition has Charles feeding people with information and feeling fed by conversation.
♡ ErosVirgo 6°44′ · House 5
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
Eros in Virgo is read as desire expressed through attention to detail: noticing, improving, being useful. Charles is read as slow to start and exact once started.
⚕ HygieaLeo 3°11′ · House 4
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
Hygiea in Leo is read as vitality that runs on purpose and recognition. The reading has Charles at their best with something to be proud of.
⚸ Black Moon LilithCapricorn 3°35′ · House 9
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn is read as ambition that does not ask to be liked. Charles is read as someone who takes the authority rather than waiting for it.

Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith

Major aspects only, at a tight 3° orb.

Eros trine Ascendant 0.4°
Black Moon Lilith sextile Uranus 0.5°
Ceres sextile Sun 0.8°
Eros conjunction Venus 1.0°
Chiron square Pluto 1.6°
Eros sextile Pluto 1.6°
Chiron trine Neptune 1.8°
Hygiea conjunction Mercury 1.9°
Black Moon Lilith trine Venus 2.2°
Eros opposition Uranus 2.6°

Method: JPL Horizons heliocentric vectors, 1700–2100, cubic Hermite interpolation; geocentric, true ecliptic of date, tropical; geometric (no light-time or aberration); Lilith = mean lunar apogee (Chapront/Meeus mean perigee + 180°).

Charles’s dominant planets

Scored from rulerships, dispositors, angularity and aspect count under the method below.

1. ☉ Sun11 pts
rules the Sun sign, Leo; in its own sign, Leo; disposes Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune; angular in the fourth house; 2 major aspects
2. ☿ Mercury8 pts
rules the Moon sign, Virgo; disposes Moon, Venus, Saturn; angular in the fourth house; 1 major aspect
3. ♀ Venus6 pts
rules the Ascendant, Taurus; 3 major aspects

A Sun-led chart is read as identity out front: Charles is read as someone whose sense of self organises everything else.

How the score is built

Rules the Sun sign, Moon sign or Ascendant sign: 3 points each (traditional co-rulers of Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces score half).
Sits in a sign it rules: 2 points.
Disposes another planet (that planet sits in a sign it rules): 1 point each.
Angular: 2 points in the first or tenth house, 1 point in the fourth or seventh (timed births only).
Every major aspect it makes: 1 point.

Dominance scoring is an AsterNym method. Other sites weight differently and can name a different leader for the same chart.

Configurations in Charles’s chart

Closed shapes among the ten planets under the site’s one aspect-orb policy.

Stellium in Leo · Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, NeptuneThree or more planets in one sign (four, or three with a luminary, by AsterNym's count): a concentration astrologers read as that sign's themes dominating the chart.
Stellium in Virgo · Moon, Venus, SaturnThree or more planets in one sign (four, or three with a luminary, by AsterNym's count): a concentration astrologers read as that sign's themes dominating the chart.

Minor aspects

semi-sextile 30° (orb 2°), semi-square 45° (orb 2°), quintile 72° (orb 1.5°), sesquiquadrate 135° (orb 2°), biquintile 144° (orb 1.5°), quincunx 150° (orb 2.5°). Pairs already in a major aspect are not repeated.

Sun semi-square Pluto 0.3°
Saturn semi-sextile Neptune 0.5°
Mercury semi-sextile Venus 0.7°
Venus quintile Mars 0.7°
Mercury quincunx Uranus 1.0°
Moon semi-sextile Jupiter 2.0°

Charles’s houses

Whole-sign houses from the documented birth time: each house is one sign, its ruler is the modern ruler of that sign, and an empty house is read through where its ruler sits.

House	Sign	Ruler	Planets	Themes
1	Taurus	Venus in Virgo, house 5	empty	self, body, how you arrive
2	Gemini	Mercury in Leo, house 4	empty	money, possessions, self-worth
3	Cancer	Moon in Virgo, house 5	Pluto	mind, siblings, the local world
4	Leo	Sun in Leo, house 4	Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune	home, family, roots
5	Virgo	Mercury in Leo, house 4	Moon, Venus, Saturn	creativity, romance, play
6	Libra	Venus in Virgo, house 5	empty	work, habits, health
7	Scorpio	Pluto in Cancer, house 3	Mars	partnership, marriage, open rivals
8	Sagittarius	Jupiter in Leo, house 4	empty	shared resources, intimacy, transformation
9	Capricorn	Saturn in Virgo, house 5	empty	belief, travel, higher learning
10	Aquarius	Uranus in Pisces, house 11	empty	career, reputation, public life
11	Pisces	Neptune in Leo, house 4	Uranus	friends, community, the future
12	Aries	Mars in Scorpio, house 7	empty	the inner world, rest, what is hidden

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Year of the Monkey →

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The Radiant Lightkeeper explained →

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Life Path numbers explained →

From the journal: The twelve Day Officers, and how Chinese date selection works · Your Sun, Moon and rising signs: the Big Three explained

Charles’s cards

Every card is computed from August 16, 1920, none chosen. Tap one to flip it.

Birth tarot card

The Moon

Tap to flip

AsterNym identity card

The Radiant Lightkeeper

Tap to flip

Western zodiac

Leo

Tap to flip

Chinese zodiac

Monkey 申

Tap to flip

☉ Ruled by Sun

Gold Au

Tap to flip

The working: BaZi pillarsshow

BaZi pillars

Day Master: yang Fire.

Year

庚

yang Metal

申

Monkey

Metal

roots & early life

Month

甲

yang Wood

申

Monkey

Metal

work & drive

Day

day master

丙

yang Fire

午

Horse

Fire

you & partnership

Hour

己

yin Earth

亥

Pig

Water

later life & legacy

Where this data comes from

Charles’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q76409, released under CC0, as do the occupations, works, teams and awards in the biography above. Birth time rated AA on the Rodden scale, the astrological convention for how well evidenced a birth time is. That means: from a birth certificate, birth record or family bible, the most reliable class. Source: Astro-Databank (Rodden AA). Entries are matched to Wikidata by entity id rather than by name, kept only at day precision, and dropped where sources disagree on the date.

Portrait by Artgal73, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

The same Charles Bukowski at Wikipedia, IMDb and MusicBrainz.

Roster last reviewed September 10, 2026. Every entry is checked against its Wikidata record; where a person shares a name with someone else, the entity id is what settles which of them this is. What we will not tell you sets out the claims this site refuses to make.

These are traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions. AsterNym is not affiliated with or endorsed by Charles Bukowski.

Quick answers about Charles Bukowski’s chart

What zodiac sign was Charles Bukowski?: Charles Bukowski was a Leo: born August 16, 1920, which puts the Sun in Leo at the documented birth time. That is the Western star sign. In the Chinese zodiac they were a Metal Monkey.
What was Charles Bukowski's Chinese zodiac animal?: The Monkey, with the Metal element, from the Chinese lunar year of the August 16, 1920 birth.
What time was Charles Bukowski born?: 22:00 local time in Andernach, Germany, per Astro-Databank (Rodden AA) (Rodden rating AA).
What was Charles Bukowski's rising sign?: Taurus rising, calculated from the documented 22:00 birth time in Andernach, Germany (Rodden rating AA: from a birth certificate, birth record or family bible, the most reliable class.).
What was Charles Bukowski's Life Path number?: Life Path 9, calculated in numerology from the August 16, 1920 birth date.
What was Charles Bukowski's Chiron sign?: Chiron in Aries at 9°, in the twelfth house. Position from JPL Horizons for the August 16, 1920 birth time.
Where was Charles Bukowski's Black Moon Lilith?: Mean Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn at 3°, in the ninth house. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
What was Charles Bukowski's dominant planet?: Sun, on AsterNym's dominance score (11 points: rules the Sun sign, Leo; in its own sign, Leo; disposes Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune; angular in the fourth house; 2 major aspects). Mercury is second and Venus third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.

How compatible are you with Charles Bukowski?

How common is the name Charles in the U.S.?

Charles’s lucky numbers, colours and stones

Charles, according to the stars

Core essence

The vibe

How Charles wants to be loved

How Charles creates

Instinct

Purpose

Triggers

Six lines. Tap where you sit on each.

Dedicate a star to Charles Bukowski

The quick version

Leo Sun

Metal Monkey

Life Path 9

What stands out in Charles’s chart

Charles’s birth chart

Aspects, tightest first

Chart signature

Charles’s Chiron, Ceres, Eros, Hygiea and Lilith

Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith

Charles’s dominant planets

Configurations in Charles’s chart

Minor aspects

Charles’s houses

More people like Charles

Other screenwriters

Born in Germany

More charts like Charles’s

Fellow Leo suns

Born in Monkey years

Also born on August 16

Fellow Yang Fire day masters

Other Leo Monkey charts

Other Radiant Lightkeepers

Other Taurus risings with documented times

Famous people with Life Path 9

Charles’s cards

BaZi pillars

Quick answers about Charles Bukowski’s chart

More charts to explore