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Portrait of David Cay Johnston

David Cay Johnston

David Cay Johnston (born December 24, 1948, San Francisco, United States), aged 77, is an Investigative journalist and author. Johnston is best known for The Making of Donald Trump. Johnston's honours include Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting and George Polk Award.

David Cay Johnston’s zodiac sign is Capricorn, Chinese zodiac is Earth Rat, with Life Path 4 in numerology.

Your match with David

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David Cay Johnston’s AsterNym identity

The Tidal Pioneer

Water represents depth and adaptability. Water-led charts are associated with instinct, memory and the ability to find a path around obstacles. Life Path 4 represents structure: foundations, systems and the patience to continue after the first enthusiasm fades.

Water Day Master (BaZi) × cardinal Sun × Life Path 4, on the physical plane.

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

#35

US rank in 2025

~3,689,613

Americans share it since 1880

1955

its peak year

David ranked 5th among boys and 783rd among girls in 1948, the year of this birth, with 56,627 American boys and 121 girls on the register.

US Social Security Administration public records

What David’s name adds up to

Worked from the name as published, letter by letter.

4

Expression · building what holds

5

Soul Urge · freedom

8

Personality · capable, in charge

The name opens on D (4) and closes on D (4). The value it repeats most is 1, which numerology reads as drive.

Pythagorean letter values · A=1 to I=9, then J=1 again

David’s lucky numbers, colours and stones

Traditional correspondences, calculated not chosen.

Lucky numbers

4 · 2 · 3

Lucky colours

Yellow & Ochre

Lucky day

Saturday

Direction

• Center

Season

the turning of seasons

Stones

Turquoise, Blue Sapphire, Citrine

Flower constellation

🤍 Narcissus · 🤍 Camellia · 🌼 Chrysanthemum

Frost white · Ivory · Gold

The record

What sets David apart

Ava Gardner (1922) and Ricky Martin (1971) share the birthday in another year, so the sun sits where it sits here.

What the chart says

David, according to the stars

Core essence

David is playing a longer game than everyone else at the table. The core of David is quiet ambition and a dry, private sense of humour that only their people get to see. They are the one who actually does the thing, and then does not mention it. Underneath the composure is someone who wants very badly to be proud of what they built.

How David wants to be loved

David wants to be loved by someone who is also their favourite travel companion. Venus in Sagittarius needs laughter, honesty and a long leash, and gives the same. Possessiveness kills it; adventure feeds it. Go somewhere new with David and watch them fall for you again.

How David creates

How David makes things happen: they seep in. A Yin Water day master is rain, mist, the still pool that reflects everything. David creates by sensing, by imagination, by noticing what nobody else said. Their influence is quiet and total. The work is not dissolving into everyone else's weather.

Instinct

Instinct: David is quick, clever and alert, a Rat year, and their gut reaction to a problem is to find the angle nobody has tried. Charming, resourceful, a little bit of a hoarder of good things and good people. The Earth year grounds it: practical, patient, someone people lean on.

Purpose

Purpose: Life Path 4 is the builder. David is here to make things that last, to put structure under other people's dreams, to be trusted with the real work. Loyal, practical, honest, and learning that the plan can bend without breaking.

Triggers

Triggers: incompetence, and disrespect. Mars in Capricorn means David does not waste energy on anger; they use it. Controlled, strategic, relentless, the person who will outlast the problem. Cold when crossed, and quietly forgiving once you have earned it back.

Computed from David's birth date. Working below.

Where David sits

Six lines

David’s dot comes from the chart; yours is where you put it.

Intimate circleWide network
David

You likely balance a tight inner circle with a wider orbit you dip into.

DeliberateSpontaneous
David

You likely think things through before you act. Haste rarely feels safe.

PrivateExpressive
David

You likely share some feelings openly and keep others to yourself.

Cool off firstResolve immediately
David

You likely handle some friction right away and let smaller things settle.

PracticalVisionary
David

You may favor what's proven and workable over the untested idea.

Gradual trustImmediate chemistry
David

You may build trust slowly, letting closeness earn its way in.

Tap each line where you sit.

All twelve of yours, from your birth date →

✦ A real star from their birth night

Dedicate a star to David Cay Johnston

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

David’s birth-night reference starAlmachwarm orange · AndromedaAlmach, in Andromeda. A warm orange star, 85.6° above the horizon at 9 p.m. local time, the bright star nearest the zenith.Dedicate Almach →The warmest lightBetelgeusedeep red · OrionBetelgeuse, in Orion. A deep red star, 30.5° above the horizon at 9 p.m. local time, the warmest-toned bright star up that night.Dedicate Betelgeuse →

A 9 p.m. reference sky, not the birth minute. Dedications are commemorative and confer no ownership of stars.

The sky over San Francisco that night

Computed for 37.78°N, 9 p.m. local sky.

Overhead at San Francisco at 9 p.m. that evening: Almach of Andromeda, within 4.4° of the exact zenith.

Of the 107 catalog stars above the horizon, Sirius was the brightest.

From 37.8°N not one of the brightest stars stays permanently above the horizon — all of them rise and set.

Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar, Hadar, Acrux, Mimosa and Toliman cannot be seen from San Francisco at all: they sit past the −52.2° declination limit this latitude imposes.

The Moon was at waning crescent, 29% lit, and already below the horizon, with the Sun 35° down.

How unusual David's chart is

Chart pattern score

53 / 100 · Unusual

4-planet stellium in Capricorn · No Water planets · A leaning bowl

An AsterNym index built from stelliums, yods, grand crosses and chart shape. It is not a population percentile, and a high score is not a better chart. Without a birth time the houses are left out of it.

Score your own chart →

David Cay Johnston at a glance

Capricorn Sun

Climbs. Then climbs again.

David Cay Johnston's Sun was in Capricorn for the whole of December 24, 1948, so no birth time is needed to settle it.

What Capricorn means →

Earth Rat

Charming, and counting the exits.

David Cay Johnston was born on December 24, 1948, which falls in a Earth Rat year of the Chinese calendar.

What the Rat means →

Life Path 4

The one who reads the manual.

David Cay Johnston's birth date, December 24, 1948, reduces to Life Path 4 under the numerology method AsterNym uses.

What Life Path 4 means →

What stands out in David’s chart

David’s birth chart

Reference chart · birth time unknown

Positions are checked across the whole date. The Moon ranges from 16° to 0° Libra or Scorpio depending on the hour.

AriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornAquariusPisces123456789101112Venus grinds against Saturn · Square, 0.6° orbMercury fuses with Jupiter · Conjunction, 1° orbNeptune opens doors for Pluto · Sextile, 1.2° orbMoon grinds against Mars · Square, 1.9° orbJupiter flows with Saturn · Trine, 2.6° orbSun flows with Saturn · Trine, 3.2° orbMercury flows with Saturn · Trine, 3.6° orbSun faces off with Uranus · Opposition, 4.5° orbSun in Capricorn · 2°54′☉2°Moon in Libra · 23°18′☽23°Mercury in Capricorn · 9°43′☿9°Venus in Sagittarius · 5°34′♀5°Mars in Capricorn · 21°26′♂21°Jupiter in Capricorn · 8°42′♃8°Saturn in Virgo · 6°09′ · retrograde♄℞6°Uranus in Gemini · 28°22′ · retrograde♅℞28°Neptune in Libra · 15°02′♆15°Pluto in Leo · 16°15′ · retrograde♇℞16°

No birth time, so the houses are a solar chart: the Sun’s sign counts as house 1.

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.

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

Aspects across every possible birth time

  • stableVenussquareSaturn0.0° to 1.2° orb

    David’s affections grind against their discipline. The angle that irritates, and the one that teaches.

  • stableMercuryconjunctionJupiter0.3° to 1.7° orb

    David’s mind and growth act as one. Each makes the other louder.

  • stableNeptunesextilePluto1.2° orb

    David’s imagination opens doors for their depths. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.

  • stableJupitertrineSaturn2.4° to 2.7° orb

  • stableSuntrineSaturn2.7° to 3.8° orb

  • stableMercurytrineSaturn2.8° to 4.4° orb

  • stableSunoppositionUranus4.0° to 5.1° orb

  • stableMercurysquareNeptune4.5° to 6.1° orb

  • stableSunconjunctionJupiter5.4° to 6.2° orb

  • stableMarssquareNeptune6.0° to 6.8° orb

  • stableJupitersquareNeptune6.2° to 6.4° orb

  • stableSunconjunctionMercury6.5° to 7.1° orb

Chart signature

Elements

  • Fire2 of 10
  • Earth5 of 10
  • Air3 of 10
  • Water0 of 10

Modalities

  • Cardinal6 of 10
  • Fixed1 of 10
  • Mutable3 of 10

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

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

What astrologers make of these five, at noon values.

  • ⚷ ChironSagittarius 3°17′ (moves 0.12° over the day)

    centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it

  • ⚳ Ceres ℞Leo 24°44′ (moves 0.01° over the day)

    dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured

  • ♡ ErosScorpio 28°49′ (moves 0.73° over the day)

    near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire

  • ⚕ HygieaVirgo 15°32′ (moves 0.09° over the day)

    main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well

  • ⚸ Black Moon LilithPisces 17°23′ (moves 0.11° over the day)

    mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed

Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith

  • Chiron conjunction Venus 2.3°
  • Chiron square Saturn 2.9°

David’s dominant planets

  1. 1. ♄ Saturn11 pts

    rules the Sun sign, Capricorn; disposes Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter; 4 major aspects

  2. 2. ☿ Mercury6 pts

    disposes Saturn, Uranus; 4 major aspects

  3. 3. ☉ Sun5 pts

    disposes Pluto; 4 major aspects

Configurations in David’s chart

  • stellium, the shape it makesStellium in Capricorn · Sun, Mercury, Mars, JupiterThree 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, semi-square, quintile, sesquiquadrate, biquintile, quincunx.

  • Mars sesquiquadrate Saturn 0.3°
  • Mercury biquintile Pluto 0.5°
  • Venus semi-square Mars 0.9°
  • Sun sesquiquadrate Pluto 1.6°

More people like David

Other writers

Born in United States

More charts like David’s

Fellow Capricorn suns

All about Capricorn →

Born in Rat years

Year of the Rat →

Also born on December 24

Fellow Yin Water day masters

What a Day Master is →

Other Capricorn Rat charts

Other Tidal Pioneers

The Tidal Pioneer explained →

Famous people with Life Path 4

Life Path numbers explained →

From the journal: The 12 animals and how the race story goes · The Lo Shu square: the oldest magic square there is

David’s cards

Computed from December 24, 1948. Tap to flip.

Birth tarot card

The Fool

AsterNym identity card

The Tidal Pioneer

Western zodiac

Capricorn

Chinese zodiac

Rat 子

Life Path

4 · Architect

♄ Ruled by Saturn

Lead Pb

The working: BaZi pillarsshow

BaZi pillars

Day Master: yin Water.

Year

戊

yang Earth

子

Rat

Water

roots & early life

Month

甲

yang Wood

子

Rat

Water

work & drive

Day

day master

癸

yin Water

未

Goat

Earth

you & partnership

Where this comes from, and how it is worked out

David’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q1173953 (CC0), as do the occupations, works and awards above. With no documented birth time this chart is rated X on the Rodden scale, the astrological convention for how well evidenced a birth time is. The banner above lists what that leaves out. Entries are matched to Wikidata by entity id rather than by name, kept at day precision, and dropped where sources disagree on the date.

Tropical zodiac, whole-sign houses, modern rulers. Aspects on the western_v1 orb policy; minor ones at 1.5° to 2.5°, skipped where a major already holds. Minor bodies from JPL Horizons heliocentric vectors, Lilith as mean apogee. Dominance is an AsterNym score — rulerships, dispositors, aspect count — so other methods can name a different leader.

Portrait by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The same David Cay Johnston at Wikipedia, IMDb, X and MusicBrainz.

Roster last reviewed September 10, 2026. The full method: how it works.

Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions, and not endorsed by David Cay Johnston.

Quick answers about David Cay Johnston’s chart

How old is David Cay Johnston?
David Cay Johnston is 77 years old, born December 24, 1948 in San Francisco, United States.
What zodiac sign is David Cay Johnston?
David Cay Johnston is a Capricorn: born December 24, 1948, which puts the Sun in Capricorn for the whole of that day.
What is David Cay Johnston's Chinese zodiac animal?
The Rat, with the Earth element, from the Chinese lunar year of the December 24, 1948 birth.
What is David Cay Johnston's Life Path number?
Life Path 4, calculated in numerology.
What is David Cay Johnston's Chiron sign?
Chiron in Sagittarius at 3°. Position from JPL Horizons.
Where is David Cay Johnston's Black Moon Lilith?
Mean Black Moon Lilith in Pisces at 17°. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
What is David Cay Johnston's dominant planet?
Saturn, on AsterNym's dominance score (11 points: rules the Sun sign, Capricorn; disposes Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter; 4 major aspects). Mercury is second and Sun third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.

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