Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen (born May 25, 1939, Burnley, United Kingdom, 21:30), aged 87, is a British actor. Notable films include The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. McKellen's honours include Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.
Ian McKellen’s zodiac sign is Gemini, Chinese zodiac is Earth Rabbit, with Life Path 7 in numerology.
Gemini, Chinese zodiac is 
Earth Rabbit, with 
Life Path 7 in numerology.Your match with Ian
Ian McKellen’s AsterNym identity
The Tidal Seeker
Water represents depth and adaptability. Water-led charts are associated with instinct, memory and the ability to find a path around obstacles. Life Path 7 represents inquiry: study, solitude and the need to understand what others may simply accept.
Water Day Master (BaZi) × mutable Sun × Life Path 7, on the intuitive plane.
How common is the name Ian in the U.S.?
#83
US rank in 2025
~258,479
Americans share it since 1912
2005
its peak year
Of the names registered in 1939, Ian came 778th, carried by 61 American boys.
US Social Security Administration public records
What Ian’s name adds up to
Worked from the name as published, letter by letter.
9
Expression · the bigger picture
2
Soul Urge · closeness
7
Personality · composed, private
The name opens on I (9) and closes on N (5). The value it repeats most is 5, which numerology reads as movement.
Pythagorean letter values · A=1 to I=9, then J=1 again
Ian’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences, calculated not chosen.
Lucky numbers
7 · 3 · 4 · 6
Lucky colours
Yellow & Ochre
Lucky day
Wednesday
Direction
• Center
Season
the turning of seasons
Stones
Emerald, Emerald, Citrine
Flower constellation
🌿 Lily of the Valley · 💜 Lavender · 🌻 Zinnia
Ivory · Lilac · Terracotta
Eight Mansions · Kua number
Kua 6, trigram Qian 乾, West group. Best direction West, worst Southeast.
A different tradition from the Direction above, and a different question: feng shui reads it from the solar year 1939, which turns at Li Chun rather than at New Year, and from sex, which Wikidata records as male. Work out your own →
The record
What sets Ian apart
Ian McKellen took the Knight Bachelor in 1991, at 52.
Bolton School and St Catharine's College shaped the training.
The working life starts in 1966, at 27.
The encyclopaedia's own shelving for Ian McKellen: 2012 Summer Olympics cultural ambassadors, Back Stage West Garland Award recipients and Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
Cillian Murphy (1976) and Kagiso Rabada (1995) share the birthday in another year, so the sun sits where it sits here.
- Educated at
- Bolton School and St Catharine's College
- Awards
- Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (2003), Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1996) and Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor (1998)
- Nominated for
- Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor and British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Working from
- 1966
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Languages
- English
- Wikipedia editions
- 91
What the chart says
Ian, according to the stars
Core essence
Ian is two conversations at once and somehow following both. Curiosity is the core of it: the quick question, the sideways joke, the friend who texts you an article at midnight because it reminded them of you. Ian needs newness the way other people need sleep, and gives the people around them the gift of never being bored.
The vibe
Underneath, Ian 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 Ian needs to feel safe is order and the sense of being useful. Let them help, and thank them properly.
How Ian wants to be loved
Ian wants to be loved slowly and for real. Venus in Taurus is touch, food, the good blanket, the plan that does not change. They are sensual and steady and they want to be shown, not told: the small physical kindnesses count double. Once Ian is yours, they stay, and they expect the same.
How Ian creates
How Ian makes things happen: they keep moving. A Yang Water day master is the river, curious, restless, going somewhere even when nobody knows where. Ian creates by exploring, by talking to everyone, by carrying ideas from one place to another. Hard to pin down, impossible to dam, and the best person to have on a long trip.
Instinct
Instinct: Ian is gentle and diplomatic, a Rabbit year, and their gut reaction is to keep the peace and read the room. Graceful, kind, quietly discerning, and much tougher than the soft manners suggest. The Earth year grounds it: practical, patient, someone people lean on.
Purpose
Purpose: Life Path 7 is the seeker. Ian is here to understand, to go deep rather than wide, to keep a private inner world that most people never see. Thoughtful, intuitive, happiest with time alone, and learning to let the right people in.
Triggers
Triggers: being told "because that's how it's done." Mars in Aquarius fights for the idea, the group, the principle, rarely for themselves. Ian goes cool and distant rather than hot, and then does the surprising thing. Point them at a cause and they will rewrite the rules around it.
Computed from Ian's birth date. Working below.
Where Ian sits
Six lines
Ian’s dot comes from the chart; yours is where you put it.
You likely balance a tight inner circle with a wider orbit you dip into.
You likely weigh most decisions but can move fast when it matters.
You likely share some feelings openly and keep others to yourself.
You likely handle some friction right away and let smaller things settle.
You may be drawn to big possibilities. The practical follows after the vision.
You likely warm up at a pace that depends on the person and moment.
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 Ian McKellen
Three stars chosen from the real sky above Burnley on the night they were born. Choose the story that connects you.
Read from the sky above Burnley at 21:30, Ian McKellen’s documented birth time. Dedications are commemorative and confer no ownership of stars.
The sky over Burnley that night
Computed for 53.79°N, at the documented birth time.
Alioth stood nearest the zenith over Burnley at the birth hour, 86.2° above the horizon in Ursa Major.
Of the 88 catalog stars above the horizon, Arcturus was the brightest.
From 53.8°N, Vega, Capella and Deneb never go below the horizon: they are circumpolar at this latitude.
Nothing below −36.2° declination clears the horizon at this latitude, so Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar, Hadar, Acrux, Mimosa and Toliman were never visible from Burnley on any night.
Sun 1° below the horizon, Moon up and 49% lit at first quarter.
The name and the places
- Born in
- Burnley, United Kingdom
- Lives in
- Wigan
Wikidata records Wigan as Ian McKellen's home. It is a public record rather than our own research, and it can lag behind a move.
A documented birth time makes an astrocartography map possible. Shared Places will draw one for your own chart.
What Ian's birth time unlocks
Two systems need the hour and cannot be computed without it.
Zi Wei Dou Shu · Life Palace
The Charmer 貪狼 in 午
Bureau 土五局 · Body Palace in Relationships
Zi Wei Dou Shu explained →Human Design
Manifesting Generator, profile 4/6
Sacral authority · Split definition
Human Design explained →Chart pattern score
57 / 100 · Unusual
Yod onto Moon · T-square onto Venus · 2 planets at a critical degree
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.
Score your own chart →If you only read one paragraph
Gemini Sun
Gemini SunQuick, curious, already elsewhere.
Ian McKellen's Sun was in Gemini at the documented birth time.
What Gemini means →Earth Rabbit
Earth RabbitKeeps the peace, keeps the plan.
Ian McKellen was born on May 25, 1939, which falls in a Earth Rabbit year of the Chinese calendar.
What the Rabbit means →Life Path 7
Life Path 7Solitary, curious, deep.
Ian McKellen's birth date, May 25, 1939, reduces to Life Path 7 under the numerology method AsterNym uses.
What Life Path 7 means →What stands out in Ian’s chart
- Three of the ten planets sit in angular houses in Ian McKellen's timed chart: Sun in the 7th house, Moon in the 10th house and Neptune in the 10th house.
- The tightest major aspect in Ian McKellen's timed chart is Mars opposition Pluto, with an orb of under 1°.
- Three planets, Mercury, Venus and Uranus, sit together in Taurus, which astrologers call a stellium.
- Ian McKellen combines a Water Day Master in BaZi with a mutable Sun and a Life Path on the intuitive plane, the combination AsterNym calls The Tidal Seeker.
Ian’s birth chart
Computed from the documented birth time (From the person, their family, or a contemporaneous account.), with whole-sign houses from the Ascendant.
Whole-sign houses from the Ascendant.
Placements
Tap one to light it on the wheel.
The working: aspects, Chiron and the asteroids, dominant planets and configurationsshow
Aspects, tightest first
MarsoppositionPlutoseparating · 0.6° orb
Ian’s drive pulls against their depths from across the wheel. A see-saw looking for balance, often played out through other people.
MercuryconjunctionUranusseparating · 0.7° orb
Ian’s mind and need for freedom act as one. Wherever one goes, the other is already there.
SunsextileJupiterseparating · 1.1° orb
Ian’s core identity opens doors for their growth.
MercurytrineNeptuneapplying · 1.1° orb
SunsquareMoonapplying · 1.6° orb
UranustrineNeptuneapplying · 1.8° orb
MarssextileJupiterapplying · 2.4° orb
JupitertrinePlutoseparating · 3.0° orb
SaturnsquarePlutoapplying · 3.3° orb
SuntrineMarsseparating · 3.5° orb
MarssquareSaturnseparating · 3.9° orb
SunsextilePlutoseparating · 4.1° orb
MoontrineVenusapplying · 4.2° orb
MoontrineSaturnseparating · 5.8° orb
VenussquareMarsseparating · 6.1° orb
VenussquarePlutoseparating · 6.7° orb
Chart signature
Elements
- Fire2 of 10
- Earth5 of 10
- Air2 of 10
- Water1 of 10
Modalities
- Cardinal3 of 10
- Fixed4 of 10
- Mutable3 of 10
Counted across the ten planets by sign: Earth leads this chart.
Ian’s Chiron, Ceres, Eros, Hygiea and Lilith
What astrologers make of these five.
⚷ ChironCancer 7°58′ · House 8
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
⚳ CeresGemini 25°11′ · House 7
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
♡ ErosAries 27°59′ · House 5
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
⚕ Hygiea ℞Capricorn 12°25′ · House 2
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
⚸ Black Moon LilithAquarius 17°22′ · House 3
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith
- Ceres sextile Saturn 1.2°
- Black Moon Lilith square Uranus 1.4°
- Chiron sextile Venus 1.6°
- Eros square Pluto 1.6°
- Eros conjunction Saturn 1.7°
- Black Moon Lilith square Mercury 2.1°
- Eros square Mars 2.3°
Ian’s dominant planets
1. ☿ Mercury11 pts
rules the Sun sign, Gemini; rules the Moon sign, Virgo; disposes Sun, Moon, Neptune; 2 major aspects
2. ♀ Venus7 pts
in its own sign, Taurus; disposes Mercury, Uranus; 3 major aspects
3. ♂ Mars7 pts
disposes Jupiter, Saturn; 5 major aspects
Configurations in Ian’s chart
T-square onto Venus · Mars, Pluto, VenusAn opposition with a third planet squaring both ends. Read as a driving tension that resolves through the apex planet.- T-square onto Saturn · Mars, Pluto, SaturnAn opposition with a third planet squaring both ends. Read as a driving tension that resolves through the apex planet.
Yod onto Moon · Mars, Jupiter, MoonTwo planets in sextile, both quincunx a third. Astrologers call it the finger of fate and read the apex as an adjustment the chart keeps returning to.
Minor aspects
semi-sextile, semi-square, quintile, sesquiquadrate, biquintile, quincunx.
- Saturn biquintile Neptune 0.2°
- Moon quincunx Jupiter 0.5°
- Venus sesquiquadrate Neptune 0.8°
- Jupiter semi-square Uranus 1.1°
- Uranus quintile Pluto 1.2°
- Mercury semi-square Jupiter 1.8°
- Moon quincunx Mars 1.9°
Ian’s houses
| House | Sign | Ruler | Planets | Themes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sagittarius | Jupiter in Aries, house 5 | empty | self, body, how you arrive |
| 2 | Capricorn | Saturn in Aries, house 5 | empty | money, possessions, self-worth |
| 3 | Aquarius | Uranus in Taurus, house 6 | Mars | mind, siblings, the local world |
| 4 | Pisces | Neptune in Virgo, house 10 | empty | home, family, roots |
| 5 | Aries | Mars in Aquarius, house 3 | Jupiter, Saturn | creativity, romance, play |
| 6 | Taurus | Venus in Taurus, house 6 | Mercury, Venus, Uranus | work, habits, health |
| 7 | Gemini | Mercury in Taurus, house 6 | Sun | partnership, marriage, open rivals |
| 8 | Cancer | Moon in Virgo, house 10 | Pluto | shared resources, intimacy, transformation |
| 9 | Leo | Sun in Gemini, house 7 | empty | belief, travel, higher learning |
| 10 | Virgo | Mercury in Taurus, house 6 | Moon, Neptune | career, reputation, public life |
| 11 | Libra | Venus in Taurus, house 6 | empty | friends, community, the future |
| 12 | Scorpio | Pluto in Cancer, house 8 | empty | the inner world, rest, what is hidden |
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12More people like Ian
Other actors
- John Hurt1940
- Tony Renis1938
- Corin Redgrave1939
- Albert Hall1937
- John Cleese1939
- Kenny Rogers1938
Born in United Kingdom
- Zandra RhodesBritish fashion designer
- Ridley ScottEnglish filmmaker (born 1937)
- Alan BakerEnglish mathematician
- Richard RobsonBritish-Australian chemist
- Ringo StarrBritish musician, drummer for the Beatles
- Oliver ReedBritish actor
More charts like Ian’s
Fellow Gemini suns
- Anna CathcartCanadian actress
- Louis PartridgeBritish actor (born 2003)
- David IaconoAmerican actor
Born in Rabbit years
- Edmund S. MorganAmerican historian
- David HorseyAmerican cartoonist and columnist (born 1951)
- Carl DennisAmerican writer
Also born on May 25
- Cillian Murphy1976
- Kagiso Rabada1995
- David Sacks1972
- Chloé Lukasiak2001
- Amy Klobuchar1960
- Anne Heche1969
Fellow Yang Water day masters
- LizzoAmerican singer and rapper
- Damon AlbarnBritish musician
- Mackenzie FoyAmerican actress
Other Gemini Rabbit charts
- Snail MailSolo musical project of Lindsey Jordan
- Molly-Mae HagueTV Personality
- LaMonica GarrettAmerican actor
- Jamel DebbouzeMoroccan Amazigh -French comedian and actor
Other Tidal Seekers
- Jules A. HoffmannFrench biologist
- Baruch Samuel BlumbergAmerican physician, geneticist and Nobel prize winner
- Hans FischerGerman chemist
- John CornforthAustralian-British chemist
Other Sagittarius risings with documented times
- Michael BoltonAmerican singer-songwriter
- Oliver TreeAmerican singer, record producer, and comedian
- Brendon UrieAmerican singer and musician
- Christy TurlingtonAmerican model
Famous people with Life Path 7
- Taylor LautnerAmerican actor
- Keira KnightleyBritish actress
- Vanessa HudgensAmerican actress and singer
From the journal: Chinese zodiac hours and your birth hour animal · Astrology vs astronomy: when and why they separated
Ian’s cards
Computed from May 25, 1939. Tap to flip.
Birth tarot card
The ChariotAsterNym identity card
The Tidal SeekerWestern zodiac
GeminiChinese zodiac
Rabbit 卯Life Path
7 · Seeker☿ Ruled by Mercury
Quicksilver Hg
The working: BaZi pillarsshow
BaZi pillars
Day Master: yang Water.
Year
己
yin Earth
卯
Rabbit
Wood
roots & early life
Month
己
yin Earth
巳
Snake
Fire
work & drive
Day
day master
壬
yang Water
戌
Dog
Earth
you & partnership
Hour
辛
yin Metal
亥
Pig
Water
later life & legacy
Where this comes from, and how it is worked out
Ian’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q170510 (CC0), as do the occupations, works and awards above. The birth time is rated A on the Rodden scale, the astrological convention for how well evidenced a birth time is: from the person, their family, or a contemporaneous account. From Astro-Databank (Rodden A). 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, angularity, aspect count — so other methods can name a different leader.
Portrait by Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The same Ian McKellen at Wikipedia, IMDb, Instagram, X, TikTok and MusicBrainz.
Roster last reviewed September 10, 2026. The full method: how it works.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions, and not endorsed by Ian McKellen.
Quick answers about Ian McKellen’s chart
- How old is Ian McKellen?
- Ian McKellen is 87 years old, born May 25, 1939 in Burnley, United Kingdom.
- What zodiac sign is Ian McKellen?
- Ian McKellen is a Gemini: born May 25, 1939, which puts the Sun in Gemini at the documented birth time.
- What is Ian McKellen's Chinese zodiac animal?
- The Rabbit, with the Earth element, from the Chinese lunar year of the May 25, 1939 birth.
- What time was Ian McKellen born?
- 21:30 local time in Burnley, United Kingdom, per Astro-Databank (Rodden A) (Rodden rating A).
- What is Ian McKellen's rising sign?
- Sagittarius rising, calculated from the documented 21:30 birth time in Burnley, United Kingdom (Rodden rating A: from the person, their family, or a contemporaneous account.).
- What is Ian McKellen's Life Path number?
- Life Path 7, calculated in numerology.
- What is Ian McKellen's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Cancer at 7°, in the eighth house. Position from JPL Horizons.
- Where is Ian McKellen's Black Moon Lilith?
- Mean Black Moon Lilith in Aquarius at 17°, in the third house. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
- What is Ian McKellen's dominant planet?
- Mercury, on AsterNym's dominance score (11 points: rules the Sun sign, Gemini; rules the Moon sign, Virgo; disposes Sun, Moon, Neptune; 2 major aspects). Venus is second and Mars third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.
