James M. McPherson
James M. McPherson (born October 11, 1936, Valley City, United States), aged 90, is an American historian (born 1936). McPherson is best known for Battle Cry of Freedom. McPherson's honours include Pulitzer Prize for History, Guggenheim Fellowship and Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards.
James M. McPherson’s zodiac sign is Libra, Chinese zodiac is Fire Rat, with Life Path 4 in numerology.
Libra, Chinese zodiac is 
Fire Rat, with 
Life Path 4 in numerology.Your match with James
James M. McPherson’s AsterNym identity
The Radiant Pioneer
Fire represents warmth, visibility and momentum. Fire-led charts are associated with enthusiasm, expression and the ability to encourage other people. Life Path 4 represents structure: foundations, systems and the patience to continue after the first enthusiasm fades.
Fire Day Master (BaZi) × cardinal Sun × Life Path 4, on the physical plane.
How common is the name James in the U.S.?
#6
US rank in 2025
~5,274,520
Americans share it since 1880
1947
its peak year
Of the names registered in 1936, James came 2nd among boys and 428th among girls, carried by 54,694 American boys and 229 girls.
US Social Security Administration public records
What James’s name adds up to
Worked from the name as published, letter by letter.
1
Expression · starting things
8
Soul Urge · achievement
11
Personality · perceptive
The name opens on J (1) and closes on S (1). The value it repeats most is 1, which numerology reads as drive.
Pythagorean letter values · A=1 to I=9, then J=1 again
James’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences, calculated not chosen.
Lucky numbers
4 · 2 · 3
Lucky colours
Red & Orange
Lucky day
Friday
Direction
↓ South
Season
summer
Stones
Opal, Diamond, Carnelian
Flower constellation
🧡 Marigold · 🌹 Blush Rose · 🌺 Poppy
Amber · Blush · Flame orange
The record
What sets James apart
Amitabh Bachchan (1942) and Michelle Trachtenberg (1985) share the birthday in another year, so the sun sits where it sits here.
What the chart says
James, according to the stars
Core essence
James makes the room fairer just by being in it. The core of James is a feel for balance, in people, in colour, in who has not been asked their opinion yet. They are charming because they are genuinely interested, and they can see every side of a thing, which is a gift and, on a bad day, a very slow way to choose dinner.
The vibe
Underneath, James 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 James needs to feel safe is order and the sense of being useful. Let them help, and thank them properly.
How James wants to be loved
James wants to be loved completely or not at all. Venus in Scorpio is intense, private and all in, and wants the same depth back: no games, no half measures. Trust is the whole thing. Be honest with James even when it costs you, and they will be the most devoted person you have ever met.
How James creates
How James 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. James 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: James 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 Fire year turns the volume up: warmer, bolder, more expressive, harder to overlook.
Purpose
Purpose: Life Path 4 is the builder. James 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: sloppiness, and being told they are overthinking it. Mars in Virgo means James channels energy into fixing, sorting, getting it right, and gets sharp when others do not care. The critic turns inward first. Give them a problem worth solving and watch them come alive.
Computed from James's birth date. Working below.
Where James sits
Six lines
James’s dot comes from the chart; yours is where you put it.
You may draw energy from a wide network, many doors, lightly held.
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 likely balance practical steps with room to imagine further.
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 night
Dedicate a star to James M. McPherson
Three stars chosen from the real sky above Valley City on the night they were born. Choose the story that connects you.
A 9 p.m. reference sky, not the birth minute. Dedications are commemorative and confer no ownership of stars.
The sky over Valley City that night
Computed for 46.92°N, 9 p.m. local sky.
At 9 p.m. the star closest to straight overhead at Valley City was Deneb, in Cygnus, 87.4° up.
The brightest star above the horizon was Arcturus in Boötes, and 90 catalog stars were up in all.
From 46.9°N, Capella and Deneb never go below the horizon: they are circumpolar at this latitude.
The trade is at the other end of the sky: nothing south of −43.1° declination ever rises from here, which puts Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar, Hadar, Acrux, Mimosa and Toliman permanently out of view.
The Moon, 10% lit at waning crescent, had already set; the Sun sat 22° below the horizon.
How unusual James's chart is
Chart pattern score
22 / 100 · Reassuringly normal
T-square onto Jupiter
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 →James M. McPherson at a glance
Libra Sun
Libra SunEvery side of every argument.
James M. McPherson's Sun was in Libra for the whole of October 11, 1936, so no birth time is needed to settle it.
What Libra means →Fire Rat
Fire RatResourceful is an understatement.
James M. McPherson was born on October 11, 1936, which falls in a Fire Rat year of the Chinese calendar.
What the Rat means →Life Path 4
Life Path 4Slow, solid, lasting.
James M. McPherson's birth date, October 11, 1936, reduces to Life Path 4 under the numerology method AsterNym uses.
What Life Path 4 means →What stands out in James’s chart
- The tightest major aspect in James M. McPherson's date-only chart is Saturn opposition Neptune, with an orb of under 1°.
- Five of the ten planets fall in Mutable signs, making Mutable the strongest modality in this chart.
- James M. McPherson combines a Fire Day Master in BaZi with a cardinal Sun and a Life Path on the physical plane, the combination AsterNym calls The Radiant Pioneer.
James’s birth chart
Reference chart · birth time unknown
Positions are checked across the whole date. The Moon ranges from 1° to 13° Virgo depending on the hour.
No birth time, so the houses are a solar chart: the Sun’s sign counts as house 1.
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
stableVenustrineSaturn0.5° to 1.8° orb
James’s affections flow straight into their discipline. Effortless, which is exactly why it gets taken for granted.
stableSaturnoppositionNeptune0.6° to 0.7° orb
James’s discipline pulls against their imagination from across the wheel. Two ends of one rope.
stableMarstrineUranus0.7° to 1.3° orb
James’s drive flows straight into their need for freedom. A talent so smooth it can go unnoticed.
stableVenussextileNeptune1.2° to 2.4° orb
stableSunsextileJupiter1.3° to 2.1° orb
stableJupitersquareNeptune2.1° to 2.3° orb
stableJupitersquareSaturn2.7° to 3.0° orb
stableMercurysextilePluto2.8° to 3.1° orb
stableMarsoppositionSaturn7.3° to 8.0° orb
possibleMoonconjunctionMarsorb from 0.0° to 8.0° depending on birth time
possibleMoontrineUranusorb from 0.1° to 7.4° depending on birth time
possibleMoonsextileVenusorb from 3.3° to 14.3° depending on birth time
Chart signature
Elements
- Fire1 of 10
- Earth4 of 10
- Air2 of 10
- Water3 of 10
Modalities
- Cardinal3 of 10
- Fixed2 of 10
- Mutable5 of 10
Counted across the ten planets by sign: Earth leads this chart.
James’s Chiron, Ceres, Eros, Hygiea and Lilith
What astrologers make of these five, at noon values.
⚷ Chiron ℞Gemini 23°18′ (moves 0.01° over the day)
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
⚳ CeresSagittarius 8°42′ (moves 0.36° over the day)
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
♡ ErosScorpio 13°17′ (moves 0.71° over the day)
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
⚕ HygieaCancer 13°05′ (moves 0.12° over the day)
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
⚸ Black Moon LilithScorpio 0°51′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith
- Ceres square Mars 0.7°
- Black Moon Lilith square Pluto 2.2°
- Eros conjunction Venus 2.6°
- Hygiea trine Venus 2.8°
James’s dominant planets
1. ♀ Venus8 pts
rules the Sun sign, Libra; disposes Sun, Mercury, Uranus; 2 major aspects
2. ♃ Jupiter5 pts
in its own sign, Sagittarius; 3 major aspects
3. ♄ Saturn4 pts
4 major aspects
Configurations in James’s chart
T-square onto Jupiter · Saturn, Neptune, JupiterAn opposition with a third planet squaring both ends. Read as a driving tension that resolves through the apex planet.
Minor aspects
semi-sextile, semi-square, quintile, sesquiquadrate, biquintile, quincunx.
- Sun semi-sextile Neptune 0.5°
- Mercury semi-square Venus 0.7°
- Mercury biquintile Uranus 0.7°
- Sun quincunx Saturn 1.2°
More people like James
Other writers
- Jim Wayne Miller1936
- A. S. Byatt1936
- Neil Sheehan1936
- Fred Chappell1936
- C. K. Williams1936
- Mario Vargas Llosa1936
Born in United States
- Jim Wayne MillerAmerican poet and educator
- Edward VillellaAmerican ballet dancer (born 1936)
- Philip KaufmanAmerican film director, screenwriter and film producer
- Janice McNairAmerican businesswoman and NFL team owner
- Michael KammenAmerican historian
- Soc ClayAmerican poet laureate from Kentucky
More charts like James’s
Fellow Libra suns
- Cam Taylor-BrittAmerican football player (born 1999)
- Adedayo OdeleyeNigerian-British gridiron football player (born 1997)
- Luke SchoonmakerAmerican football player (born 2000)
Born in Rat years
- Nico ElvediSwiss association football player
- Moussa NiakhatéSenegalese association football player
- Fabián RuizSpanish footballer
Also born on October 11
- Amitabh Bachchan1942
- Michelle Trachtenberg1985
- Amr Diab1961
- Peter Thiel1967
- Matt Bomer1977
- Rei Kawakubo1942
Fellow Yang Fire day masters
- Rick JamesAmerican singer, songwriter and record producer
- Brenda FassieSouth African pop singer
- Maynard James KeenanAmerican singer
Other Libra Rat charts
- Napheesa CollierAmerican basketball player
- Meghan KingAmerican television personality
- Lourdes LeonAmerican singer, dancer, and fashion model
- Freida PintoIndian actress
Other Radiant Pioneers
- Johann RupertSouth African businessman
- Jan KoumUkrainian-born American entrepreneur, co-founder of WhatsApp
- Viktor VekselbergRussian–Cypriot oligarch and businessman
- Vincent BolloréCEO of investment group Bolloré
Famous people with Life Path 4
- Doris Kearns GoodwinAmerican biographer and historian (born 1943)
- Bill DedmanAmerican journalist
- Alix M. FreedmanPulitzer Prize–winning journalist
From the journal: Do twins have the same birth chart? · Cusp signs aren't real. Here's why
James’s cards
Computed from October 11, 1936. Tap to flip.
Birth tarot card
The FoolAsterNym identity card
The Radiant PioneerWestern zodiac
LibraChinese zodiac
Rat 子Life Path
4 · Architect♀ Ruled by Venus
Copper Cu
The working: BaZi pillarsshow
BaZi pillars
Day Master: yang Fire.
Year
丙
yang Fire
子
Rat
Water
roots & early life
Month
戊
yang Earth
戌
Dog
Earth
work & drive
Day
day master
丙
yang Fire
寅
Tiger
Wood
you & partnership
Where this comes from, and how it is worked out
James’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q709723 (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 United States Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The same James M. McPherson at Wikipedia and IMDb.
Roster last reviewed September 10, 2026. The full method: how it works.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions, and not endorsed by James M. McPherson.
Quick answers about James M. McPherson’s chart
- How old is James M. McPherson?
- James M. McPherson is 90 years old, born October 11, 1936 in Valley City, United States.
- What zodiac sign is James M. McPherson?
- James M. McPherson is a Libra: born October 11, 1936, which puts the Sun in Libra for the whole of that day.
- What is James M. McPherson's Chinese zodiac animal?
- The Rat, with the Fire element, from the Chinese lunar year of the October 11, 1936 birth.
- What is James M. McPherson's Life Path number?
- Life Path 4, calculated in numerology.
- What is James M. McPherson's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Gemini at 23°. Position from JPL Horizons.
- Where is James M. McPherson's Black Moon Lilith?
- Mean Black Moon Lilith in Scorpio at 0°. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
- What is James M. McPherson's dominant planet?
- Venus, on AsterNym's dominance score (8 points: rules the Sun sign, Libra; disposes Sun, Mercury, Uranus; 2 major aspects). Jupiter is second and Saturn third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.
