James Tate
James Tate (born December 8, 1943, Kansas City, United States; died 2015), was an American poet. Tate's honours include Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, National Book Award and Guggenheim Fellowship.
James Tate’s zodiac sign was Sagittarius, and in the Chinese zodiac they were a Water Goat, with Life Path 1 in numerology.
Sagittarius, and in the Chinese zodiac they were a 
Water Goat, with 
Life Path 1 in numerology.How compatible are you with James Tate?
Your birthday, just below, gives your match percentage with James. Under a minute.
Your AsterNym Match
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Two details and you have your number with James. 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
James Tate’s AsterNym identity
The Gilded Storyteller
Metal represents precision. Metal-led charts are associated with standards, boundaries, discernment and the ability to remove what is unnecessary. Life Path 1 represents initiative: beginning, working independently and moving before everyone agrees.
Metal Day Master (BaZi) × mutable Sun × Life Path 1, on the mental 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
US Social Security Administration public records
James’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences calculated from AsterNym’s astrology, wuxing and numerology system.
Lucky numbers
1 · 2 · 7
Lucky colours
Blue & Black
Lucky day
Thursday
Direction
↑ North
Season
winter
Stones
Turquoise, Yellow Sapphire, Aquamarine
Flower constellation
🤍 Narcissus · 🌸 Peony · 💠 Water Lily
Frost white · Rose-gold · Moonlight white
The same wuxing & numerology correspondences as your own print. One tradition, read for everyone
What the chart says
James, according to the stars
Core essence
James is the friend who says "let's just go" and means today. The core of James is faith that the world is bigger and better than the room they are in, and a restlessness to go and check. They are honest to the point of it being a sport, funny by accident, and impossible to keep small. Freedom is not a preference, it is oxygen.
The vibe
Underneath, James is calm in a way that steadies other people. The Moon in Taurus wants comfort that can be touched: the same mug, the same song, the friend who does not need explaining to. What James needs to feel safe is consistency. Show up the same way twice and you are in.
How James creates
How James makes things happen: they cut to it. A Yang Metal day master is the sword, decisive, principled, allergic to nonsense. James creates by clarifying, by deciding, by being the one who says what the thing actually is. Sharp with themselves first. The work is remembering that not every problem needs a blade.
Instinct
Instinct: James is creative and kind, a Goat year, and their gut reaction is to make it beautiful. Artistic, gentle, easily moved, and the friend everyone confides in. The Water year softens it: intuitive, adaptable, feeling their way through people.
Purpose
Purpose: Life Path 1 is the pioneer. James is here to go first, to start the thing, to trust their own read when nobody else has a map. Independence is the gift and the lesson: the best version of James leads without needing to do it alone.
Triggers
Triggers: being bored, and being talked over. Mars in Gemini fights with words and wins, then forgets it happened. James scatters energy across three projects at once and somehow finishes two. The trick is choosing the argument worth having.
Computed from James's birth date, not guessed. The full working is below.
Where James sits
Six lines. Tap where you sit on each.
James’s dot is placed from the chart. Yours is wherever you put it.
You likely balance a tight inner circle with a wider orbit you dip into.
You may leap first and adjust as you go. Waiting can feel like losing momentum.
You likely share some feelings openly and keep others to yourself.
You may want to resolve tension the moment it appears, rather than let it sit.
You likely balance practical steps with room to imagine further.
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 night
Dedicate a star to James Tate
Three stars chosen from the real sky above Kansas City on the night they were born. Choose the story that connects you.
No public birth time is available, so this is a 9:00 p.m. reference evening sky for that date and place. It is connected to the night of birth; it is not the sky at the birth minute, and no other reading on this page uses that time. Dedications are commemorative AsterNym records and do not rename or confer ownership of stars.
The quick version
Sagittarius Sun
Sagittarius SunRestless in a good way.
James Tate's Sun was in Sagittarius for the whole of December 8, 1943, so no birth time is needed to settle it. Traditional Sagittarius readings associate the sign with distance, belief and candour: travel, big questions and an answer given before it was asked for. Astrologers describe it as the mutable fire sign, ruled by Jupiter, and read it for optimism and appetite. The corresponding tension is overreach, with the classical caution that the horizon is more attractive than the ground underfoot.
Water Goat
Water GoatNeeds beauty like air.
James Tate was born on December 8, 1943, which falls in a Water Goat year of the Chinese calendar. Traditional Goat readings emphasise gentleness, creativity and a preference for harmony over conflict. The Chinese almanacs describe the Goat as the artist of the cycle, kind and easily moved, and associate it with taste and care for others. The corresponding caution in the tradition is dependence: a need for reassurance that can become a reluctance to decide alone.
Life Path 1
Life Path 1Front of the line, alone.
James Tate's birth date, December 8, 1943, reduces to Life Path 1 under the numerology method AsterNym uses. Traditional Life Path 1 readings associate the number with initiative, independence and the role of going first: deciding, beginning and leading before agreement has formed. Numerologists describe it as the path of the pioneer. The corresponding tension is isolation, with the caution that the front of the line can be a lonely place to stand.
What stands out in James’s chart
- The tightest major aspect in James Tate's date-only chart is Mercury sextile Venus, with an orb of under 1°.
- Three planets, Mars, Saturn and Uranus, sit together in Gemini, which astrologers call a stellium.
- Four planets were retrograde on the birth date: Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto.
- James Tate combines a Metal Day Master in BaZi with a mutable Sun and a Life Path on the mental plane, the combination AsterNym calls The Gilded Storyteller.
James’s birth chart
Reference chart · birth time unknown
No documented birth time exists for James Tate, so the positions below are checked across the whole birth date, not fixed at noon. The Moon ranges from 3° to 16° Taurus depending on the hour. The wheel's houses are a solar chart, counted from the Sun's sign, because the Ascendant needs a time.
No birth time, so the houses are a solar chart: the Sun’s sign counts as house 1. A documented time would place them from the Ascendant instead.
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
Stable aspects hold for any birth hour. Possible ones depend on the hour, so their orb is a range rather than a number. Orb policy western_v1.
stableMercurysextileVenus0.3° to 0.7° orb
James’s mind opens doors for their affections. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.
stableUranussextilePluto2.1° orb
James’s need for freedom opens doors for their depths. Nothing happens until someone makes the first move.
stableMercurysquareNeptune2.3° to 3.8° orb
James’s mind grinds against their imagination.
stableUranustrineNeptune2.4° to 2.5° orb
James’s need for freedom flows straight into their imagination. A talent so smooth it can go unnoticed.
stableVenussextileJupiter2.9° to 4.0° orb
James’s affections open doors for their growth.
stableMarssextilePluto2.9° to 3.3° orb
James’s drive opens doors for their depths. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.
stableMercurytrineJupiter3.2° to 4.7° orb
James’s mind flows straight into their growth. Effortless, which is exactly why it gets taken for granted.
stableJupitersextileSaturn3.2° to 3.3° orb
James’s growth opens doors for their discipline. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.
stableSunoppositionMars3.4° to 4.8° orb
James’s core identity pulls against their drive from across the wheel.
stableNeptunesextilePluto4.5° to 4.6° orb
James’s imagination opens doors for their depths. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.
stableMarsconjunctionUranus5.0° to 5.4° orb
James’s drive and need for freedom act as one. Wherever one goes, the other is already there.
stableMercuryoppositionSaturn6.4° to 8.0° orb
James’s mind pulls against their discipline from across the wheel.
Chart signature
Elements
- Fire3 of 10
- Earth2 of 10
- Air4 of 10
- Water1 of 10
Modalities
- Cardinal2 of 10
- Fixed4 of 10
- Mutable4 of 10
Counted across the ten planets by sign: Air leads this chart.
James’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. Without a birth time the degree is the noon value and the day's movement is shown alongside it.
⚷ ChironVirgo 15°20′ (moves 0.04° over the day)
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
Chiron in Virgo is read as a wound around never being good enough. The reading has James turning that pressure into craft and an eye for what others miss.
⚳ Ceres ℞Cancer 4°59′ (moves 0.20° over the day)
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
Ceres in Cancer sits in the sign the tradition links to it most closely: care as instinct. James is read as someone for whom looking after others is not a decision.
♡ ErosSagittarius 17°30′ (moves 0.65° over the day)
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
Eros in Sagittarius is read as desire for the far-off and the free. The reading has James attracted to people who open a door rather than close one.
⚕ HygieaLibra 22°07′ (moves 0.35° over the day)
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
Hygiea in Libra is read as health that depends on balance and company. James is read as someone who wears out in conflict and recovers in harmony.
⚸ Black Moon LilithLeo 22°03′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Black Moon Lilith in Leo is read as a pride that will not perform on demand. James is read as most dangerous when underestimated.
Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith
Major aspects only, at a tight 3° orb. The Moon is left out because its position moves 13° across an untimed day.
- Chiron square Sun 0.4°
- Ceres square Neptune 1.0°
- Hygiea trine Saturn 1.6°
- Black Moon Lilith sextile Saturn 1.7°
- Eros conjunction Sun 1.8°
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°).
James’s dominant planets
Scored from rulerships, dispositors and aspect count. Without a birth time there is no Ascendant or house to score, and the Moon's sign is left out where it could change with the hour.
1. ☿ Mercury7 pts
disposes Mars, Saturn, Uranus; 4 major aspects
2. ♃ Jupiter7 pts
rules the Sun sign, Sagittarius; disposes Sun; 3 major aspects
3. ♇ Pluto4 pts
disposes Venus; 3 major aspects
A Mercury-led chart is read as the mind in charge: James is read as thinking, talking and connecting their way through life.
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 James’s chart
Closed shapes among the ten planets under the site’s one aspect-orb policy. The Moon is excluded without a birth time, so a shape that needs it is not claimed.
No stellium, grand trine, T-square, grand cross, yod or kite closes among the planets that can be placed. That is the common case, not a gap.
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. Moon excluded without a birth time.
- Venus biquintile Uranus 0.0°
- Saturn semi-square Pluto 0.2°
- Sun semi-square Venus 0.3°
- Sun quintile Neptune 0.3°
Houses need a birth time. None is documented for James Tate, so no house placements are claimed for the planets or the minor bodies above.
Born the same day as James
Jim Morrison was born on December 8, 1943 too, the same date with the same year. The Sun sign, year animal and Life Path are shared exactly. Same sky, different lives.
More people like James
Other writers
- James Alan McPherson1943
- Annie Dillard1945
- Doris Kearns Goodwin1943
- Gerrit Komrij1944
- Joseph Ellis1943
- Patrick Modiano1945
Born in United States
- Stephen GreenblattAmerican literary critic, theorist and scholar
- Henry ThreadgillAmerican jazz musician (born 1944)
- Robert De NiroAmerican actor
- Henry KravisAmerican businessman
- Gail MillerAmerican businesswoman
- David J. WinelandAmerican physicist
More charts like James’s
Fellow Sagittarius suns
- Abigail JohnsonAmerican businesswoman, business executive, heiress, billionaire
- David RudishaKenyan middle distance runner
- Hande ErçelTurkish actor and fashion model
Born in Goat years
- Redouane HalhalMoroccan and French footballer
- Henrik FalchenerNorwegian footballer (born 2003)
- Petar SučićCroatian footballer (born 2003)
Also born on December 8
- Jim Morrison1943
- Nicki Minaj1982
- Sinéad O'Connor1966
- Ian Somerhalder1978
- Sammy Davis Jr.1925
- Ashish Chanchlani1993
Fellow Yang Metal day masters
- Ron Harper Jr.American basketball player (born 2000)
- Christian BraunAmerican basketball player (born 2001)
- Aaron GordonAmerican basketball player (born. 1995)
Other Sagittarius Goat charts
- Kyshawn GeorgeSwiss basketball player (born 2003)
- Alexander GerkoRussian-British businessperson
- Theodore Permadi RachmatOwner and Founder, Triputra Group
- John PaulsonAmerican family office manager
Other Gilded Storytellers
- Tyler NickelAmerican basketball player (born 2003)
- Josh OkogieNigerian basketball player (born 1998)
- Alexandre SarrFrench basketball player (born 2005)
- David DobrikSlovak YouTuber
Famous people with Life Path 1
- Hilary KnightAmerican ice hockey player
- Rei KawakuboJapanese fashion designer, business woman
- Mon LaferteChilean Mexican singer-songwriter
From the journal: Do twins have the same birth chart? · Cusp signs aren't real | here's why
James’s cards
Every card is computed from December 8, 1943, none chosen. Tap one to flip it.
♃ Ruled by Jupiter
Tin Sn
Tap to flip
The working: BaZi pillarsshow
BaZi pillars
Day Master: yang Metal.
Year
癸
yin Water
未
Goat
Earth
roots & early life
Month
甲
yang Wood
子
Rat
Water
work & drive
Day
day master
庚
yang Metal
子
Rat
Water
you & partnership
No birth time is on public record for James Tate, so this chart has three pillars rather than four. The hour pillar, the rising sign and the birth-sky star all need a time, and we would rather leave them out than invent one.
Where this data comes from
James’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q531155, released under CC0, as do the occupations, works, teams and awards in the biography above. No documented birth time is available, so this chart is rated X on the Rodden scale, the astrological convention for how well evidenced a birth time is. Time-dependent results use a clearly labelled reference time and should not be read as their exact birth chart. 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 Elsa Dorfman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The same James Tate at Wikipedia, jamestate.net, Instagram 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 James Tate.
Quick answers about James Tate’s chart
- What zodiac sign was James Tate?
- James Tate was a Sagittarius: born December 8, 1943, which puts the Sun in Sagittarius for the whole of that day. That is the Western star sign. In the Chinese zodiac they were a Water Goat.
- What was James Tate's Chinese zodiac animal?
- The Goat, with the Water element, from the Chinese lunar year of the December 8, 1943 birth.
- What time was James Tate born?
- No reliably documented birth time is public, so AsterNym does not calculate an Ascendant. This chart uses date-only positions: the wheel shows a reference solar chart (the Sun's sign as house 1), and the Ascendant is left uncomputed instead of guessed from an unverified time.
- What was James Tate's Life Path number?
- Life Path 1, calculated in numerology from the December 8, 1943 birth date.
- What was James Tate's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Virgo at 15°. Position from JPL Horizons for the December 8, 1943 birth date.
- Where was James Tate's Black Moon Lilith?
- Mean Black Moon Lilith in Leo at 22°. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
- What was James Tate's dominant planet?
- Mercury, on AsterNym's dominance score (7 points: disposes Mars, Saturn, Uranus; 4 major aspects). Jupiter is second and Pluto third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.
