Les Payne
Les Payne (born July 12, 1941, Tuscaloosa, United States; died 2018), was an American journalist. Payne's honours include Pulitzer Prize for Biography, National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame and Journalist of the Year.
Les Payne’s zodiac sign was Cancer, and in the Chinese zodiac they were a Metal Snake, with Life Path 7 in numerology.
Cancer, and in the Chinese zodiac they were a 
Metal Snake, with 
Life Path 7 in numerology.How compatible are you with Les Payne?
Your birthday, just below, gives your match percentage with Les. Under a minute.
Your AsterNym Match
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Two details and you have your number with Les. 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
Les Payne’s AsterNym identity
The Gilded Visionary
Metal represents precision. Metal-led charts are associated with standards, boundaries, discernment and the ability to remove what is unnecessary. Life Path 7 represents inquiry: study, solitude and the need to understand what others may simply accept.
Metal Day Master (BaZi) × cardinal Sun × Life Path 7, on the intuitive plane.
How common is the name Les in the U.S.?
#7472
US rank in 2025
~3,480
Americans share it since 1880
1961
its peak year
US Social Security Administration public records
Les’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences calculated from AsterNym’s astrology, wuxing and numerology system.
Lucky numbers
7 · 2 · 8 · 9
Lucky colours
White & Gold
Lucky day
Monday
Direction
← West
Season
autumn
Stones
Ruby, Pearl, Rutilated Quartz
Flower constellation
💠 Larkspur · 🤍 Jasmine · 🤍 White Camellia
Sky blue · Pearl · Silver
The same wuxing & numerology correspondences as your own print. One tradition, read for everyone
What the chart says
Les, according to the stars
Core essence
Les feels the room before entering it. The core of Les is care, the practical kind that remembers what you said in March and has already made the tea. They protect their people with a fierceness that surprises anyone who only knew the soft exterior. Home is not a place for Les, it is whoever they have decided to keep.
The vibe
Underneath, Les is porous: other people's moods get in, and so does beauty, and so does the sad song. The Moon in Pisces feels everything and forgives most of it. What Les needs to feel safe is gentleness and someone who does not make them explain the tears. They will love you back with their whole imagination.
How Les wants to be loved
Les wants to be loved out loud. Venus in Leo is warm, generous and a little theatrical, and it wants a partner who is proud to be seen with them. Praise is oxygen, loyalty is the deal. Adore Les openly and they will make you feel like the only person in every room.
How Les creates
How Les makes things happen: they refine it until it shines. A Yin Metal day master is jewellery, precise, aesthetic, particular about the finish. Les creates by polishing, by taste, by knowing exactly which detail makes the whole thing sing. Sensitive to being handled roughly, and worth handling well.
Instinct
Instinct: Les is wise and watchful, a Snake year, and their gut reaction is to observe before moving. Elegant, intuitive, private, and usually right about people long before saying so. The Metal year sharpens it: principled, determined, clear about what is right.
Purpose
Purpose: Life Path 7 is the seeker. Les 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 to wait. Mars in Aries means Les gets angry fast, says it, and is over it before you have finished being hurt. The temper is honest and short. Give them a clear path and something to fight for, and all that heat turns into drive.
Computed from Les's birth date, not guessed. The full working is below.
Where Les sits
Six lines. Tap where you sit on each.
Les’s dot is placed from the chart. Yours is wherever you put it.
You may run on a few close bonds rather than a crowd. Depth is your default.
You likely weigh most decisions but can move fast when it matters.
You may keep feelings close, working through them before anyone sees.
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 night
Dedicate a star to Les Payne
Three stars chosen from the real sky above Tuscaloosa 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.
Les Payne at a glance
Cancer Sun
Cancer SunMoody, and loyal past reason.
Les Payne's Sun was in Cancer for the whole of July 12, 1941, so no birth time is needed to settle it. Traditional Cancer readings associate the sign with protectiveness, memory and attention to the emotional temperature of a room. Astrologers describe it as the cardinal water sign, ruled by the Moon, and read it for loyalty to family and home. The corresponding tension is guardedness: the tradition describes a sign that looks after others more readily than it lets itself be looked after.
Metal Snake
Metal SnakeWise, cool, hard to read.
Les Payne was born on July 12, 1941, which falls in a Metal Snake year of the Chinese calendar. Traditional Snake readings emphasise intelligence, composure and depth: thinking before speaking, and speaking less than it knows. The Chinese almanacs describe the Snake as the sage of the cycle, private and deliberate. The corresponding caution in the tradition is suspicion, with a tendency to hold a grudge as carefully as it holds a secret.
Life Path 7
Life Path 7Asks the better question.
Les Payne's birth date, July 12, 1941, reduces to Life Path 7 under the numerology method AsterNym uses. Traditional Life Path 7 readings associate the number with inquiry, analysis and solitude: the need to understand what others simply accept. Numerologists describe it as the path of the seeker, reflective and private. The corresponding tension is withdrawal, with the caution that a mind at home in its own company can forget to come out.
What stands out in Les’s chart
- The tightest major aspect in Les Payne's date-only chart is Saturn trine Neptune, with an orb of under 1°.
- Les Payne combines a Metal Day Master in BaZi with a cardinal Sun and a Life Path on the intuitive plane, the combination AsterNym calls The Gilded Visionary.
Les’s birth chart
Reference chart · birth time unknown
No documented birth time exists for Les Payne, so the positions below are checked across the whole birth date, not fixed at noon. The Moon ranges from 2° to 15° Pisces 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.
stableMercurysquareMars0.2° to 0.8° orb
Les’s mind grinds against their drive. The angle that irritates, and the one that teaches.
stableSaturntrineNeptune0.3° orb
Les’s discipline flows straight into their imagination. Effortless, which is exactly why it gets taken for granted.
stableVenussextileJupiter1.3° to 2.3° orb
Les’s affections open doors for their growth.
stableMarstrinePluto2.1° to 2.6° orb
Les’s drive flows straight into their depths. A talent so smooth it can go unnoticed.
stableSaturnconjunctionUranus3.6° orb
Les’s discipline and need for freedom act as one.
stableUranustrineNeptune3.9° orb
Les’s need for freedom flows straight into their imagination. A talent so smooth it can go unnoticed.
stableUranussextilePluto4.3° to 4.4° orb
Les’s need for freedom opens doors for their depths. Nothing happens until someone makes the first move.
stableMarssextileJupiter4.5° to 4.9° orb
Les’s drive opens doors for their growth. An easy alliance, and it pays off when it is used.
stableVenustrineMars6.2° to 6.9° orb
Les’s affections flow straight into their drive.
possibleMoontrineMercuryorb from 0.0° to 8.9° depending on birth time
possibleMoonsquareJupiterorb from 0.1° to 8.1° depending on birth time
possibleMoonsquareUranusorb from 3.2° to 16.0° depending on birth time
Chart signature
Elements
- Fire3 of 10
- Earth3 of 10
- Air1 of 10
- Water3 of 10
Modalities
- Cardinal3 of 10
- Fixed4 of 10
- Mutable3 of 10
Counted across the ten planets by sign.
Les’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.
⚷ ChironLeo 2°55′ (moves 0.12° over the day)
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
Chiron in Leo is read as a sore spot around being seen. The tradition has Les performing through the doubt rather than waiting for it to lift.
⚳ Ceres ℞Sagittarius 27°34′ (moves 0.18° over the day)
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
Ceres in Sagittarius is read as nurture through freedom and wider horizons. Les is read as someone who looks after people by giving them room.
♡ ErosCancer 12°60′ (moves 0.91° over the day)
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
Eros in Cancer is read as desire bound up with safety and memory. Les is read as drawn to people who feel like somewhere to come back to.
⚕ HygieaTaurus 26°11′ (moves 0.27° over the day)
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
Hygiea in Taurus is read as health through routine, food and rest. Les is read as someone whose wellbeing tracks their habits closely.
⚸ Black Moon LilithTaurus 14°08′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Black Moon Lilith in Taurus is read as an unbargained appetite: for pleasure, for ownership, for a body that answers to nobody. Les is read as immovable on those points.
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 conjunction Pluto 0.6°
- Hygiea conjunction Saturn 0.6°
- Hygiea trine Neptune 0.9°
- Black Moon Lilith square Venus 1.7°
- Ceres square Neptune 2.3°
- Chiron trine Mars 3.0°
- Hygiea conjunction Uranus 3.0°
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°).
Les’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. ♂ Mars6 pts
in its own sign, Aries; 4 major aspects
2. ☽ Moon5 pts
rules the Sun sign, Cancer; disposes Sun, Mercury
3. ♀ Venus4 pts
disposes Saturn, Uranus; 2 major aspects
A Mars-led chart is read as drive setting the pace: Les is read as acting first and reflecting after.
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 Les’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 quintile Uranus 1.3°
Houses need a birth time. None is documented for Les Payne, so no house placements are claimed for the planets or the minor bodies above.
More people like Les
Other writers
- C. J. Cherryh1942
- Thomas Powers1940
- Ron Powers1941
- Alexei Panshin1940
- Joe Mayhew1942
- Jane Gentry Vance1941
Born in United States
- Paul SimonAmerican singer-songwriter
- George WillAmerican newspaper columnist, journalist, and author
- Bernard L. SteinAmerican journalist
- John Lewis GaddisAmerican historian of the Cold War (b. 1941)
- Bernie SandersUnited States Senator from Vermont
- Louis IgnarroAmerican physiologist
More charts like Les’s
Fellow Cancer suns
- Erin DohertyBritish actress
- Phoebe Waller-BridgeEnglish actress, screenwriter and producer (born 1985)
- Paul Thomas AndersonAmerican filmmaker (born 1970)
Born in Snake years
- Amari WilliamsBritish basketball player (born 2002)
- Moussa DiabatéFrench basketball player (born 2002)
- Tarık BiberoviçTurkish basketball player (born 2001)
Also born on July 12
- Pablo Neruda1904
- Vinícius Júnior2000
- Tupou VI of Tonga1959
- Phoebe Tonkin1989
- Hilary Knight1989
- Bill Cosby1937
Fellow Yin Metal day masters
- William H. GoetzmannAmerican historian of philosophy
- Justin ChangAmerican film critic
- George BoweringCanadian writer
Other Cancer Snake charts
- Thomas FriedmanAmerican journalist and author
- Bernard L. SteinAmerican journalist
- Zhou LongChinese-American composer
- Shirley Ann GrauAmerican writer
Other Gilded Visionarys
- Santiago GiménezMexican footballer (born 2001)
- Martin ErlićCroatian association football player
- Orkun KökçüTurkish-Dutch association football player (born 2000)
- Alexis SaelemaekersBelgian footballer (born 1999)
Famous people with Life Path 7
- Grant CalcaterraAmerican football player
- Cooper DeJeanAmerican football player
- Jalen RedmondAmerican football player (born 1999)
From the journal: Why there are 12 signs and not 13 · Compatibility triangles: the four trines explained
Les’s cards
Every card is computed from July 12, 1941, none chosen. Tap one to flip it.
☾ Ruled by Moon
Silver Ag
Tap to flip
The working: BaZi pillarsshow
BaZi pillars
Day Master: yin Metal.
Year
辛
yin Metal
巳
Snake
Fire
roots & early life
Month
乙
yin Wood
未
Goat
Earth
work & drive
Day
day master
辛
yin Metal
酉
Rooster
Metal
you & partnership
No birth time is on public record for Les Payne, 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
Les’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q6529853, 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 Urban Agenda; CUNY TV (tv.cuny.edu), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The same Les Payne at Wikipedia.
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 Les Payne.
Quick answers about Les Payne’s chart
- What zodiac sign was Les Payne?
- Les Payne was a Cancer: born July 12, 1941, which puts the Sun in Cancer for the whole of that day. That is the Western star sign. In the Chinese zodiac they were a Metal Snake.
- What was Les Payne's Chinese zodiac animal?
- The Snake, with the Metal element, from the Chinese lunar year of the July 12, 1941 birth.
- What time was Les Payne 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 Les Payne's Life Path number?
- Life Path 7, calculated in numerology from the July 12, 1941 birth date.
- What was Les Payne's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Leo at 2°. Position from JPL Horizons for the July 12, 1941 birth date.
- Where was Les Payne's Black Moon Lilith?
- Mean Black Moon Lilith in Taurus at 14°. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
- What was Les Payne's dominant planet?
- Mars, on AsterNym's dominance score (6 points: in its own sign, Aries; 4 major aspects). Moon is second and Venus third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.
