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, Chinese zodiac was Metal Snake, with Life Path 7 in numerology.
Cancer, Chinese zodiac was 
Metal Snake, with 
Life Path 7 in numerology.Your match with Les
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 1900
1961
its peak year
Les ranked 1,223rd in 1941, the year of this birth, with 30 American boys on the register.
US Social Security Administration public records
What Les’s name adds up to
Worked from the name as published, letter by letter.
7
Expression · depth and research
11
Soul Urge · insight
5
Personality · restless, adaptable
The name opens on L (3) and closes on S (1). The value it repeats most is 5, which numerology reads as movement.
Pythagorean letter values · A=1 to I=9, then J=1 again
Les’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences, calculated not chosen.
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
Eight Mansions · Kua number
Kua 4, trigram Xun 巽, East group. Best direction North, worst Northwest.
A different tradition from the Direction above, and a different question: feng shui reads it from the solar year 1941, 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 Les apart
Les Payne took the Journalist of the Year in 1979, at 38.
The classrooms behind this chart: Hartford Public High School and University of Connecticut.
Cause of death is recorded as myocardial infarction.
On the family side, Les Payne was raised 3 children.
Wikipedia's editors put Les Payne under Journalists from Connecticut, Writers from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and American people of Cameroonian descent.
Pablo Neruda (1904) and Vinícius Júnior (2000) share the birthday in another year, so the sun sits where it sits here.
- Educated at
- Hartford Public High School and University of Connecticut
- Awards
- Pulitzer Prize for Biography (2021), National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame (2008) and Journalist of the Year (1979)
- Cause of death
- myocardial infarction
- Citizenship
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Wikipedia editions
- 3
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. Working below.
Where Les sits
Six lines
Les’s dot comes from the chart; yours is where 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.
A 9 p.m. reference sky, not the birth minute. Dedications are commemorative and confer no ownership of stars.
The sky over Tuscaloosa that night
Computed for 33.21°N, 9 p.m. local sky.
At 9 p.m. the star closest to straight overhead at Tuscaloosa was Alphecca, in Corona Borealis, 83.7° up.
Of the 78 catalog stars above the horizon, Arcturus was the brightest.
From 33.2°N not one of the brightest stars stays permanently above the horizon — all of them rise and set.
Nothing below −56.8° declination clears the horizon at this latitude, so Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar, Hadar, Acrux, Mimosa and Toliman were never visible from Tuscaloosa on any night.
The Moon, 80% lit at waning gibbous, had already set; the Sun sat 11° below the horizon.
How unusual Les's chart is
Chart pattern score
47 / 100 · Quietly distinctive
1 unaspected planet · A bowl chart · 1 planet 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. Without a birth time the houses are left out of it.
Score your own chart →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.
What Cancer means →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.
What the Snake means →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.
What Life Path 7 means →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
Positions are checked across the whole date. The Moon ranges from 2° to 15° Pisces 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
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
stableSaturnconjunctionUranus3.6° orb
stableUranustrineNeptune3.9° orb
stableUranussextilePluto4.3° to 4.4° orb
stableMarssextileJupiter4.5° to 4.9° orb
stableVenustrineMars6.2° to 6.9° orb
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
What astrologers make of these five, at noon values.
⚷ ChironLeo 2°55′ (moves 0.12° over the day)
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
⚳ Ceres ℞Sagittarius 27°34′ (moves 0.18° over the day)
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
♡ ErosCancer 12°60′ (moves 0.91° over the day)
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
⚕ HygieaTaurus 26°11′ (moves 0.27° over the day)
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
⚸ Black Moon LilithTaurus 14°08′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith
- 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°
Les’s dominant planets
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
Configurations in Les’s chart
No stellium, grand trine, T-square, grand cross, yod or kite — the common case.
Minor aspects
semi-sextile, semi-square, quintile, sesquiquadrate, biquintile, quincunx.
- Venus quintile Uranus 1.3°
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
Computed from July 12, 1941. Tap to flip.
Birth tarot card
The TowerAsterNym identity card
The Gilded VisionaryWestern zodiac
CancerChinese zodiac
Snake 巳Life Path
7 · Seeker☾ Ruled by Moon
Silver Ag
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
Where this comes from, and how it is worked out
Les’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q6529853 (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 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. The full method: how it works.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions, and not 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.
- 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 was Les Payne's Life Path number?
- Life Path 7, calculated in numerology.
- What was Les Payne's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Leo at 2°. Position from JPL Horizons.
- 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.
