Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren (born June 13, 1894, Vermilion County, United States; died 1972), was an American poet and literary critic. Doren's honours include Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Emerson-Thoreau Medal and Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets.
Mark Van Doren’s zodiac sign was Gemini, Chinese zodiac was Wood Horse, with Life Path 5 in numerology.
Gemini, Chinese zodiac was 
Wood Horse, with 
Life Path 5 in numerology.Your match with Mark
Mark Van Doren’s AsterNym identity
The Radiant Explorer
Fire represents warmth, visibility and momentum. Fire-led charts are associated with enthusiasm, expression and the ability to encourage other people. Life Path 5 represents freedom: change, movement, variety and resistance to restrictive routines.
Fire Day Master (BaZi) × mutable Sun × Life Path 5, on the physical plane.
How common is the name Mark in the U.S.?
#245
US rank in 2025
~1,366,672
Americans share it since 1880
1960
its peak year
Mark ranked 181st among boys and 1,628th among girls in 1894, the year of this birth, with 84 American boys and 5 girls on the register.
US Social Security Administration public records
What Mark’s name adds up to
Worked from the name as published, letter by letter.
1
Expression · starting things
4
Soul Urge · solid ground
6
Personality · caring, responsible
The name opens on M (4) and closes on K (2). Two values tie for most repeated, 4 and 5: craft against movement.
Pythagorean letter values · A=1 to I=9, then J=1 again
Mark’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences, calculated not chosen.
Lucky numbers
5 · 2 · 3 · 7
Lucky colours
Green & Teal
Lucky day
Wednesday
Direction
→ East
Season
spring
Stones
Pearl, Emerald, Green Aventurine
Flower constellation
🌹 Rose · 💜 Lavender · 🌿 Fern
Rose pink · Lilac · Forest
The record
What sets Mark apart
Mark Van Doren took the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1940, at 46.
Training came by way of UIUC College of Media and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The grave is at Cornwall Hollow Cemetery.
The family line: married Dorothy Graffe Van Doren and raised one child.
Wikipedia's editors put Mark Van Doren under American literary editors, People from Vermilion County, Illinois and Van Doren family.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831) and Chris Evans (1981) share the birthday in another year, so the sun sits where it sits here.
- Educated at
- UIUC College of Media, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Columbia University
- Awards
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1940), Emerson-Thoreau Medal (1963) and Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets (1967)
- Buried at
- Cornwall Hollow Cemetery
- Citizenship
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Wikipedia editions
- 19
What the chart says
Mark, according to the stars
Core essence
Mark 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. Mark needs newness the way other people need sleep, and gives the people around them the gift of never being bored.
How Mark wants to be loved
Mark 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 Mark is yours, they stay, and they expect the same.
How Mark creates
How Mark 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. Mark 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: Mark is free-spirited, a Horse year, and their gut reaction is to run toward the new thing. Energetic, warm, popular, honest to a fault, and impossible to keep indoors. The Wood year adds growth: ideals, ambition, a need to be getting somewhere.
Purpose
Purpose: Life Path 5 is the free spirit. Mark is here to explore, to change, to taste everything and report back. Adventure, variety and freedom are not distractions from their purpose, they are it. The lesson is choosing, sometimes, and staying.
Triggers
Triggers: cruelty, and being cornered. Mars in Pisces does not fight straight; Mark slips away, absorbs it, or turns it into something creative instead. Anger becomes art or empathy. The lesson is learning that they are allowed to take up space and say the hard thing.
Computed from Mark's birth date. Working below.
Where Mark sits
Six lines
Mark’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 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 likely handle some friction right away and let smaller things settle.
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 Mark Van Doren
Three stars chosen from the real sky above Vermilion County 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 Vermilion County that night
Computed for 40.18°N, 9 p.m. local sky.
Overhead at Vermilion County at 9 p.m. that evening: Izar of Boötes, within 12.7° of the exact zenith.
Of the 83 catalog stars above the horizon, Arcturus was the brightest.
From 40.2°N not one of the brightest stars stays permanently above the horizon — all of them rise and set.
The trade is at the other end of the sky: nothing south of −49.8° declination ever rises from here, which puts Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar, Hadar, Acrux, Mimosa and Toliman permanently out of view.
The Moon, 84% lit at waxing gibbous, was still up; the Sun sat 15° below the horizon.
The name and the places
- Born in
- Vermilion County, United States
The death is recorded at Torrington, Northwest Hills Planning Region in 1972.
No birth time is on record, so no astrocartography map can be drawn for Mark Van Doren: the lines move about fifteen degrees of longitude an hour. Shared Places can still draw yours.
How unusual Mark's chart is
Chart pattern score
49 / 100 · Quietly distinctive
4-planet stellium in Gemini · No Fire planets
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 →Gemini Sun
Gemini SunTwo minds, both talking.
Mark Van Doren's Sun was in Gemini for the whole of June 13, 1894, so no birth time is needed to settle it.
What Gemini means →Wood Horse
Wood HorseOpen road, open heart.
Mark Van Doren was born on June 13, 1894, which falls in a Wood Horse year of the Chinese calendar.
What the Horse means →Life Path 5
Life Path 5Five doors open at once.
Mark Van Doren's birth date, June 13, 1894, reduces to Life Path 5 under the numerology method AsterNym uses.
What Life Path 5 means →What stands out in Mark’s chart
- The tightest major aspect in Mark Van Doren's date-only chart is Venus opposition Uranus, with an orb of under 1°.
- Four planets, Sun, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, sit together in Gemini, which astrologers call a stellium.
- Five of the ten planets fall in Mutable signs, making Mutable the strongest modality in this chart.
- Mark Van Doren combines a Fire Day Master in BaZi with a mutable Sun and a Life Path on the physical plane, the combination AsterNym calls The Radiant Explorer.
Mark’s birth chart
Reference chart · birth time unknown
Positions are checked across the whole date. The Moon ranges from 24° to 7° Libra or Scorpio 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
stableVenusoppositionUranus0.0° to 0.7° orb
Mark’s affections pull against their need for freedom from across the wheel.
stableSunsquareMars1.0° to 1.3° orb
Mark’s core identity grinds against their drive.
stableMercurysquareSaturn2.2° to 3.7° orb
Mark’s mind grinds against their discipline.
stableJupitertrineSaturn2.3° to 2.6° orb
stableJupiterconjunctionNeptune2.3° to 2.5° orb
stableMercurytrineUranus3.0° to 4.5° orb
stableNeptuneconjunctionPluto3.0° to 3.1° orb
stableSuntrineSaturn3.7° to 4.7° orb
stableMercurysextileVenus3.7° to 4.0° orb
stableSaturntrineNeptune4.8° to 4.9° orb
stableJupiterconjunctionPluto5.3° to 5.5° orb
stableSunconjunctionJupiter6.3° to 7.0° orb
Chart signature
Elements
- Fire0 of 10
- Earth1 of 10
- Air5 of 10
- Water4 of 10
Modalities
- Cardinal2 of 10
- Fixed3 of 10
- Mutable5 of 10
Counted across the ten planets by sign: Air leads this chart, with no planets in Fire signs.
Mark’s Chiron, Ceres, Eros, Hygiea and Lilith
What astrologers make of these five, at noon values.
⚷ ChironVirgo 15°35′ (moves 0.06° over the day)
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
⚳ CeresVirgo 18°18′ (moves 0.27° over the day)
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
♡ ErosLibra 2°27′ (moves 0.60° over the day)
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
⚕ Hygiea ℞Scorpio 7°27′ (moves 0.04° over the day)
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
⚸ Black Moon LilithCapricorn 18°32′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith
- Chiron sextile Mercury 0.0°
- Black Moon Lilith square Saturn 0.1°
- Chiron square Jupiter 0.4°
- Chiron square Neptune 2.0°
- Ceres square Jupiter 2.3°
- Ceres sextile Mercury 2.8°
Mark’s dominant planets
1. ☿ Mercury10 pts
rules the Sun sign, Gemini; disposes Sun, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto; 3 major aspects
2. ♀ Venus5 pts
in its own sign, Taurus; disposes Saturn; 2 major aspects
3. ♃ Jupiter4 pts
4 major aspects
Configurations in Mark’s chart
Stellium in Gemini · Sun, Jupiter, Neptune, PlutoThree or more planets in one sign (four, or three with a luminary, by AsterNym's count): a concentration astrologers read as that sign's themes dominating the chart.
Minor aspects
semi-sextile, semi-square, quintile, sesquiquadrate, biquintile, quincunx.
- Mercury semi-sextile Jupiter 0.5°
- Venus semi-sextile Pluto 1.1°
- Uranus quincunx Pluto 1.2°
- Uranus quincunx Neptune 1.8°
- Mercury semi-sextile Neptune 1.9°
- Venus semi-sextile Neptune 2.0°
More people like Mark
Other writers
- Agnes S. O'Rear1895
- Edgar Ansel Mowrer1892
- Ariel Durant1898
- Pär Lagerkvist1891
- Eyvind Johnson1900
- Pearl S. Buck1892
Born in United States
- H. L. DavisAmerican novelist and poet
- Felix MorleyAmerican journalist and college administrator
- Robert HillyerAmerican poet
- Douglas MooreAmerican composer
- Morrie RyskindAmerican activist and entertainer
- Tiny SandfordAmerican actor
More charts like Mark’s
Fellow Gemini suns
- Julien AlfredSaint Lucian sprinter (born 2001)
- Xolo MaridueñaAmerican actor
- Jurriën TimberDutch association football player (born 2001)
Born in Horse years
- Emily NussbaumAmerican television critic
- Henry S. TaylorAmerican poet
- John Hugheseditor, born 1930
Also born on June 13
- James Clerk Maxwell1831
- Chris Evans1981
- Luis Walter Alvarez1911
- Paavo Nurmi1897
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala1954
- Kat Dennings1986
Fellow Yang Fire day masters
- Christopher RouseAmerican composer
- Mel PowellAmerican composer
- John StrohmeyerAmerican journalist
Other Gemini Horse charts
- Jrue HolidayAmerican basketball player (born 1990)
- Tara LynnAmerican model from Tacoma, Washington
- Gleb FetisovFilm producer
- Paul McCartneyEnglish musician and member of the Beatles
Other Radiant Explorers
- Jacob TremblayCanadian actor
- Susan KohnerAmerican actress
- Joan PlowrightBritish actress
- Marsha MasonAmerican actress (born 1942)
Famous people with Life Path 5
- Jihaad CampbellAmerican football player (born 2004)
- Jedrick WillsAmerican football offensive tackle
- Reid FergusonAmerican football player from the United States
From the journal: Zodiac clashes and the ben ming nian year · Yin and yang: the idea underneath everything else
Mark’s cards
Computed from June 13, 1894. Tap to flip.
Birth tarot card
TemperanceAsterNym identity card
The Radiant ExplorerWestern zodiac
GeminiChinese zodiac
Horse 午Life Path
5 · Explorer☿ Ruled by Mercury
Quicksilver Hg
The working: BaZi pillarsshow
BaZi pillars
Day Master: yang Fire.
Year
甲
yang Wood
午
Horse
Fire
roots & early life
Month
庚
yang Metal
午
Horse
Fire
work & drive
Day
day master
丙
yang Fire
戌
Dog
Earth
you & partnership
Where this comes from, and how it is worked out
Mark’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q975491 (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 Doris Ulmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The same Mark Van Doren at Wikipedia, IMDb and MusicBrainz.
Roster last reviewed September 10, 2026. The full method: how it works.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions, and not endorsed by Mark Van Doren.
Quick answers about Mark Van Doren’s chart
- What zodiac sign was Mark Van Doren?
- Mark Van Doren was a Gemini: born June 13, 1894, which puts the Sun in Gemini for the whole of that day.
- What was Mark Van Doren's Chinese zodiac animal?
- The Horse, with the Wood element, from the Chinese lunar year of the June 13, 1894 birth.
- What was Mark Van Doren's Life Path number?
- Life Path 5, calculated in numerology.
- What was Mark Van Doren's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Virgo at 15°. Position from JPL Horizons.
- Where was Mark Van Doren's Black Moon Lilith?
- Mean Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn at 18°. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
- What was Mark Van Doren's dominant planet?
- Mercury, on AsterNym's dominance score (10 points: rules the Sun sign, Gemini; disposes Sun, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto; 3 major aspects). Venus is second and Jupiter third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.
