William Safire
William Safire (born December 17, 1929, New York City, United States; died 2009), was an American journalist and presidential speechwriter. Safire's honours include Presidential Medal of Freedom and Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
William Safire’s zodiac sign was Sagittarius, Chinese zodiac was Earth Snake, with Life Path 5 in numerology.
Sagittarius, Chinese zodiac was 
Earth Snake, with 
Life Path 5 in numerology.Your match with William
William Safire’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 William in the U.S.?
#9
US rank in 2025
~4,215,725
Americans share it since 1880
1947
its peak year
William ranked 4th among boys and 362nd among girls in 1929, the year of this birth, with 47,815 American boys and 337 girls on the register.
US Social Security Administration public records
What William’s name adds up to
Worked from the name as published, letter by letter.
11
Expression · sensing what is coming
7
Soul Urge · understanding
4
Personality · steady, dependable
The name opens on W (5) and closes on M (4). The value it repeats most is 9, which numerology reads as empathy.
Pythagorean letter values · A=1 to I=9, then J=1 again
William’s lucky numbers, colours and stones
Traditional correspondences, calculated not chosen.
Lucky numbers
5 · 2 · 8 · 9
Lucky colours
Yellow & Ochre
Lucky day
Thursday
Direction
• Center
Season
the turning of seasons
Stones
Turquoise, Yellow Sapphire, Citrine
Flower constellation
🤍 Narcissus · 🌸 Peony · 🌼 Chrysanthemum
Frost white · Rose-gold · Gold
Eight Mansions · Kua number
Kua 7, trigram Dui 兌, West group. Best direction Northwest, worst North.
A different tradition from the Direction above, and a different question: feng shui reads it from the solar year 1929, 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 William apart
William Safire took the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1978, at 49.
Syracuse University and Bronx High School of Science shaped the training.
Cause of death is recorded as pancreatic cancer; the grave is at King David Memorial Gardens.
Wikipedia's editors put William Safire under Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni, Speechwriters for presidents of the United States and Jewish American columnists.
Pope Francis (1936) and Milla Jovovich (1975) share the birthday in another year, so the sun sits where it sits here.
- Educated at
- Syracuse University and Bronx High School of Science
- Awards
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2006) and Pulitzer Prize for Commentary (1978)
- Cause of death
- pancreatic cancer
- Buried at
- King David Memorial Gardens
- Citizenship
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Wikipedia editions
- 24
What the chart says
William, according to the stars
Core essence
William is the friend who says "let's just go" and means today. The core of William 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, William is all feeling, tide in and tide out. The Moon in Cancer means moods are weather, real and passing, and memory is long: they keep every kindness and, quietly, every slight. What William needs to feel safe is a soft place to land that is not going anywhere. Give them that and they give you everything.
How William wants to be loved
William wants to be loved by someone who is also their favourite travel companion. Venus in Sagittarius needs laughter, honesty and a long leash, and gives the same. Possessiveness kills it; adventure feeds it. Go somewhere new with William and watch them fall for you again.
How William creates
How William 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. William 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: William 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 Earth year grounds it: practical, patient, someone people lean on.
Purpose
Purpose: Life Path 5 is the free spirit. William 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: being fenced in, and being lied to. Mars in Sagittarius fights loud, laughs it off, and is genuinely fine ten minutes later. William has boundless energy for anything with a horizon in it and none for the small print. Aim them at something far away and step back.
Computed from William's birth date. Working below.
Where William sits
Six lines
William’s dot comes from the chart; yours is where 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 William Safire
Three stars chosen from the real sky above New York 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 New York City that night
Computed for 40.71°N, 9 p.m. local sky.
Algol stood nearest the zenith over New York City at 9 p.m. that evening, 87.2° above the horizon in Perseus.
Sirius was the brightest thing up that night, one of 107 catalog stars above the horizon.
From 40.7°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 −49.3° declination ever rises from here, which puts Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar, Hadar, Acrux, Mimosa and Toliman permanently out of view.
The Moon, 96% lit at waning gibbous, was still up; the Sun sat 50° below the horizon.
The name and the places
- Born in
- New York City, United States
The death is recorded at Rockville, Montgomery County in 2009.
No birth time is on record, so no astrocartography map can be drawn for William Safire: the lines move about fifteen degrees of longitude an hour. Shared Places can still draw yours.
How unusual William's chart is
Chart pattern score
44 / 100 · Quietly distinctive
3-planet stellium in Sagittarius · T-square onto Uranus
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 →William Safire at a glance
Sagittarius Sun
Sagittarius SunNeeds a horizon, any horizon.
William Safire's Sun was in Sagittarius for the whole of December 17, 1929, so no birth time is needed to settle it.
What Sagittarius means →Earth Snake
Earth SnakeCalm surface, fast strike.
William Safire was born on December 17, 1929, which falls in a Earth Snake year of the Chinese calendar.
What the Snake means →Life Path 5
Life Path 5Freedom over comfort, always.
William Safire's birth date, December 17, 1929, reduces to Life Path 5 under the numerology method AsterNym uses.
What Life Path 5 means →What stands out in William’s chart
- The tightest major aspect in William Safire's date-only chart is Mercury square Uranus, with an orb of about 1°.
- Three planets, Sun, Venus and Mars, sit together in Sagittarius, which astrologers call a stellium.
- William Safire 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.
William’s birth chart
Reference chart · birth time unknown
Positions are checked across the whole date. The Moon ranges from 5° to 20° Cancer 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
stableMercurysquareUranus0.2° to 1.8° orb
William’s mind grinds against their need for freedom. The friction is lifelong. Worked with, it builds real strength.
stableSaturntrineNeptune1.5° to 1.6° orb
William’s discipline flows straight into their imagination. Effortless, which is exactly why it gets taken for granted.
stableJupitersextileUranus2.0° to 2.1° orb
William’s growth opens doors for their need for freedom. Nothing happens until someone makes the first move.
stableMercurytrineNeptune2.1° to 3.7° orb
stableVenusoppositionJupiter2.9° to 4.3° orb
stableMercuryconjunctionSaturn3.7° to 5.1° orb
stableSunconjunctionMars3.9° to 4.2° orb
stableVenustrineUranus5.0° to 6.3° orb
stableSaturnsquareUranus5.4° to 5.5° orb
stableJupitersquareNeptune5.9° to 6.0° orb
stableSunconjunctionSaturn6.3° to 7.2° orb
possibleMoonoppositionMercuryorb from 0.1° to 13.0° depending on birth time
Chart signature
Elements
- Fire4 of 10
- Earth3 of 10
- Air1 of 10
- Water2 of 10
Modalities
- Cardinal5 of 10
- Fixed0 of 10
- Mutable5 of 10
Counted across the ten planets by sign: Fire leads this chart.
William’s Chiron, Ceres, Eros, Hygiea and Lilith
What astrologers make of these five, at noon values.
⚷ Chiron ℞Taurus 10°08′ (moves 0.03° over the day)
centaur (2060) · the wound and what is learnt from it
⚳ Ceres ℞Gemini 9°01′ (moves 0.21° over the day)
dwarf planet (1) · how a person nurtures and wants to be nurtured
♡ ErosCapricorn 1°16′ (moves 0.62° over the day)
near-Earth asteroid (433) · what draws them and how they desire
⚕ HygieaAries 3°58′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
main-belt asteroid (10) · health, routine and what keeps them well
⚸ Black Moon LilithCapricorn 23°27′ (moves 0.11° over the day)
mean lunar apogee · the part that refuses to be tamed
Aspects to the asteroids and Lilith
- Ceres conjunction Jupiter 0.5°
- Eros conjunction Saturn 0.8°
- Ceres sextile Uranus 1.6°
- Hygiea square Saturn 1.9°
- Eros trine Neptune 2.3°
- Hygiea square Mercury 2.5°
William’s dominant planets
1. ♃ Jupiter9 pts
rules the Sun sign, Sagittarius; disposes Sun, Venus, Mars; 3 major aspects
2. ♄ Saturn7 pts
in its own sign, Capricorn; disposes Mercury; 4 major aspects
3. ☿ Mercury5 pts
disposes Jupiter, Neptune; 3 major aspects
Configurations in William’s chart
Stellium in Sagittarius · Sun, Venus, MarsThree 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.
- Venus biquintile Pluto 0.1°
- Neptune semi-square Pluto 0.5°
- Mars quincunx Pluto 2.2°
More people like William
Other writers
- Ted Hughes1930
- Anne Sexton1928
- Barry Unsworth1930
- Philip K. Dick1928
- Gary Snyder1930
- Robert K. Massie1929
Born in United States
- Gene HackmanAmerican actor and novelist
- Murray Gell-MannAmerican physicist
- Buzz AldrinAmerican astronaut
- Barbara WaltersAmerican broadcast journalist
- Tippi HedrenAmerican actress, model and activist
- John Edward MackAmerican psychiatrist
More charts like William’s
Fellow Sagittarius suns
- Nancy MaceAmerican politician (born 1977)
- Chuck SchumerAmerican politician (born 1950)
- Andrew CuomoGovernor of New York from 2011 to 2021
Born in Snake years
- Ben Higginsreality television star
- Shenae GrimesCanadian–American actress
- Blake GriffinAmerican basketball player (born 1989)
Also born on December 17
- Pope Francis1936
- Milla Jovovich1975
- Manny Pacquiao1978
- Sarah Paulson1974
- David Rudisha1988
- Nat Wolff1994
Fellow Yang Fire day masters
- Shaquille O'NealAmerican basketball player
- Alexei AbrikosovSoviet, Russian and American theoretical physicist
- Patrick SwayzeAmerican actor, producer, singer and dancer
Other Sagittarius Snake charts
- Michael OliseFrench footballer (born 2001)
- Sebastian CroftBritish actor
- Tom HulceAmerican actor and producer
- Christopher PlummerCanadian actor
Other Radiant Explorers
- WevertonBrazilian footballer (born 1987)
- Pedro NetoPortuguese footballer (born 2000)
- Jens Petter HaugeNorwegian footballer (born 1999)
- Nico SchlotterbeckGerman association football player
Famous people with Life Path 5
- Elsa LanchesterBritish-American actress
- Holland TaylorAmerican actress
- Kimia HosseiniIranian actress
From the journal: Is astrology real or fake? · Sect: day charts vs night charts
William’s cards
Computed from December 17, 1929. Tap to flip.
Birth tarot card
The HierophantAsterNym identity card
The Radiant ExplorerWestern zodiac
SagittariusChinese zodiac
Snake 巳Life Path
5 · Explorer♃ Ruled by Jupiter
Tin Sn
The working: BaZi pillarsshow
BaZi pillars
Day Master: yang Fire.
Year
己
yin Earth
巳
Snake
Fire
roots & early life
Month
丙
yang Fire
子
Rat
Water
work & drive
Day
day master
丙
yang Fire
申
Monkey
Metal
you & partnership
Where this comes from, and how it is worked out
William’s birth date and birthplace come from Wikidata Q254983 (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 White House photo by Shealah Craighead., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The same William Safire at Wikipedia.
Roster last reviewed September 10, 2026. The full method: how it works.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions, and not endorsed by William Safire.
Quick answers about William Safire’s chart
- What zodiac sign was William Safire?
- William Safire was a Sagittarius: born December 17, 1929, which puts the Sun in Sagittarius for the whole of that day.
- What was William Safire's Chinese zodiac animal?
- The Snake, with the Earth element, from the Chinese lunar year of the December 17, 1929 birth.
- What was William Safire's Life Path number?
- Life Path 5, calculated in numerology.
- What was William Safire's Chiron sign?
- Chiron in Taurus at 10°. Position from JPL Horizons.
- Where was William Safire's Black Moon Lilith?
- Mean Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn at 23°. This is the mean lunar apogee; the osculating Lilith some tables use can sit up to 30° away.
- What was William Safire's dominant planet?
- Jupiter, on AsterNym's dominance score (9 points: rules the Sun sign, Sagittarius; disposes Sun, Venus, Mars; 3 major aspects). Saturn is second and Mercury third. Other sites weight rulerships and aspects differently and can name a different leader.
