Henri Cartier-Bresson’s birth chart
Born 22 August 1908, in Landévant, France. StarMap has no verified birth time yet.
Leo Sun · Cancer Moon
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s zodiac sign and chart, in brief
Henri Cartier-Bresson was born in Landévant, France, on 22 August 1908, a Saturday. That made Henri a Leo, with the Moon in Cancer. Henri died on 3 August 2004, aged 95. StarMap has not verified a birth time yet, so the chart is cast for midday on that date and has no houses.
By element the count is four fire, three water, one earth and one air, leaving out Mercury, whose sign depends on the birth time. By modality the count is five cardinal, three fixed and one mutable. Sun, Mars and Jupiter all fall in Leo. Moon, Venus and Neptune all fall in Cancer. The tightest aspect is Sun conjunction Mars, about 0.1° from exact at midday. Aspects to the Moon are not counted, because the Moon moves about thirteen degrees in a day. Saturn and Uranus were retrograde. The Moon was a waning crescent.
StarMap's dataset holds 19 other people born on 22 August, among them Ray Bradbury, Dua Lipa and Leni Riefenstahl.
See the sky the day Henri was born: the stars over Landévant, France, drawn as a star map with the date and the place beneath.
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Sun, Moon and rising sign
Sun sign
Leo
about 28° Leo at midday
A Leo Sun shines. For Henri Cartier-Bresson that suggests warmth, generosity and a need to be seen for who they really are, running through much of what they do. This placement grows by learning that the light is not diminished when it is shared.
Moon sign
Cancer
in this sign all day; the degree depends on the birth time
The Moon is at home in Cancer. For Henri that points to feelings that are tidal, strong and closely tied to the people they love, and to a memory for how everything felt. This Moon is restored by home, by cooking, and by being needed.
Rising sign
The rising sign changes about every two hours, so it cannot be known without a birth time. The table below shows which sign was rising over Landévant, France, at each hour of the day.
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s rising sign, by birth time
StarMap has not verified a birth time for Henri yet. It shows a birth time only when Astro-Databank rates it AA, A or B on the Rodden scale (AA from a birth certificate or record, A from the person, someone close to them or a news report, B from a biography). Until then, this is the rising sign for every possible time of birth on 22 August 1908, computed for Landévant, France.
| Born around (local time) | Rising sign |
|---|---|
| 00:00 to 00:29 | Gemini rising |
| 00:29 to 02:54 | Cancer rising |
| 02:54 to 05:39 | Leo rising |
| 05:39 to 08:19 | Virgo rising |
| 08:19 to 11:04 | Libra rising |
| 11:04 to 13:49 | Scorpio rising |
| 13:49 to 16:14 | Sagittarius rising |
| 16:14 to 18:04 | Capricorn rising |
| 18:04 to 19:19 | Aquarius rising |
| 19:19 to 20:19 | Pisces rising |
| 20:19 to 21:19 | Aries rising |
| 21:19 to 22:34 | Taurus rising |
| 22:34 to 24:00 | Gemini rising |
Times are rounded to five minutes. Close to a boundary, a few minutes either way change the answer.
The chart wheel
Drawn for midday on 22 August 1908, with only the aspects that held all day. The Moon may stand up to eight degrees either side of where it is drawn. How to read a chart wheel
Placements
| Sun | 28° Leo 57' |
|---|---|
| Moon | Cancer |
| Mercury | Leo until about 01:39, then Virgo |
| Venus | 15° Cancer 38' |
| Mars | 28° Leo 51' |
| Jupiter | 25° Leo 29' |
| Saturn | 9° Aries 23'℞ |
| Uranus | 13° Capricorn 19'℞ |
| Neptune | 16° Cancer 11' |
| Pluto | 25° Gemini 37' |
| North Node | 3° Cancer 52' |
| South Node | 3° Capricorn 52' |
Positions at midday, local time. Without a birth time there are no houses.
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s planets, sign by sign
Each planet by sign: what the placement is traditionally taken to mean, not a claim about Henri Cartier-Bresson’s private life.
Purpose for Henri Cartier-Bresson is probably tied to creating and being seen doing it, and a Leo Sun's vitality rises the moment there is an audience, even an audience of one. The tension is losing steam when no one is watching. The giveaway is often the extra effort that goes into something the moment someone notices them making it.
With the Moon in Cancer, Henri's needs tend to be tied to home, routine and the people they check in on daily. Small rituals are steadying: a particular meal, a particular chair. The tension is reading other people's moods so closely that those moods can be taken on without noticing.
Mercury in Leo or Virgo
Leo until about 01:39, then Virgo
mind and voice
Born before about 01:39: Mercury in Leo
Mercury in Leo gives Henri a mind that thinks in confident, story-shaped terms and communicates with warmth and a bit of flair, drawing people in even when the subject is dry. Attachment to being right can make Henri more persuasive than accurate. A simple update, in their hands, can become something closer to a performance.
Born after about 01:39: Mercury in Virgo
For Henri, Mercury in Virgo points to thinking that is precise and attentive to detail, and to clear communication, because the facts have usually been checked first. The catch is fixating on a small error and losing sight of the larger point. This is the placement that edits a message three times before sending something everyone else would have sent in one go.
Venus in Cancer loves by nurturing, and for Henri that suggests valuing emotional safety over almost anything else in a relationship. Old hurts tend to linger here long after the person who caused them has changed. This is a Venus that feeds people, checks on people and quietly keeps score of who has shown up in return.
Mars in Leo acts with confidence and wants the effort to be visible, and for Henri its anger is likely to flare when pride or loyalty is challenged. The tension is turning a disagreement into a matter of ego. Criticism of the work can feel personal to a Leo Mars, even when it was not meant that way.
Jupiter in Leo
25° Leo 29' at midday
growth and excess
Jupiter in Leo grows through creative confidence and a willingness to take up space. For Henri the overreach may be overselling their own contribution or expecting more credit than a situation calls for. There is a natural showmanship here that lifts a room, and occasionally a story that grows a little in the retelling.
Saturn in Aries builds discipline around learning to act with patience instead of pure impulse. For Henri, that suggests a doubt that takes the form of second-guessing: too fast, or not fast enough? Confidence in their own initiative tends to come slowly, once the rush goes out of every decision.
Uranus in Capricorn
13° Capricorn 19' at midday ℞
freedom, generational
Many people within a few years of Henri's age share Uranus in Capricorn, the mark of a generation that dismantles and rebuilds old institutions and structures of authority. Personally, that can mean scepticism towards any system that asks for trust without having shown why it deserves it.
Neptune in Cancer
16° Cancer 11' at midday
imagination, generational
Neptune in Cancer is shared by Henri and many people born in the same decade or so. The generation idealises home and family, often carrying a wider nostalgia for a version of belonging that may never quite have existed. Personally it can be a soft-focus longing for a childhood home.
Pluto in Gemini
25° Gemini 37' at midday
power, generational
Henri shares Pluto in Gemini with many people born in the same long stretch of years. That generation transforms communication and collective thought, often through upheavals in how information is controlled and shared. The personal portion is an intense relationship with what counts as truth.
Aspects in Henri Cartier-Bresson’s chart
How the planets stand to each other, tightest first. Without a birth time the orbs are those at midday, and aspects to the Moon are left out because the Moon moves about thirteen degrees in a day.
Sun conjunction Mars
about 0.1° at midday
With the Sun conjunct Mars, Henri Cartier-Bresson's will and identity are fused, which makes for strong, immediate drive and a low tolerance for sitting still. They probably act on impulse more often than most, and aiming that energy at a goal of their own serves them better than using it up on the first thing in front of them.
Jupiter sextile Pluto
about 0.1° at midday
Meaningful growth without constant upheaval is what Jupiter sextile Pluto describes, with Henri's sense of possibility and depth working in concert. The opportunities that matter tend to come at a manageable pace, not all at once in a way that would be hard to absorb.
Venus conjunction Neptune
about 0.6° at midday
Love, for Henri, is likely to be romantic and idealistic, drawn to a kind of connection that feels almost transcendent. Venus conjunct Neptune brings tenderness and imagination, along with the task of seeing a partner clearly and not only through the ideal built around them.
Sun conjunction Mercury
about 1.9° at midday
With the Sun conjunct Mercury, Henri's sense of self and way of thinking are fused, so an opinion can feel like a statement of who they are. They are likely to speak their mind readily, and telling a passing thought apart from their identity is a practice worth keeping up.
Mercury conjunction Mars
about 2.0° at midday
With Mercury conjunct Mars, thinking and the drive to act are closely linked, so ideas turn into words and decisions almost immediately. It makes Henri quick and direct in conversation, and the discipline is letting a thought settle before saying it out loud.
Venus opposition Uranus
about 2.3° at midday
Henri may want intimacy and still feel a reflex to protect their freedom the moment things seem too certain; that is the tension of Venus opposite Uranus. Naming the need for space early tends to work better than acting on it as sudden distance.
The rest, listed without a reading. Those between Uranus, Neptune and Pluto hold for years at a time, so everyone born while one holds shares it.
- Uranus opposition Neptuneabout 2.9°
- Mars sextile Plutoabout 3.2°
- Sun sextile Plutoabout 3.3°
- Mars conjunction Jupiterabout 3.4°
- Sun conjunction Jupiterabout 3.5°
- Saturn square Uranusabout 3.9°
- Mercury conjunction Jupiterabout 5.4°
- Venus square Saturnabout 6.2°
- Saturn square Neptuneabout 6.8°
Leo Sun and Cancer Moon, like Henri Cartier-Bresson
Also born on 22 August
How this page is made
Planet positions are computed with the astronomy-engine ephemeris and checked against Swiss Ephemeris. Birth dates and places come from Wikidata; birth times, where StarMap has one, come from Astro-Databank and are shown with their Rodden rating. The readings describe what a placement is traditionally taken to mean. They are written by StarMap for reflection and entertainment, not as statements about the person’s private life. New to charts? How to read a birth chart.
Birth data: Wikidata. StarMap has not verified a birth time yet. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).
StarMap is for entertainment and self-reflection. It does not predict health, money or legal outcomes.