David Lynch was an American filmmaker and artist, born in Missoula, who trained first as a painter. His first feature, Eraserhead, appeared in 1977, and The Elephant Man (1980) brought him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Dune followed in 1984 and Blue Velvet in 1986, and Wild at Heart won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990. That year he also co-created the television series Twin Peaks, which ran in 1990 and 1991 and returned in 2017. Mulholland Drive came out in 2001, he received an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, and he kept painting throughout. He died on January 16, 2025, four days before his 79th birthday.
A birth certificate, copied in 1998
The entry carries a single source note: "B.C. in hand from Filipe Ferreira 12/1998." The certificate gives 3:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time in Missoula.
| Point | Sign at birth | In that sign | Before and after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising sign | ♏︎ Scorpio | 1:22 a.m. to 4:02 a.m. | Libra before, Sagittarius after |
| Midheaven | ♍︎ Virgo | 2:48 a.m. to 4:39 a.m. | Leo before, Libra after |
| Moon | ♍︎ Virgo | all day | n/a |
Rising sign, midheaven and Moon calculated by us, Missoula, Montana, Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7).
Capricorn on the Sun, Virgo on the Moon, Scorpio on the horizon
The Sun at 29°45′ of Capricorn is read as the core of the chart: patient and structured, willing to work at something for years. The Moon at 5°09′ of Virgo points to feelings that settle through routine and craft, with close attention to detail. The ascendant, 18°16′ Scorpio, is how others meet him first, and Scorpio there is linked with depth and privacy, and a steady, searching gaze.
Capricorn and Virgo are both earth signs, and Scorpio is water. Seven of his ten planets fall in cardinal signs, a count the tradition links with initiative.
Our pages: Sun, Moon and rising together · Moon in Virgo · Scorpio rising · Capricorn.
Mars and Saturn on a single degree of Cancer
Mars and Saturn are both retrograde at 20°46′ of Cancer, a conjunction of 0°00′. Mars stands for drive and Saturn for limits, which reads as effort held under pressure and released slowly. In the older scheme Mars also rules Scorpio, his rising sign, which ties the pair to the ascendant.
Mercury at 15°59′ of Capricorn faces them from across the chart, 4°47′ from an opposition with Mars and 4°47′ from one with Saturn. Placidus files Mars and Saturn under the 8th house, linked with the hidden and the intense, and Mercury under the 2nd. By whole signs the pair is in the 9th, the house of far horizons, and Mercury in the 3rd.
Our pages: Mars in Cancer · Saturn in Cancer · Mercury in Capricorn · 8th house · 9th house.
Last degree of Capricorn, with Aquarius at 8:45 a.m.
The Sun, at 29°45′, is on the final degree of Capricorn. Aquarius begins at 8:45 a.m., 5 hours and 45 minutes after the recorded time. A Sun at the end of a sign is sometimes said to carry a taste of what comes next, though the chart he was born with is a Capricorn one.
Venus, at 26°50′, is in Capricorn too, 2°55′ from the Sun. Both sit in the 3rd house under either system, the house of thought, language and short journeys. The Sun also squares Jupiter, 3°08′ off.
Our pages: Venus in Capricorn · Mercury in Capricorn · 3rd house · Aquarius.
Venus square Jupiter, 0°13′ from exact
Venus at 26°50′ of Capricorn squares Jupiter at 26°37′ of Libra, a square of 0°13′. Venus is attraction and taste, Jupiter is expansion, and the square reads as appetite pulling against restraint. Both signs are cardinal.
Neptune, at 8°35′, shares Libra with Jupiter. By Placidus both fall in the 11th, which covers friends and audiences; counted by whole signs they sit in the 12th, where the tradition files what stays hidden.
Our pages: Jupiter in Libra · Neptune in Libra · 11th house · 12th house.
Scorpio in the east, Virgo overhead, the Moon beside it
Scorpio rose over Missoula at 1:22 a.m. and holds the horizon until 4:02 a.m., so he was born 98 minutes into it, with Sagittarius due at 4:03 a.m. The midheaven is 3°15′ Virgo, kept by Virgo from 2:48 a.m. until Libra at 4:40 a.m.
The Moon, at 5°09′, lies 1°54′ past the midheaven. It entered Virgo at 5:41 p.m. on January 19 and stays there all day. A Moon this close to the midheaven is read as feeling worn in public view, and Virgo adds precision. By Placidus it sits in the 10th house, the house of career and standing; by whole signs it is in the 11th.
Our pages: Scorpio rising · Midheaven in Virgo · Moon in Virgo · 10th house · rising sign calculator.
All major aspects between the planets in David Lynch's chart
- Mars conjunction Saturn orb 0°00′
- Venus square Jupiter orb 0°13′
- Neptune sextile Pluto orb 2°18′
- Sun conjunction Venus orb 2°55′
- Uranus sextile Pluto orb 2°56′
- Sun square Jupiter orb 3°08′
- Mercury opposition Saturn orb 4°47′
- Mercury opposition Mars orb 4°47′
- Uranus trine Neptune orb 5°14′
- Mars square Jupiter orb 5°51′
- Jupiter square Saturn orb 5°51′
- Venus opposition Mars orb 6°04′
- Venus opposition Saturn orb 6°04′
- Mercury square Neptune orb 7°24′
- Moon square Uranus orb 8°41′
- Sun trine Neptune orb 8°50′
- Sun opposition Mars orb 8°59′
- Sun opposition Saturn orb 9°00′
Orbs: 8° for conjunction, opposition, square and trine, 6° for sextile, 2° more when the Sun or Moon is involved; Node, Lilith, Ascendant and Midheaven not counted. Same rules as our birth chart calculator.
Questions about David Lynch's chart
Which sign rises for David Lynch?
Scorpio, at 18°16′ Scorpio, from 1:22 a.m. to 4:02 a.m.
Was David Lynch a Capricorn?
Yes, by the Sun: it stood at 29°45′ of the sign, and Aquarius began at 8:45 a.m. that day.
Which sign holds his Moon?
Virgo, at 5°09′, for the whole of January 20.
Which aspect is tightest in his chart?
Mars conjunct Saturn, 0°00′ apart, both retrograde in Cancer.
What time was David Lynch born?
Three in the morning Mountain Standard Time on January 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana.
Where is David Lynch's midheaven?
At 3°15′ Virgo, with the Moon 1°54′ past it.
Sources
- Astronomy Engine: the open-source ephemeris library behind our planet positions, dates and statistics
- Astro-Databank (Astrodienst): published birth charts we test the calculation against
- How we create our readings: our own calculation of sign dates, positions and the 1930 to 2025 statistics
More celebrity birth charts
Charts closest to this one, sharing the Sun sign, the rising sign or the Moon: Jim Carrey · Dolly Parton · Sydney Sweeney · Timothée Chalamet · Finn Wolfhard · Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy · David Bowie · Elvis Presley · LeBron James · Mac Miller. All 143 charts with their sources and Rodden ratings: celebrity birth charts.
Astrology is a symbolic tradition, not a science. This page explains what the tradition says about the placements in a published chart; it makes no claims about David Lynch's character, health or private life. Birth data: Astro-Databank (Astrodienst), checked October 20, 2026. Positions: our calculation with the astronomy-engine ephemeris; it matches the Sun, Moon and ascendant degrees Astro-Databank publishes for this chart to within one arc minute.