Spader made his screen debut in Team Mates (1978), and Endless Love (1981) was his first major film role. Pretty in Pink (1986) made him widely known, with Less than Zero and Wall Street (both 1987) after it. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. Stargate (1994), Crash (1996) and Secretary (2002) followed. He played the lawyer Alan Shore on The Practice and then Boston Legal (2004 to 2008), winning three Emmy Awards for lead actor in a drama series, in 2004, 2005 and 2007. He was Robert California on The Office (2011 to 2012), appeared in Lincoln (2012), starred as Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist (2013 to 2023) and played Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
McEvoy's certificate, Steinbrecher's record
The Source Notes at Astro-Databank read: "McEvoy quotes B.C. 5/2001. Steinbrecher quotes B.R." B.C. is a birth certificate and B.R. a birth record. The data source is "Quoted BC/BR", rated AA.
Both give 8:02 p.m., and neither source offers a second hour. Boston ran on standard time that February, five hours behind Greenwich.
| Point | Sign at birth | In that sign | Before and after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising sign | ♍︎ Virgo | 6:02 p.m. to 8:35 p.m. | Leo before, Libra after |
| Midheaven | ♊︎ Gemini | 6:28 p.m. to 8:35 p.m. | Taurus before, Cancer after |
| Moon | ♊︎ Gemini | all day | n/a |
Rising sign, midheaven and Moon calculated by us, Boston, Massachusetts, Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5).
A Gemini Moon at the top, Jupiter at the bottom
Gemini took the midheaven, 22°17′ Gemini, at 6:28 p.m. The Moon stands 3°28′ past it and stays in Gemini all day, from 3:59 p.m. on February 5 to 4:38 a.m. on February 8.
Jupiter at 26°25′ of Sagittarius sits 4°09′ past the IC, the lowest point. The two bodies oppose within 0°41′, the tightest aspect of the chart. A Moon near the zenith suggests feeling that others notice, with Jupiter underneath adding room and generosity.
Our pages: Moon in Gemini · Jupiter in Sagittarius · Midheaven in Gemini · 10th house · 4th house.
An Aquarius Sun across from Uranus, its modern ruler
The Sun and retrograde Uranus, at 19°04′ of Leo, are 0°47′ from an exact opposition. Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius, so the Sun faces its own ruler from the opposite sign, which the tradition sets as independence against Leo's pull toward the stage.
Placidus puts the Sun in the 5th house and Uranus in the 11th; Whole Sign makes them the 6th and the 12th. Mercury stands beside the Sun, 9°14′ apart.
Our pages: Aquarius · Uranus in Leo · Mercury in Aquarius · 5th house · 11th house.
Mercury rules both the Moon sign and the rising sign
Mercury rules Gemini, home of the Moon, and Virgo, the rising sign, so one planet links the Moon to the horizon. It sits in the 6th house in both systems, the area given to daily work and routine.
It trines the Moon, 1°47′ from exact, and sextiles Jupiter, 1°06′ off, which astrologers read as thought and speech passing easily between the two ends of the vertical line.
Our pages: Mercury in Aquarius · 6th house · Sun, Moon and rising together.
Venus beside Saturn, in the 4th house or the 5th
Venus at 14°28′, Saturn at 13°46′ and Mars at 18°32′ of Capricorn lie close together, and Venus and Saturn are joined within 0°42′. Saturn rules Capricorn, so Venus stands with the ruler of its sign, a setting for affection and taste that favor the lasting. Mars is 4°04′ from Venus.
Placidus files all three under home and foundations, the 4th, alongside Jupiter. Whole Sign shifts them to the 5th, the area of play and performance.
Our pages: Venus in Capricorn · Saturn in Capricorn · Mars in Capricorn · 4th house · 5th house.
Virgo in the east, with Pluto early in the sign
Virgo held the Boston horizon from 6:02 p.m. to 8:35 p.m., and he was born 120 minutes after it rose, with 33 still to come. The ascendant is 23°26′ Virgo.
A Virgo ascendant points to a careful, exact first impression, with Mercury as its ruler. Retrograde Pluto at 5°19′ of Virgo sits behind the horizon by Placidus and on it by Whole Sign.
Our pages: Virgo rising · Pluto in Virgo · 12th house · 1st house · rising sign calculator.
All major aspects between the planets in James Spader's chart
- Moon opposition Jupiter orb 0°41′
- Venus conjunction Saturn orb 0°42′
- Sun opposition Uranus orb 0°47′
- Mercury sextile Jupiter orb 1°06′
- Moon trine Mercury orb 1°47′
- Neptune sextile Pluto orb 3°49′
- Venus conjunction Mars orb 4°04′
- Saturn sextile Neptune orb 4°38′
- Mars conjunction Saturn orb 4°46′
- Venus sextile Neptune orb 5°20′
- Moon sextile Uranus orb 6°41′
- Jupiter trine Uranus orb 7°21′
- Sun trine Moon orb 7°28′
- Mercury opposition Pluto orb 7°48′
- Sun square Neptune orb 9°09′
- Sun conjunction Mercury orb 9°14′
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 James Spader's chart
Which sign is on his ascendant?
Virgo, at 23°26′ Virgo, from 6:02 p.m. to 8:35 p.m.
Where does his Sun stand?
At 18°17′ of Aquarius, opposite Uranus in Leo.
Which sign holds his Moon?
Gemini, at 25°44′, 3°28′ past the midheaven.
When was he born?
February 7, 1960, at 8:02 p.m. in Boston, per a quoted certificate and record.
What is the tightest pair?
The Moon and Jupiter in opposition, 0°41′ apart.
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: Michael B. Jordan · Brooke Shields · Hudson Williams · Jennifer Aniston · Michael Jordan · Shakira · The Weeknd · Travis Kelce · Oprah Winfrey · Paul McCartney. 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 James Spader'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.