Ian Somerhalder was born at 9:52 in the morning on 8 December 1978 in Covington, Louisiana, giving a Sagittarius Sun, an Aries Moon and Aquarius rising. Four planets crowd into Sagittarius, and five of the seven classical planets are in fire signs, so this is a chart that runs warm, bold and forward-looking.
The Sun, Mercury, Mars and Neptune all sit in Sagittarius, the sign of the explorer, the teacher and the believer. Sagittarius looks past the horizon and asks what life could be for. With the mind (Mercury) and the drive (Mars) in the same sign as the Sun, ideas tend to turn quickly into plans and plans into motion.
The Sun is under two degrees from Neptune, which adds imagination, compassion and a pull toward causes larger than one life. Three of these four planets fall in the 11th house, the house of friends, communities and hopes for the future, and Mercury sits in the 10th, the house of career. Ian's ideals find their outlet through people and through work done in public.
Aquarius was rising, so the first impression is of someone independent, curious and a little ahead of the room. Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius and Uranus the modern one, and Uranus sits about a degree from the Midheaven, the highest point of the chart, which speaks to reputation and calling. A planet on the Midheaven is one of the most visible in any chart, and Uranus brings originality and a readiness to break from the expected. In Scorpio, it adds depth and staying power to that streak.
Venus, also in Scorpio, sits in the 9th house of travel and big ideas, in a tight square to Jupiter, less than a degree from exact. That's a generous, magnetic kind of affection with a lot of energy behind it.
The Moon is in Aries in the 2nd house, the house of security, values and resources. Aries feels things fast and acts on them, and it brings courage to the emotional life. The Moon makes an easy trine to Jupiter in Leo, under two degrees from exact, and Jupiter makes another to Mercury in Sagittarius. With the Moon also in trine to Mercury, the three form a triangle linking all three fire signs.
That pattern lets warmth, confidence and quick thinking flow together. Feelings find words easily, generosity comes naturally, and there's an optimism that keeps renewing itself. Jupiter itself sits in the 7th house of partners, so a lot of that good fortune comes through one-to-one bonds.