Which Natal Horoscope for William Shakespeare? There are multiple choices for the birth time and date of England's William Shakespeare including the Julian (Old Style) and Gregorian (New Style) dates. Additionally, there is his documented date of baptism (April 26, 1564 OS/May 6, 1564 NS) which changes the natal Sun-Moon blend from April 23's/May 3's Sun Taurus-Moon Libra to the three-days-later Sun Taurus-Moon Scorpio of his baptism. For in that era, as you know, a baby was often baptized three days after birth although this varied in some cases. As we would expect with April 23/May 3, a Sun Taurus blend with the Moon in Venus-ruled Libra, an Air (mental) sign, is sociable, pleasant, artistic, romantic, persuasive, and 'wants the best for everyone' while the darker Sun Taurus-Moon Scorpio combination of energies (Earth-Water) tends toward materialism, obstinacy, possessiveness, passionate sensuality, and is self-dramatizing. Did that last one give The Bard away? Perhaps. Yet both blends are highly creative so that isn't much of a clue to his personality, and his other planets are in the same signs with either date. But perhaps it's a clue that once he moved to London and wrote plays that made him money, he bought a house in town and property just north of his hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon rather than spending or wasting his money unwisely. It seems probable that a secure future was on his mind for himself, his wife, Mary Arden, and his children. Now if you follow the above link, you'll find two versions of Shakespeare's natal chart, plus, the birth data used by the great Alan Leo: April 26, 1564 (NS) 1:39 am LMT. And you'll see his line-up of planets in home-loving Cancer (from 3 to 29 degrees): Mars, Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter which makes the following quote seem most applicable, that although Shakespeare needed to earn his living in London, "he was unusually attached to his native-place, coming back there often for the summer...true to his nature, the loyalties and affections so obvious all through his writing, the ties acknowledged in his life."-- William Shakespeare: A Biography, by A.L. Rowse (1963). And that would be Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. Now there is also the curious fact that William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 in his hometown where he had retired from play writing (though some collaborations had taken place) after his wonderful Globe Theater burned down on June 29, 1613 due to a cannon gone awry. William Shakespeare died at age 51 which to astrologers hints at a Chiron Return. His was retrograde @21Capricorn and suggests one who aims to conquer time and to prevail against all adversity. Tragically, he missed such a target on one particular day in June of 1616, and the world lost the greatest writer it has yet to know. As for anyone aspiring to be a modern-day descendant of the great William Shakespeare, his direct line unfortunately died out with his grandchildren though allied family names may be worth investigation. Here's a website with very interesting information on the Genealogy of the Shakespeare Family of Stratford-Upon-Avon, if you're curious! The above portrait (1610): may be by a painter called John Taylor who was an important member of the Painter-Stainers' Company.[1] (Official gallery link) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons