Yves Saint Laurent had the Sun in Leo, the Moon in Capricorn and Aquarius rising, with five planets in the house of daily work: the chart of a designer who changed what women wore by changing the work itself.

He was born at 7:45 in the evening on 1 August 1936 in Oran, Algeria. Astro-Databank rates the time AA, from the birth record. He moved to Paris in his late teens, joined Christian Dior's house in 1955, and in 1957, at just 21, became its head designer after Dior's sudden death.

Five planets in the 6th house

The 6th house is daily work, craft and the workshop. His holds the Sun, Mercury and Venus in Leo, with Mars and Pluto in Cancer. Few charts put so much in the house of the atelier. He was known for sketching every design himself, for long hours in the studio before each collection, and for spending nearly all his working life inside the house that carried his name. Leo brings pride, colour and theatre to the work. His collections drew on painting, opera and the stage, and he designed costumes for both ballet and film.

Sun square Uranus: the revolution

One of the tightest aspects in his chart is a square between the Sun and Uranus, the planet of revolution and sudden change, less than a degree from exact. It is the aspect of someone who breaks a rule and makes the break look obvious. In 1966 he showed Le Smoking, a tuxedo for women, and opened Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, a ready-to-wear boutique, at a time when the great couture houses dressed only private clients. A year earlier, his Mondrian dresses had put modern painting straight onto the body.

Mercury and Venus together in Leo

Mercury, the mind, and Venus, beauty, sit exactly together in Leo. It is a signature of taste that thinks: style as an idea, held with confidence. The safari jacket and the jumpsuit came from his studio in the late 1960s, alongside his trouser suits, and all of them are still worn.

Aquarius rising, with Saturn in the 1st house

Aquarius rising looks a little ahead of its time, and it is the sign of the future he kept designing. Saturn in Pisces sits in his 1st house, though, and astrologers read Saturn there as reserve and a certain fragility in public. He was famously shy, and he spoke openly about how hard he found the pressure of showing each new collection.

Moon in Capricorn in the 11th house

The Moon in Capricorn needs structure and someone to build with. In the 11th house of friends and allies, it describes the partner who ran the business while he designed. Pierre Bergé, his partner in life and work, founded the fashion house with him in 1961 and managed it for four decades. Together they restored the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, which they bought in 1980 and which is now open to the public.

Compare your chart with his

If you share his Leo Sun or his Aquarius rising, you may know the pull between showing your work and protecting yourself from the show. Add your details below to see how your chart meets his.