Some people have a vivid memory for visual images and can recall everything in one picture in astonishing detail. I was researching the signs, aspects and planets associated with this ability from various astrological authors and the sign Cancer appeared frequently, probably due to their ability to retain feelings, keep scrapbooks, photographs, and possessing a good and long memory. Pisces also showed up and is a sign that communicates intuitively, imaginatively and sensitively, they have a vivid imagination and the ability to visualize, and they sometimes possess special gifts for art and music and other forms of creativity. However, apart from the first natal chart I looked at for “signs” of a photographic memory these signs were not pronounced. I found the particular gifts of these individuals were described more by the other signs and aspects in their horoscope.

It is a common factor for people with autism to experience vivid displays of memory recall. An example of this ability is seen in the chart of Stephen Wiltshire who has been diagnosed with autism, and is famous for his ability to draw a landscape after seeing it just once. He was diagnosed at age three and began to communicate through his art. At the age of eight he began drawing imaginary earthquakes, cities and cars. His teachers encouraged his artistic abilities and found that he could look at a picture once and draw it in amazing accuracy. Stephen is considered one of the gifted people of our times. Astrologically he was born with the Sun in Taurus and many of these natives are innately artistic and may pursue art, music, or beauty. The Sun in disposited by Venus in Pisces square Neptune, and this is one of the most prominent aspects observed in the charts of people who are extremely creative and possess artistic ability.

Jupiter is also is Pisces square Neptune revealing a heightened perception, great sensitivity, but they are not always grounded in reality. Stephen also has a Mars-Saturn conjunction in Cancer and so he is sensitive to his early environment, and this can show early frustration and hardship. The planet of communication –Mercury is placed in Aries and is directly opposite Uranus, symbolising a quick, intuitive, fast thinker. Uranus accelerates the speed of mental assimilation, and perhaps this shows the swiftness of his mind.

Another example of somebody with a photographic mind is Laurence Kim Peek, his ability is possibly related to developmental disabilities, and he was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbit in Rain man. However, Peek was not autistic, but by the age of 16-20 months he was able to memorize things. He read books and memorized them and when he was finished he placed them upside down on the book shelf to show that he had finished reading them. He could read a book in an hour and remember vast amounts of facts, and it was believed he could recall the content of over 12,000 books. Peeks’ chart does not show any Cancer or Pisces planets or any Neptune aspects. We don’t have an accurate birth time to assess the 12th house or angles in the natal chart. Peek has read over 12,000 books, and so is taking in a grandiose amount of information into his head. The planet Mercury in his chart is placed in the large sign of Sagittarius (knowledge) and forms an exact trine to its dispositer Jupiter in Aries (learning, Knowledge, and growth).

Mercury-Jupiter is a very enthusiastic learner, and they love to explore all forms of knowledge, and increase their understanding of the world. They may always be on the quest for more and more knowledge, and have a broad intellectual scope. Sometimes they are involved in publishing, writing, universities, or religious/spiritual interests. Some people have gone back to college when Jupiter has transited over natal Mercury and so it rules all places of learning and growth.

The Sun in his chart is in Scorpio square Pluto creating an intense, obsessive, and penetrating personality. Pluto is known for taboos and this could be a related theme around mental disability, and the things in society that we choose to sweep under the rug because they are too uncomfortable to look at. Mars is also in the sign of Virgo and describes energy put into details, precision, skill and methodology, and this placement attributes to his energy and passion for studying and often asserts itself in a precise manner. Laurence could stop people in the street and ask them their birthdate and report everything that happened on this day.

Daniel Tammet is another example of someone who is said to have a photographic memory, he also has autism, and is particularly gifted in mathematics and languages. In maths he can intuitively see results of calculations without using conscious effort. He sees the visual images of numbers, and holds the record for reciting Pi from memory to 22, 514 digits in 5 hours, and he speaks ten languages.

Daniel has his Sun, Mercury and Mars in Aquarius, and this is the sign associated with number based systems, and they often like the fact that everything in the universe can be understood in terms of mathematical equations. The Sun in Aquarius also forms a wide square to its ruler, Uranus. Astronomy, astrology and science all work within an intellectual framework.

Greek science perceived every aspect of life as part of a huge living sysyem. Consequently, the development of Greek geometry is based on the idea that the inner structure of the cosmos is number. If we consider the Pythagorean concept of the cosmos, we get profound insight into Uranus. Anything that exists in manifestation starts with an abstract idea, and the purest form of that abstract idea is number. First there is one, or One; and this One can be expressed by both a point and a circle, never beginning and never ending. …One gives birth to two; two generate three; and then a plane figure can be formed. Number is the most essential quality in the universe. Number eventually results in the plane figures, of which trisngle is the first, followed by the square; and the plane figures then become solid figures, of which the pyramid is the first, followed by the cube. The solid forms, which Plato wrote about extensively, lie behind the structure of what we perceive as manifest reality….Plato insisted that the study of geometry, like the study of astrology to which he related it, was guaranteed to lift the mind to “external realities”. This is another way of understanding the fire which Prometheus steals. The cosmological system, be it astrology, kabala, “sacred” geometry, higher mathematics, the structure of music, or anything else that teaches us the essential pattern and functioning of the universe, is the quintessential stuff which Uranus reveals to us. By Liz Greene, The Art of Stealing Fire – Uranus in the Horoscope

He learned Icelandic in one week and was described as not human, but that’s not a nice way to speak about Aquarius, and we know astrologers call Aquarians detached, robot-like and walking computers, but at heart they mean well. He was also described as a genius; Aquarius is symbolised by a human and cares about humanity as a whole. Similarly, Tammet believes we should all liberate our minds (how Aquarian). Aquarius believes in freedom, progress and raising human consciousness. The fact he could learn languages quickly is something we usually relate to Sagittarius, the 9th house and Jupiter. Tammet has Mercury opposite Jupiter. However, according to astrologer C.E.O Carter, Aquarius is a sign often gifted with learning languages because if we put Sagittarius as the 1st sign, Capricorn in the 2nd and then Aquarius is the 3rd sign, we have an association with speech, languages and the written word connecting back to the 9th sign, in Carter’s view. I really have no idea whether this is true, and only those with planets in Aquarius could probably know if this idea holds any water (pun not intended).

Overall I didn’t find any signature throughout the charts for a photographic memory, but their different gifts in diverse areas were explained astrologically.