The Nature of Genius and Aretha Franklin

By Teri Nudelman

© Teri Nudelman - published by The Astrological Journal, 2025 / The Astrological Association of Great Britain / 08.01.2025

Aretha Franklin fused tradition and innovation in her music just as she upheld family values while living an ‘unconventional’ life – seeming contradictions captured in her birth chart.

Genius requires effort
Source: Pexels. By Brett Jordan.
‘Scrabble Pieces on White Surface’

Genius: a six-letter word which etymologically evolved from the 14th century meaning of “prophetic skill; inborn nature” to the mid-17th century meaning of “exalted natural mental ability, skill in the synthesis of knowledge derived from perception” – taken from Etymonline.com.

In today’s world, I feel that there is a tendency to pay too much attention to the numerical meaning of ‘genius’. It is more than a simple number calculated by certain criteria in the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scale. Unfortunately, throughout history, many scientists and artists were considered a ‘genius’ thanks only to their IQs while others were not because they didn’t meet ‘the criteria’. Until ... until some people started looking at the meaning of this word ‘genius’ from a wider perspective. It should be noted that being controversial (doing things just to be different) may not always be considered a sign of ‘genius’.

In my view, in professional terms, if someone is offering a completely new perspective on their area of work; making the genre evolve in a different way; and/or bringing novelty and innovation to their line of vocation with ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking – even breaking down some taboos – there might be a ‘genius’ fabric in this person. We may also think that ‘genius’ looks effortless since it is innate. However, to understand ‘genius’ better, we need to add other components, such as ‘stamina’, ‘hard work’ and ‘imagination’. Why? Let me explain it with an expression in Turkish which literally means:

If the iron works, it shines!

Even if genius is a latent, innate characteristic in us, so long as we don’t do anything about it, it will not shine and so will not bear fruit. We have to do.

My starting point….

As I watched the National Geographic biographical series Genius, I said to myself: “Teri, you need to write an article about this subject of genius”. The TV series has featured some of the world’s biggest innovators such as Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin. A fifth season of Genius in 2025 is being talked about but as I write it has not been given the green light yet.

Genius inspired me to investigate the natal charts of its featured phenomenal individuals. But in the end, I decided to limit myself to one subject – Aretha Franklin. Why? Because I felt that there is something very different and unusual about her genius that’s worthy of exploration in a more detailed way.

I will not be asking in this article: “Are there any specific placements, aspects, aspect patterns (and so on) in a chart that indicate the genius of a person?” I am focused specifically on looking at the genius of Aretha Franklin through the lens of her overall birth chart.

Time to introduce ‘The Queen of Soul’ herself – Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin in 1968
Source: Atlantic Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A voice that gives us goose bumps. A sound that adapts to the new trends without forgetting the essence. A character that doesn’t give up and continues to deliver until the last breath.

She was crowned ‘The Queen of Soul’ in 1968 (according to some sources it was 1967). Why was she a ‘genius’? Before getting into the details of her chart, I would like to share two quotes answering the ‘why’ at a more mundane level.

Pulitzer-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks wrote in 2021 in The Daily Beast:

Genius is something you’re born with, but it also flowers in a certain context. Aretha’s genius flowered in large part because of what she went through ... Not only the hardships she endured. She became pregnant at age 12. That’s very difficult. But she was surrounded by the love of her family. And so, her genius was allowed to continue to flower ...

The National Museum of African American History and Culture writes of Franklin:

By the early ’70s, Aretha Franklin was a legend. Her voice defined the meaning of ‘soul’. She distinguished herself from other singers by recording a wide range of styles, exhibiting a keen musical curiosity and bringing intelligence to her craft. Her distinctly beautiful voice had a rich tone and extensive range and could shift from soft to powerful with ease ...It was she who brought the melisma – singing a series of notes over a single syllable – into popular music.

Now, it is time for the astrology part

Aretha Franklin, 25 March 1942, 10:30 PM, Memphis, Tennessee, US
Source: Astrodatabank

At first glance, what is it that grabs our attention in Franklin’s chart? Her [Equal] 4th and 7th houses; her Sun not making any major aspect with any personal or social planets (though we see the trine to outer planet Pluto); her Moon near the top of the chart in the 9th house trine Mercury. She has a busy, populated southern hemisphere.

On the one hand, it feels like a one-person show. On the other, there seems to be quite an emphasis on other people as shown with the great emphasis on the western hemisphere: this includes her relationships, her home, her family, her tribe and her roots. Taurus on the cusp of the 7th house gives us a feeling of relating to the others through her ‘voice’.

She has an Aries Sun in the 5th house with Pisces on the cusp which might be the symbolism of ‘to keep going’, ‘being brave and self-driven especially in terms of her creative art’ – with a touch of soul. Soul that thrives on perfectionist ideals supporting her dreams (Neptune in Virgo in the 11th) and initiating and expanding relationships that feed and stimulate her mind (Jupiter conjunct Mars in Gemini in the 7th) even though sometimes she may have got lost in the sea of dreamy, sentimental ideas which carried her back to the heart of her home, family and past (Mercury in Pisces conjunct South Node in Pisces in the 4th).

The lunar phase – First Quarter Moon – symbolises her story and the challenges she faced on her ascent which tested her limitless capacity and drive. How? There were moments in her life when she wanted to progress, to excel; but periodically she could not let go of the past. Or certain people and influences around her were enervating which impacted badly on momentum. An inability to ‘let go’ is reflected in the chart dominance of her fixed modality placements, including her rising sign Scorpio and her MC in Leo, even though such energy could be an indicator of consistency.

The intriguing mutual reception square between Venus in Aquarius in the 4th and the Saturn–Uranus conjunction in Taurus in the 7th is important. The Saturn–Uranus conjunction is a generational aspect and one of the major planetary cycles. There is a very striking note about the Saturn-Uranus cycle in Mundane Astrology: An Introduction to the Astrology of Nations and Group by Michael Baigent, Nicholas Campion and Charles Harvey:

In broader terms it can also be seen to relate to the practical ‘earthing’ of brilliant ideas, insights, inventions, reforms, and so on.

I think that this macro definition can be interpreted in individual terms. It is possible to say that the aspects that the Saturn–Uranus duo makes with the rest of the chart – in this case square Venus, trine Neptune (part of the planetary cycle as well) and square the MC/IC axis – helps clarify the genius of Franklin.

Furthermore, Saturn–Uranus are the apex planets of the fixed t-squares formed by Venus–IC and MC respectively. I regard apex planets as the ‘charioteer’ – the image that especially comes through the Chariot Tarot card in which the charioteer is trying to get the two opposing horses to go in the same direction.

The Saturn–Uranus conjunction reminds us of this unity between the old and the new, past and the future, tradition and innovation. Even though it might be a tough blend, once unity is achieved, good taste and a beautiful voice emerge, especially when these two planets meet in Taurus.

Taurus, an earth sign with a fixed modality, brings a sense of grounding and keeping things as they are so long as there is no good reason for change. It feels like the preservation of a fusion. And when the conjunction is in the 7th house, as in case of Franklin’s chart, it maybe interpreted that she carried all these features of time and originality in her voice, helping her to build these unusual relationships with the ‘others’. (Venus in Aquarius is the ruler of the 7th and dispositor of Saturn and Uranus.)

This grounded mixture of old and new in terms of relationships accounts for her troubled family background (for instance, her father had a violent temper) and two volatile marriages – giving rise to unorthodox arrangements (Uranus–Saturn conjunct in Taurus in the 7th square Venus in Aquarius in the 4th). Her values were quite attached to the idea of wanting to ‘feel at home’ – Venus conjunct IC in the 4th. Or put another way, although there was something unusual or detached about her kind of love and loving, and relating to her past/family, she did hold on tight to just about everything. She could even be dogmatic about authority – she was an outspoken advocate for racial and gender equality (Venus in Aquarius in the 4th ruled by Uranus and Saturn in Taurus).

On Uranus in the 7th, Howard Sasportas writes in his book The Twelve Houses:

The 7th house also refers to social interaction in general and the principles of Uranus will apply here, possibly indicating those who are meant to bring new ideas, insights and breakthroughs to society in general, by virtue of their work or who they are.

Remember also that Venus is not limited to our values and our relationships. It is also about our approach to art and aesthetics which may be ‘out of norms’ as in case of Franklin. As I mentioned at the beginning, ‘unusual’ may not mean ‘genius’ but in the case of Franklin, it is an extra confirmation.

Her fixed t-squares also shed light

We can’t disregard the fact that the solid connection between tradition and innovation was the riding force in Franklin’s expression of her values and her voice. Challenges and resilience were to be expected in her struggle to find balance between vocation and home, between her aspirations and past. Even so, she seemed effortlessly to share her genius with others, marking her talent in the world in a very steady way.

Franklin in 1998
Source: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The beautiful harmony between her precise ideals, dreams, creativity and spirituality – in the chart zone of hopes and dreams and groups – and the very original authority in her voice to form a steady relationship with others (Neptune in Virgo in the 11th trine Saturn and Uranus in Taurus in the 7th): this could be the essence of her extraordinary creativity which we call ‘genius’. She had the power to look at the world and connect with others’ happiness and pain (Mercury in Pisces is the dispositor of Neptune in Virgo). She had immense empathy as an innate gift which drove her social energy and rational beliefs that she shared with the others (Mercury in Pisces conjunct South Node and it is the dispositor of Mars–Jupiter conjunction in Gemini).

There is also a mutual reception between Mercury and Jupiter, and Mercury and Neptune. All connected…like a divine connection?

The Moon still feels ‘lonely’ in the chart. Yet it represents her inspiration and the source of her genius, due in the main to its alignment (trine) with Mercury. (In other words, the Moon does have a lovely relationship with her life approach and her choice of partners.)

The Moon in Cancer is at home in its own sign, so maybe it cannot be ‘lonely’. And the harmonious aspect made with Mercury in Pisces may tell us a story behind imagination or expectations. I would like to quote Darby Costello from her book Earth and Air for a better understanding of ‘soul’ in astrology:

“When there are aspects between the Moon and Mercury, the soul life is very active, because there is direct communication between the Sun’s ‘first minister’, Mercury, and the emotional body which carries the rhythms of the soul into daily life.”

Worth mentioning is the decan of this Cancer Moon: it is in the 2nd decan of Cancer which means that according to Chaldean/Descending and Triplicity orders, the decan rulers are Mercury and Mars respectively. We have the caring, nurturing, emotional way of communicating plus energy and drive – but also the ‘warrior’ added to the equation. Because the Moon in Cancer is in the 9th house, we should not be surprised that her beliefs were embodied in her song lyrics and music – expressing, among other things, her memories of her mother, childhood and past.

It might be right to conclude that ‘genius’ is marked in Franklin’s chart in different ways, as a reflection of various qualities coming together. And we should be all happy that she used this treasure in the best way possible. Otherwise, we would not have had the chance to experience her beautiful voice, and her beautiful music.

Images

• Genius scrabble: Photo by Brett Jordan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scrabble-pieces-on-white-surface-6770564/
• Franklin in 1968: Atlantic Records(Life time: Published before 1978 without a copyright notice), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Franklin in 1998: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
• Horoscope Chart - Source: Astrodatabank

Author: Teri Nudelman

Teri Palombo Nudelman has a BA (Hons) in Economics and a master certificate in Banking and Entrepreneurship. She is a practising astrologer and tarot reader trained at the Faculty of Astrological Studies and International Tarot Foundation respectively.
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