Aretha Franklin’s birth chart
Born 25 March 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, at 22:30 (Rodden AA).
Aries Sun · Cancer Moon · Scorpio rising
Aretha Franklin’s zodiac sign and chart, in brief
Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on 25 March 1942, a Wednesday. The Sun was in Aries, so Aries was their zodiac sign, with the Moon in Cancer and Scorpio rising. Aretha died on 16 August 2018, aged 76. The birth time, 22:30, comes from Astro-Databank with a Rodden rating of AA, which means it was taken from a birth certificate or birth record.
Of the ten planets, three are in earth signs, three in air, two in fire and two in water. By modality the count is four fixed, four mutable and two cardinal. No two planets sit closer to an exact angle than Uranus and Neptune: a trine, 0.9° from exact. Neptune and Pluto were retrograde. The Moon was waxing gibbous, between first quarter and full.
StarMap's dataset holds 18 other people born on 25 March, among them Elton John, Naftali Bennett and Gloria Steinem.
See the sky the night Aretha was born: the stars over Memphis, Tennessee at 22:30, drawn as a star map with the date and the place beneath.
Aretha Franklin’s Sun, Moon and rising sign
Sun sign
Aries
4° Aries 50'
An Aries Sun starts things. For Aretha Franklin that points to energy that is direct and impatient with delay, and to feeling most like themselves when there is something to go first at. The work of this placement is finishing what the spark began.
Moon sign
Cancer
17° Cancer 28'
The Moon is at home in Cancer. For Aretha that points to feelings that are tidal, strong and closely tied to the people they love, and to a memory for how everything felt. This Moon is restored by home, by cooking, and by being needed.
Rising sign
Scorpio
15° Scorpio 46'
Scorpio rising comes across as intense and self-contained. People tend to sense that there is more going on than Aretha is saying; this rising sign keeps more back than it shows.
The chart wheel
Drawn for 22:30 on 25 March 1942, with the eastern horizon on the left. How to read a chart wheel
Placements
| Sun | 4° Aries 50' | House 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Moon | 17° Cancer 28' | House 8 |
| Mercury | 13° Pisces 06' | House 4 |
| Venus | 20° Aquarius 07' | House 3 |
| Mars | 11° Gemini 10' | House 7 |
| Jupiter | 15° Gemini 04' | House 7 |
| Saturn | 24° Taurus 56' | House 7 |
| Uranus | 27° Taurus 25' | House 7 |
| Neptune | 28° Virgo 20'℞ | House 11 |
| Pluto | 3° Leo 33'℞ | House 9 |
| North Node | 13° Virgo 13' | House 10 |
| South Node | 13° Pisces 13' | House 4 |
Aretha Franklin’s planets, sign by sign
Each planet by sign and house: what the placement is traditionally taken to mean, not a claim about Aretha Franklin’s private life.
With the Sun in Aries, Aretha Franklin's sense of purpose tends to come alive when there is a clear start line. They probably feel most like themselves pushing into something new, though that energy can burn hot and fade before the finish. The typical pattern is a project launched with excitement, then handed off once the routine sets in.
With the Sun in the fifth house, self-expression, romance and creative play are probably where Aretha feels most alive, and holding that side back tends to leave them flat. The placement asks for a stage of some kind, even a small and informal one, or that natural warmth has nowhere to go.
With the Moon in Cancer, Aretha's needs tend to be tied to home, routine and the people they check in on daily. Small rituals are steadying: a particular meal, a particular chair. The tension is reading other people's moods so closely that those moods can be taken on without noticing.
Aretha probably feels things at a depth other people sometimes miss, and the Moon in the eighth house wants tested trust before anyone is allowed to see that undercurrent. When the guard does come down with someone, the bond is apt to change for good.
Mercury in Pisces thinks in images and impressions more than straight lines, and Aretha is likely to communicate through metaphor, tone and instinct rather than clean argument. Explaining a conclusion they nonetheless feel certain about can be the struggle. It is the kind of mind that knows something is off before it can say why.
Mercury in the fourth house turns the mind towards home, family and origins, and for Aretha conversations with family may carry more weight than usual. Mercury here is associated with a way of thinking shaped early, in ways a person goes on discovering as an adult.
Venus in Aquarius loves as a friend first, and values independence, shared ideas and a partner who allows plenty of room. Aretha may keep just enough distance that closeness feels slightly out of reach, even to them. This Venus can prize a partner's individuality more than the intimacy between them.
Venus in the third house puts Aretha's charm into conversation, with a knack for saying a difficult thing so that it lands gently. Words are often one of the clearest ways of showing affection, sometimes clearer than gestures or gifts.
With Mars in Gemini, Aretha is likely to act through words, argument and quick manoeuvring rather than force, and anger to come out sharp and verbal. Arguments can be won without the conflict underneath ever being resolved. A disagreement can still be under debate long after the other person just wants it to end.
Mars in the seventh house is associated with directness in close relationships, and Aretha probably says what they think rather than letting things simmer. Mars here brings energy and frankness into partnership, so disagreements tend to be aired, not avoided.
Jupiter in Gemini
15° Gemini 04' · seventh house
growth and excess
Jupiter in Gemini grows through learning and exposure to as many ideas as can be gathered, and its optimism is contagious in conversation. Aretha may overreach by knowing a little about everything and claiming more certainty than the depth supports. This is someone who can be the best-read person in the room on subjects they have never studied closely.
With Jupiter in the seventh house, Aretha is apt to find that their relationships broaden their world, often through new people, places or ideas that a trusted partner brings. Generosity can flow easily in both directions with the people close to them, rarely forced or measured out.
Saturn in Taurus gathers its discipline around security and the things a person relies on, and Aretha is likely to take very little for granted. The doubt is a fear that stability could disappear, even when it clearly has not. This placement likes to know what things cost before committing, and tends to stay careful even in steady times.
Saturn in the seventh house is associated with treating partnership as ongoing work and commitment as a serious matter, and in Aretha's chart it points to caution about committing quickly. The placement goes with a wish to build a relationship slowly rather than enter one lightly.
Uranus in Taurus
27° Taurus 25' · seventh house
freedom, generational
Uranus in Taurus is a generational placement that Aretha shares with many people born within a few years. That generation rethinks ownership, land and what security means, often through technology that unsettles older arrangements. Personally, that may be a reluctance to prize things simply because an older generation did.
Uranus in the seventh house asks for relationships with more freedom and less convention than the average partnership, and Aretha may look for people who respect that independence. A sudden shift in a relationship may rattle Aretha less than most.
Neptune in Virgo
28° Virgo 20' ℞ · eleventh house
imagination, generational
Neptune moves slowly, so Aretha shares its place in Virgo with people born years either side. The imagination of this generation turns towards service, craft and idealised routines of self-improvement. In one life it can mean chasing an impossibly perfect daily practice.
Friendships and causes with an idealistic edge draw Aretha, who may hold a vision for their community that reaches well beyond the practical. With Neptune in the eleventh house, disappointment can follow when a group falls short of that vision, even when its effort was sincere.
Pluto in Leo
3° Leo 33' ℞ · ninth house
power, generational
Pluto in Leo is held by a whole generation, one that transforms ideas of individual power, leadership and fame. At a personal scale, for Aretha, it can be a charged relationship with authority and with who gets to hold the spotlight.
With Pluto in the ninth house, Aretha's view of the world is apt to be overturned and rebuilt at some point, an old outlook giving way to one that has been personally tested. The placement is linked with questioning a philosophy thoroughly before taking it on.
Aspects in Aretha Franklin’s chart
How the planets stand to each other, tightest first.
Sun trine Pluto
1.3° separating
Aretha Franklin's sense of self and capacity for change support each other, so they are likely to meet hard periods with resilience and come out of them still themselves. A Sun-Pluto trine is deep strength, and it does not need to be loud.
Mercury square Mars
1.9° separating
With Mercury square Mars, thought and impulse can clash, and sharp words get said before Aretha has fully thought them through. The remedy is a short pause between the thought and the sentence, which changes very little except the outcome.
Mercury square Jupiter
2.0° applying
Thinking can run ahead of the evidence when Mercury is square Jupiter, leading to overconfident claims or promises made faster than Aretha can check them. Matching enthusiasm to what has been verified makes their confidence more durable, not less.
Saturn conjunction Uranus
2.5° applying
With discipline and the need for independence fused, Aretha tends to build structure their own way instead of inheriting someone else's. Saturn conjunct Uranus makes them an original builder, and the challenge is letting a good structure stay flexible and not harden into another rule.
Saturn trine Neptune
3.4° applying
With Saturn trine Neptune, Aretha's discipline and imagination steady each other, which makes it possible to build something both beautiful and structurally sound. Vision and follow-through tend to arrive together, a combination that is rare and worth trusting.
Mars conjunction Jupiter
3.9° applying
Mars conjunct Jupiter lends Aretha's drive a bold confidence, and they tend to act on a big goal before doubt has a chance to catch up. Momentum is the gift here; pacing is the skill, so that the energy lasts beyond the first burst of enthusiasm.
The rest, listed without a reading. Those between Uranus, Neptune and Pluto hold for years at a time, so everyone born while one holds shares it.
- Uranus trine Neptune0.9°
- Moon trine Mercury4.4°
- Venus square Saturn4.8°
- Venus trine Jupiter5.1°
- Sun opposition Neptune6.5°
Aries Sun and Cancer Moon, like Aretha Franklin
Also born on 25 March
How this page is made
Planet positions are computed with the astronomy-engine ephemeris and checked against Swiss Ephemeris. Birth dates and places come from Wikidata; the birth time comes from Astro-Databank and is shown with its Rodden rating. The readings describe what a placement is traditionally taken to mean. They are written by StarMap for reflection and entertainment, not as statements about the person’s private life. New to charts? How to read a birth chart.
Birth data: Wikidata, Astro-Databank (BC/BR in hand). Birth time rated AA on the Rodden scale. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).
StarMap is for entertainment and self-reflection. It does not predict health, money or legal outcomes.