Maya Angelou was a versatile performer who could sing, act, and dance. This is a 1957 press photo for the film “Calypso Wave.”
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
—Maya Angelou
Noor Inayat Kahn
Capricorn Noor Inayat Khan was born on January 1, 1914. Her mother was an American poet while her father was a professor of musicology. In 1940 she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and was trained as a wireless operator. She was deployed to France as a spy. (Disability Network, “Women with Disabilities who Changed the World,” March 3, 2023)
A biographer described her as dreamy and otherworldly. She was reputed to be clairvoyant. She practiced the Sufi religion and believed in nonviolence. Like her dad she was a skilled musician. (Write Spirit: Biography Noor Khan)
Khan’s fingers were permanently swollen as a result of a circulation disorder, chilblains. Her small blood vessels were inflamed. She had an unusual style of tapping out Morse Code because of this. (Disability Network)
Being a wireless operator was extremely hazardous. The Gestapo actively sought to capture operators using trucks to home in on radio signals. Collaborators betrayed them. Noor was captured, attempted to escape twice, was transferred to the concentration camp at Dachau, and executed there on September 13, 1944. While in prison she was beaten and tortured. (Grunge, “Noor Inayat Khan: The Truth About the Courageous World War II Spy,” February 14, 2022) She was posthumously awarded the George Cross, England’s highest civilian award, and the Croix de Guerre. (Disability Network)
Khan was an Indian Muslim who passionately believed in independence for India. She said, “I wish some Indians would win high military distinction in the war. It would help build a bridge between the English and Indians.” She died for a cause neither her nationality nor religion compelled her to fight for. (Write Spirit)
Noor Khan Natal Chart
The actual time of birth was not known. A speculative one was used.
In Noor Khan’s natal chart, the theme sacrifice (Moon in Pisces) for duty (Capricorn Sun) is strong. With Jupiter and fun-loving Venus in Capricorn as well, life would have been taken seriously. Sun was opposed by Mars. This could portend a violent end. It certainly contributed to her entering a very high-risk endeavor.
With the ruler of her Sun and Pluto in Gemini, a sign associated with communication, and Uranus in technologically minded Aquarius, it was not surprising Noor became a radio operator.
Judith Heumann
Judith Heumann (December 18, 1947), a Sagittarius, contracted polio at age two. When she tried to enter kindergarten, Heumann was labeled a fire hazard—she moved about in a wheelchair–and admittance was refused. Her mother persisted and was able to enroll her daughter in a special school. Judith sought to become a teacher. She passed her oral and written examinations but failed the medical. Judith couldn’t walk, and the New York City Board of Education did not believe she could exit students in the advent of a fire. Heumann sued on the grounds of discrimination, won, and taught elementary students for three years. (Judy Heumann: The Life and Legacy of the Mother of the Disability Rights Movement, judithheumann.com) She was also removed from an airplane for insisting she had a right to her seat. (National Women’s History Museum, “Judith Heumann”)
Judith led a 28-day San Francisco sit-in in 1977 when the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare refused to sign important regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a civil rights law that protected people with disabilities. * It spread to ten cities. The secretary signed the legislation. (Wikipedia, “Judith Heumann”) She was also instrumental in the development and implementation of IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (judithheumann.com)
From 1993 to 2001 Heumann served as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education. (Ibid)
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*I wrote as many as twenty-three 504 Plans a year when employed as a School Psychologist. Accommodations included changing students’ seating, using a study carrel, positive redirecting, asking the student to paraphrase as a check for understanding, and a quiet test room.
Judith Heumann Natal Chart
When I looked at Judith Heumann’s horoscope, it immediately struck me that she would have made a fine lawyer. I have done my own study of famous attorneys, and her chart fits the mold.
The time of birth is speculative.
Judith’s Mercury is in Sagittarius; a sign associated with the law. It is conjoined with Jupiter. That aspect is associated with success in the field. Moreover, there is a trine of Saturn which gave her depth of thought, organizational ability, and a regard for honesty. There is also a trine to Pluto. That would have made her sharp, quick, and a bit zealous. (Davison, Astrology, p. 115-116, 1969)
Mars was in critical, detail-oriented Virgo. This would have provided a counterbalance to big picture Sagittarius.
Judith’s Sun was opposed to Uranus. In this chart it is perhaps indicative of polio, a disease characterized by paralysis. She was probably-justifiably so in her case—a bit rebellious against authority figures.
Maya Angelou
“With its dust, and hate, and narrowness it was as South as it is possible to get,” said Maya Angelou about her formative years in rural Arkansas where she lived with her grandmother. Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. The marriage of her parents was tempestuous. She was sent to reside with her grandmother. When she returned to live with mom, she was raped by her stepfather. He was jailed and later killed when released. Because she had reported the incident Maya thought she was responsible. She did not speak for six years. The psychiatric diagnosis is called selective mutism.** (Britannica, “Maya Angelou” & National Women’s History Museum, “Maya Angelou 1928-2014”)
Angelou moved to San Francisco with her mother in 1940. She took jobs as a cocktail waitress, cook, dancer, streetcar conductor, prostitute and madam. (Britannica) She had a child at age sixteen.
Maya had kept a journal and wrote poetry at an early age. She had been able to graduate from high school in 1944. In the 1950s she moved to New York and joined the Harlem Writers Guild. Angelou won a key role in the musical Porgy and Bess which was sponsored by the State Department and toured twenty-two countries. (Britannica & National Women’s History Museum)
In 1961 Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt—she was persuaded by her then spouse to do so—and wrote for the Arab Observer. Maya later moved to Ghana where she worked on the African Review. (Britannica)
Maya published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her early life, in 1969. This book has sold over a million copies. She wrote six autobiographical accounts in all. One of her poetry volumes, Just Give me a Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She won three Grammys for her spoken word albums of poetry. In 1973 Angelou earned a Tony nomination for her supporting role in the play Look Away. (National Women’s History Museum)
In the 1980s and 90s Maya completed her last two volumes of poetry. These were entitled Now Sheba Sings the Song and I Shall Not Be Moved.
Angelou was awarded thirty honorary degrees in her lifetime and a stamp was created in her honor. She passed away at the age of 86.
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**I took a required speech class in high school. One of my classmates had selective mutism. He demonstrated how to make a pizza without ever uttering a word. The teenager forgot a spoon and used a pencil to make the dough. Even his laughter was silent.
Maya Angelou Natal Chart
Maya Angelou’s chart with a time of birth was garnered from John Halloran’s software–AstrolDeluxe Platinum.
Maya’s horoscope instantly reminded me of Marilyn Monroe’s because both had Neptune rising in the First House of self and Saturn, the planet of restriction, in the Fourth House representing the early home life. There the similarity ended because Angelou had a trine between the two planets. She turned her unsettling and at times chaotic early environment into a source of inspiration for her writings. The placement of Neptune would have made her sensitive to her environment.
Looking at the signs in which the planets are found, an “arty,” poetical bent can be immediately discerned. Mercury and Venus are in Pisces; a sign associated with poetry. The Moon in Libra too has an association with the arts.
Another key to the nativity is the Sun/Jupiter conjunction in the Ninth House of long-distance travel, publication, higher education, and dreams. Both planets are trine to Saturn. Jupiter trine Saturn can indicate a steady rise in one’s career. The Sun trine imparts structure and organization.
Jupiter in Aries made Angelou enthusiastic about ideas and gave a love of freedom. Uranus there made her independent and strong-willed.
With the Sun, Jupiter, and Uranus in Aries, it was no wonder that much of Maya’s poetry and writing were autobiographical in nature. Aries, as the first sign, represents the life principle, joie de vivre, unfettered activity, and a kind of expression centered around self. Me first! (Ronald C. Davison, Astrology, p. 18)