The Astrology of Nina Simone - Mars in a “night” birth chart doesn't always play out as it seems.
Nina Simone, a birth chart reading beyond the Sun, Moon and Rising
Who was Nina Simone?
Nina Simone was the stage name of Eunice Kathleen Waymon, an American singer, songwriter, cultural icon, and civil rights activist. She started playing the piano at age 3 and dreamed of becoming the first Black female classical pianist. At age 21, a twist of fate landed her at the Midtown Bar & Grill in New Jersey, where she was hired to play piano.
Nina desperately needed the money, but there was a catch: the club owner required her to also sing. She adopted the stage name “Nina Simone” to perform under the radar from her strict, religious mother, who would not have approved of her daughter playing “the devil’s music”.
Her reputation as a dynamic and captivating live performer solidified her worldwide stardom. The racism and injustices she suffered and witnessed galvanized and shaped her work as a force for good. She passed away in 2003 in France at age 70, and her musical legacy endures today.
Nina Simone’s AA-Rated Birthchart from Astro-databank. Born February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, at 6 A.M. The sun is below the horizon, making this a nighttime birth chart.
Mars in her Night Chart
Hellenistic astrologers might be quick to point out that since Nina was born at night (with the Sun below the horizon in her nativity), Saturn automatically becomes the most troublesome planet in her chart, and that her Mars would be more constructive.
In the comments section of the Patreon Head on History, historian and professor Dr. Ali Olomi says, “Sect is pretty important, but the nuances get lost sometimes beyond treating it as a 'team.’ There are times when Mars is way better in a day chart than Saturn.”
For Nina Simone, Saturn is actually less disruptive in her night chart than her in-sect malefic, Mars.
Abu Ma’Shar, a Medieval Islamicate astrologer from the pre-modern world [1] would note that her Night-Chart Saturn’s condition is mitigated by the following conditions:
✅ Saturn is below the Horizon
✅ Saturn is in the east
✅ Saturn is direct (not retrograde)
✅ Saturn is in his own sign (Aquarius)
✅ Saturn is in a hot sign (Aquarius)
❌ Saturn is not trine or sextile Jupiter or Venus
❌ Saturn is not in his own bound
Her Saturn would be challenging but ultimately work to her benefit, giving her the seriousness, endurance, and gravitas she needed to navigate the tumultuous 1960’s in the United States at the peak of her career.
Nina’s Mars, on the other hand, is not as well supported in her chart despite being the malefic of the sect in favor:
✅ Mars is above the horizon
✅ Mars is in the west
❌ Mars is not trine or sextile Jupiter or Venus
❌ Mars is not in his own bound
❌ Mars is retrograde
❌ Mars is in Virgo, and not in his own sign or exaltation
❌ Mars is not in a wet sign, Virgo is dry
❌ Mars is near the South Node, draining Mars of the good it could do
Nina was known for having an explosive temper and aggressive outbursts that at one point landed her 8 months in jail. [2]
Singer-songwriter Janis Ian, a one-time friend of Simone's, related in her autobiography Society's Child: My Autobiography (2008) that Nina forced a shoe store cashier at gunpoint to take back a pair of sandals she had already worn, and another in which Simone ripped a payphone from its wall when she refused to pay royalties for Simone having recorded one of her songs. [2]
In 1985, Nina fired a gun at a record company executive after accusing him of stealing royalties. In 1995, while living in France, she shot and wounded her neighbor's son with an air gun after his laughter broke her concentration, and his response to her complaints were racial insults. [2]
We can see this drama play out in her chart as Virgo is her 8th house of debts, collaborations and reciprocity, what we owe and what is owed to us by inheritance or gain. Mars also opposes both her 2nd house of finances / material support, and Mercury the planet of business, coin and communication. Mars adds a combative, war-like tone to how she handles these areas of her life.
“When Mars is severely corrupted and afflicted by being fallen or humiliated, retrograde, or of similar conditions, then it is like a man who swings a blade that cuts others and himself.” (Translation: Olomi).
We see here that sect itself is not enough to tame a Mars or Saturn in poor condition. As with all astrology, we have to look at the whole chart, and the condition of the planet to see how easy or difficult that planet will be experienced.
Mars squares her 11th house of networks, fans and associates in the sign of Sagittarius. She was deeply affected by the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers and a church bombing in Alabama. She initially struggled with not knowing HOW a pop song could possibly capture the indignation, horror, and injustice.
“How can you take the memory of a man like [Civil Rights activist] Medgar Evers and reduce all that he was to three and a half minutes and a simple tune? That was the musical side of it I shied away from; I didn’t like ‘protest music’ because a lot of it was so simple and unimaginative it stripped the dignity away from the people it was trying to celebrate.” [3]
— Nina Simone
Nina eventually finds a way to channel this collective pain into her art. Nina’s powerful music hits with searing, unflinching narratives of the injustices she witnessed as a Black woman in the United States. Her song “Mississippi Goddam” was banned throughout the South but even Nina herself acknowledged that there was no turning back as she became a voice for the masses.
She went on to record other groundbreaking songs, such as “Four Women” and “Strange Fruit,” putting Nina front and center of the volatile civil upheaval of 1960s America. [3]
"Mississippi Goddam" by Nina Simone, Live in Antibes, July 24-25, 1965.
Mars Virgo in the 8th House Opposing Mercury
Mercury rules her 8th house, which is also known as the house of anxieties and death, and “the idle place”. Her music dealt with violence, injustice and death head-on.
She took the stories, the heartache, and struggles of her people, and let it infuse her music with deep purpose and meaning. Her work was a painful collaboration of sorts; deeply informed by first-hand accounts of oppression and despair.
The lyrics from Mississippi Goddamn brings her frustrated Mars to life as it sits in the 8th house: “the idle place”. Frustrated that there is not enough action against the injustice of racism. Upset that things are moving “too slow”
…
Don't tell me, I'll tell you
Me and my people, just about due
I've been there, so I know
You keep on saying, "Go slow"
Well that's just the trouble (too slow)
Washing the windows (too slow)
Pickin' the cotton (too slow)
Nothin' but rotten (too slow)
Too damn lazy (too slow)
Thinking's crazy (too slow)
Where am I going?
What am I doing?
I don't know
I don't know
…
Notably, Mars is opposing Mercury, the ruler of Gemini, her 5th whole sign house of creativity, art, and music. Mars also rules her 10th house of career, reputation, and vocation, and her 3rd house of local community, neighborhood, and writing.
This illustrates how she was publicly cast as an agitator and disruptor through her speech and music, which centered her community's painful experiences with violence and racism.
In 1970, Maya Angelou said, “(Nina) is loved or feared, adored or disliked, but few who have met her music or glimpsed her soul react with moderation.”
The 9th Part of Nina’s Moon tells us what she is naturally drawn towards.
The Moon itself rules its own 9th part and the sign of Cancer, her 6th house. The 6th signifies people who are burdened by heavy labor, illness, accidents, and other physical injuries. In the traditional texts, this house explicitly included people who were oppressed by forced labor.
Nina Simone felt compelled, as an artist, to reflect the times in her work. She famously said, “Slavery has never been abolished from America's way of thinking.” In the Netflix documentary, “What Happened, Ms. Simone?” she passionately defends her position against peaceful protest and her willingness to fight for equality by any means necessary.
The Moon represents the masses and groups of people. She bravely took on the mantel of activist by using her platform and popularity to expose and spotlight the crimes and injustice of racism against her community.
According to the Netflix documentary, her activism through her music was so central to her performances that it eventually became difficult for her to get bookings. Contrary to popular modern astrology, Mars in a person’s chart doesn’t tell us the full story of what drives a person to action. The 9th part of the Moon often sets the stage for where and for what purpose the life plays out.
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Sources:
[1] Dr. Ali A. Olomi podcast Head on History: When Malefics (Saturn and Mars) become Good According to Abu Ma'shar
[2] Nina Simone Wikipedia
[3] ninasimone.com biography
