First Lady of Song

An Astrological Look at the Life of Ella Fitzgerald

It was Amateur Night at the Apollo in Harlem. A shy 17‑year‑old originally came prepared with a dance routine she had been performing locally. Looking around, she saw that the Edwards sisters were there, and she feared she couldn't match their talent. Drowning in doubt, she made a last-minute decision to sing instead. When she began to sing most accounts say the song was “Judy” followed by another number. When she finished, the audience quickly shifted from restlessness to rapt attention.

This was the fateful night the Ella Fitzgerald became a star. Winning first prize, this launched her professional career and leading, within a short time, to opportunities with Chick Webb’s band. That unexpected decision to sing rather than dance at the Apollo turned a nervous teenager into one of jazz’s most celebrated voices and is often remembered as the turning point of her life in music.

It seems this was a night of divine intervention for Ella. Here she was ready to dance, but due to the events unfolding she decided to bring out a hidden side to herself, one that it seems the angels intervened to make sure happened. Ironically, as you will understand in a moment, Ella's singing began in a church choir. Her initial impulses as she was growing up were to become a dancer. There is no evidence she underwent professional vocal training as a teenager; rather, her talent was mostly self-developed and honed by listening to and emulating established singers like Connee Boswell. In other words, her skills were developed alone, in solitude, awaiting the moment they would be on display. On this night the dream of dancing surrendered to a career of singing.

Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. It is an understatement to say Ella's childhood was rough. When Ella was 15, her mother died tragically in a car accident. This led to an unfortunate stretch for Ella during which she was homeless, living on the streets, and doing any number of odd jobs just to survive, including running numbers (illegal lottery tickets) to survive.

Here is Ella Fitzgerald's natal chart:

Two things jump out immediately in Ella's birth chart. First her natal Sun is in conjunction with Venus at the top of the chart with a mere ten minutes of separation. Second, Ella had the zodiac sign associated with entertainers, Leo, rising at the moment she took her first breath. Later this breath emerged in the form of beautiful singing, earning such nicknames as "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". The Sun in astrology represents the core persona and in this instance Ella's chart melodically points to a person whose identity is entangled with the Venusian affinity with artists of all kinds, including singers. And from the "are you kidding me department" Ella was a soprano, which is also associated with Venus.

Further, both her Sun and Venus were in the zodiac sign of Taurus at her birth. This is where Venus rules, one of the two signs where she is most powerful. A planet in rulership is endowed with the ability to set its own agenda and to do whatever it wants. As such, Taurus is also associated with artists of all kinds, adding fuel to the fires within Ella. Ironically, Taurus also rules the throat and when you consider Venus' dignity here, it's no wonder that she became known for her wide vocal range and flexibility. And diving even deeper, Taurus is connected to hoarseness of the voice, as Ella aged, her voice exhibited a natural darkening and sometimes a light raspiness, which became part of her expressive singing style. And finally, Taurus is the sign connected to money as well as the voice, and we know this was how Ella earned a living.

Pause and think a moment, this a woman who went from living on the streets of Harlem, New York, to

earning a significant amount of money during her career, selling over 40 million albums and winning 13 Grammy Awards, which contributed to her financial success as a renowned jazz singer. Her popularity and talent made her one of the highest-paid female artists of her time. Such a turn of events speaks to another Taurus quality, that of being tenacious and stubbornly persistent in the pursuit of security.

Considering the significant impact the Apollo Theatre had on Ella's life, I felt compelled to explore whether an asteroid named Apollo existed. Unsurprisingly, it does, as its name is associated with a prominent Greek god, the sun deity. This presents another intriguing coincidence: Ella, with her Leo rising, Leo being the astrological sign governed by the Sun, finds her major opportunity at a theatre named after the sun god.

There is an asteroid Apollo, it is number 1862. At Ella's exact moment of birth, it was positioned at 25 degrees and 8 minutes of Cancer in her twelfth house. As I first saw this, I felt it seemed like an odd positioning for this asteroid. But then a light turned on brighter than the lights must have been that fated night Ella took center-stage. The twelfth house is where we find angels, and we brush up against the veil. I do not believe for one minute that this isn't what occurred for Ella, from the depths of her unconscious self a message arrived, sing don't dance. The twelfth house is also the place where we escape from things. In this instance, the Apollo was literally the escape hatch through which Ella walked into a new life. The twelfth house is also the place of hidden things, like Ella's immense singing talent, which was no longer hidden due the faint whisperings of spiritual influences redirecting her footsteps.

Apollo is positioned in the sign of Cancer, which can be interpreted in several ways here. In a literal sense, Apollo became the home Ella had been searching for until that moment. Surrounded by a caring and supportive audience, she experienced an emotional uplift that marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life. It was a place where she felt secure and accepted. Cancer had indeed cast its spell.

Another key in Ella's chart that unlocks the door of understanding her destiny is the powerful placement of Mars in Aries in her nineth house, the location where we seek the meaning of life. Remarkably, on the day of her birth this pioneering, aggressive, and driven energy was in a tense relationship known as a square to the asteroid Apollo in the twelfth house. Squares push for action, driving us to do something, challenge us, and push us toward growth. Poetically, this conflict connects where one finds meaning with the house where angels can intervene and they collided in one fated moment, in front of a microphone. From that point forward Ella understood, I am a singer. Her meaning was revealed.

Moreover, and perhaps most significantly, Apollo was in a trine aspect to Ella's Chiron at birth. Her Chiron was located in the eighth house, a place associated with various crises, including death. In a birth chart, Chiron signifies where we are wounded. As previously noted, Ella lost her mother at 15, and two years later, she stepped onto the Apollo stage to sing. Additionally, Chiron was in Pisces at the time of Ella's birth, indicating that this crisis, originating from the eighth house, affected her spiritually, likely due to the profound grief she felt upon her mother's death. One could imagine her questioning the presence of angels or God. In a natal chart, trines represent opportunities. The Apollo presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, marking the beginning of her healing journey.

When we consider mothers in astrology, we turn to the moon, both cosmic and earthly. In Ella's chart, there is a foreboding indication: the Moon was conjunct with Pluto, the planet linked to death. Remarkably, the Gemini Moon, associated with accidents, was intertwined with a Cancer Pluto, residing in the sign related to emotional security and home. Do you see this? Additionally, this conjunction was in a semi-sextile, an aspect that signifies problematic differences, blind spots, and the need for adjustment, with the asteroid Apollo. This encapsulates the story of this motherless young woman, suddenly thrust onto the streets and into the spotlight. The challenging differences from her previous life had to adapt to her new reality. This is why I believe divine intervention, symbolized by the asteroid Apollo in Ella's twelfth house, took place.

According to the New York Times, Ella Fitzgerald died on June 15, 1996, at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She was 79 years old. Her death was due to complications from diabetes, a disease she had battled for many years, which had severely affected her eyesight and circulatory system. In the early 1990s, the disease led to the amputation of both of her legs below the knees. Despite her health struggles, she remained an iconic figure in jazz until her passing.