The Ascendant (also known as the 1st house) reveals how others see someone's identity as well as the image that one projects into the world. I'm sure Rosa Parks was often perceived as competent and in control, exuding a cool demeanor but with a humble disposition. Her Capricorn Rising is even evident in the photographs of a police officer taking her fingerprints after her arrest. Her eyes rest on her hands, any emotions she may be experiencing hidden by her self-assured poise.
















With conjuncts between so many planets in her 1st house, it's evident that Rosa Parks was someone whose emotions, ideals, ego, drive for action, and method of communicating meshed very well. The close proximity of these planets reveal an intense drive towards the nature of identity, and not just in an ego-sense. Emphasis on the first house reveals a life that's driven by self-determination and asserting one's individuality, usually in the context of forces that try to mold the individual into conformity.

With an Ascendant, Mars, and Moon in Capricorn, Rosa Parks's sense of self seemed to be aligned with her sense of responsibility. It doesn't surprise me that she dropped out of high school to help take care of her sick grandmother; I'm not sure if that was her choice or not, but even if it wasn't, I doubt she shied away from this familial duty.

Her career as a civil rights activist delineates a very Capricorn approach to long-term ambition. She was involved in political action from a young age, yet her notoriety occurred when she was in her 40s. Parks wasn't a stranger to the long and hard path of this journey and most likely valued the small steps it took to reach the height of her potential. A term I came across when researching the impact of 1st house stellium is "mobilizing talents." I find it applicable to Rosa Parks since she was influential in mobilizing the Black community in Montgomery to boycott discriminatory bus laws.

Her Mars in Capricorn hovers very close to her Ascendant, despite it technically being in the 12th house of mystery, secrets, and taboo. When planets are a few degrees away from nearby houses (especially the Angular houses of the 1st/4th/7th and 10th), they can impact their expression.

Mars is the planet of action, unleashing one's passion and explaining people's motivations towards certain goals. Resting so close to the Ascendant, Rosa Parks's sense of self hinged on her strong need to fight against limitations. Capricorn's natural ruler, Saturn, is very present in her activist motivations. Since the planet governs restrictions, it explains her sensitivity to the negative expression of this energy: state-sponsored racism.

She aspired and achieved creating new structures that supported people rather than narrowed their freedom, healthy manifestations of the judicious Saturn. Slow and steady wins the race is a Mars in Capricorn proverb and Rosa Parks's life-long battle against racial injustice certainly conveyed this placement's ability to sustain tremendous energy in order to transform tangible reality.

The 10th house, also known as the Midheaven, is the part of life that reflects one's public image, career, and aspirations. Rosa Parks's Midheaven lies in Scorpio, a sign known for unearthing hidden truths to reveal the bigger picture. Her rebellion towards Jim Crow segregation laws exposed the ugly discrimination of American racism and how it impacted her community's access to resources and spaces. Her resistance proved to be an effective model for speaking out and fighting back.


Sharing a Saturn in Taurus with other people of her generation, Rosa Parks embodies the grounded values of this placement. Taurus energy is concerned with stability, self-esteem, and material resourcefulness. Channeled in an unbalanced way, people with this placement can embody selfishness and greed, often hoarding resources for the false pretense of security. Expressed with healthy boundaries, however, Saturn in Taurus people value safety and are hyper-aware of one's access to comfort and stability.

In the context of Rosa's natal chart, her Saturn in Taurus is well-aspected by trines with her Uranus, Mars, Moon, and Ascendant and sextiles with Neptune and Venus. Its placement in the 4th house of the family and home indicates a deep attachment to her privacy and kin, but also a consciousness for the wellbeing of people like her. No doubt she viewed her community as an extended family, one she felt responsible for helping and nurturing.

Her resistance to Montgomery's segregation laws encapsulates the Saturn Taurus value that her ability to ride the bus is connected to her material and emotional well-being; that is, an ordinary task (commuting in public) shouldn't be accosted by racist discrimination. When she refused to give up her seat, she was rooted in that belief, grounded in the responsibility towards defending those she loved and the community she fought for. In this light, her quote takes on a deeper meaning: "No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." 

It's no wonder that Rosa Parks's political actions have catapulted her as an icon. She's was truly a force to be reckoned with.

Want to read more about the natal charts of badass Black women? Check out Audre Lorde's natal chart interpretation here.