GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
Intuitive Scientist, Artistic Researcher |
April 21, 2025
Special for The New Times Holler
From Seeds Buried in Furrows
This is not a full rectification of George Washington Carver’s chart. It is a study for his approximate date of birth and a brief analysis of his complex character.
© Amir Bey, 2025
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George Washington Carver initially was drawn to art. His work included fauna and still life studies
George Washington Carver was an American legend: agricultural scientist, inventor, and educator who researched and promoted alternative crops to cotton and farming methods to prevent soil depletion in the South. He was one of the most revered American scientists of the 20th Century. While he has been most recognized for his research on peanuts, and sweet potatoes, it is important to understand that he initially wanted to be a painter. Due to his sickliness as a child, instead of heavy physical labor, he learned crocheting, gardening, and other work that was regarded as feminine. This notion of gender in science has been indulged in whereby Feminine is seen as an intuitive approach to research, while Masculine is seen as being objective and physical. He was also encouraged to study by the white couple who took him and his brother James in after they were orphaned. This was unusual because Blacks obtaining literacy was discouraged and could even have had fatal consequences.
His date of birth is sketchy. Estimates range from 1864, or earlier, to July 12, 1864. In several instances he claimed being told that he was born about 2 weeks before the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865. We can assume that someone who was familiar with his birth told him that date. My opinion is that the 1864 date is not likely if he was indeed born just before the War ended. It is unknown where the July 12, 1864, date, or the year 1864 came from. Following the practice of giving priority of an individual's memory of their birth date and time over undocumented data, I began studying a chart for March 26, 1865, two weeks before the Civil War ended. That date is not certain, but it is following what he said, and avoided the 1864 year altogether.
George Washington Carver's chart (approximate date)
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March 26, 1865, Diamond, Missouri 12 Noon
This noon chart has his birth close to the New Moon, with the Moon leaving Pisces going into Aries about one hour later, giving a 3, or 4-planet stellium in Aries. Mercury/Mars is in mutual reception; with Mars conjunct Uranus this is electrical in nature, and could manifest in the shrill -high-pitched voice that he was noted for. The Mars/Uranus conjunction is opposite Jupiter, trine Saturn could correspond to his intellectual discipline. - Saturn sextile Jupiter adds to his intellectual foundations. Saturn's conjunction with the North Node also emphasizes Saturn's role in his life's trajectory: limitations that led to his focus and success. Him, his mother, and brother were kidnapped by the KKK and held for ransom; he never saw his mother again. In his writings he sometimes comments on his being quite fortunate to have had the treatment that he received as an orphaned Black boy. He had many whites help him along the way.
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George Washington Carver
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He always wore a freshly picked flower on his lapel, whether it was a wildflower or a dandelion
Some clues: he was said to be wedded to his work. In his letters, he is effusive in his praise and expressions of altruistic love for people. That suggests the planets Uranus, and Neptune. There was a certain degree of solitude, and even some antagonism from his peers at Tuskegee where he conducted much of his research and taught for decades. For this and his talent as a scientist and researcher we can look to Mercury. Saturn must play a role, because there is a sense of isolation along with his discipline as a scientist.
The chart above has some correspondence with those planets and characteristics. While March 26, 1865, may not be the precise date, we can consider some longer term planetary aspects. For his altruistic love and passionate idealism, we have the Sun/Neptune conjunction in Aries at 6º and 7º respectively; if he was born one hour later, the Moon would join this Aries stellium. This could explain his sense of purpose and destiny. While he was humble, he also believed in his singular importance (Aries) and to a healthy degree, he was self-centered.
As mentioned, his high-pitched voice can be attributed to his Mercury at 14º Aries, in mutual reception with Mars in 27º Gemini conjunct Uranus at 25º Gemini. Strikingly high-pitched, possibly the effect of his early childhood illnesses. His scientific mind is described by this Mars conjunct Uranus in Gemini, tightly trine Saturn Rx at 28º Libra 34’, with Saturn conjunct his North Node Rx at 0º Scorpio 08’. His Jupiter at 28º Sagittarius 25’opposite the Mars/Uranus conjunction, sextile his Saturn, contributes to his optimism and the perceived hubris that his envious peers resented him for, and many of his Tuskegee peers resented him for this good fortune as they also resented his darker complexion. Part of their envy stemmed from his associations with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the like. When visitors came to Tuskegee, they came to see him. Saturn in Libra also describes these antagonisms as well as the refined discipline involved in his work. His Sun conjunct Neptune explains his intuitive approach to research. If this date is close, this conjunction also describes the misunderstandings or confusion that Booker T. Washington and others had about him. For example, he asked for a larger space to conduct his research, very much the way an artist has needs for a studio to create. His Venus and Pluto in Taurus 18º and 11º respectively, would be consistent with his instincts for nature and agricultural development.
If this date is close to his actual date of birth, the slower planets are the most reliable to contemplate for general timing. However, we can approximate the span of time that he might have been born if this pre-Civil War date is correct.
With his intuitive approach to research, as a blend of artist and scientist, where he communicated with plants as being messengers from God, I wonder if he observed the Moon’s phases’ correspondence with the growth cycles of plants. It is interesting that within the astrological community, there is a debate on whether astrology is an “Art or Science;” or if there should be an emphasis of one over the other. I see anything humans do combines those concepts. His life and devotions embody those orientations.
In the current era, might he have been called a conservationist and an ecologist? Can we speculate on what actions and stances he might adopt in response to global warming? He was certainly devoted to helping farmers, particularly of the South. He felt that cotton’s havoc on the land and peoples’ lives had to be corrected, that the South was America’s wealthiest land and had to be managed to fulfill its promise.
Sources:
Glenn Clark, The Man Who Talks with the Flowers: The Intimate Life Story of Dr. George Washington Carver, 1939,
Gregory Curtis, Historian, Park Ranger, George Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, MO Private communication, 2025
George Washington Carver in His Own Words Edited by Gary R. Kremer, 2nd Edition, University of Missouri Press 2017
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