Many women before and after the American Civil War were rich beyond their wildest dreams. However, it took a poor African American woman to become the nation's first self-made millionairess. Madame C.J. Walker's deep-pocketed counterparts were heiresses, not hard-hitting workers who climbed the ladder of success without the benefit of supportive family ties.

Walker was born as Sarah Breedlove on Dec. 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana.

Taking her first breath in America's Deep South only two years after the cessation of Civil War hostilities, Walker was born to enslaved parents.

Indeed, she was the family's first child born into freedom.

From these humble origins would arise one of America's most wealthy and influential women. Walker's fame and fortune would become legendary even before women won the Constitutional battle to vote. She died a year before suffrage was extended to women by the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

The sign of Capricorn and its associate planet, Saturn, govern the teeth, knees, bones, hearing, skin and hair. Walker's focus on the appearance and health of the tresses and skin of her sisters across America had a sound astrological basis.

A third of Walker's ten natal solar system members -- Sun, Venus and Mars -- were positioned in Capricorn. The powerful Moon also shared a close conjunction with Saturn, bolstering Walker's sensitivity and interest in all matters pertaining to our hair.

Because Walker had her natal Sun a mere 2 degrees (out of a 360-degree sky) from Mars -- the ruling sphere of the year's first zodiac sign of Aries -- she was motivated and emboldened to cut a pioneering swath in commercial territory never trodden by any woman, black or white.

Walker was successful in charity as well as in business. The philanthropist left two thirds of her fortune to educational institutions and anti-lynching causes.

Follow your dream during the New Year and know that love is the brightest star!

The opinions expressed are solely the writer's. Ted PanDeva Zagar, an East Chicago native, is a pioneer in Wellness Astrology, a prevention-over-remedy approach to overall wellness. For an archive of herbal and dietary recommendations for each Sun sign, log onto wellnessastrology.com. Reach him at PanDeva@aol.com to receive a free copy of "Zodiac Signs and Healing Plants."

DISCLAIMER: The author's comments are not intended to serve as medical advice, and he urges his readers to seek qualified wellness professionals to resolve matters of health. Direct your wellness questions with exact time, date and place of birth to Ted PanDeva Zagar at PanDeva@aol.com.