Professional soccer, hard knocks thru an astrological lens

This material is copyrighted by M. Kirby Moore.  Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

This post is about professional soccer and the possible reflected angst on the field, shown in the astrological heavens.  I watched this game on February 6th, meaning these words are all applicable to that time period.

I played soccer for 18 years and then, when injuries continued to set me back, I stopped playing and coached for several more.  Therefore, I am drawn to watch quality soccer and in particular, the English Premier League.  My favorite teams are Liverpool and Everton (due to certain English and American players whom I tend to favor).  Recently, both of these teams played each other, and in watching the highlights, I was shocked at how rough the game was – much more so than a “normal” heated rivalry game.  The referee ejected two players outright and yellow-carded (warned) several others, which is rare indeed.  [When a player is ejected, that leaves 10 or less on the field meaning the players quickly become exhausted.]

Don’t get me wrong.  When you have devoted umpteen years (thousands of hours) to something, you begin to understand and relish the subtleties of that subject.  Even in the case of sports.  Some people who know me as more of a philosopher / spiritual practitioner may wonder about this aspect – but I am just being honest about me (the question I have heard more than once is – how does intellectual debate and over-paid athletics fit together in the same context?).  Well, my answer is such: When I watch a quality soccer match (like the upcoming World Cup will hopefully bring us), I see art in motion – the ball gracefully and eloquently dances around the field, often times only being touched once by each player, and yet it goes exactly where they intended it to.  Once you know the intricacies of the game, the strategy and the nuance start to open up, and you watch as these elite athletes do the impossible with the ball.  I believe there is a reason that soccer is the world’s sport – to get to be that good at something without using one’s hands, arms or shoulders truly requires consistent, diligent effort – and not to mention substantial reorganization of the brain’s synapses (we are “programmed” from birth to have faster development, easier dexterity and fine coordination in the hands, fingers and arms compared to the legs and feet).

Well guess what?  The above game reminded me that the astrological players (planets) are going through a shoving match of their own, but at present they are being more intense than usual.  The harsh tackles of the game made more sense in my mind, after observing “the stars” and their aspects.  Sure, some people would agree that these are overpaid, hot-headed athletes, and for them to let the heat of the moment get to them might make sense.  However, restraint and self-control are actually the norm.  So what is going on that might lead players to “attack” each other so harshly?

I want to state for the record that the planets do not actually “do” anything or directly cause any events to occur (obviously), rather they are a reflection of our ego states.  You could say that the planets represent and reflect parts of our collective and individual psyche.  So when the planets line up in heated aspects, that means internal psychological parts of us may be doing the same – internal conflicts being made transparent through the solar system.  For instance, there are constantly parts of our internal structures expanding, contracting, seeking pleasure, seeking stability, craving independence, etc – I believe the astrological planets represent these different flavors.

I would have to say that Saturn, Pluto and Uranus are involved, then throw in Mars being retrograde and the transiting Sun / Venus being conjunct transiting Neptune, and you have yourself a recipe for multiple impassioned, deluded, machismo-filled players.  I will run through these quickly, as I have touched on some of these aspects in previous posts (see the Spiritual Astrology category).

In the extremely fast pace of professional sports and in particular sports like soccer where there can easily be contact and tackles, grace and instantaneous reaction times and instincts are necessary to protect the body.  Split second decision making is the norm and the ability to cause harm to other players is always present, even inadvertently – it is the athlete’s restraint and instincts that normally protect them and each other.  And astrologically speaking, I believe that certain planets represent different parts of the body / mind system, in addition to their psychological ramifications.  And I wonder if response times would change if different parts of the psyche heat up as it were.  I certainly believe that decision making is affected, as was evident on the field that day.

So, I would say that the over-arching culprits were Saturn and Pluto.  These transiting giants have been making a Square aspect for several weeks now, which is finally starting to resolve.  Then Saturn will move into orb with Uranus, making an Opposition aspect as it completes its retrograde cycle.  Due to their orbit times, Saturn and Uranus will not be making a hard aspect for another 10 plus years.  Saturn is the cold, distant, stern, disciplinarian planet – the perfectionist and the efficient task-master (these are the traits in us that it reflects).  While Pluto is a dark, calculating, secret, stewing planet of transformation – imagine a hidden, subterranean pressure-cooker.  Both of these planets, in contemporary evolutionary astrology are indicators of the ripening of challenging Karma.  So, when they collide, it is generally a good idea to practice restraint, patience and self control – not to mention having your spiritual practice in order ahead of time (we never know what our karma has in store for us, but if we practice sincerely, I believe we might be able to lighten the burden as it were, if appropriate).

I am not intending to make a fatalistic prediction here – it is only when the Square aspect these giants are making falls directly on planets in our Natal Charts that the causes and conditions arise for challenging karma to manifest.  That is why life continues to go on for the rest of us.  To put this in understandable language,  Saturn is in early Libra at present, squaring transiting Pluto which is in early Capricorn.  They are both in Cardinal signs, which means there is a 90 degree, or Square aspect formed between them.  On an individual basis, if we have numerous planets, or if one of our significant personal planets is in the early degrees of Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), then we should take some precautions during this time.  What I mean by major personal planets are the Sun, Moon or Mars (and / or the ruler of the chart, Sun or Moon).

Also, if you have a major planet in the late degrees of Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and especially Pisces), then Uranus (at present) and Saturn (coming in late March / April) will be making hard aspects to those.  Luckily these hard aspects fall in the more flexible Mutable signs, but I still might recommend some extra time for relaxing as these are two of the more potent transiting planets (Saturn, Uranus and Pluto are known for manifesting challenging karma – in terms of physical manifestations.  Neptune is also a karmic indicator, but it exclusively affects the mental / psycho-spiritual / creative realms).

I will touch on the precautions that I mention later, for now, I want to continue with the above recipe that I mentioned: Mars is also retrograde, plus transiting Venus and the Sun were conjunct transiting Neptune.  Whenever Mars goes retrograde, it is recommended to be a little less active physically and become more active with planning / reflection / introspection.  Actually I would add that more time is needed to stretch and warm up – we can still be as active but we must prepare our body more as Mars rules the musculature and connective tissue in the body.  Basically, if you have the capacity and the resources, when Mars goes retrograde (about once / 2.5 years) it is recommended to go into meditative retreat or at least to increase the time spent reflecting.  Mars rules the musculature, the blood (iron), athletes (it is the god of war), the head, plus the fine line between healthy competition and heated, aggressive conflict.  In general, when Mars goes retrograde, you can notice more injuries happening in professional sports – especially the sports where there is heavy contact (American football, soccer, hockey, rugby, etc).  More stretching and warm-up time is needed during its retrograde cycle.

Finally, the Sun and Venus were transiting and in conjunction with transiting Neptune, enhancing and amplifying the delusional and imaginative side of the mind for a week or so.  If we have a major planet in the late stages of the Fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, then this combination could reflect our head being in the clouds for whatever reason.  I also believe that this combination might slow the reaction times in the body – Venus and Neptune are all about the subtleties of life – slowing down and enjoying the nuances of art, food, beauty, nature, etc.  The classical Taurus (ruled by Venus) and the typical Piscean are not quick to react or exceptionally dexterous, rather they are more clumsy and into the refined side of life.  So back to my theory: having the Big Three Karmic Giants active, plus Mars retrograde, in addition to Neptune’s influence, I think we saw numerous athletes lose their heads and their tempers and unfortunately it led to an ugly game.  Luckily no one was seriously injured.

In general, a good prescription for the above “ailments” is more rest and down time, and more importantly, know yourself.  If we know the red flags which make us reactive and hot under the collar, this is a great first line of defense.  We should probably stay away from situations where we might make costly errors in judgment during these times (like go to an upscale bar as opposed to the rowdy, competitive sports bar until the transits pass).  If we play sports, take the requisite time to stretch and if you feel your temper starting to flare, quickly demand a substitute.  Take some deep breaths – give the hot energy a healthy outlet.  I know a little about this, because in my personal soccer career, during Mars retrograde and transiting Pluto Conjunct my Sun Ruler (Neptune) and Square my Natal Sun, I sustained three injuries within several weeks of each other and quit playing as a result.  Luckily, through coaching, I can stay passionate and enthusiastic, yet stay safely on the sidelines.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great week.