Diego Maradona (1960 – 2020)

“When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. I’d never felt like that before, but it’s true… and not just because it was such an important game. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal. He’s the greatest player of all time, by a long way. A genuine phenomenon.”

~ Gary Lineker

The passing of Diego Maradona this week was mourned by football fans all over the world, but especially in the hearts of his homeland Argentina and his adopted home for a while, Naples.  He is hailed by many as being the greatest football player of all time.

Birth Chart

The film of Maradona’s life by Asif Kapadia was aired last night on television.  He also wrote an article about the making of the film in yesterday’s Guardian.  He pointed out some Archetypes, which were put on a poster:

“Rebel, Hero, Hustler, God. He didn’t like ‘hustler’ – he interpreted it as thief – and said: ‘This film is a lie, they’ve cheated me, I’m never going to watch it, I trusted them and they betrayed me.’ ” 

I found the film very sympathetic, and very illuminating, and you may spot some of the Archetypes in his birth chart.

Maradona had half his planets in Water, which made him highly emotional in make up.  He also had 0 Air planets, so he worked very much on instinct.

His Sun was in Scorpio (the sign of Light/Dark) conjunct closely Neptune  (the planet of the Saint/Sinner Archetype).  With his Ascendant in Scorpio too (all the intensity you could ever need), you can see the Scorpio physique (short and stocky) in his distinctive appearance.  Moreover, the Sun in his chart was exactly sextile Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio (Light and Dark).  It is no wonder his character confounded and intrigued the world.  His Midheaven was in Leo (the Persona of the Showman, but also the Hero) and squared the Sun.  His Moon in Pisces was trine Mercury – so there was a co-ordination between rationality and imagination in his psyche. Quick emotional reactions, helpful in football, are shown by Moon closely trine Mars, while Mercury loosely trine Mars provided quick mental reactions, and good motor skills.

His Moon was sextile Saturn, pointing to some emotional control, and discipline in training habits and regimes.  The Moon was conjunct the South Node, a strong indication of a karmic tie with his mother and his family: born in poverty, he had a strong sense of responsibility towards them, and always said his motivation was to buy his parents a house (he was the eldest son of several siblings).

Mercury in Scorpio conferred a forensic mind, but Mercury was closely square Uranus – showing an erratic nervous system, and someone who was no stranger to controversy.  Mercury was also conjunct the Ascendant from the 12th House, providing a great deal of nervous energy.  Mercury square Chiron added more nervous strain, but denoted a problem-solving mind.  Venus in the 1st House closely trine the Midheaven brought to the fore a much loved public figure and a warm reputation, but at the same time Venus square Pluto held volcanic feelings, and may also have represented the backlash in the feelings of others when he was unable to fulfil their expectations.

Mars sextile North Node showed Football/Warrior as a karmic path or mission, and  Jupiter trine Uranus the Opportunist (not so much the Hustler).  Jupiter and trine Pluto conferred great power and strength.  Scorpio is also known for powers of regeneration, and this was heightened by Jupiter sextile Chiron.  The drugs, inspiration, charisma, glamour and illusion are portrayed in Neptune exactly square his Midheaven and sextile his North Node.

Life and Career

He was born near Buenos Aires, to Guarani (father) and Italian (mother) heritage.  He was given a football at the age of 3, and was talent-spotted at the age of 8 (with Progressed Sun trine natal Mars in Cancer in 8th House).  His professional debut, at Argentinos Juniors just before his 16th birthday coincided with his Progressed Sun transiting his natal Mercury in Scorpio in 12th House.  Shortly afterwards, on 14th November 1976, he scored his first goal in the First Division, with a  planetary line up which included Uranus on his natal Sun/Neptune (a sudden breakthrough).  He then played for the Boca Juniors team in Argentina.

He was transferred to Barcelona after the 1982 World cup for a record-beating fee for his time.  On 26th June 1983 he received an ovation at a match for his play against Real Madrid.  The transits for this highlight the importance of his Chiron placement in Aquarius (healing through teamwork) – for Mars, Saturn and Pluto were trine his natal Chiron in Aquarius in 3rd House, and Neptune was sextile his natal Chiron. Though he did well initially at Barcelona, he did not settle, and he received a nasty ankle injury on 24th September 1983: Mars opposite his natal Chiron in Aquarius in 3rd House, Aquarius representing ankles.  His time at Barcelona ended in a mass brawl on the pitch.

A fresh start awaited him in Naples on 5th July 1984. The impoverished club took a huge gamble, and looked upon him as their saviour.  Italian football was at the time dominated by the Northern clubs.  He was hugely welcomed, and felt very much more at home.  His transits at the time were jubilatory: Mars sextile his Saturn and North Node, forming a Grand Trine; Jupiter sextile his natal Sun, a triumph; Jupiter trine his natal Pluto, a step up in power; and Uranus transiting his natal Venus, a new era in his personal life.  He was to change the fortunes of Naples, and became a lucky mascot for them.

At the same time, he still played internationally for his home country Argentina, and in the summer of 1986 the famous or infamous (depending on your stance) “Hand of God” goal was scored against England in the quarter final of the World Cup.  A few minutes later he scored a deciding goal, one that was to be hailed as one of the greatest goals in the history of the sport.  The first goal was widely seen as a cheat, as he handled the ball but the referee allowed the goal; the second goal was a demonstration of his skill at manoevring the ball by dribbling a path through five members of the opposing team, England.  Transits for that day included the Sun opposing his natal Jupiter (taking a chance), and Venus squaring his Sun/Neptune (an element of deception).  The two goals themselves were two sides of a coin.  The match led to Argentina winning the World Cup.

Maradona led Naples to the top of the Italian league tables, and at first he enjoyed a more opulent lifestyle.  Whether it was naivety, or the stress of his responsibilities and his own drives, he became entangled in the local mafia, the Camorra.  They gave him protection, and introduced him to drugs.  His life became a mixture of hard training and success on the football field, and socializing and drug taking.  In the film by Asif Kapadia Maradona’s wife Claudia Villafane talked of Maradona’s need for escape, without completely being able to identify what he needed to escape from.  This is so characteristic of the Sun conjunct Neptune (drugs) in his chart.

Eventually, realizing the toll on his health of his lifestyle, he sought to end his contract with Naples, but the powers that be would not let him leave.  In this period, he had a chronic lower back problem and sciatica, for which he was given painful injections in order to carry on his prowess on the field.  An extraordinary emotional tug of war took place on 3rd July 1990 when Italy played Argentina in the World Cup.  Argentina won on penalties, but the win proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Maradona’s relationship with Naples.  Transiting Pluto trine his natal Mars produced a win of sorts, but with brutal results.  The Camorra stopped supporting and protecting him, and he tested positive for drugs in 1992 and 1994.  He was banned from playing for 15 months, leaving him a broken man.  His transits at that point:  Mars opposite his Mercury (testing) and Saturn on his South Node in Pisces (a karmic correction relating to drugs).

Personal Life

His primary relationship was with Claudia Villafane, who he married on 7th November 1989.  He had known her since his youth in Buenos Aires, and they had two daughters.  During Claudia’s pregnancy with their first daughter, a son was born to Cristiana Sinagra whom she named Diego.  Maradona denied paternity, however, for many years, but the son followed his father into the profession of football.  Maradona and Claudia stayed together until they divorced in 2004, and remained on good terms.

Gastric Bypass

Maradona continued to coach and train within various clubs round the world, while battling health problems, one of which was obesity.  Finally on 6th March 2005 he decided to opt for a gastric bypass operation, which took place in Colombia.  The transits for this were particularly interesting to note:

Uranus exactly trine his natal Sun (drastic solutions)

North Node trine his natal Uranus (unusual course of action)

Uranus opposite his natal Pluto (drastic action)

The procedure was successful, and enabled him to work with greater ease.

His health problems took their toll this month, and he was admitted to hospital on 2nd November.  He died at home, from a heart attack, on Wednesday 25th, with Uranus opposite his Sun (events beyond his control) and Uranus trine his natal Pluto exact to the day (a huge transition), hopefully at peace.

“Maradona, turns like a little eel and comes away from trouble, little squat man… comes inside Butcher and leaves him for dead, outside Fenwick and leaves him for dead, and puts the ball away… and that is why Maradona is the greatest player in the world.”

~ Bryon Butler, 1986

“He offered Argentinians a way out of their collective frustration and that’s why people love him”

~ Jorge Valdano

Aspects

In the early hours of this morning, Neptune was Stationary, prior to turning Direct.  Hopefully, you emerged from sleeping and dreaming refreshed and firmly re-orientated on your spiritual path from this!  This event is an opportunity to fine tune relationships, art, or spiritual practices.

Shortly afterwards, Mercury was sextile Jupiter, another welcome planetary event.  This encourages mental development and learning, and may have resulted in vivid instructive dreams in the night.  Today may be helpful to businesses in sore need of a lift at this time.  If you are learning a new language, you may experience a shift and take off with it!  It will also be favourable for the teaching profession, so you may notice that the effects may spill into the coming working week.

Tomorrow (Monday 30th) there is a Lunar Eclipse and Full Moon at 8 degrees Gemini.  This may mark a turning point or a completion of sorts, especially for those who have a significant astrological feature close to 8 degrees Gemini.  You may feel or see acutely the two sides of a story, e.g. some of the polarities occurring in the news and worldwide. With the Sun in opposition in Sagittarius, it is important to note that the principle of the polarity of Gemini/Sagittarius is Communication, whether in its more surface nature (Gemini) or on a deeper level (Sagittarius), for example in the writing of articles and short stories (Gemini) or book publishing (Sagittarius).

In the evening, Mercury sextiles Saturn which, after the tension of the Full Moon, allows for mental stabilization and consolidation.  Thoughts and feelings can be channelled and harnessed into constructive plans and ideas.  Mental foundations can be laid.  The aspect favours documentation and knuckling down to form-filling etc.

Tuesday (1st December) offers us a change of focus, with Mercury leaving the intense mental requirements of Scorpio, and entering into the more upbeat mindset of Mercury in Sagittarius, looking forward to a possible relaxation of the restrictions under the new Tier system post-second-lockdown, and calculating how best to spend our five allotted days of Christmas courtesy of Boris and his crew.  In our family, the rules have resulted in some real mental gymnastics, as I suspect has happened in many other households.  I wish you Good Luck, in true Sagittarian spirit!

As there are no aspects for the rest of the week, I will add a Fixed Star, for Thursday (3rd).  The star in question is Rastaban in the constellation of Draco, around 11 degrees Sagittarius. In “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld, we are afforded the following seed thoughts for contemplation:

“There are multiple influences from this star which can be useful in dealing with inner conflict and with trying to sort out ideas that do not necessarily make sense or that do not fit well together.  It may at first seem that you are only adding energy to the difficulties.  This will eventually sharpen the contrast and highlights between the competing ideas and allow you to take a higher form in which you are able to utilize the approach that works best in your life.  Then what may also emerge from this is an attitude in which there is laughter or separation from the competing ideas, and then you do not take that entire issue so seriously.”

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – Spiritual turning point; new vistas for learning
  • Tomorrow – Emotional high tide and turning point; mental stabilizing
  • Tuesday – Mental optimism
  • Thursday – Dealing with inner conflict
Date: Nov 29th, 2020 · Comments RSS · Tags: Icons · Obituary · Sport