Sir Bobby Charlton (1937 – 2023)

“There has never been a more popular footballer.  As near perfection as man and player as it is possible to be.”

~ Sir Matt Busby

The legendary footballer Sir Bobby Charlton, one of the greatest footballers of all time, died yesterday morning, at the age of 86.  He was famously one of the England squad who won the 1966 World Cup, and the only one remaining now from that triumph is Geoff Hurst.  Bobby played most of his career for Manchester United.

Birth Chart

Bobby Charlton had the Sun in Libra, and was known to be a gentleman, and an unusually graceful player across the football pitch.  Arthur Hopcraft described his movements thus:

“The flowing line of Charlton’s football has no disfiguring barbs in it”

He was a calm and balanced Libran, with the Sun exactly square Jupiter.  His older brother Jack had Jupiter opposite his Sun, so there must have been something upbeat in their upbringing.  Bobby was known to have been a happy-go-lucky type, until he was involved in the Munich Air Crash which killed seven of his team mates on board.  We do not have his birth time, but it may have been close to Noon, giving his Moon the football connection from Mars.  His mother’s family were the famous footballing Milburns, and Moon (Mother) conjunct Mars (Football) would depict that.  Mercury square Mars will have given him quick mental and physical reactions.  Venus in Virgo exactly conjunct Neptune gave him quite a refined nature, and a great deal of modesty.  The conjunction of Venus and Neptune was part of a Grand Trine in the Earth signs, which may have been part of his outstanding talent.  It is worth noting that he had 0 Water planets, which may have added to his Libran calmness.  He had Mars trine Uranus – The Engineer Archetype, electrical energy – and as his back up plan he originally began an electrical engineering apprenticeship when he left school.  He also had Jupiter trine Uranus – The Entrepreneur Archetype – which formed part of his Grand Trine.  His exact trine of Saturn to Pluto, is often present in people who succeed significantly with a serious attitude.

Life and Career

Bobby Charlton was born in Ashington, Northumberland, younger brother to Jack who also became a top footballer.  The two brothers for many years were part of a long running family feud (their Marses were exactly square to each other).  Bobby was talent-spotted at the age of 15 on 9th February 1953.  His transits at the time included Jupiter transiting his Uranus, often associated with a lucky break.  A curious fact about Bobby Charlton was that he did not sustain injuries in his football career (which must be very rare).  However, the exception was that at the very start he sustained an ankle injury just before his debut.  It was on 6 October 1956, and Mars (injury) was sextile his natal Uranus (ankle) at the time.  He went on to become one of the “Busby Babes” nurtured and trained by Sir Matt Busby at Manchester United. On 14th December 2008 Bobby Charlton was presented by his brother Jack with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.  Uranus was trine his natal Jupiter in Capricorn at the time, a classic transit for winning awards and prizes.

Munich Air Crash

The English footballing world suffered a major trauma on 6th February 1958.  The English team were refuelling at Munich Airport catching a flight home, and the weather conditions were treacherous, with slush on the runway.  There was an exact conjunction of the Sun and Chiron in Aquarius that day, possibly contributing to flight problems.  Just before they boarded, Bobby and Viollet swopped places with Taylor and Pegg (who were nervous), two of the players who did not in the event survive the plane crash.  He was rescued by team mate Harry Gregg, who was uninjured. A very promising player, Duncan Edwards, another of “Busby’s Babes”, perished as a result of his injuries that day.  Duncan Edwards’ prowess shows up in his chart as Sun conjunct Mercury in Aquarius trine Chiron, and North Node sextile Mars.

Bobby’s transits for that fateful day included a miraculous trine of Jupiter to his Chiron, and a karmically saving transit of Uranus trine his North Node.  Bobby suffered cuts to his head and severe shock. He became a much more serious personality as a result of this event, and admitted to suffering from survivor’s guilt.  Before his death, he had been the last survivor from that crash.

1966 World Cup win for England

At the time of the iconic English win at the World Cup in 1966, Bobby played a crucial role in the final.  Even though he was deemed the best player, Alf Ramsay instructed him “to concentrate on stifling the influence  of Franz Beckenbauer, the key element of the West German team.” (Richard Williams writing in the Guardian).  Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick, and England won 4-2.

Both Charlton brothers took part in that victory.  Mars was again sextile Bobby’s Uranus that day, Jupiter was opposite his Jupiter exact to the day, Saturn was trine his Pluto, Neptune was sextile his Venus and Jupiter, and sextile his own Neptune.  Quite a heady cocktail of transits!  For Jack, Jupiter was trine his Jupiter (a textbook win in Astrology), Saturn was sextile his Mercury (precision), Uranus trine his Sun (a brilliant surprise), Neptune on his Jupiter (euphria), and Pluto trine his Sun (a profound event).  Jack was allowed to take a more active role in the match.

His last match for Manchester United

Bobby Charlton played his last match for Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, on 28th April 1973.  It was not only historic for him!  Hubby and I got married at Fulham Registry Office on the day, and as his family were local, and Chelsea supporters, some of them had to miss the occasion to attend our wedding!  They also incurred parking tickets, by the way.  His Uncle Bert gets a special mention for his sacrifice.

“In the collective memory Charlton exists as a force for good, made of light and speed”

~ Richard Williams, The Observer

Aspects 

In the early hours of this morning Venus was trine Jupiter: So last night or today, would be a very social time.  Or your dreams may have been heavily populated!  This is one of the best aspects of the year.  It may help in creating good memories.  It could be party time, too.  Close relationships are favoured, and romance may be in the air.  Here’s hoping this trine can bring more aid into Gaza.

Early in the day, Mercury entered Scorpio.  This implies that collectively, we will look into matters more deeply and forensically.  In your own personal life, you will have more courage to look at what really matters, and to worry less about how things appear to others.

In the afternoon, Mercury trines Saturn, which combines mental work with practicality, and brings focus and realism to the mental activities.  So it is a good day for making plans.  Serious conversations can also safely take place under this aspect.

Tomorrow, Monday (23rd), the second ingress of the week takes place, with the Sun entering Scorpio.  Now we need to confront the deeper issues in life (such as how to actively go about achieving peace and balance in our society and world) and find more lasting solutions which treat the causes and not just the symptoms of a situation.  For this we need more insight, resolve and conviction, qualities of this sign.  Discussions and interviews are taking place in the media, about what needs to be done when the current Middle Eastern situation is stabilized.  It seems a long way away to bring ease and reconstruction to Gaza, but Victoria Derbyshire has been searching on Newsnight and on the Laura Kuenssberg show for how the vacuum of power would be managed in Gaza if Hamas was dismantled.  Something for the U.N. to think about.

Tuesday (24th) brings a stabilizing trine between the Sun and Saturn.  This is a more down to earth aspect, but solid and productive.  If you are engaged in creativity, it can help ensure that the creativity works on a practical level.  Simplifying your plans, or making economies, may make them more workable. This is especially useful to bear in mind if you own a business, and are considering staffing and resources.  One solid step at a time, and one day at a time.  By the end of the day, you may feel that you have honoured more than one area of your life.

Mars opposes Jupiter on the evening of Saturday (28th).  This is a highly energetic opposition of energy and enthusiasm.  This may work well for you, but it could also get out of hand if it is not balanced.  You may be trying to multi-task, for instance, and find that you can’t keep hold of one of your spinning plates.  Sport and keep fit regimes may be happy areas for handling all that energy.

There may be tension throughout the day, culminating in a Full Moon and Eclipse at 5 degrees Taurus in the evening.  Your emotions may be stirred and you may be motivated to try to resolve in an issue you care passionately about (Taurus and the Sun in opposite sign Scorpio are Fixed signs).  If you are of an artistic bent, you can plough this feeling into your creativity.  You may get a sense of how an issue will pan out over the next six months.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – social and sociable; mentally intense; practical mental work
  • Tomorrow – confronting the deeper issues
  • Tuesday – stabilization
  • Saturday – fiery energy; emotional high tide
Date: Oct 22nd, 2023 · Comments RSS · Tags: Obituary · Sport