|
High expectations
await the Colts at the start of NFL 2000. After an impressive, but ultimately
disappointing, showing last season, it’s no secret that their young and
talented offense is raring to go again. With a tougher defense and a few
key acquisitions in the off season, they are on everyone’s short list
of favorites to win the AFC. But is it in the stars? There’s no substitute
for talent and training, but we’ve all seen teams with plenty of both
that barely make it out of the starting gate. If the Colts want to lead
the herd down the homestretch, they’re going to need some astrological
help. So let’s look at the charts of key Colts personnel and see what’s
in store for the upcoming season.
Head
Coach Jim Mora
 Head
Coach Jim Mora is an NFL lifer, born May 24, 1935, at 12:09 pm PST, in
Glendale, California. Having served his time in football purgatory, cleansing
his coaching karma in New Orleans with the supernaturally sad Saints,
Mora has been reborn amongst the frisky foals. These are happy days indeed
for the old general, surrounded by the youth and staggering talent of
players like Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and the number one yearling,
Edgerrin James.
Mora’s
chart is tightly woven, fraught with a poignant sense of destiny. With
Neptune rising conjunct the Ascendant, opposite Saturn in Pisces on the
Descendant, and both squaring off at a 90 degree angle to his Sun and
Chiron in Gemini on his Midheaven, he personifies a tense mix of stern
leadership, depth and impressionability. This configuration is known as
a T-square. The square aspect can be difficult, and the T-square potentially
more so, manifesting in obstacles, delays and the combination of strength
and frustration an individual builds in dealing with them.
Mora has
known more than his share of frustrations and delays in his career, and
at 65, he’s still trying when most his age have retired. But this season
might be different. This time he’s going to have some help from the planet
Jupiter. In my last two football
articles, I’ve discussed the upcoming Jupiter-Pluto opposition
and how it will influence the league. Jupiter will spend NFL 2000 in Mora’s
sign, Gemini, making up-close and personal contacts with some of the most
important elements of his natal chart. Jupiter tends to expand and benefit
whatever it touches, even in Gemini, where its influence can be somewhat
limited. Jupiter’s presence could signal the opportunity for Mora’s best
season ever.
Initially,
transiting Jupiter and Pluto may cause some difficulties for Mora. In
late August, as the pre-season draws to a close, Jupiter will be at 9
degrees Gemini, conjunct Mora’s natal Chiron in Gemini, and making a 90
degree square to both his natal Saturn in Pisces and his Virgo Ascendant.
Injuries or other setbacks could temporarily diminish the Colts’ optimism.
The Jupiter-Pluto opposition, lining up at 10–11 degrees Gemini-Sagittarius
through September and October, could prove to be the ultimate test of
Mora’s coaching instincts. By November, the pieces should fall into place
as Jupiter moves back (retrograde) over his Gemini Midheaven, expanding
his public image and status.
Mora’s
best days could be in late December and early January. By then, Jupiter
will have backed all the way up to 2 degrees Gemini, where it will conjunct
his natal Gemini Sun. One way or another, this season should mark a high
point in Mora’s coaching career. With Jupiter moving back and forth over
the most elevated, public parts of his birth chart, he should be feeling
happy about his team and sparking a lot of media attention. He could also
be longing for more freedom and a break in the routine. Could the Colts’
coach be put out to pasture? Let’s hope for the best for this old warrior
who has given so much to the game. His good fortune is long overdue.
Peyton
Manning
The
Colts' thoroughbred quarterback, Peyton Manning, comes from championship
stock. Archie Manning’s boy is an Aries, and was born on March 24, 1976,
in New Orleans. His chart reveals a unique emphasis on sports and career
within his family. The sign Cancer, ruled by the Moon, is associated with
the family roots and the home, whereas the opposite sign, Capricorn, ruled
by Saturn, is associated with career, status and one’s place in the world.
Peyton Manning’s chart reveals a juxtaposition, with the Moon in Saturn’s
sign (Capricorn), opposite Saturn in the Moon’s sign (Cancer). The separation
of home and hearth from the hard, cold world is erased here, drawing Saturn’s
ambition into the family life, while blending Cancerian nurturing and
support into the family business. (If Manning was born in the evening
or late afternoon, his Moon would be in Aquarius, not Capricorn.)
Peyton
Manning bears all the marks of good breeding. His skills as a quarterback
are almost unparalled in his generation, and are splendidly matched by
his poise and professionalism off the field. Under the leadership of Manning
and Mora, and with a little help from Jupiter, the Colts are strong favorites
in the race for the Super Bowl ring. Let the games begin!
|
