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Lightning Bolt

I don’t follow track and I watched very little of the Olympics, but the first time I tuned in, I saw Usain Bolt dancing on the track after he had won the 100 meter gold.

I’d never heard of him before, but he is a very famous (and wealthy) athlete. (1) His full name is Usain St. Leo Bolt, and he is nicknamed “Lightning Bolt.”

Here’s a sunrise chart for him, born on August 21, 1986 in Trelawny, Jamaica; the Sun is in Leo and the Moon was in Pisces all day. (2)

Usain Bolt, natal, sunrise

There is an abundance of planets in their signs of rulership: Sun in Leo, Jupiter in Pisces, Venus in Libra, and the generational marker Pluto in Scorpio. Mars is exalted in Capricorn.

On the 45° dial, Mars is very closely on the Uranus/Pluto midpoint — fitting for the “fastest man in the world.” (Another way of saying this is that the Uranus/Pluto midpoint is semi-square (45°) to Mars.)

Mars is also way out-of-bounds, at 28°S10’. (The nodes are in Aries/Libra and planets go to the most extreme out-of-bounds when the nodal axis is in those signs.)

Mars is also in a sesquiquadrate (135°) aspect to the Sun and ruler of the north node in Aries.

He is very tall (6 ft 5 in), which adds to his large, dominating presence.

The TV commentator during the race I saw said that Bolt “responds to pressure and the spotlight better than anyone in history.”

Some have noted his arrogance: “I’m now a legend, I’m also the greatest athlete to live.“ (3) But what can one do with a Leo Sun, Mars exalted, and a very strong Jupiter?

I remember a modern astrologer pointing to a potential problem with planets in exaltation: they think they’re better than everybody else, i.e., they are above the rest. And as for Capricorn, well, I have a beloved person in my life with Sun, Mercury, and Jupiter in that sign. She once confided to me: “You know, Capricorn really does secretly believe they are better than everyone else.” (I hope my humor is coming through here. Why is it hard to sound playful about Capricorn?)

“The 25-year-old is arguably as spectacular a showman as he is a sprinting legend…..Bolt is known for hamming it up in front of the cameras in the warm-up area prior to a race. While others try to get into the zone, Bolt is offering hand gestures, dances, and plenty of smiles.” (4)

On a personal level, Bolt is known as a lover of music. “Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed…… In 2010, he also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris.” (All of this sounds to me like natal Moon in Pisces with Jupiter.) (5)

With no time of birth, we can look at the prenatal solar eclipse set for the place of birth to see some underlying themes in the life, i.e., the collective story the individual was born into. For Bolt, that is the solar eclipse on April 9, 1986, set for Trelawny.

Bolt, PNSE

The Sun and Moon are at 19°06’ Aries, the degree of the Sun’s exaltation. (6) Mars, dispositor of the lunation, is conjunct Neptune in the 1st house, and Scorpio, also ruled by the exalted Mars, is on the Midheaven.

Here’s to Mars and his part in showing us the world’s fastest man.

References:

(1) Bolt earned $20 million in 2011.
Forbes

(2) Wikipedia

(3) The Independent

(4) CTV Olympics

(5) Wikipedia

(6) The Origin of Planetary Exaltations

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