With the broadcast earlier this year of the excellent sports documentary “The Last Dance” (originally on ESPN, but later broadcast on other media platforms), Michael Jordan has recently been in the media spotlight more than at any other time in recent years.
The show premiered during the stationing of Saturn in Aquarius during early May. Since Aquarius is the position of his natal Saturn, the recent station was clearly acting as an early trigger to his second Saturn return (and impending Saturn/Sun conjunction) — strongly pointing not only to a backwards reappraisal of his life and career, but possibly the opening up of a new chapter in his life as well. It will be interesting see what happens over these next two years, as Saturn crosses over those significant points.
I also want to point out a few intriguing things about his natal horoscope: He was born with Jupiter aligned to the top of his chart, near the Midheaven, which is the point of the horoscope relating to career and public reputation. I’ve found in a natal chart having Jupiter there is one of the most common indicators of popularity or success, especially if it’s reinforced by the rest of the horoscope.
insert chart
But note, in Jordan’s case, it’s in the tropical sign of Pisces, of all places — not Aries, Sagittarius, Scorpio or Leo, as you might expect for a sports figure. At first glance, I found that perplexing. How could Jordan’s career in any way be considered Piscean?
In fact, it turns out there are a couple of possible reasons, and both are fascinating.
As many have pointed out over the years, Jordan hasn’t simply been successful and popular; he became an object of nearly religious veneration for many. In one now-famous (or perhaps infamous) exchange with fellow player Reggie Miller, he once referred to himself as “Black Jesus.” It doesn’t seem to have been uttered with any sense of self-glorification, but simply as a recognition of his public role, especially in the black community. Likewise, he’s become a fantasy figure and pop icon for many even outside of basketball, reinforced by his appearances in TV commercials and films, all of which is very Piscean.
But then there’s this. As wealthy as Jordan became through sports, he became even wealthier as a result of product endorsements — but one product in particular: shoes. (Whereas his peak salary in 1998 was $34 million, he’s made a billion dollars from Nike alone.) Needless to say, the feet are ruled by Pisces. In short, having Jupiter in Pisces as his most elevated planet would certainly help explain his extraordinary success not just as a hawker of shoes, but his brilliant footwork on the basketball court! (But this also points to how tricky symbols and archetypes can be at times, and the challenging of predicting someone’s destiny from the horoscope alone. Can you imagine an astrologer looking at Michael’s chart when he was a child and saying, “Hmm…I see from your horoscope that you will someday become a billionaire as a result of your connection with shoes and the feet”?)
One last thing. Note that Michael’s famous nickname is “Air Jordan” — pretty fitting for an Air sign personality, I’d say!
Bio: Ray Grasse is associate editor of The Mountain Astrologer magazine, and author of several books, including Under a Sacred Sky, The Waking Dream, Signs of the Times, An Infinity of Gods, and most recently, StarGates. His website is Ray Grasse.com
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