This morning in a suburb of Johannesburg, Oscar Pistorius, known in sport as the “Bladerunner” because of his iconic prosthetic metal running blades allegedly shot his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. As I understand it, the shooting could have been a tragic accident with Oscar possibly mistaking her for an intruder entering his home in the middle of the night, although the South African police admitted that there had been some “violent domestic incidents” at his home before. The astrology that I am about to explain suggests there may be more to this incident than meets the eye. South Africans do have a rather paranoid attitude when it comes to protecting their properties, and it may be that worry and insecurity played a part in this dreadful incident too. Oscar is currently being held on murder charges by South African police over the incident and will attend a court hearing at 14.00 hrs today.
Oscar Pistorious was born on 22nd November 1986 in Sandton, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. As for a birth time, the only information on the web comes from Astrotheme with no source quoted, so this must be taken with a degree of caution. He is a Sun Sign Scorpio with a Leo Moon, which is a very fixed combination with a need for recognition and honor combined with the Scorpio tendency for power, control and secrecy. These type of people by their very nature can get to the top through huge determination and they will milk it for all it’s worth, but as with all fixed signs when a fall comes it will be dramatic and hurtful.
Oscar’s Scorpio Sun sits in his 10th house, so his motivation to get to the top in his chosen career would have been overriding. This is very much a “me, me, me” position and in competition he would hate losing. I think we saw that side of him when he lost in the final of the 100m T43 race during the Paralympic Games when he lost his title, and he over-reacted to defeat in a rather childish and less than graceful manner, easy to blame that Leo Moon for this. The Moon and Sun are in a harmonious trine, so he came from a loving family, and his Sun is square to Mars in Aquarius his first house, so he would always be an independent soul, a man in a hurry who would hate to wait for anything. The connection from Mars in the 1st house of the physical body to his Sun in his 10th house of career shows that he had the motivation to get to the top, and be all powerful in sport.
Mars of course represents firearms and weapons, and this square I suspect brought him an interest in using them. The Scorpio Sun as I said requires to be in control, and when you hold a loaded gun, then you feel that power directly in your hands. So why would someone feel that they needed a gun? My answer is to this is if they felt any type of fear. Saturn, the planet of fear sits also in his 10th house of career in a wide conjunction to Oscar’s Sun, so fear would have been a driving factor in not only his drive and ambition for sporting immortality, but also for his need to protect himself. The Scorpio Sun fears it’s own mortality more than any other natal sign, remember the sting on a Scorpion is there for it’s protection. This Scorpio Sun held one more secret. It sat almost exactly at the midpoint of Uranus and Pluto, a position Reinhold Ebertin describes as having a place of revolution, of strong emotional tensions, over excitement of the nerves, of a breakdown or of a catastrophe!!
There is more to this incredible chart. Saturn sits in a conjunction to Uranus, the planet of technology and innovation, so from birth he would have been a person who would use this innovation in his work and career. So, what type of innovation? We move on to Chiron, the wounded healer which I don’t use very often, but here it is integral to Oscar’s chart. Chiron sits in Oscar’s 5th house of sports and games and affairs of the heart, and opposes Uranus, making a t-square to Jupiter sitting in Pisces in his 2nd house. Chiron also makes a very focused quindecile to Neptune.
Chiron shows a wound in our chart and also is the place where healing can take place. This wound shows up so clearly here if you know about medical astrology as Uranus rules the lower leg and Neptune the feet. This is where Oscar’s wound was. He was born with a congenital loss of the fibula bone in both his lower legs and when he was just 11 months old both of his lower legs were amputated. This in my view confirms Chiron’s effect on both Uranus and Neptune. Chiron also bring healing and the technological advances that Oscar has pioneered, those running blades he uses to great effect to run fast have allowed him to lead a normal life in athletics competing and beating able bodied athletes. In this regard he has been a pioneer and it has brought him international fame, money and wonderful possessions, highlighted by Jupiter sitting in his 2nd house of personal finance and self worth.
There is a second sub-plot to this position of Chiron. This position in the 5th house is placed as I mentioned in the house of affairs of the heart, the house representing his girlfriend and of lovers. The shooting today at his home (4th house ruled by Taurus/Venus) is a shock event (Uranus) which has reverberated around the world (Jupiter). If he is convicted, the the wound (Chiron) and associated suffering (Neptune) he activated in firing his gun on his lover on Valentine’s day, will be one that never does heal.
Jupiter makes a multi trine to Oscar’s Mercury, Midheaven, Pluto and Venus and this stellium also receives a multi square from his 6th house Leo Moon. The square from the Moon interests me a lot. It suggests that Oscar’s relationships were very intense and quite stormy in nature. Venus and Pluto in conjunction is really intense and bring passionate and magnetic ties between you and your lover, and the Leo Moon square to this fixed conjunction in Scorpio adds emotional fuels to the fire. Jealousy would be something that would run deep within Oscar and if someone rebelled against his overly controlling nature, then powerful emotions would bubble to the surface for sure.
His retrograde Mercury in Scorpio would make him ultra suspicious and secretive, a lethal mix when combined with controlling tendencies and a fearful attitude. Paranoia would be a natural outcome of a mix of these emotions, even more so as they would not come out readily because of the retrograde motion of Mercury, which would tend to internalize his thoughts and emotions. Think of a pot of stew bubbling and boiling with the lid on, and you have an idea of what would be happening in Oscar’s mind. Jupiter’s trine to the planets from Pisces brings an a highly sensitive side to his nature and to his brain. He would be hurt easily, and he might react violently in an over the top manner, Jupiter always provokes excess in whatever it touches.
The story which is now unfolding is shown through the planets clamped around that Scorpio Midheaven. The Midheaven is the place of public perception and Scorpio here shows the potential for one being incarcerated (Pluto conjunct Midheaven) through a destructive incident (Pluto) to a woman and his lover (Venus), a crime of passion (Pluto conjunct Venus square Moon) caused by a destructive argument or jealousy (Pluto conjunct Mercury?) one which has captured the attention of the world (all the planets trine to Jupiter). This would show a potential transformation in his life (Scorpio/Pluto), from the most famous athlete in South Africa to an infamous convicted murderer.
The transits on the day of the shooting show Saturn sitting close to his Midheaven and conjunct to Mercury in that stellium at the top of his chart. Note that Mercury rules his 5th house of his lover and the 8th house of death and violent acts. Transiting Mercury, Mars and Chiron sit conjunct on his natal Jupiter square to natal Saturn and trine to his natal Mercury. The Saturn and Mercury connections suggest an heated conversation or maybe argument which expanded into something far bigger. Saturn rules the 12th house of issues behind the scenes, maybe a secret came out during an altercation which prompted a more violent Martian response? Saturn has been part of a mini grand trine in the skies exact right now trine to Mars focusing in on Pluto. This violent connection the skies was activating his chart through Mars and Saturn on that Jupiter trine to Mercury Midheaven Pluto and Venus.
Recently, transiting Uranus and Jupiter have been forming a sextile in the skies and this sextile is creating a yod pointing directly at that Pluto Venus conjunction, activating an unexpected and shock incident (Uranus) which got out of hand (Jupiter) bringing the death (Pluto) of a woman (Venus). Transiting Uranus is making a square to his natal Neptune, so I would suspect that maybe this incident is due to something that came to light, maybe some deception, mistake or misunderstanding that occurred under this fateful meeting. Maybe the truth will be revealed when this case comes to trial.
Saturn does turn retrograde in the next few days and it will be passing over his Midheaven, Pluto and Venus. The heavy hand of the law (Saturn) will be judging harshly on him during the next 4 months. His status and reputation will irrevocably change as Saturn hits the top of his chart and with Pluto, and so will his permanent home (Taurus 4th house ruled by Venus) if he is convicted.
Oscar is a classic case of a Sun sign Scorpio who has to deal with violent changes in his life. From the disabilities he suffered early in his childhood to the heights of his athletic career and now his life has exploded under this incident. From worldwide hero and revered disabled athlete to facing spending the rest of his life behind bars, astrology never ceases to amaze me, and I hope that you find the astrological story of Oscar Pistorius incredibly fascinating too…
