Johan Santana

I admit that I know nothing about Sports astrology. Just happened to read about a fast ball Pitcher and was dying to look at his chart (from "The Frontal Cortex" blog, one of the best blogs on the Web; "Pitchers and Hitters," Mar. 3, 2008 http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/).

So how to read the Baseball Player's chart? I tried this once before with Barry Bonds. I know that Baseball Players have gorgeous butts. That's Jupiter. Fast is Mars & Jupiter, not necessarily in the thigh and buttox area. The guy whose chart I read about, Johan Santana, is said to have a lightening fast toss but it's said not to be any faster than anyone else's. This guy uses Illusion to fake the batters out. Usually the hitter can figure out which kind of toss the pitcher is going to toss him by the way he holds the ball, but this guy holds the ball in the same way for all his pitches. He says that he plays psychological games with the batter in order to fake him out. Pluto? Neptune? Definitely some Outer Planet activity. I wanted to know....

Johan Santana
b. Mar. 13, 1979 Tovar, Merida State, Venezuela

Sun 13 Pisces; Moon Virgo; NN 18 Virgo

First things first. I want to check this chart for Vitality. Santana has Sun in Pisces trining Jupiter in Cancer on one side and Uranus in Scorpio on the other side. That's good, lots of flow. His Mars is also in Pisces 12 degrees away from conjunction with the Sun but both are conjunct his South Node which maybe links them together. He's elusive and can bend the boundaries to his will (Sun & Mars).

What's interesting is his strong Virgo-Pisces emphasis. Pisces is illusion and Virgo is precision & technique. He doesn't play aerie faery "I don't know what's going on" Neptune games, he openly knows and admits that he's doing it. With Mars & Sun are hanging over his South Node, strong physical abilities come naturally to him. These planets are opposing his North Node and natal Saturn in Virgo. He's turned his abilities into a successful career. And he has good timing. Saturn is highly observant. This big opposition in Santana's chart is squaring his natal Neptune which emphasizes the Pisces element of illusion. When he throws a ball, it probably literally seems to disappear for a split second to the poor schmoe who's trying to hit it.

Then we look at the area in the chart that rules arms, hands, manual dexterity. But here Santana's Mercury is in Aries (speed, initiator) and it's only aspect in an inconjunct to that precise & reliable Saturn in Virgo. Basically it's unaspected by major aspect which shows and "runs away with the chart" (Noel Tyl's description). Santana might have the strategy and mind power, but some days I bet even he is surprised by what his arm is doing.