I thought it would be interesting to look at the chart of US
snowboarding and skateboarding phenomenon, Shaun White, and
see what planetary combinations he has. He's certainly received
a lot of media attention over the last couple weeks after winning
his second gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and
has been on several talk shows, like Oprah and Larry King.
I just used 12 pm as the birth time since his exact birth time
wasn't available, so disregard his ascendant in the chart below.
My best guess is that he has a Sagittarius ascendant, a fire
sign, with Mars, a fiery planet and planet of courage, in the
ascendant. His famous red hair, indicated by these fiery qualities,
led him to be nicknamed, 'the flying tomato.' Also, a Sagittarius
ascendant would mean that he would now be in a Sun dasha. This
would make sense since he's attained such widespread success
and fame recently. If the Sun were in the 9th house it would
be involved in numerous raja yogas by its conjunction with Mercury
(7th and 10th lord) and its aspect by Jupiter (1st and 4th lord).
But that is all just speculation. Let's check out his chart
with the 12 pm birth time.
Shaun
White's Natal Chart
What struck me when looking at his chart was the tight aspect
of Saturn aspecting his Sun, Moon, and Mercury in Leo. This
would be there regardless of any birth time change, so it's
something that can be reliably talked about. Saturn, being a
planet of hesitation, fear, and caution is not something you'd
expect to see prominent in the chart of someone who makes his
living doing outrageous flips and spins at dizzying heights.
What I found interesting was that in his interview on Oprah,
which can be watched below, he repeatedly describes what he
does as being all about 'commitment.' Commitment, focus, and
discipline are the beneficial qualities of Saturn, and nothing
can be accomplished without them. Saturn gets a lot of bad press,
and seeing this chart could be confusing if you didn't understand
this about Saturn. Basketball star Kobe Bryant has a similar
combination, which was talked about in another article, Kobe
Bryant's Saturn Sun Conjunction.
What's also interesting to me about Shaun White's chart is that
the Sun is so strongly placed in Leo, and aspected by Jupiter.
This also gives him a great deal of confidence, charisma, and
optimism to take risks and perform his tricks. When you combine
these qualities of commitment and confidence, shown by both
Saturn and Jupiter aspecting a strongly placed Sun, it's amazing
what someone can do. White regularly performs stunts that no
one else has been able to duplicate, like his Double McTwist
1260. Check him out in these interviews with Oprah. You'll have
to scroll forward 2 minutes and 14 seconds to get to Shaun's
part of the show, since Lindsey Vonn is on first.
Shaun
White's Natal Chart
