Do you believe that the outcome of a sporting match is already determined before it starts? Your response to this question could affect the way you would go about using astrology to predict sports. If the result isn’t predetermined, what’s the point of trying to predict? And if it is, what’s the point of playing the matches? The solution to the age-old quandary between predestination and free will probably lies somewhere between the two extremes. That middle path might also be the most helpful in predicting sports.

Predestination in Sports?

There are plenty of matches where there seems to be little doubt as to the outcome. Matches are so skillfully handicapped by the oddsmakers, with standings and statistics so widely available, that there is usually a clear favorite and an underdog in any contest. Things tend to go as expected and the favorite usually wins, especially if they are playing at home. However, sometimes the unthinkable happens and an upset occurs. So is the favorite fated to win? Or can an upset be predestined?

After years of prediction and observation, I would have to say that while astrology has a powerful influence on the outcome, it is always possible for an individual’s efforts to make a difference. I have seen people win games that, by all rights, they should have lost. Sometimes one person just wants it more. I would prefer to believe in the power of individual free will, even without the benefit of evidence, but in all honesty, I would have a much easier time making the case for predestination!

Real-Time Astrology

As I mentioned in Part One, I don’t use horary charts at all and I rarely use team charts, at least not when predicting games. I derived my own methods based upon my observations. For years, I watched all kinds of sporting matches while using astrology to track every development. In doing so, I developed some fairly accurate models for describing how planetary probabilities unfold. I call these techniques “real-time astrology” because they actually track the development of the game, and the athletes playing it, in real-time, as the match progresses. This is a big step from using a single symbolic chart to predict. For one thing, in real-time, I’m much more concerned about the chart for the end of the game than for the beginning. I already know the score at the beginning of the game!

The game chart can change a lot from the opening play to the final score. Matches can go on for minutes, hours or days, depending upon the sport. In the course of a match, different signs will rise and set on the Ascendant/Descendant (Eastern and Western horizon of a chart, respectively) and culminate on the Midheaven (highest point of a chart), changing the mood and atmosphere as they pass. Meanwhile, the various planetary bodies will circulate through the sky, all exerting their distinct influences.

In natal astrology, if a birth planet is found near one of the chart angles (the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven and Imum Coeli, or IC), it is considered to have greater influence because of its angular position. The same is true in real-time. Transiting planets seem to express their potential more fully as they approach the current angles. For instance, let’s suppose that transiting Jupiter is culminating, i.e., getting closer to the Midheaven, the highest point in the sky. Jupiter’s influence grows as it becomes more angular, generating an increased sense of optimism or largesse appropriate to the business at hand.

If there is a match going on, an angular Jupiter is often a positive influence, instilling a jovial mood in the immediate area, all other things being equal. However, if you have the birth data for the players involved, you will usually find that those who have the best aspects from their natal charts to that angular transiting Jupiter tend to fare best under its influence.

What About Natal Data?

I do use a lot of natal birth data, both for coaches and athletes, and I use it within the framework of the real-time game charts. Not only do the transiting planets circulate through the sky during a match, but the natal planets of key personnel do the same. A player or coach can be very angular too, as their natal planets approach the current, real-time angles during a game. This is generally a time of increased personal influence, depending, of course, on the aspects and the relative condition of the competition.

I use all of the above and more in prediction, weighing the relative astrological merits of coaches and key players by comparing their real-time positions and transiting aspects. I also use heliocentric astrology and secondary progressions. It can get complicated, and there are days when I wish I had learned a one-chart horary method instead! But you would be hard-pressed to find a better model for how astrology really works, in sports as in all things, than the real-time framework. I’m not convinced that the symbolic shortcuts really give better results, but much depends upon the astrologer using them.

In sports, results are everything, and if you expect to make any money with it, you will need to be right. Find a system that works for you and then improve it continuously. And in answering my own question, I do believe that it is possible to predict sports with astrology. In fact, I use my free will to do it often!