Bases loaded, nobody out. The best home run hitter in the league, Mark McGwire, is at bat. He hits a soft fly to center that turns into a triple play. A perfect pitch by an almost perfect Virgo pitcher—the Big Unit, Randy Johnson—again.

Perfection Personified

Randy Johnson (born on September 10, 1963, in Walnut Creek, California) is a perfectionist, mentally-obsessive Virgo. Not only is his Sun placed in Virgo, but the revolutionary and unorthodox Uranus, the power-seeking Pluto and the self-worth planet Venus also squeeze into Virgo in his horoscope. Be glad you don’t inhabit the Big Unit’s mental unit—it’s a tight fit.

But then there’s that time when Virgo energy flows. It's not a state of mind; it’s a state of being. And in this exquisite flawlessness, the ease of effort squeezes out like toothpaste from a fresh tube. Then the Big Unit, picture perfect, easily overwhelms a batter looking for that slight chance of getting a hit.

Virgo, with its thoughtful, fastidious and highly discriminating nature, often gets in its own way, typically by overdoing the thought process. Johnson claims he doesn’t like to pitch on his birthday, which is late in the season. During the time when Virgo maximizes in the sky (when the Sun is in Virgo), the tendency to strive excessively in the direction of divine perfection can be overwhelming. The pressure causes too much mental agitation.

Perfect Perfectionism

There’s a funny thing about the Venus in Virgo placement for the Big Unit. Venus can get jealous, very jealous. And when jealous, she’s jealous with incalculable wrath (wrath originally meant energy). Then she turns competitive. Venus inspires other pitchers to increase their desire when they’re up against Johnson. Mediocre pitchers often throw their best game of the season against him. Thinking, “I want what he’s got,” they rise to the occasion, perfecting their skills temporarily. Once Johnson had four shut outs tossed against him in a row. It’s hard for even the Big Unit to compete with that.

An Odd Duck

Not only is Randy Johnson towering above most of his peers in height, but he is an unusual-looking man. His long hair, generally soaked with the perspiration of his toils, drips onto his uniform. His angled features gain intensity as he focuses on the target of the catcher’s mitt. And his Uranus, in the pristine Virgo, allows him leeway and eccentricities not granted other players because of his uniquely crafted skill.

During the Arizona Diamondback’s first year, there was a regulation on hair length and facial hair for team members. I guess now anything goes, since they bought Randy Johnson, with his long hair and occasional beard, for megabucks. Johnson’s Uranus (which is a seven-year generational placement) shows a certain need to stand out in one way or another. Johnson has done it with not only his appearance, but his precise skill and extreme domination over other players.

Then There’s Pluto

The planet Pluto, currently in Sagittarius, is forming a square to Johnson’s Uranus that may help him to break records. At the All Star break Johnson led all the pitchers, with over 198 strikeouts and a possibility of reaching the single season strike out record held by Nolan Ryan. Given the current position of overpowering, intimidating Pluto, the odds remain good that Johnson will keep his control, strength and ability honed to exceptional proportions, which can only help him break the record. Unlike struggling teammate Omar Dahl, who has a Pluto transit as well (Pluto square the natal Sun), Randy’s transiting configuration takes the challenge and thrives on the intensity of the game more than ever before.

When the Big Unit was born, Pluto—the powerful, the intimidating, the unconquerable—was in Virgo with all of his other planets, adding power to the combination. Get him on the mound and watch him strike out the side, with his fist clenched in the air, mouth flaming with energetic mutterings that most lip readers hesitate to translate, while saliva flies from his mouth. His raw Plutonian energy is formidable.

His six foot ten inch frame assists him in keeping batters off balance. When he comes crashing toward the plate, his long arm hurling the ball at what the batter must assume is his head, the natural instinct is to run to the next state. Batters duck from his pitches, and umpires call strikes. Some batters argue the ball was so fast the umpire didn’t know where it was anyway. Doesn’t matter—they’re still out.

But It’s Because He’s Good

It’s all because Randy’s good. He’s good because he studies the game. He’s good because he perfects his craft. He’s good because he focuses his intensity and drive for perfection into a healthy, unbeatable combination. We should all take copious Virgo notes.

Philip Sedgwick began his study of astrology in 1969. He is the author of Astrology of Deep Space, Astrology of Transcendence, The Sun at the Center: A Primer of Heliocentric Astrology, The Galactic Ephemeris (a compilation of over 8,300 points in deep space).