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The
Big Cat, Andres Galarraga, took the field this year after taking time
off to battle cancer. The question was whether
or not he could come back. Those who asked now know the resoundingly clear
answer—YES!
All
Star Praise
 When
Andres Galarraga (born June 18, 1961, in Caracas, Venezuela) received
his introduction at the All
Star game in his team’s hometown of Atlanta, the crowd
went wild. After all, he’s returned to a phenomenal year of play following
a year fighting his greatest nemesis, cancer.
It was a peak moment. The Big Cat is back and inspiring the entire world
to overcome adversity.
Known
for his charm and extremely gregarious Gemini personality, Galarraga has
always been a hit, even before picking up a bat. Add to that his collection
of dazzling Leo planets (the electrifying Uranus, the competitive and
fiery Mars and the destiny driven North Node) and you can’t help but like
this guy. You like him even when he plays against your team.
But
given that he’s a Gemini, there’s the other side to his nature (after
all, Gemini is the sign of the twins). When he takes the field he’s a
cat of a different color. Like Mercury the messenger, associated with
Gemini, he flits about his position at first base with grace and instinctive
swiftness. In addition, his Mars-Uranus combination in Leo gives him a
quick, powerful swing, capable of driving a baseball nearly to the Moon.
The
Dark Cloud
Prior
to the 1999 season, with his career soaring at high altitude and his popularity
climbing, the pain in Galarraga’s back just didn’t seem right. And it
wasn’t. Galarraga discovered he had cancer. During
this ordeal, from July to October, 1998, the planet of ultimate healing
and transformation, Pluto, transiting through the left field of Sagittarius,
squared his natal Pluto. Because Pluto in Andre’s chart opposes the healer
Chiron, much like a batter to a pitcher, the challenge intensified. Truly,
it was serious. But Pluto brings undeniable and difficult realities to
the surface in order to make us reach into the depths of our souls. Yes,
you can heal a life-threatening situation, but you must handle it intelligently,
remaining full of the fire of spirit.
And
so he did. Galarraga began healing therapies and retreated from the game
that he loves for the 1999 season. Was it hard for him? It was hard in
ways that those of us who have not come to know Pluto’s crises cannot
imagine. On top of the pressure from Pluto, during April, 1999, transiting
Saturn in Taurus pressed against his exuberant, hopeful Jupiter in Aquarius,
causing the big guy to yield. Transiting Saturn also aligned with his
natal Venus in Taurus in 1999 and early 2000, suggesting withdrawal (Saturn)
from the thing he loved most (Venus). Add to that Mars, retrograding in
Scorpio to square both natal Jupiter and Venus at the start of the 1999 season,
and the cutting pain would have been to the bone.
But
he persevered, using all the fixed determination in his chart. Galarraga
has the incurably optimistic Jupiter in Aquarius, the “What do I need?”
Venus in Taurus, spirited Uranus and feisty Mars in Leo and the fearlessly
inspired Neptune in Scorpio—all planets in fixed signs—to lend him strength.
His unwavering resolution, combined with his flexible Gemini decision-making
ability, won. He parted the dark clouds.
A
New Era
Galarraga
took the field this year, his strength restored. And like you would expect
from this formidable man, he’s having an All Star season. The combination
of Jupiter and Saturn in Taurus this past May squared his
natal Mars-Uranus in combustible Leo, and set him off. A perfect description
of this alignment would be lightning setting a wildfire in the vast forests
that the firefighters (pitchers and other players) cannot seem to contain.
Galarraga’s
uncontainable spirit ignites something deep within us all. His other All
Star colleagues saw this in a huge way. Filled with inspiration and that
watery, tingling sensation in the eyes that men
do not like to admit having, they saluted him with admiration. Funny how
a Big Cat inspires such feelings in men of steel.
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