Hudson Valley Astrologer

“It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.”

~ Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, the first American Indian to win Olympic Gold Medals, and the first president of an organization that would later become the NFL. He lettered in basketball, football and baseball.

Thorpe was also a three-time All-American at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a federally funded organization with a mandate to integrate the Indian population.

I remember picking a book off the library shelf and looking at the cover, reading his name and feeling excitement about learning his story. At the time I had no idea who Jim Thorpe was, or what how he struggled as a minority in a country that was his homeland.

The book transported me to the point where his work ethic and competitiveness left an indelible mark on my heart and soul. Jim Thorpe was a hero in every respect of the word, but his finances were in disarray and his health turned as the financial struggles increased. He died of a heart attack at age 64, the same age as me today as of this past March.

I think I need to delve into his extraordinary life more with his natal chart in hand.

We see right off the bat that Uranus and Jupiter are in the 5th house of sports and entertainment, and Uranus squares Venus, ruler of the 5th house. Pluto is prominent conjunct the Sun, and Mars intensifies the need to make things the way they are supposed to be in Taurus. He was a formidable opponent, but also something of his own worst enemy.

Saturn is peregrine, and ruling the 8th, from the 2nd. He might have easily died a multi-millionaire but the Saturnian force, which he summoned so admirably as an athlete, imposed to great of a restraint, limiting his income and the accumulation of assets. One of his personality flaws was that he was too generous with his money and on occasion simply gave it away wastefully.

HVA

💚🍀