The Short and Sweet Astrology of this Week's Person in the News

          Shaun White

Shaun White was born on September 3rd. 1986 in Carlsbad, California.  Unfortunately, his time is unknown.  Shaun won the gold medal in the snowboarding halfpipe competition in last week's Vancouver Olympics, wowing us by flying at least five feet higher into the air than his fellow competitors and pulling off a most daring trick that he invented and few others can do.  It was his second gold medal.

So what is it about this guy that makes him so great?  First of all, although Shaun is a sun sign Virgo, more importantly he is a typical Aries north node.  This kind of person, when at his best, thrives on challenge and pressure.  It is thrilling for him to live slightly on the edge, and a life without this is no life at all.  Aries is brawny, brave, and daring, and will be the one to attempt something that others consider too risky, blazing new pathways as it does so.

With north node in Aries, the primary planet in Shaun's chart is Mars in Capricorn, since Mars is the manifestation of Aries.  Mars in Capricorn indicates a person who is extremely disciplined and who furthers his goals through focus, hard work, and a determined mastery of his craft.  This is someone who will go without in order to further his goals.  He is determined to get to the top of his field through a serious, practical approach.  Risk is molded and contained with Mars in Capricorn, meaning that all of his daring is compressed into skillful expertise.

And if you're wondering where Shaun gets that pleasant demeanor, it comes from his south node in feminine Libra, ruled by his Venus in Libra.  In contrast to masculine Aries, his Libra south node is the reason why he dons such attractive long hair which he swings delicately away from his face while conducting graceful interviews.  But don't be fooled.  This guy is all guy.

        Evgeni Plushenko

This week's person in the news is Evgeni Plushenko.  Plushenko was the Russian men's figure skating silver medal winner in last week's Olympic competition, and he was the Gold medal champion in the 2006 Olympics.  He was born on November 2, 1982 in Solnechny, Khabarovsk, Siberie, Russia, time of birth unknown.  Plushenko continued to make the news this week due to his blatant dissatisfaction with silver medal standing.  He has stated that he believes that he was in fact the Gold medal winner and has displayed a "Platinum" medal on his website in place of the silver one.

Well, most of us would be happy with a silver medal at the Olympics, but let's look at Mr. Plushenko's chart to see why this is not necessarily the case for him.  First of all, Plushenko is experiencing one of the most difficult transits a person can go through - a transit of Pluto to his natal south node in Capricorn.  South node in Capricorn conveys a mindset that is terrified of failure and puts a great deal of pressure on itself to succeed.  Much effort and discipline are put forth in order to reach this goal.  With Pluto hitting this point, the worst possible thing, in his mind, has occurred.  He perceives his medal as a sort of failure rather than the tremendous success that it is.

Furthermore, in his natal chart, the planet Mars is conjunct the south node, meaning that at the time of his birth, Mars was located only a few degrees away from the south node.  This makes for a very competitive personality, since Mars is the planet of competition, and a defiant one as well, as has been seen in him this past week.  Plushenko also has four planets in Scorpio, including his sun, and this further intensifies the feelings evoked from a perceived loss.  Scorpio is emotionally very intense and can feel devastated to a much greater degree than other signs.  You may notice that Plushenko has the signature beak-like nose found on many Scorpios as well as the look of intense seriousness on his face and in his eyes much of the time.  In general, Scorpios do not take much of anything in life lightly, especially when there are four planets involved.

Plushenko would do well to place more emphasis on his Cancer north node, where he will find tremendous support from his family and loved ones, the folks who think he is a success no matter what type of medal he brings home.  The greatest success in life will be the emotional connections he nurtures.  This sense of being unconditionally loved is waiting for him in the north node, as soon as he chooses to open up to it.