Dennis Rodman and the Wages of Saturn
A couple of years ago I wrote an article on the influence of Neptune in the horoscope of Dennis Rodman. In that article I talked a lot about the placement of Neptune at the very top of his chart, on his Midheaven. Neptune is associated with many fine and interesting things, but most of all, it’s about weirdness. Rodman is a living example of this. (Cilck here to see Rodman's chart.)
Last year transiting Saturn moved across Rodman’s natal Midheaven and Neptune. Saturn crossing the Midheaven is an important step in the cycle of Saturn that I have written so much about, both on these pages and in my book Saturn Cycles: Mapping the Changes in Your Life. It generally represents a turning point in one’s career, a signature moment or a big change in the way a person is viewed by the public.
But, for Rodman, Neptune is also involved in this big step, and that’s when things get weird.
Saturn made its first contact with Rodman’s Midheaven and Neptune in Feb. 2013. That’s when the former NBA great made his first trip to North Korea and met Kim Jong-un. Rodman struck up a friendship with Kim, who is apparently a fan of basketball, and this led to a second visit to North Korean in Sept. 2013, one month before Saturn made its last contact with Rodman’s Midheaven and Neptune.
People often display exceptional ambition during a Saturn transit. Rodman styled himself an unofficial ambassador and called for President Obama to reach out to the Korean leader. He also organized an exhibition game with ex-NBA players to be played in Korea, made some inappropriate remarks about an American who had been imprisoned by the Koreans, and sang “happy birthday” to Kim.
Recently, Rodman entered rehab (once again). Apparently, many of Rodman’s antics over the past twelve months were influence by his intake of alcohol. Along with weirdness, Neptune is associated with drug and alcohol abuse. So, with Neptune so strongly placed in his horoscope, it is not surprising that Rodman has issues with these substances.
When we reach these important junctures in our Saturn cycles, we are given opportunities and challenges. We are tested. If we pass the tests, if we take advantage of the opportunities and/or meet the challenges with courage and intelligence, we are rewarded. Saturn transits often coincide with positive events in our professional and personal life. However, if we fail the test that is given us, we have to expect some sort of punishment.
Some would say the Rodman’s mission to North Korea was not a complete failure, that he opened an avenue of communication with this isolated and closed nation. However, it is also obvious that Rodman did not make the best use of this opportunity, that he turned what might have been a positive link into a comical side show. It seems likely that this failure had a lot to do with his drinking.
The problem for Rodman goes beyond this lost opportunity. As I said, when Saturn crosses the Midheaven we define ourselves, we leave our mark on the world. The mark that Rodman has left with his exercise of basketball diplomacy will forever to characterized by the alcoholic haze out of which it arose and, of course, by Neptunian weirdness.
