The Sepp Blatter Horoscope, Money, and Dishonesty

For several years now, I’ve been presenting a day-long workshop called “Wealth in the Natal Horoscope” in the U.S. and abroad. One of the topics we cover is money from crime. It can be tricky to tease this out, because crime and dishonesty are typically represented by malefic influences – but these same influences can also indicate a lack of money! We need to discern the difference between one’s money being harmed by malefics versus money coming from illicit sources. Seeing criminal tendencies in a natal horoscope is useful, as we might look for such tendencies in horoscopes of employees, potential partners (romantic or business), and business clients.

This article aims to extract useful aphorisms from the chart of Sepp Blatter, the former head of FIFA, who is believed to have presided over the organization’s transformation into a massive “corruption machine.” On the one hand, he generated enormous personal wealth and influence; on the other, he headed an organization that took in hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes over the years.

Accuracy of Sepp Blatter’s Horoscope

The time for Sepp Blatter’s Horoscope is pure hearsay, but it is all we have. The source for his birth time is cited on astro.com as the Swiss website astrosesam.ch, whose owners received the birth time from Blatter’s family. Astrosesam’s page on Josef Blatter (Sepp Blatter’s birth name) makes no claims to sources as far as we could discern, so the birth time is of unknown origin.

The time does seem plausible, however, given what we know of Sepp Blatter’s life. Wikipedia says he was married three times. His seventh house has two planets in it, suggesting multiple marriages. Its ruler is Saturn in a fruitful (watery) sign that is also a double sign. Saturn squares Jupiter, also in a double sign, and conjoins the Sun in the fruitful, double sign of Pisces. The horoscope supports at least two marriages, if not more, so the birth time could be correct.

Sepp Blatter made his money through a game – the Beautiful Game, as soccer is sometimes called. We would expect his financial significators to be connected to the fifth house of games, and to Venus (the goddess of all entertainments) and indeed they are. The ruler of his second house of money is Mercury conjunct Venus and sextile Jupiter. Jupiter rules the fifth house and is on its cusp. Beautiful game, indeed – at least for Sepp Blatter.

More research is needed before we can confidently accept this birth time, but the preliminary signs look positive.

Dishonesty and Wealth in the Horoscope

As we hint above, Sepp Blatter’s horoscope is excellent for money, as one would expect. The ruler of the second house of money is angular (though peregrine!) and in favorable aspect to both benefics, which is marvelous. Mercury is also trine the Moon, which is traditionally a favorable sign of wealth.

So far, so good. Where is the crime in the chart?

William Lilly, in the third book of his Christian Astrology, says:

“If a good Planet be in the Dignities of the Infortunes, Retrograde or Combust, that man thrives more by unwarrantable means than otherwise…this judgment depends upon four Considerations:
First, from the nature of the Significator, whether good or evil.
Secondly, from the nature of the Sign he or they occupy.
Thirdly, from his or their being or not being Combust.
Fourthly, from being Retrograde or not Retrograde, for accordingly he promises good or ill, warrantable or indirect means.” (Christian Astrology 561)

Applying Lilly’s list to Sepp Blatter’s horoscope:
1. Mercury is benefic or malefic depending on the company he keeps. Here, he is with both benefics, but in the domicile of Saturn, a malefic. More importantly, Mercury is peregrine, which means that it will be entirely guided by its dispositor, Saturn.
2. The nature of the sign is malefic in this case, as it is ruled by a malefic.
3. Mercury is not combust, but its dispositor, Saturn is itself  peregrine in Pisces, and
4. Saturn is also combust (within 8.5 degrees of the Sun).

Saturn is the bad actor here; it is peregrine, combust (meaning that it performs its malice in a hidden way, out of sight of the public), and square Jupiter. To top it off, it is positioned on the eighth house cusp of other people’s money; the perfect signature for bribery if ever there was one.

Yet, to me, Saturn’s role is not fully satisfactory, because it could still easily speak of Blatter’s loss of wealth through eighth house matters; marriage, partnership, the public (and those may yet come).

Deception

If we are looking at someone who potentially earns his wealth through dishonest means, we can investigate further, because we have the astrological tools to confirm someone’s dishonesty. If we were looking at Sepp Blatter’s horoscope “cold,” as if we were evaluating a potential employee or business partner, at this point we would want to know if he is simply prone to losing money or being deceitful.

There are ways to tell if someone is deceptive. I am most familiar with a technique called the “Significator of Manner.” Not table manners, but as in, what manner of man is Sepp Blatter, according to his horoscope?

In the absence of planets in the first house, we look at planets partile conjunct (to Lilly this is either one or three degrees) Mercury. Venus is conjunct Mercury, but they are five degrees apart. In the absence of a partile conjunct planet, we go to the planet in whose dignities Mercury is placed:

Mercury is at 25 Aquarius, and he is almost totally in the dignities of Saturn (by domicile, triplicity, term). We also look to the Moon; she is not partile conjunct any planet, but she is in the domicile of Venus, and the exaltation, triplicity, and face of Saturn. Clearly, between the Moon and Mercury, Saturn governs Sepp Blatter’s manner. A secondary influence will be the Sun, since Lilly says:

“No planet in the Ascendant, or joined to Mercury or Luna, then take the Lord of the Ascendant, according to his nature, be it good or ill, and judge of the manners; but so, as his Dispositor behold him with some aspect.”

We have this in place, as the Sun rules the Ascendant and its dispositor, Jupiter, squares the Sun. The Sun is peregrine in Pisces, conjunct Saturn. When the significator of manners is combust, as here,

“the Manners are not so manifest…if the Sun be weak, the Manners are less graceful, and who themselves but poorly, with no grace or delight.” (CA 542)

Lilly goes on to say the dispositor of the Sun is helpful as well, which is a well-placed Jupiter in Sagittarius:

“Honest, religious, just, liberal, magnanimous, Governors, eminent men, performing high matters, sober, grace with a kind of moderation, prudent, living virtuously and orderly.” (CA 540)

There is little doubt Sepp Blatter saw himself this way, but Saturn will leave a strong mark on this image.

Saturn is in Pisces, and according to Lilly “a stammering person, fraudulent, pretending holiness, yet a very Hypocrite.” (CA 538).  Saturn is “weak and unfortunately posited” but thanks to Jupiter’s influence, he will not be a man

“of abject spirits, ill-favored, having a low conceit of themselves, repiners, negligent, timorous, lovers of solitariness,” but he could still be “sorrowful, envious, pernicious, suspicious, backbiting, slanderous, superstitious, deceitful, malignant, rough-hewn.”

I also note that Sepp Blatter’s Almuten Figuris (the planet with the most dignities in key points of the chart) is Venus, the goddess of games. She is peregrine, and in strong dignities of the malefics; the domicile and triplicity of Saturn, and the term of Mars. If the Almuten Figuris represents one’s essential soul purpose, we can see that this particular soul has notable flaws.

If Jupiter had a stronger role than just being the Sun’s dispositor (e.g.: if he were with the Moon or Mercury), perhaps this would reflect better on Blatter’s character, but Saturn’s pervasive influence leaves a black mark on Jupiter’s favorable testimony. Given the connection of Saturn to the native’s manner (questionable at best), and to questionable sources of the native’s wealth, if this was the horoscope of one’s potential boss, employee, or partner, we would likely give it a pass.