Leaving Los Lakers
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It is interesting to note that Dwight chose to leave the Los Angeles Lakers for the comparatively smaller pond of the Houston Rockets. Why, if one is attempting to achieve greatness and display a larger than life personality, would one leave one of the biggest and most storied franchises in sports history?
While I am sure there are many contributing factors, quite a few of which we cannot know without further revelations from the man himself, perhaps astrology can clue us in a bit here.
One factor could be a bit of a rebellious, 'do it my own way' streak in Dwight. This is symbolized by Uranus, the planet of freedom, rebelliousness, and radical thinking, conjunct Dwight's Sun, which represents one's ego, essence, and outward personality.
Those with Uranus conjunct Sun often find themselves pitted against authority, often because they had their sense of self squashed or controlled a bit by an authoritarian figure in childhood (perhaps Dwight's father the State Trooper?). They may also have had difficulty feeling that they truly belonged anywhere. Uranus is the ultimate non-conformist and outsider. However, people with this placement often feel a need to connect with a group that they can call their own, perhaps due to feeling like an outsider in some sense in their youth. We see this in Dwight's labeling of his teammates in Houston as a “family”. Reportedly one of the contributing factors when Dwight decided to join Houston was just such a sense of connectedness and belonging. (1)
The revolutionary energy of Uranus also is depicted in Dwight's Jupiter in the radical sign of Aquarius. Those with strong Aquarian and Jupiterian energy tend to focus on large, future oriented goals that contain a degree of risk. Heading for a young and mostly untested team with the hopes of being a central figure in the march towards a championship certainly qualifies.
Moore and Douglas state that those with this Jupiter placement possess a “broadened viewpoint [that] produces new patterns of perception.” It seems to me that part of Dwight's purpose has been to add new energy into old structures by showing us that the tried and true ways are not necessarily the path for all. By leaving a well established group for one of the more exciting up-and-coming teams, and by doing it with a flair for fun and fantasy, Dwight has shaken things up a bit in the ol' NBA.
Interestingly, Dwight's departure for the Lakers and his lone season in LA came during a time when he was breaking away from some of his own established patterns and foundations. Transiting Neptune squared Dwight's natal Saturn throughout much of 2012 and into early 2013. During this transit, one's fears, cautions, and old attitudes instilled in childhood (represented by Saturn) tend to be dissolved by watery Neptune. Perhaps Dwight was feeling trapped by his situation in Orlando and needed to play out some form of rebellion by going to the Lakers in order to heal old wounds from his youth. Very often these sorts of unconscious motivating factors are what cause us to make the decisions we make, despite our lack of awareness of the underlying triggers and patterns. Who knows, maybe Kobe played out the role of Dwight's superego or father in this case? We'd need to know more about Dwight's upbringing and psyche to really know.
Personally, I think it's great that Dwight went with what he felt was right for him, regardless of tradition, money (albeit which I am sure he has plenty of), or what others thought he should do. Will he win a championship in Houston? Quite possibly not, but really what is the point of doing something you don't believe in or feel right about just to satisfy your own ego or conform to the established paradigms of the culture? The radical rebel of Uranus/Sun is here to teach us that it is OK to be different, to find the joy in one's own personal mythology.
In Houston, it seems as though Dwight will be allowed to have more fun in a supportive environment where he isn't criticized as frequently for any number of real or perceived shortcomings by a Neptunian media that loves to amp up the drama whenever possible. Someone with this much Jupiterian and Uranian energy running around inside them (Dwight's Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius) is also in Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus, a nice little double whammy as Stephen Arroyo would call it there, given the Uranus/Sun in Sag conjunction) I would imagine really can't bear to deal with a life of drudgery, confinement, or living in the shadow of another teammate known for their intense work ethic.
References:
(1) (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/03/sports/la-sp-bolch-dwight-howard-20131104)
While I am sure there are many contributing factors, quite a few of which we cannot know without further revelations from the man himself, perhaps astrology can clue us in a bit here.
One factor could be a bit of a rebellious, 'do it my own way' streak in Dwight. This is symbolized by Uranus, the planet of freedom, rebelliousness, and radical thinking, conjunct Dwight's Sun, which represents one's ego, essence, and outward personality.
Those with Uranus conjunct Sun often find themselves pitted against authority, often because they had their sense of self squashed or controlled a bit by an authoritarian figure in childhood (perhaps Dwight's father the State Trooper?). They may also have had difficulty feeling that they truly belonged anywhere. Uranus is the ultimate non-conformist and outsider. However, people with this placement often feel a need to connect with a group that they can call their own, perhaps due to feeling like an outsider in some sense in their youth. We see this in Dwight's labeling of his teammates in Houston as a “family”. Reportedly one of the contributing factors when Dwight decided to join Houston was just such a sense of connectedness and belonging. (1)
The revolutionary energy of Uranus also is depicted in Dwight's Jupiter in the radical sign of Aquarius. Those with strong Aquarian and Jupiterian energy tend to focus on large, future oriented goals that contain a degree of risk. Heading for a young and mostly untested team with the hopes of being a central figure in the march towards a championship certainly qualifies.
Moore and Douglas state that those with this Jupiter placement possess a “broadened viewpoint [that] produces new patterns of perception.” It seems to me that part of Dwight's purpose has been to add new energy into old structures by showing us that the tried and true ways are not necessarily the path for all. By leaving a well established group for one of the more exciting up-and-coming teams, and by doing it with a flair for fun and fantasy, Dwight has shaken things up a bit in the ol' NBA.
Interestingly, Dwight's departure for the Lakers and his lone season in LA came during a time when he was breaking away from some of his own established patterns and foundations. Transiting Neptune squared Dwight's natal Saturn throughout much of 2012 and into early 2013. During this transit, one's fears, cautions, and old attitudes instilled in childhood (represented by Saturn) tend to be dissolved by watery Neptune. Perhaps Dwight was feeling trapped by his situation in Orlando and needed to play out some form of rebellion by going to the Lakers in order to heal old wounds from his youth. Very often these sorts of unconscious motivating factors are what cause us to make the decisions we make, despite our lack of awareness of the underlying triggers and patterns. Who knows, maybe Kobe played out the role of Dwight's superego or father in this case? We'd need to know more about Dwight's upbringing and psyche to really know.
Personally, I think it's great that Dwight went with what he felt was right for him, regardless of tradition, money (albeit which I am sure he has plenty of), or what others thought he should do. Will he win a championship in Houston? Quite possibly not, but really what is the point of doing something you don't believe in or feel right about just to satisfy your own ego or conform to the established paradigms of the culture? The radical rebel of Uranus/Sun is here to teach us that it is OK to be different, to find the joy in one's own personal mythology.
In Houston, it seems as though Dwight will be allowed to have more fun in a supportive environment where he isn't criticized as frequently for any number of real or perceived shortcomings by a Neptunian media that loves to amp up the drama whenever possible. Someone with this much Jupiterian and Uranian energy running around inside them (Dwight's Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius) is also in Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus, a nice little double whammy as Stephen Arroyo would call it there, given the Uranus/Sun in Sag conjunction) I would imagine really can't bear to deal with a life of drudgery, confinement, or living in the shadow of another teammate known for their intense work ethic.
References:
(1) (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/03/sports/la-sp-bolch-dwight-howard-20131104)
