Brett Favre: Libra in Crisis

By Shelley Jordan

Brett Favre is this year’s poster child for Libran indecisiveness. Brett has a massing of five planets in cordial and collaborative Libra. One of Libra’s significant areas of personal growth lies in learning the responsibilities and consequences of decision-making. Because Libra is the locus of cooperation and partnering, it can easily see both sides of a given situation, a handy gift for a quarterback who needs to anticipate the opponent’s actions.

Conceding to the wishes of another, in order to avoid conflict and to enhance the relationship can be a common Libran modus operandi. Additionally, Librans’ responsiveness to The Other can range from cooperation to outright competition, since they define themselves through their relationships (Brett has been called “The Ultimate Competitor”). Librans search for a mirror of Self in the eyes of others, and in their desire for approval can, at times, succumb to telling people what they want to hear.
Who, then, was Brett trying to accommodate or react against with his earlier retirement decision? The managers of the Packers? His wife? Is he now coming from his own center with his challenging assertion of his right to change his mind? In retirement, did he find himself deprived of some sense of core identity when he lost a large number of his most significant others – his team mates and his fans?

Brett‘s Mercury is conjunct Uranus, which accounts for the intelligence, originality and electric-quick responsiveness of the nation’s favorite quarterback. Mercury is also conjunct Pluto, describing the power that this loveable athlete’s communication wields – his words have clout. Just think of the number of interviews he’s given and his high profile position in the media.

The Moon is nearby adding emotion and sensitivity to his thinking and communication and to his associations. The image of a tearful Brett at various stages of his career is burned into every Packer fan’s heart. The Moon also represents the ebb and flow of public opinion including Brett’s countless fans who may be shifting uncomfortably while he plays out the naked, emotional drama of a Man’s Right to Choose. Brett has optimistic Jupiter conjunct his Sun – he is a larger-than-life, positive, goal-oriented player. One of his greatest triumphs occurred in the victorious game he played the very day following his father's death.

All this Libra helps account for his photogenic, nice guy image. A virtual model of Libran fairness, Favre is known for reaching out to other players with warmth, kindness and consideration. When Philadelphia Eagle Andre Rison called him a redneck, Brett replied, with all the engaging charm of a Super Libra, “Why thank you, I am a redneck”.

Clumped right next to this concentration in Libra, its ruler Venus is conjunct metamorphic Pluto and the spiritually sensitive South Node in dedicated Virgo. A lot of focused work goes into being a great athlete. Brett has famously never missed a game. His relationships – so imperative to Libra and Venus - are inseparable from his vocation. Being without immediate, structured employment must be torture for him. Pluto not only intensifies his Venus in Virgo's need for order, perfection and detail, it deepens and empowers the commitment underlying his connections and gives them an “all or nothing at all” quality. There is the potential for transformation in his relationships thanks to Pluto, and also epic power struggles, apparently off the field as well as on.

Joined together on his South Node, his Venus and Pluto in service-oriented Virgo must make his work and his professional associations feel like a compelling necessity of life. Pluto's conjunction to the ruler of all his Libra planets indicates that Brett is an agent for transformation on the field and off; its union with the South Node implies that Brett had a spiritual agenda with his vocation from the very start. A rare role model of integrity and commitment for youth in an era blighted with a dangerous scarcity of inspiring leaders, even in his emotional process of retirement Brett gives men permission to express feelings and vulnerability. How unique in a profession where combat and competition dominate the field.

Adding to the Virgo need for industry, strategy and productivity, energetic and driven Mars in Capricorn makes a potent aspect to Brett’s Sun-Jupiter. Retirement and isolation from his loving fans could mean a painful void of psychic inflammation for this social and expansive Libra. With his legendary drive for success, team spirit and his need to form transformational, professional relationships, being away from the game and not having an opportunity to excel at this moment must feel like grievous deprivation for this companionable, achievement-driven luminary.

When Brett first announced his retirement last March, Pluto in corporate Capricorn was exactly squaring his Mercury in Libra, applying pressure to Brett’s lines of communication – whether with team mates, management, the press, or his fans. This new, recent flurry of activity, during which Brett has revealed his change of heart about playing with the Packers and his desire to "unretire", has occurred during an earthy Mars-Saturn conjunction in Virgo, strengthening his Saturn in physical Taurus. A feeling of renewed discipline, fitness and commitment is clearly surging in him. But the pressure of Pluto is still on: management won’t release him from his contract, communication from interested teams is forbidden, and Brett is trapped in a repressive, unyielding contract with the Packers. This is a hint of the increasing corporate power plays we can expect from Pluto in Capricorn.

In addition, individualistic Uranus has begun the opposition to his Venus, triggering off an emotional roller coaster ride for his relationships that remains active until Uranus completes the opposition in March, 2009. Since Uranus stimulates the socializing instinct, Brett has the option of forming new, satisfying work relationships of a different order, or of changing the way he operates in existing relationships. Here is a man whose achievements stand on their own, standing up to the impenetrable corporate mentality that has taken over the sports world. Heart and love are challenging the absolutist authority of Pluto in Capricorn.

Saturn is catching up with Brett. By the fall of 2009, Saturn will begin to conjunct his Virgo planets. Following that, his abundant Libra will be visited by Saturn for the next few years. Brett is starting to feel his age but his spirit shines on. So long identified with youth, vitality, and the joyous, testosterone free-for-all of football, Saturn is nudging Brett toward a new level of maturity and adulthood.

Saturn conjunctions often coincide with the ending of old cycles and the beginning of new ones. They also coincide with the launching of life-defining professional projects and pinnacles of success. While astrology can’t tell us the outcome of this exceptional man’s personal drama, we can see what might be driving it. No doubt Brett Favre, the heroic athlete beloved by so many, will find meaningful expression for his bountiful gifts. He may even redefine the word ‘success’ in his life’s saga. The transition for Brett, though, seems to be a tough one.

N.B. I had to slightly modify this solar chart to make it readable. Jupiter is actually in the solar 12th house. (Brett Favre’s birth time is unknown)