I have figured it would be interesting to make a little summary on how Mars in Sagittarius being out of bounds panned out for Olympics (see the earlier post Mars out of bounds Aug – Oct 2016 – the lid is off! what out-of-bounds Sag MAR energy pattern is about).
With the humor so characteristic of Universe, Mars made quite a literal showy entrance onto the stage: during the Opening Ceremony on Aug 5 social media around the world went gaga (out of bounds) over shirtless super-masculine Pita Taufatofua, a Taekwondo athlete (as Warrior as it gets) and a flag bearer for a tiny distant nation of Tonga (Sag).
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 05: Flag bearer Pita Nikolas Aufatofua of Tonga leads his Olympic Team during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Maracana Stadium on August 5, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
On a more serious note, this was the first Olympic Games which saw Refugee Olympic Team to participate as an actual registered Olympic team. They had the privilege of competing under the Olympic flag – and to me, in many ways they were manifestation of the essence of out-of-bounds Sagittarius Mars at its best. Every athlete on the Refugee Olympic Team was an embodiment of extreme courage and inner strength, to be capable of qualifying for this world-class level competition despite the adversities of international crisis they found themselves in. Take, for example, the story of Yusra Mardini, a female swimmer and refugee from war-torn Syria. When the motors of a small smuggling boat, on which she and her sister were trying to reach Greece along with 18 other migrants, suddenly died and the triple-overloaded boat began to take on water in the middle of Aegean Sea, Yusra Mardini, her sister, and two other people who were able to swim jumped into the water and pushed the boat toward the shore for over 3 hours until they reached Lesbos. After settling in Germany in September 2015, Yusra Mardini worked hard to qualify for Olympics – and in June 2016 became one of ten athletes selected for Refugee Olympic Team.
The other interesting development took place on a more conceptual level. These Olympic Games dealt a serious blow to the “religion”, or “known wisdom”, of coaching on how to put out a competitive Olympic athlete: that he or she must be young and train incessantly for 4 years leading up to the Olympic games. This year some of the most physically demanding sports disciplines – gymnastics, swimming, track & field – saw “oldies” not only qualify but win medals. Michael Phelps at the age of 31 won 5 gold and 1 silver medals in swimming, becoming the most decorated Olympian of all times. His teammate Anthony Ervin beat him on the age front as he took 2 gold medals at the age of 35 – which also prompted rumors that Phelps could be quite capable of competing in Tokyo in 4 years. In gymnastics, Aly Raisman, the captain of U.S. women gymnastics team, competed at the age of 22 and won1 gold and 2 silver medals. At this age, she is “ancient” for gymnastics – there is a reason why Simone Biles jokingly calls her “Granny.” And then, of course, there was Oksana Chusovitina, who represented Uzbekistan and at the age of 41 has still qualified for finals in vault. Another example is Usain Bolt who at the age of 30 won 3 gold medals, cementing his fame as the greatest sprinter of all times. These amazing athletes now have pushed the invisible age boundary of competitiveness at Olympic level far out – and they were able to do that largely thanks to the new body of knowledge that formed over the recent decade or so on what to eat and how to train to keep one’s body in top shape (OoB MAR in Sag). Their performance has also confirmed that taking a lengthy break from training – it was 2 years in case of Michael Phelps – is actually good for the athlete’s body as it gives it time to recover and does not overstress it leading up to the Olympic Games. During one of TV broadcasts it was mentioned that going forward US swimming coaches will now require all athletes to take at least 6 months off. In other words, the top performance of athletes has made a case for a mandatory rest – in that capturing the nature of extreme swings characteristic of out of bounds Mars energy pattern, from outsized performance to total failure & need of rest.
Overall, these Olympic Games have definitely been an interesting ride. Being aware of astrological energy patterns unfolding on the background has made them even more so. I look forward to the next experience in another four years.