The aspects between planets in a birth chart is one of the major factors determining how that planet’s energies manifest. But what if a planet receives no aspects from the others at all? Will it run wild, dominating the other planets in the chart? Would an unaspected Mars (ruler of both athleticism and the sex drive) for example, make someone a champion athlete, or a high-end escort, or both?
In the case of Suzy Favor Hamilton, it seems the answer is “both.”
Suzy (August 8, 1968, time unknown, Stevens Point, Wisconsin) was born with her Mars just short of two degrees Leo, leading the pack of a total of six planets in Leo and Virgo. Now, in all fairness, we don’t know Suzy’s time of birth — so it’s still possible her Mars is aspected by her Midheaven or Ascendant (which is often the case with athletes). But even if that is the case, there are no aspects to her natal Mars from any other planet in her chart.
Not surprisingly for someone with an unaspected Mars, Suzy has been in the public eye for most of her life for purely physical achievements. As a mid-distance runner, she was one of the best. In high school, she set the US Junior record for the 1500 meters, and everyone cheered. She won nine individual NCAA titles, and everyone cheered. She proudly represented the USA in three Olympic Games, and everyone cheered. And she she worked as a $600 an hour escort in Las Vegas, and…
Strangely, there hasn’t been a whole lot of cheering for this side of Suzy, despite the fact that she made excellent money at it, offering “the whole Girlfriend Experience” (look it up) to either single males or couples, and getting rave reviews. In fact, Suzy has called her escort work “a huge mistake” and has blamed it on a long standing problem with depression.
For those who had been paying attention to Suzy’s time in the public eye, this may not come as a complete surprise. She has spoken frankly in past about her depression and eating disorder while an Olympian. She has admitted to deliberately falling in the final race in Sydney in 2000 when it became clear she wasn’t going to win.
What I find interesting about this situation is that she never felt compelled to “blame” her depression for any of her achievements. It was the same Mars placement that drove her to work herself to exhaustion, to an eating disorder, to set speed records, and to (apparently) be really, really good in bed. It seems that this addresses something that astrologers have been dealing with for a long time now: the notion of whether a planet or a placement or an aspect is “good” or “bad.” The truth in most cases is that the answer is usually “both.”
And, as with so many other things in life, sometimes the answer is “good… until you get caught.”
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