It's a great advantage, while studying Vedic astrology, to look
at a wide variety of charts, particularly the charts of celebrities
whose character traits and life details are well known. In the
process, however, you'll often find charts that have perplexing
combinations that make you scratch your head and wonder how
that could be possible.
The following Vedic astrology chart of Kobe Bryant is a chart
like this. You'll notice that Saturn is conjunct the Sun within
4 degrees. This combination is often seen in people with low
self-confidence, or who have health problems and low vitality.
But Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers NBA all-star, doesn't
fit these qualities. In fact, you'd expect to see the opposite
- someone with an extremely strong Sun without malefic aspects
like from Saturn. After all, Saturn and the Sun are bitter enemies,
and constricts the natural radiance and vitality of the Sun.
Kobe Bryant's Natal Chart
However, there's a catch. Notice what sign the Sun is in. It's
in Leo, the sign that it rules. Leo is a royal and dominate
sign and one of the best signs for competitive athletes. The
Sun is therefore very strong by sign position, and is also within
its mulatrikona degrees, 0-20 degrees, further strengthening
it. Since, we don't have an accurate birth time for Bryant,
and are just arbitrarily using 12:00 noon, the next best ascendant
to read the chart from is from the Moon or chandra lagna. Notice
how from the Moon, the Sun also becomes the benefic 5th lord.
From chandra lagna its conjunction with Saturn becomes a raja
yoga between the 5th and 10th lords, giving rise and prominence
in his career.
When a planet is strong by sign position, as in the case with
Bryant's Sun, it generally manifests the positive qualities
of the planet. Saturn's conjunction, therefore, represents something
different. Kobe Bryant's high school coach, Gregg Downer, said,
"Kobe's blessed with a lot of natural ability and great
genes, but the work ethic is his and it's very strong. Kobe
has the skills and the maturity and everything you could want."
Saturn conjunct the Sun gives a strong work ethic, discipline,
perseverance, and maturity. In my opinion, it's because of Saturn's
qualities that he was able to became the first player to enter
the pro league right out of high school. He not only survived,
but he thrived. He became the youngest player to start in the
NBA All-Star Game (19 years, 175 days).
Bryant's philosophy for success (in basketball and life) is
impressive: "You have to work hard. You have to continue
to stay aggressive, regardless of what people say and do. You
have to continue to be yourself." This quote shows
the power to persevere that Saturn gives, even when the going's
hard.
Other qualities that Saturn conjunct the Sun often represent
are shyness and reserve. According to Newsweek, "Bryant
says he doesn't have a single close friend on the team or in
the city." Bryant is often described as a loner. Some
people refer to his loner status both on and off the court as
a singularity of focus and note his ability to concentrate.
He's also been derided as a selfish player who hogs the ball.
Selfishness, isolation, as well as concentration and focus are
also qualities that often manifest with Saturn Sun conjunctions.
However your view of Kobe Bryant, no one can deny that every
year he seems to improve and the old definitions of him as a
selfish player etc. seem to fall away. Former Philadelphia 76ers
coach, Larry Brown, said about Bryant, "Kobe's a model
of what a young player should aspire to be. Year by year he
has learned and made his game more solid, and now he's not just
a highlight-film guy but an accomplished NBA player."
Kobe Bryant's chart shows the many positive qualities that Saturn
conjunct the Sun will likely give, especially when the Sun is
strong by sign position.
