Astrology of the Golden State Valkyries

On the nights of May 10 and 11, an unheard of event occurred in the Bay Area: the appearance of Northern Lights. Yet according to Norse mythology, Northern Lights signal the presence of Valkyries.

Three days later, a delightful synchronicity occurred. The Bay Area’s WNBA team was christened and henceforth will be known as the Golden State Valkyries. The team’s birthchart has several notable features, but now the most compelling topic is the new name. Names and mascots are functions of the Ascendant and First House.  I have no time of birth to give me an exact Ascendant. But the new name and the date of its announcement have given me pretty good clues regarding the Rising Sign and a planet in the First House.

The mythical Valkyries are a band of warrior women who ride on flying horses. Since horses fall under the domain of Sagittarius, it is an effortrless leap to speculate the team has a Rising Sign of Sagittarius. The emblem for the team contains a bridge representing unity of the Bay Area. The emblem also resembles both a shield and a yoni symbol. The franchise is promoting an image of the Valkyries as righteous warrior women. In their video, winged women wear armor and carry swords. The warrior persona is in keeping with the team’s North Node in Aries, the sign of warriors.

The franchise, however, is overlooking a Pluto aspect of the Valkyries myth. In Norse mythology, these women also had the mission to carry the souls of fallen warriors to an afterlife. As Pluto rules death, the transport of souls is a Pluto vocation. In some versions of the myth, the Valkyries even chose who would live and who would die on battlefields. Also consider the Wagner opera “Der Ring” that dramatizes individual Valkyries such as Brunhilda. This opera includes the musical passage “Ride of the Valkyries.” This song became part of the soundtrack to the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now, a Pluto-stuffed film. These Pluto elements within the Valkyries myth led me to speculate that the new team has Pluto in the First House.

I am also weighing that the Valkyries team was conceived with a twin franchise that would never live outside the womb. When its birth was announced, the city of Portland was also chosen to have a franchise. This is keeping with the team’s Gemini Moon, as Gemini rules multiple births. Unfortunately, the Portland franchise would not be born. Its demise in the womb is another indicator of the planet of death in the Valkyries First House. The team became familiar with death at a very young age when its sister franchise died.

My date of birth for the Valkyries is Oct. 3, 2023. It was reported in The Athletic on Oct 4 that the league had chosen to expand and that the official announcement of birth would be made the next day. (Oct. 3 is not a certain date as its documentation relies a hint provided that day by the WNBA on X. But if the franchise were born the next day, the only major change in the birthchart would be the Moon in late Gemini rather than early Gemini. )

The new name was announced on May 14, 2024 on Good Morning America. (The show airs untaped at 7:00 am EDT in New York.)  Transits for the early morning of May 14 include three planets in aspect to the team’s Pluto of 27 degrees Capricorn: Mercury at 28 degrees Aries, Jupiter of 27 Taurus and Neptune of 29 Pisces. If the team were born at 1:30 pm PST, the team would have an Ascendant of 27 degrees Sagittarius. Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune would also have made strong aspects to this Ascendant degree.

The Valkyries’ birthchart has other notable features:

The Sun in Libra is trine to the Moon in Gemini. In the birthchart of a sports franchise, the Moon is embodied in the fans. The Sun can be embodied by ownership or by the players.  In the birthcharts of sports teams, the Sun and Moon are often in difficult angles (Warriors: square; A’s square; Giants: semi-sextile; 49ers: quincunx). It is auspicious that these bodies are in trine. A harmonious angle between the Sun and Moon suggests a favorable flow of energy between the ownership and the fans, something often lacking in Bay Area sports franchises.

Mars and the South Node in Libra are the apex point of a yod aspect that receives the energy of Neptune in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus.  Both Neptune and Uranus are outer planets that channel zeitgeist energy. They will funnel their energy to a Libran Mars and South Node, which likelyresides in the Tenth House of leadership. Since the Tenth House is a place of public standing, this should be an easy aspect to observe. In a best-case scenario, the franchise will channel outer-planet innovation into a leadership dedicated to Libra causes of fairness and equity.

Neptune in Pisces is the apex of a yod that includes Mars and the South Node in Libra and Venus in Leo. To begin with, Mars, a masculine planet, is placed in Libra, a feminine sign. And the feminine planet Venus occupies a masculine sign of Leo. Already, traditional representations of the masculine and the feminine are subverted by these placements. Now consider that the energy of a non-conforming Mars and a non-conforming Venus are both channeled into Neptune. This outer planet will prove a very interesting receptacle for Mars and Venus. Neptune emits a very high energy of love between the fans and their team. Neptun embodies the capacity of a team to serve as a spiritual vessel for its followers. (It can also bring bitter disappointment as dreams evaporate, but I am writing about possibilities here.) Mars and Venus have a very creative union in the deep waters of Neptune. The planet Neptune is fluid almost by definition. There are profound spiritual posibilities regarding gender themes. The tides of Neptune will bring Mars and Venus to somewhere new and transcendant. Their creations will have the ability to bring people together in the exhalted love of Neptune.

Venus in Leo is square to Uranus in Taurus. By itself, Venus in Leo brings flashy displays of love and feminine energy. It also desires attention and enjoys flamboyance. But the added square from Uranus really ups the ante. A square from Uranus to Venus is an indicator of those who seek to express their love in free and original ways. Some astrologers consider this square a signature of queerness. Regardless, expect the outrageous!

So concludes my first article on the Golden State Valkyries. They begin play in 2025. Already they are a wild ride on a horse with wings.