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How Astrology Could Factor In to the Raptors' Playoff Success

We talked to an astrologer about DeRozan, Lowry, and VanVleet to find out if there was anything he could see that might help predict how they play in the postseason.
Photo by Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

Sports and astrology make a perfect pair. And this time of year people are looking for all the assurances they can get. So I decided it would be a good idea to talk to astrologer Phil Booth to see if there was anything he could see that might help predict how the Toronto Raptors will do in the playoffs.

People who indulge in both sports and astrology to a frenetic degree are often called fanatics, and believe there are forces greater than them that can influence outcomes. The term "baseball gods" is referential at this point, and what else can be credited for basketball players missing wide open shots when it matters most, shots they've made without fail 99 times out of 100, besides luck or the crucial momentary lack thereof. For some players and fans, they sport playoff beards, live by the same routines, wear the same thing over and over because it was worn the last time their team won, all in an effort to attract some greater force that can be felt but not be seen nor measured. It's a wonder athletic scouts don't enhance their skills by learning how to read the charts of prospect players.

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Like any Raptors fan, the playoffs make me nervous. With the first seed clinched, division title secured, and a record regular season at stake, they probably make me more nervous. This time of year even the most steadfast and practical-minded of fans tend to look outward for signs that can be taken as assurance that their team is going to perform well in the playoffs. That's why I showed up at Booth’s Toronto office equipped with the birth dates and places of some of the Raptors' key playoff pieces to consult with him and, well, the literal stars.

Booth credits rupturing his Achilles tendon during a game of tennis, right when the comet Shoemaker-Levy plunged into Jupiter in July 1984, as the event that propelled him full-time into astrology. He's been at it ever since. When I ask him if there's anything he can dig up, he immediately nods yes, and fires up a chart on DeMar DeRozan.

Booth's eyes narrow at the symbols rapidly populating a calendar on one side of his computer. He taps the screen with his pen, "He's got that Jupiter sextile Venus angle really strong, building up to crescendo—bingo!" Booth's hands fly up from his laptop like it has shocked him. "May 13," he says. "That's really good."

On Mercury Retrograde

We will be in Mercury Retrograde when the playoffs start. If you're not familiar with this cosmic event, about three times per year Mercury appears to move backwards in the sky. It's not actually, but as the planet closest to the sun, Mercury's orbit is much shorter and faster than the Earth's. Mercury retrogrades when Earth actually catches up with it and seems to speed past it, with Mercury only going "direct" again once it whizzes past us. While Mercury Retrograde is often blamed for delays in travel, upsets in communication, electronics on the fritz, it really just seems to magnify things that were already underway, good or bad. We just have the tendency to notice the things going wrong a bit more.

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Booth is adamant that while it can be troublesome, the Mercury Retrograde gets a bad rap and is often clarifying for people. Whatever you were dealing with before the period started, you won't be able to ignore it any longer and the worse you've been avoiding things the more likely they are to blow up in your face.

Photo by Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Mercury was in retrograde for basically all of the Raptors' playoff run last year, and it was bad. But prior to this the team looked bad. Energy was a problem, Kyle Lowry was injured, and the team went into the postseason without real contingency plans to serve should other teams get wise to their plays. But the Raptors went into this current cycle, which started March 23 and runs to April 15, looking strong and where they didn't—notably with energy and experimentation in rotations—they tinkered to address those issues in the final games of the season. As Booth notes, "Sometimes the last half of the Mercury Retrograde can cut in a little harder," which we've seen in some sloggy games and close calls. If this all still doesn't make you feel better, Mercury goes direct again on Sunday. Not saying they'll lose their first game on Saturday, but I won't freak out—much—if they do lose.

On DeMar DeRozan

"He's a Leo, which is dynamic. And his Jupiter to Venus angle is building up strong."

Translation: DeRozan is a natural leader and the thing in his chart that predicts luck and efficiency, of getting the things you want easily, is getting cosy with a planet that rules confidence, communication, and beauty.

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Booth goes on, "Moon in Libra, so some charm and charisma there. Venus is, you know, how you feel in your heart. He's a Venus in Virgo so he's a bit of a worrier, right?"

I nod.

"Is he looking stressed?"

I nod again and let Booth know about DeMar's ailing father.

"Mercury is building up into a tough area [in his chart]. People can beat those, but that's bad news. When you have [a block like] that it's like the world is looking at you, things could be going wrong. But April 15 it peaks and then it eases up. His father must be a very strong influence on him. Did he have trouble with him as a kid?"

I talk about the way DeMar's father would push him when he was a young player in high school and college, often relentlessly. That a younger DeMar saw him as an invulnerable figure without sympathy, but that it turned him into the player he is and only built up the dedication to his dad.

Booth soon sees something else in DeRozan's chart. "Pluto rules gangs and underworld stuff, and it's square-Sun here, so it could be that the father had to deal with it with his father or brother."

Up until now I hadn't mentioned the gang connection with DeMar's uncle, his father's brother, or the influence this could have had on DeMar. But Booth doesn't seem worried looking at DeRozan's chart, and the uncertainty with his father.

"When you get into those things it can be fuel to push forward, to fight through it. If someone gets overwhelmed then the hard angles can beat them. If he can make it to the middle of May, that angle eases up," he says. "And Mars, Mars is like Rocky Balboa, and that'll fire him up in the next few weeks. I think the outlook looks good for him. He must be very determined this year."

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On Kyle Lowry

"He’s an Aries, so we got another fire sign there, with DeRozan a Leo. So, Aries is very stubborn, very determined. He's got Mars in Sagittarius, too. He'd be interested in astrology! He's got Capricorn in there, so there's a real practical side to him. He must be very dynamic physically." He pauses, "Has he got a quicker temper?"

I mention the critiques Lowry has gotten when it comes to the playoffs, how he can seem to fade out from the team and not be counted on for the same gritty, physicality of play he's synonymous with. How he can get into his own head.

"[His] Saturn is a bit blocked up—he's healthy? He's got to be careful with injuries. Saturn peaks April 18, so it's building up now, but if things are really positive for him it just means that he's been working hard. Is there any news that he's working on something, trying to lead something?"

The team's culture reset comes to mind, so does Lowry's role as a distributor within the team alongside DeRozan, and working to adjust and adapt his style of play to fit that. He's also elevated his long-range shooting and ended the season with 238 3-pointers made, a single-season franchise record. Much like DeRozan, it's been a banner year for Lowry. But lingering doubts are the hardest to dispel and he'll have his work cut out for him when the playoffs start.

"He’s got Pluto-square-Sun, and Pluto-square-Venus, that can be darkness, like seeing everything dark and falling into negativity. That's a tough one. He's got a hard angle April 15, kind of like confusion or something depressing. And he's close to DeMar, and the thing is if DeMar's dad is not well that could affect him, too. It looks a little harder for Kyle Lowry. See that? Chiron Moon. That could really put you in a bad light—it's kind of like the world doesn't like you. But the positive side is it could make him determined, and he's got the fiery side to him."

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On Fred VanVleet

"Has he had a rough life? Holy smokes, look at those."

I watch with Booth as Fred VanVleet's chart populates and mention his father being shot dead when he was five, and being raised by his mom and stepdad, a police officer.

"Pluto rules the military. The police fall into that. And if a client, wow, if a client had a Pluto like that I ask if their dad was in the military. He must be an intelligent guy, VanVleet. Are there stories about him doing well academically? He's got some very good angles there. He probably feels a lot of responsibility to take care of his mom where his Chiron Moon is. And then the Pisces in him is sensitive, caring.

"He's got Mars very strong at the moment. Saturn is very good. He's playing—"

Very well, I say.

"Pow! Venus is good, it's like a good luck charm, like the ball just bouncing right into your hands." Booth pauses for a moment. "Around April 22, he starts getting rattled in there. Saturn starts to look a bit rough."

I explain that these playoffs will likely be where he'll see the most meaningful minutes of his career. Significant minutes, too, minutes that count and could turn whole games. Could that be something to make him feel rattled?

"These guys are warriors, they can't entertain the idea of defeat. So it depends on their attitude. Something like that angle, it can just be you're really working your butt off. Saturn doesn't give you inspiration, but it gives you solid foundation. Remember DeMar had that great Jupiter in Venus and Fred has got the same thing and it's building up in strength, right up until May 23. You said he’s looking good? Is he getting three pointers in there?"

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For the sake of length I'll just say there's never a time when I can't sing, Sound Of Music style, Fred's praises to the hills.

"His Mars is excellent. His looks like a winner. [Booth slides Fred's chart back to November] Was he really booming in November? If we take him a little further, he has a lull in March—getting excited, maybe nervous or anxious—and then we take him back into the sweet stuff. You're heading toward the good stuff. Looking at this, he's going to get stronger and stronger."

On Dwane Casey

"Another Aries. Galactic Centre residence there—he's the kind of guy who would be open to astrology. He believes in luck. I guess that's why he's a coach. He's got some charm, doesn't he? Moon in Sagittarius—upbeat, lively, sporty, athletic. That's the kind of thing that would make him shout. He's got an unpredictable, fiery side. If they don't do well, he's liable to lose his job isn't he?"

It's true that despite the record-breaking season Casey has helped lead Toronto to, all of it could go out the window if this team doesn't show up strong in the playoffs. He's got the ghost of the last four years breathing down his neck and the edginess of a city—the country, if you believe that—on his back. A culture reset doesn't mean much if the end result is more of a renaissance than moving toward the future. But Booth seems confident in Casey.

"He's got a chart with conflict in it, right off the bat. He probably had to go through a lot of adversity in his life to get where he is, so he knows how to fight." He pauses. "Is he getting bad reviews? Do people complain about him?"

Well, I say, he's a coach.