Saturn Hands U.S. an Ultimate Red Card

By Cesar Love

Not even intervention from Donald Trump could keep the United States in the World Cup as the planet Saturn showed who is really in charge.

The three-act tragedy of the U.S. demise in the World Cup began when an American player received a red card and one-game suspension. It followed with President Trump calling an official from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to convince them to rescind the suspension. Then it ended as the U.S. team lost 4-1 against Belgium, even with the reinstated player on the field. All three acts played out as Saturn (14 Aries) was exactly square (90 degrees; a crisis) the U.S. Sun (13 Cancer). (1)

Act One: Around 6:15 PDT on July 1 in Santa Clara, California, in the 68^th minute of the match between the U.S. and Bosnia and Herzegovina, American player Falorin Balogun made excessive contact with a Bosnian player. As the Bosnian fell and turned his ankle, the American stepped on his foot. (2) A referee made the judgment that Balogun’s contact deserved a red card, which meant ejection from the game and suspension from the next game.

Balogun, born July 3, 2001, (3) and the U.S., founded July 4, 1776, almost share the same birthday, and so became merged at the ribs in this drama as they shared the same fateful Saturn transit, especially potent coming during one’s birthday, or Solar Return. (4) Like the United States, Balogun’s natal Sun (11 Cancer) keenly felt the square from Saturn during these fateful few days. Athletes and teams generally play well on their birthdays, as the Sun and its ruling sign Leo rule Fifth House pursuits such as sports. A birthday brings a concentration of solar energy that increases vitality and life force. These generally improve an athlete’s performance. But when one’s birthday includes a square from Saturn, such vibrancy is squelched. Saturn steps in and says, “Not so fast, son,” especially if one has broken the rules, whether they are FIFA codes or universal laws.

The forgotten player in the drama is Terik Muharemović, (5) the Bosnia and Herzegovinian injured when the red card was thrown. He experienced especially harsh transits on July 1 when his ankle was hurt. Jupiter in early Leo opposing (180 degrees; adversity, often including another) Pluto (4 Aquarius) were particularly active in the World Cup. When Muharemović became injured, the energy of this aspect was intensified by the transiting Moon (2 Aquarius) conjunct (0 degrees; exacerbates emotions) Pluto and opposite Jupiter. Features within Muharemović’s birth chart made him susceptible to absorb these energies in a painful way, with his natal Moon conjunct Neptune (11 Aquarius) opposing his Jupiter (9 Leo). Oddly, he would simultaneously experience a near lunar return and near Jupiter return, as both the Moon and Jupiter were approaching those positions on the day of his birth. This could have been a great day for him. Indeed, his Jupiter return in Leo brought him the expansive joy of playing in the World Cup. Through his Aquarian Moon, which relishes team brotherhoods and cultural exchanges, Muharemovic was likely loving representing his country on an international (i.e., Aquarian) stage.  But the dark energy of Pluto in Aquarius spoiled his party. Video replays (6) show him lying on the grass, writhing in agony from the severe injury to his ankle. Fittingly, the sign of Aquarius rules ankles.

Act Two: Following Balogun’s suspension, President Trump and Andrew Giuliani began pressuring FIFA, (7) the governing body of the World Cup, to rescind the suspension of the American player (8). Although there was no precedent for the lifting of a red card suspension during a World Cup, FIFA caved in to the pressure. At 2:05 PDT on July 5 (9), FIFA lifted Balogun’s suspension with Moon 20 (Pisces) square FIFA’s natal Pluto (19 Gemini), not a propitious time to announce a decision of such consequence, especially with the world watching. Under such a harsh transit to their Pluto, FIFA likely felt highly uneasy. Yet the primary transit that FIFA underwent was to their natal Sun (29 Taurus), now sandwiched in semisquare (45 degrees) between the Sun and Saturn. Such a position challenges one’s identity (Sun) and integrity (Saturn), a call to show fiber and muscle and take a courageous stand. But FIFA, long known for its corrupt practices, (10) was not up to the challenge.

Act Three: The U.S. took the field against Belgium on the evening of July 6 in Seattle, Washington. Sportsbooks reported they had become slight favorites (11) against Belgium. But even with Balogun in uniform, the U.S. suffered a blowout 4-1 loss. Although the team denied that the red-card controversy distracted them, they played an uninspired, listless game. (12) Such a lifeless performance is rare for a team on its solar return, but the square from Saturn and all the controversy that it brought, clearly deflated them.

The Belgium soccer team deserves credit for channeling the energy of the moment to their benefit. Belgium’s founding chart (13) has a Cardinal T-Square that includes the Sun (10 Libra), Pluto (9 Aries), and Jupiter (9 Capricorn). (14) These cardinal planets were positively charged by the Sun-Saturn square, and Belgium played a solid game. Perhaps more relevant, the game was played under a conjunction of Neptune (4 Aries) and Moon (5 Aries) that conjoined Belgium’s natal Pluto (9 Aries). Pluto’s energy is highly pressurized and here it assisted Belgium to win a very high-pressure game. 

Thus concludes an American tragedy. The drama included many actors, some in full view of the cameras, others well hidden, but all of them answerable to the ringed referee, Saturn.

Title image: Author described image to ChatGPT

Notes and References

1. U.S. mundane chart (adoption of Declaration of Independence), July 4, 1776, 5:10 p.m., Philadelphia, PA, Astrodienst, https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Nation:_USA_No.1
2. https://www.reddit.com/r/worldcup/comments/1uoytjw/full_speed_video_of_baloguns_red_card_incident_vs/
3. Falorin Balogun, July 3, 2001, Brooklyn, NY, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folarin_Balogun
4. astrotheme.com/solar-return-astrology.php
5. Terik Muharemović, February 28, 2003 (noon chart used), Ljubljana, Slovenia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarik_Muharemovi%C4%87
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuaS3jUAark
7. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), founded May 21, 1904, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA
8. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/06/world-cup-2026/inside-the-white-house-push-on-balogun-00987540
9. https://media.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/fwc2026/news/statement-from-the-chairperson-of-the-fifa-disciplinary-committee-6-july-2026
10. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37418724/a-line-fifa-corruption-allegations
11. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/usa-belgium-world-cup-odds-181845735.html
12. https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5883842/2026-world-cup-fifa-usmnt-belgium-round-of-16
13. Belgium, October 4, 1830, Brussels, astrotheme.com/astrology/Belgium
14. A T-Square is a dynamic pattern composed of two or more planets in opposition (180 degrees), each squared (90 degrees) a third. It represents stress and conflict, with the fulcrum point (at the square) offering a possibility of resolution.