When Iron Mike had a leaner build and a fatter wallet
A little late on the draw again today, but sometimes, that’s how these things go. The day is nearly done here on the edge of the continent, but I still have a few hours to reflect on the birthday and life of Mike Tyson.
A few years back, I thought that the ultimate reality show would have been Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson together, in the same house, rehabbing their lives and images. I’m I am shocked that no one ever thought of this and if they did, even more surprised that neither Jackson or Tyson would have accepted this. They were both being handled The Nation of Islam. The ratings would have been off the charts and both Mike’s could have settled some debts and made a little cash on the side. But we’ll never know now.
Mike Tyson’s star is rising again, albeit amidst the recent tragedy of his young daughters death. “Tyson” by James Toback (whom I recently interviewed) the biopic, was released to critical acclaim. He did a star cameo turn in the recent hit, “The Hangover,” just a had an Ali vs.Tyson video game released and will be portrayed by Jaimie Foxx in an upcoming movie based on his life. It seems as though “Iron Mike” is back in the ring of life.
Tyson’s exact time of birth is not public, but we can certainly see that from the angles in his chart, their are angels and demons fluttering in and out of his life.
When we look at the life of a warrior, and make no mistake, Tyson is a warrior, we look to Mars.
Mars in Tyson’s chart is problematic and might have destroyed a lesser spirit. His natal Mars in restless Gemini (Mars 22 degrees) squares his natal Pluto, Uranus and Starurn, while opposing his natal Moon. Mars squaring Uranus is combustible, erratic and unpredictable. Mars squaring Pluto can be self-destructive, addictive, violent and driven towards some form of regeneration through close encounters with death. Mars squaring Saturn bridles against limits, chafes against authority, battles organized structures and institutions. Opposing the Moon, Mars has an aggressive attitude and even violent stance towards women. It underscores a tempestuous and angry relationship with the mother. Mars is the engine which drove Tyson to become the worlds youngest heavyweight champ. But while Mars surged like a volcanic force through Tyson’s life, Jupiter formed harmonious relationships with the Sun (conjunct) and Uranus and Pluto (sextile).
Jupiter is the ruling planet of sport, games and athletics. Tyson’s Jupiter in Cancer conjunct his own Sun gives Tyson a larger than life persona. It’s marked by generosity in contrast to the usually thrifty Crab persona. In fact Tyson’s squandered fortune was due to his generosity to his hanger ons as much as it was due to Don King and The IRS.
But the Jupiter/Sun conjunction in Cancer gives Tyson a psychic depth that is apparent in the self-revelatory, “Tyson.” He goes through a number of fights and recounts the feelings, the fears, tells, and general atmosphere of each fight. Tyson could use Jupiter in Cancer in it’s many phases to not only read his opponents, but also psyche them out. Here is where Tyson is a genius, winning the fight before the fight is on display. But he didn’t confine these powers to just the ring.
Throughout “Tyson” he’s always talking about women, usually in psycho-sexual terms. For Tyson the act of sex was primal, like the hunt of elusive game that he could sense in the air around him, quickly closing the space with the entirety of his senses and going in for the kill. I am not overstating as he confesses his lust for the opposite sex and his psychology more than once in the film, which has a rapid fire montage of Tyson with a bevy of women.
Tyson’s instincts, while great for the hunt, were not always as keen as they could or should have been, especially when it came to marrying Robin Givens, who with her hyper-critical Moon in Virgo, shredded Tyson on national TV in front of millions of people with Barbara Walters. It’s fascinating to watch Tyson watch the footage in “Tyson.” He talks about the immense restraint he used during the interview, sensing that he was set up, with the hope that he would explode and become the monster incarnate that Givens was ranting on and on about. Then, Tyson throws in a quick jab and claims that he an Givens were at home in bed, watching the interview, laughing. He actually shows a great deal of fondness for Givens, claiming they were just kids. Not so for Desiree Washington, whom Tyson claims to have set him up and ripped him off. James Toback shared with me that Alan Dershowitz looked at the discovery from the trial and told Toback that “there was no way that Tyson should have gone to jail.” There is telling footage of Tyson at the Miss Black America Pageant in Indianapolis, sizing up the contestants before the contest. He immediately zeros in on Washington, getting physical with her before the cameras. It’s a pursuit that would ruin Tyson and send Desiree Washington into her young life, marked, but decidedly richer than before.
Currently, Tyson has Saturn in Virgo sitting right on top of his natal Pluto and Uranus. Saturn conjunct Pluto could be seen through a dark and ominous lens, especially as it relates to the passing of his young daughter, while the same conjunction with Uranus could allow him to bring form to his chaos, so long as he is not hemmed in by forces that had limited before in his life. He’ll need to the energy to re-form. because in a few years, Pluto will oppose his natal Sun and Iron Mike will step into the ring of life once again, to shadowbox with the forces of destiny and fate.