During the World Cup in 2022 I started looking at astrology and football. Messi had some astonishing transits going on and leading his country to victory was clearly hugely important to him. If I remember correctly the Moon crossed over his Midheaven as Argentina won the penalty shoot-out.

I thought I’d make another attempt for the Euro 2024 tournament and so far it’s taught me a lot about astrology and perhaps also a little bit about football.

1. It’s difficult to predict a winner

Those of us looking at the tournament through an astrological lens aren’t seeing the full picture. In most cases there isn’t a birth time so we’re working without the houses and angles.

It turns astrology into a slightly more blunt tool and some of the transits are playing out over a long period. Pin-pointing what will happen during one game is difficult.

Different transits also mean different things to different people, depending on their birth chart.

So how do you then disentangle what is positive and what is negative?

Watching how the games unfold and what the astrology means for the players and the managers suggest to me that a transit that might look tough and challenging can also be turned into a positive. It often comes down to how we’re able to work with what we’ve been given.

2. Working well with what we’ve been given

England manager Gareth Southgate has a perfectionist, detailed-focus Virgo Sun and a Pluto/Mercury in Virgo conjunction. He has a conservative and stubborn Saturn in Taurus which might find it difficult to adjust and go with the flow, he might be quite fixed and set in his ways.

He also has a T-square between that Saturn, Mars in Virgo (or Leo depending on when he was born) and Neptune in Scorpio. So that intuitive, instinctive part of his nature could potentially be in conflict with an innate conservatism and a difficulty to change when needed. He might instinctively hold back, or be convinced he’s right, when he should change and listen.

This is mitigated by the Mercury/Pluto conjunction in Virgo, linking up the placements in a positive way. So perhaps he thinks very deeply about stuff, he’s analytical, he can see patterns and he can communicate this to his players.

And if the structure is correct at the outset, if he’s made the right calls at the beginning there is no need to change – if he hasn’t then winning comes down to being able to work constructively with the pattern that makes him fear change and spontaneity.

This tournament is challenging him to do that.

3. Identifying a transit of the tournament

The major astrological event for the tournament is a Mars/Uranus conjunction in Taurus which will be almost exact during the final on the 14th of July.

What does this mean? Perhaps that the nature of the tournament is one that speaks of sudden events or surprises, goals scored late in the game, sudden bursts of energy or a touch of genius on the pitch that will secure a win.

Several players and managers have placements that are pinged by this conjunction.

For Southgate it sits almost exactly on his Saturn, trines his Pluto/Mercury and opposes his Neptune. It calls for him to break his pattern, to step away from his innate conservatism. He might need to go with the flow and dare to tap into his instinctive ability to read the game and see patterns (Neptune in Scorpio sextile Mercury/Pluto in Virgo).

But no matter what happens on Sunday his life and fortune will change when Pluto moves to square his Jupiter early 2026. Too late to be connected to an England win, but a change for him nonetheless.

4. How to spot a winner

During the semi-final between England and the Netherlands both players and managers had transiting Saturn opposite Moon aspecting important natal placements in their charts.

Southgate had it near his natal Sun. Harry Kane had it on his natal Mars i Virgo. Bukayo Saka had it forming a loose grand cross with his Sun, Saturn and Chiron. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had it near his Pisces Sun.

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman had Saturn on his natal Mercury, which could mean both depressed thoughts or steely resolve. Striker Wout Weghorst had Moon opposite Saturn on his natal Jupiter, so his planet of good luck was activated.

How come England won?

Lucky Ollie Watkins scored 90 minutes into the game.

But was he actually lucky? The astrology shows that the Moon/Saturn opposition during the game hit his natal Saturn and he is having his Saturn return. Not the transit you might associate with success at first glance.

So the astrology of this tournament has meant a slight reframing of Saturn, which can bring constriction and hardship, but is also the planet that rewards hard work and grit. These players worked hard. Capricorn Ollie Watkins must have worked very hard and dug deep to have this be the moment of his Saturn return – and Saturn has rewarded him.

5. Who will win the Euros?

With all of this in mind. Will England win?

The final is held on the 14th of July in Berlin.

As I mentioned before I think the big astrological event will be Mars/Uranus at 25 and 26 degrees in Taurus, so I’m keeping this in mind when looking at the charts.

Spain

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has the conjunction trining his natal Saturn, which is also very near retrograding Pluto in Aquarius. Big stuff astrologically. But is it positive or negative?

The day after the game transiting Mercury is moving towards his natal Uranus and Mars and the Moon is moving towards his natal Neptune. Will his heart swell with the joy of victory or will he be swamped by feelings of anger, frustration and sadness?

For captain Alvaro Morata Mercury is moving towards his natal Chiron after the game, so his mind might be focused on mistakes and errors. He does have Pluto’s support though, trining his lucky natal Moon/Jupiter conjunction in Libra.

“Spain’s wonderkid” Rodri has some potentially good astrology with Jupiter, the bringer of good fortune on his Mercury/Mars/Venus conjunction and tapping into a pattern that affects most of his chart. Looks pretty lucky to me. Or big, a big moment in his life.

Spanish goal keeper David Raya also has some powerful astrology at the moment. The Uranus/Mars conjunction is affecting a powerful and mostly positive pattern in his chart.

England

After the game the Moon will cross England manager Southgate’s natal Venus and Jupiter, his feelings might be focused on love and/or victory.

Jupiter is separating from a trine to his natal Moon and Uranus, so the planet of luck is still sending helpful beams to his natal chart.

And as mentioned before the Mars/Uranus conjunction taps into several patterns in his chart. The key to his success might be to bend instead of to break, to be flexible even though he might find it difficult.

After the game Venus will move to conjunct Harry Kane’s natal Sun. Love and adoration iare coming his way, but a few days later Mercury will cross his Chiron so he too might be ruminating on some inner wounds or mistakes.

The Mars/Uranus conjunction is less helpful for him and is activating some tough points in his chart.

Saka has Jupiter on his Saturn, opposing Pluto, squaring his Sun and trining his Moon. After the game Venus will return to its natal place and trine his Moon, that looks pretty positive.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has some tougher transits. Saturn on Sun. Chiron square Moon. Mars/Uranus loosely squaring his natal Mars, but sextiling his Venus.

After the game the Moon will transit his Jupiter and then Pluto/North Node conjunction in Scorpio.

So what does this mean? Maybe that the game will go to penalties, so there will be a lot for the different players to process and come to terms with after.

But what is the clincher? Maybe looking at the 1066 birth chart for England will help?

On the 14th of July Chiron, the wounded healer, is on England’s Ascendant and the Moon is on the Descendant (the opposite team). Saturn is on the South Node. Neptune is on the natal Moon, squaring Uranus in the 9th house – broken dreams due to something surprising and foreign perhaps.

Spain has equally powerful astrology. Pluto is on the Ascendant and Venus is on the Descendant. Mars and Uranus are exactly conjunct the IC, the point of home, and opposing the Midheaven. Jupiter is sending lucky beams to natal Pluto/Venus and Jupiter.

Pluto is transformation, it can mean being lifted up, or falling down. Mars/Uranus is surprise and shock to the homeland. And Jupiter, Jupiter is the giver of gifts and blessings and he is much more active and helpful in the Spanish chart.

Good luck to both of them on Sunday – a sentence that will probably say more about my understanding of football (outside of astrology) than anything else in the article.

Photos by Abigail Keenan and Izuddin Helmi Adnan on Unsplash.