According to the pundits, Nigeria are favourites to win, but the odds are very close.
As favourites, Nigeria are represented by Mercury, ruler of the 1st and 10th houses.
Hosts Ivory Coast are signified by Jupiter, ruler of the 7th and 4th houses.
The Moon makes a conjunction to Saturn, which does not signify, as Saturn represents neither team.
The next lunar aspect is a sextile to Jupiter, which favours Ivory Coast.
If the pundits are correct, and Nigeria are the favourites, the Moon’s aspect to Jupiter boosts the fortunes of their opponents; Ivory Coast.
This aspect occurs almost at the limit of the 5-degrees considered most effective for a 90-minute football match, a sign that Ivory Coast will gain a significant advantage in the latter stages of the gain which will bring victory for the host nation.
The 49ers are considered the favourites to win. However, the odds for both teams are very close, and it would be a mistake to underestimate the Chiefs.
What do the heavens say?
The Sun ruler of the 1st house signifies the favourites, whilst their rivals are represented by Saturn, traditional ruler of Aquarius, the sign on the cusp of the 7th house.
Mars, ruler of the 10th house (house of victory for the favourites) is co-significator for the 49ers, and Venus, ruler of the 4th house is co-significator for the Chiefs.
Important Note*: If the kickoff of the game is delayed by longer than 36 minutes (this is not beyond the bounds of possibility), the sign on the cusps of the 10th and 4th houses change from Aries to Taurus (10th house) and Libra to Scorpio (4th house). If this happens, the planetary rulerships will switch from Mars to Venus (for the 49ers) and Venus to Mars (for the Chiefs). *Thanks, Shaun, for drawing my attention to the possibility of lengthy late kickoffs in NFL matches, which can have quite an impact!
Pluto is placed directly on the cusp of the 7th house, opposing the cusp of the 1st house. John Frawley has observed that Pluto has a grudge against the favourites. Here, his allegiance is clear: He lends his support to the Chiefs and stands against the 49ers. This is a noteworthy testimony in favour of the Chiefs, although it is dependent on the match starting on time.
The North and South Nodes are a little too far from the 10th and 4th house cusps to help or harm the cause of either team.
The only lunar aspect of note (within the 5-degree orb considered most effective in American Football) is a sextile to Venus. This aspect also favours the Chiefs (unless the kick-off is 36 minutes late or over, in which case it boosts the fortunes of the 49ers).
The heavens agree that the Chiefs will offer strong opposition. In the absence of a late kick-off (which will move Pluto away from the house cusp), Pluto’s affliction of the 1st house cusp may give them edge.
Timing will be crucial to the result of this game.
The lunar aspect to Venus looks likely to decide the match in favour of the Chiefs. However, if the match starts 36 minutes late or over, this advantage transfers to the 49ers.
DR Congo have won the third-place playoff twice before, in the 1998 and 2015 tournaments. Can they secure third place for a third time? The pundits think so: At the time of writing, the betting odds favour a win for the Leopards. As favourites DR Congo are signified by Mercury, ruler of the 1st and 10th houses.
Jupiter, ruler of the 7th and 4th houses represent rivals South Africa.
There is only one testimony of note: An applying sextile from the Moon to Jupiter (for South Africa). This aspect is almost at the 5-degree limit considered effective for a 90-minute football match, suggesting that, after a hard-fought game, South Africa will gain the advantage in the latter stages of the match.
Nigeria are favourites for a place in the final, but the match promises to be closely fought.
Nigeria have just one significator, Mars (Lord of the 10th house; the house of victory for the favourites): The Moon, lord of the 1st house, already has a role describing the flow of events, whilst the Moon’s dispositor, which would usually step in as substitute, is Saturn, Lord of the opposing 7th house and main significator for South Africa.
South Africa also have Venus (ruler of the 4th house) as their co-significator.
The Moon applies to conjunct Venus: This testimony would usually be sufficient to guarantee victory to South Africa.
However, the placement of Mars on the cusp of the 7th house depicts South Africa’s efforts dominated by Nigeria’s hopes of victory. This testimony is sufficiently strong to counterbalance the lunar conjunction with Venus.
The heavens confirm this semi-final will be a close match indeed, which may be decided on penalties.
As odds-on favourites, Nigeria would usually represented by the 1st house and its ruler. However, the Moon (1st house ruler) already has a role describing the flow of events, so her dispositor, Mars steps forward from the substitute’s bench as significator for the favourites.
Mars also rules the 10th house (the house of victory for the favourites) and so is Nigeria’s sole significator for this game.
Their opponents Angola are signified by Saturn, ruler of the 7th house and Venus, ruler of the 4th house.
The Moon applies to square Venus: Despite the challenging nature of the square aspect, this is very favourable for Angola.
In the absence of any other significant testimonies, Angola can be expected to do better than the pundits have predicted, and Nigeria will have to work hard for their place in the Semi-finals.
ASTROLOGY BY LOUISE OF ARABIA 