Maybe you’re great at your job, maybe you’re fantastic. But can you perform at that level day in and day out? You’ve no doubt had a bad day at work. Was it so bad you had to worry for your health, your sanity, your very life? Was the whole world watching you, judging you? You’ve had pressure but not the kind that could make you crack.

Now that the “2020” Tokyo Olympics are over, we can look back with awe at another feat Simone Biles has achieved: a come back from a dark and scary place. This entailed bravery in facing her hesitations and being public about them, and selflessness in setting aside ambition to withdraw and allow her teammates to go for (and get) a team medal.

When I first saw Simone falter early in the games, I looked at her chart and wondered about the future of her gymnastic career. Astrodatabank.com has her chart with a data reliability rating of “C,” which means the original source is unknown or unverified. It’s not a strong rating but the chart seems to fit her personality and life circumstances quite well and I’m inclined to rely on it. Some of the statements I make here are not dependent on a birth time, only on her date of birth, March 14, 1997. When the “C” time comes into play, I’ll mention that.

The most recent lunar eclipse occurred a little more than two months before the Olympics. A lunar eclipse is an extra-powerful full moon that has longer lasting effects (perhaps up to six months) than a regular full moon (strong only for a few weeks), and full moons in general can signal a pinnacle, an ending or a completion. This one was exactly at the degree of Simone’s natal Pluto, a planet that often indicates a turning point or major shift. It’s also the planet of psychological depths, secrets, abuse and an all-or-nothing intensity. Pluto heralds the survivor and is famous for bounce backs, too. So I wasn’t sure it was the end for her. I had to look further. And I wanted to see why she was all of a sudden bothered by the “twisties,” a term I hadn’t heard before but that makes sense for a gymnast twisting through the air.

Simone is a Pisces sun-sign and currently the ruling planet of Pisces, Neptune, is moving slowly through its home sign. While it’s there (from 2012 to 2025), it spends about a year near any Pisces Sun person’s natal Sun degree and that will be one of the most important times of his or her life, maybe in a good way or maybe in not such a good way. This sign and planet have a lot to do with the subconscious and beliefs, and are certainly associated with dizziness. They do not represent grounded energies. Think of the fish swimming in circles in the Pisces symbol. You will not be surprised to hear that Neptune was in the important one-degree range approaching Simone’s Sun when she was bothered by the “twisties,” even though Neptune won’t reach her Sun degree exactly until next spring, visiting until winter of 2023. Who knows if she’ll re-experience the “twisties” then but one thing is for sure, it won’t be with the pressure of the Olympics!

After Simone dropped out of the team competition, it was unclear whether she would participate in the individual events. To check for her prospects, I used the monthly forecast technique called a lunar return, which is a chart cast for the time and place when the Moon returns to its natal degree and minute (fraction of a degree). This method does rely on a birth time because the Moon moves so far in a day that it travels about a degree in two hours. Using the “C” rating, her natal Moon is in Gemini, at an early degree. Without knowing her birth time, we could at least say it was either in Gemini or at a high degree of Taurus. The Moon passed through that part of the zodiac during the Olympic games, specifically on August 2. This means she began the games under the influence of a lunar return from July and then had a new influence come in before the individual event in which she did finally decide to compete. She could be expected to have a change in her outlook.

The July lunar return (set in her home gym location of Spring, Texas) shows heavy pressure, like the weight of the world, from Saturn, the planet of achievement, at the very top degree of the chart, the place of one’s role in public and reputation. Saturn was less than half a degree away from her natal Jupiter, a planet known for exposure and the potential for doing great things (as the biggest planet). Saturn’s nature is to contract or limit, so its visit to her Jupiter put a damper on her drive. In addition, Saturn wasn’t far past making its square (an abrasive connection) with Uranus, the planet of the unusual and surprises. In that chart, Uranus was in the First House, a location related to one’s physical condition and view of oneself. Maybe she didn’t feel like her usual self. Sure enough, the unusual pressure (combined with the dizzying effect of Neptune) got to her. In addition, Jupiter in the early degrees of Pisces was making a nearly exact square with her natal Moon, which could contribute to amplified emotions, especially when far from home. (The Moon shows our feelings and in friction with Jupiter, those can skyrocket. Jupiter is also the planet of foreign travel.)

In the August 2 lunar return chart, set for Tokyo, Saturn and Uranus were not as tightly in their square and Jupiter had retrograded back into Aquarius, further from its square to Simone’s Moon. Saturn was high in the sky, still showing a lot of public attention, but it wasn’t right on the top point, where it has its most potency. Instead, the planet closest to the top was Pluto, her come back friend (which, using the “C” rated birth time, was exactly rising, at the place of most personal expression, an clue she would be able to make a come back). Ceres, the dwarf planet of nurturance and support, was just two degrees from Simone’s Moon, pointing to the great support she received. The Sun and Mercury, just over a degree apart, were both across from Saturn, providing concentration and mental focus. Mercury lined up exactly opposite her natal Jupiter, an indication of lots of communication from far and wide – think of all the social media and mainstream media attention. This was her chance for redemption and for an unusual performance. Uranus was near the rising degree in the lunar return chart, echoing Uranus’s rising position in Simone’s chart relocated to (as if born in) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she had such success in the 2016 Olympics.

The differences in these two charts led me to think she would have a different experience in the individual medal competition than she had in the qualifying rounds, and she would do better. Indeed, she took a chance and got a medal. Although it’s bronze not gold, she says it’s the sweetest prize of all her Olympic medals. This makes that “C”-rated natal chart with Pluto rising look like it might be right. She not only survived, she rose to new heights as she brought attention to athletes’ struggles. That makes her a double winner in my book.