Natalie Wood was a radiantly beautiful actress who managed the transition from child to adult star and then drowned aged 43 in mysterious circumstances in 1981. Her husband Robert Wagner, who was with her that night, is ‘a person of interest’ in the renewed investigation into her death.
The aura of perfection she portrayed on a screen and projected onto the public could not have been further removed from the reality of her life. Born 20 July 1938 11.18am San Francisco, CA, to Russian-Ukrainian immigrant parents, she had a cruel mother who forced her to undergo frightening shoots and pimped her out to increase her chances of success. She was pushed into acting aged 4; and according to legend her mother told her to remember the day her dog was killed by a truck to evoke emotions for a film scene. She also lied to young Natalie about a film scene where a footbridge over rapids had been rigged to fail – she fell in with cameras rolling and could have been drowned, leaving her with a lifelong fear of water.
This is reflected in a ‘brutalised’ collection of Sun, Mars, Pluto in Cancer in her 10th with a forced-to-be-self-reliant Saturn in Aries in her 7th. Her sensitive Jupiter in Pisces was in her performing 5th house; and she had the creative Uranus trine Neptune of the time, though with both planets in hidden houses, making her highly strung and fairly erratic.
When she died in the early hours of 29th Nov 1981 the transitting Saturn Pluto conjunction was moving through her 1st house pushing her deeper into her emotional issues and away from career ambitions. The tr Saturn Pluto conjunction had just finished opposing her natal Saturn and would soon be square her 10th house Sun, Mars, Pluto which is heavy duty, depressing, highly stressful. I doubt she’d have survived the next two years even if she had not drowned. Transitting Saturn was conjunct her Solar Arc Venus and tr Pluto conjunct her Secondary Progressed Venus, so a highly emotional and fairly depressed time. Tr Uranus was square her Jupiter; and tr Jupiter was conjunct her Solar Arc Neptune and opposition her natal Moon – which might point to a merciful release.
Robert Wagner, whom she married twice, doesn’t have an easy chart, 10 February 1930 1.45am Detroit, Michigan, being part of the Saturn opposition Pluto Moon square Uranus generation – so used to tough times and difficult emotional relationships with women. Plus he was a Sun, Venus in Aquarius so would be fairly detached. There’s almost no cross over in their chart – he certainly had a Cancer Moon but not conjunct Natalie’s Cancer Sun. His Sun squared Natalie’s 8th house Uranus and Natalie’s Moon squared his Mars – so it was hardly a meeting of souls. Their relationship chart has a cool Saturn Venus square (= work getting in the way), an argumentative Mercury opposition Mars Uranus – nothing much that sounds like deep affection. Though she’d probably not be capable of really accessing her feelings because of her mother. And he is pretty battened down as well.
Like Natalie, his chart didn’t have much going on exactly at the time of her death – though it was a heavy time in his life with the tr Sat Pluto just off the square to his 8th house Pluto – so tremendous financial and psychological pressures. Tr Pluto was just off a conjunction to his SA Neptune so the previous months would have been devastating. Tr Uranus is opposition his Solar Arc Uranus suggesting a definite jolt and break with the past. Tr Uranus had just crossed the conjunction to their composite Venus which would have pulled them apart emotionally over the previous months as well. Their relationship chart was exceptionally argumentative with a Sun Mars conjunction opposition Mercury and a passionate Venus Pluto trine as well as a cool Venus square Saturn. It would blow very hot and very cold.
Her own chart had a fair amount of Neptune around at that point on the midpoints – hinting at confusion, drink, poor judgement and possible poor physical co-ordination.
The only thing on Wagner’s chart which is notable is tr Pluto square Mars/Pluto which is trapped anger, frustration – and could as easily be explained by having to cope with a tragic accident.
He certainly had a short fuse with a 3rd house Mars Mercury and she of course had that mind-blowing Mars Pluto Sun conjunction in her 10th so she’d not be backwards about stamping her foot either.
On the astrology I’d think an accident was the most likely explanation – though it has a shivery feel of the finger of fate given what her mother put her through early in life.
He’s now 87 so tricky to say whether adverse influences on his chart are health or other matters. But he looks devastated this month and on and off to late 2019 with tr Pluto conjunct his Mars/Saturn midpoint. That coincides with a CBS 48 Hours documentary digging it all up again this Sunday. His Solar Return for this year has an angry/trapped Moon Mars in the 8th, an image-denting Pluto in the 10th and a disruptive Uranus on his Ascendant.