One of Hollywood’s darkest rumours from decades back has been given credence with a claim that Natalie Wood was, as suspected, sexually assaulted by Kirk Douglas in her teens. Her sister in a memoir says she was waiting outside in a car with her mother outside Douglas’s LA hotel suite into which the young Natalie had been despatched by her stage-mother-from-hell in the hope of gaining career advancement. She returned later dishevelled and upset and was told by her mother to “suck it up”. In later years Natalie discussed the assault with her sister.
Kirk Douglas, 9 December 1916 10.15 am New York, was renowned both as a womanizer and having a ferocious temper, courtesy of his Mars in Capricorn opposition Pluto in Cancer. His Sagittarius Sun was inconjunct Natalie’s 8th house Uranus and even more damagingly his Saturn in Cancer was conjunct her already over-stressed and frightened Sun, Pluto, Mars in Cancer. Her mother was already a monster with those planets in her 10th and she was delivered on a platter to another.
His Scorpio Midheaven was also exactly conjunct her North Node – so her karmic Scorpio journey with its overwhelming drive for success made her vulnerable to his career status.
When the assault occurred around 1955 when she was 17 or thereabouts her chart was labouring under a life-changing collection of explosive and disturbing influences – her Solar Arc Moon was conjunct her 8th house Uranus (8th house ruling sexuality) and her Solar Arc Midheaven was in a blocked conjunction to her powerless Pluto. Tr Uranus was conjunct her Mars Pluto Sun with tr Neptune square Sun, Mars, Pluto; and tr Saturn in Scorpio trine. It’s a miracle she survived the psychological damage from that period.
Sadly there’s no birth date for the mother.
So beautiful and so much grief and pain.
For previous post on Kirk Douglas see February 6 2020
So Natalie’s mother pimped her out?
She sounds like a forerunner of Kris Jenner.
Cathy, I honestly think he denied the reality of rape victims and was protected by his Hollywood celebrity and never had to feel bad about what he did.
Given the dark rumours around Kirk Douglas for decades, what should be made of Douglas playing the part of a rapist who effectively commits suicide out of guilt or atonement in a film made 10 years after his rape of Natalie Wood? The film is the WWII epic “In Harm’s Way” with John Wayne and Patricia Neal. It’s creepy seeing Douglas as a physically powerful man preventing a young nurse from dodging him. When the nurse commits suicide and leaves a letter revealing the rape and the naval aviator’s scorn when she tells him she’s pregnant, Douglas’s character goes on a heroic mission so dangerous that he has no chance of coming back. Because John Wayne’s character knows of the rape, he refuses to recommend any medals for bravery. Loads of people involved in the film must have known about the dark rumours, so whoever cast Douglas was spot-on. But why would Douglas accept the role? I’m glad that his reputation is permanently sullied for this cruel, traumatizing crime — after which he was reportedly gleeful. I do, however, wonder if he was eventually regretful, even if it was just for the indelible stain it placed on him.
How deeply creepy. KD had Venus in Scorpio square Uranus in Aquarius, so maybe he felt like an outsider, someone who could get away with behaviour outside society’s ‘norms’? Or wanted to disrupt what he saw as rules applying to others, but not to him? Venus with Uranus would also describe sudden sexual attacks on women, explained away by sudden attractions no doubt. He also has a fiery trine between Mercury and Jupiter which suggests a risk taker, someone with huge confidence and ego. Sadly, he’s just a famous example of behaviour that was – and still is – common.
Your comment also reminded me of the interview between Ruby Wax and O. J. Simpson, recently screened again. In this scary piece of tv, OJ ‘pretends’ to be a murderer and play-acts threatening Ruby Wax. He also has a wide conjunction between Venus in early Cancer and Uranus in late Gemini.
OK I rectified Natalie mom’s true birth date of Jan 6, 1908, giving a time of 9:19:56 am.
This gave her Venus on her Asc for beauty, ruling 7th, desire for public projection, wanting
to be an actress herself. Her natal Pisces Asc, feet, actress, is ruled by Neptune, dance,
want to be a ballerina in her 5th H. Natal Sun in 12th, controlling her daughters behind
the scenes. Her Moon conjuncts asteroid Actor, in 7th, again boosting the desire for an actress career or projecting this desire upon her girls.
Natal Pluto on the IC, gives a controlling mother as does natal Mars conjunct name
asteroid Natalie in 7th of public projection.
I checked the rectification of mom’s chart with the Lunar Return for her death….
LR Mars, ruling 8th of death, was conj the MH, in opposition to LR Uranus on the IC of
endings. Trans RIP, rest in peace, was conj natal MH. Thus verifying the rectification
of Natalie’s mother.
Use mom’s chart in a biwheel with Natalie’s natal for further details re their interactions.
I’m really uncomfortable with rectification as it involves so many suppositions and guesses by someone who wasnt there.
I dont think it can be relied on for accuracy.
THE LIE….this from wiki…”Wood’s mother was born on January 26, 1908, according to the earliest available records.[12] Sometime in the mid-1930s, she shaved four years off her age—giving her birthdate as February 8, 1912, perhaps because her fiancé was younger—and maintained this lie for the rest of her life.”
So the birthdate in the post above apparently is a lie and her true birth date is
Jan 26, 1908, making her 4 years older. I wondered why I had so much difficulty
making the rectification below work. I might try a re-rectification if time allows.
Mother of Natalie Wood was Maria Stepanevna Zakharenko, born Feb 8, 1912, Barnaul,
Russia, died Jan 6, 1998, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. I rectified her chart to 8:46:24 am
giving Asc 22Pi45. Neptune, r1, 5th…she wanted to be a ballet dancer. Venus in 10th
gave her beauty, ruled her 7th of public presentation…also wanted to be an actress.
Eris on her Asc explains her bossiness re daughter Natalie Wood. Mom also had
Pluto-Natalie on her 4th House of endings. Pluto ruled her 8th of death.
Her Sun was in her 12th House explaining her acting behind the scenes in regards to
her daughters, pushing them to the stardom she never had.