Natalie Wood – a shining star with a dark life

   

 

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.

 

 

16 thoughts on “Natalie Wood – a shining star with a dark life”

  1. I believe they thought they were in love because people of their generation were often that way. They didn’t know what healthy or real love was themselves. These two were a stunningly gorgeous, thus popular and loved, couple. They could’ve coasted together on the public adoration alone.

    A while back, a psychic medium channeled her and claimed Natalie was tipsy if not drunk fully. She’d gone up top for something… fresh air or to stare at the sky, and was unsteady on her feet due to the drinking. She was fiddling with her hair as the wind blew it into her eyes and she tripped and fell into the water.

    I’ve no idea what to think really but I hope it was an accident like that. Despite all she’d been through, she was a good soul I think.

  3. Very interesting article, Marjorie. Natalie’s sister Lana has said that she knows who raped Natalie. This actor is still alive and Lana said she will reveal who he is after he passes away.

  4. Natalie had crush on him since she was a little girl. According to all the accounts they were a genuine love match as well as unstable. He was a typical macho man from his generation and disliked she worked and was more famous than him. And they often argued over this sort of stuff. Both also were heavy drinkers that obviously triggered the whole accident

  5. The Jon Benet Ramsey case was also turned into a show for entertainment, the PD mishandled the crime scene, unless someone confesses we’ll never know the truth. I couldn’t believe they accused the brother on TV, they shouldn’t ruin people’s lives for entertainment. Natalie Woods case is the same, it’s innocent until proven guilty, there’s too much speculation, that doesn’t prove guilt.

  7. In light of the astrology, it’s a wonder these two ever got together in the first place, let alone marry each other not once, but twice. I watched a clip of Wagner talking about Wood’s death a while back in which he said, “We were so much in love…..” If the astrology is correct–and I’m sure it is–that means he was lying. They weren’t “so much in love.” I think he pushed her overboard after a night of arguing and heavy drinking. It happened in the heat of the moment, so to speak. Either that or she jumped into the water trying to flee her rampaging husband. It certainly wasn’t calculated, premeditated murder. Too much booze coupled with all the arguing that shows up in their synastry led to her death. Just my two cents…….

    • Julie, I’m pretty much in agreement with this. And now knowing the synastry behind their relationship actually reinforces the idea but it makes it so tremendously sad 🙁

    • I don’t follow the news that much, Svea, but if he has a famous son/daughter-in-law, then yes, it’s him. He was also called out on Twitter after the major award show (think it’s the same one you’re referring too?) with people blatantly accusing him of Wood’s rape.

      I did read some blinds though that were, unfairly, disparaging against the women who were being friendly and respectful towards him like, Natalie Portman, because they had voiced their stories in the #metoo movement. If the rape of Natalie Wood is not that well known and the actor has never been arrested or known for his actions in the mainstream news, then why would Portman distance herself from him? If she knew for a fact, I’m sure, like most informed women, she would not touch him with a cattle prod. I think it’s just another outlet to attack women. It’s frustrating that a number of women are being forced or feel the need to apologize, like Kate Winslet and Mira Sorvino, for working with industry predators. If these men have not been arrested and you have only rumours to go on then I don’t understand why the actresses are being attacked for working with them? Not surprisingly, nobody’s asking the men to apologize for working with the likes of Weinstein and Woody Allen. I think it’s just the ugly side of trying to find hypocrites in the movement in order to stop it, which I’m sure there will be (we’re all guilty of it.)

      I wonder what Natalie Wood would do if she were still alive today. Would she step up and say something? She’d be 79 now. I personally think she’d keep quiet. Her generation do have this ability to just shut up and deal with it and get on with their life. It’s a strength as well as a weakness. But I do think they are just as damaged as the ones who speak up, if not more so.

  9. Thanks for this, Marjorie 🙂 Her death having ‘a shivery feel of the finger of fate given what her mother put her through early in life,’ is very much right on point, pardon the pun.

    Natalie’s mother, Maria Zakharenko, was absolutely sadistic in her maternal coldness. When Natalie came home one evening at the age of about 16, she told her mother she had been brutally raped (twice) and beaten by a very famous leading actor (who is still alive today) who had coaxed the naive Natalie into his room to read a film script he thought she would be good for. Her mother couldn’t have given a toss. She was too starry-eyed that the man who violated her daughter was this amazing screen-idol. If there is such a thing as a soul I really hope Natalie found peace and that there is no karmic attachment to that brutal rogue of a parent!

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