Nathalie Wood – great beauty, tragic and traumatic life

 

Nathalie Wood’s name has emerged after the death of Kirk Douglas with stories of him raping her violently when she was sixteen. It was never proven and she didn’t report the fact that was raped by an ‘older actor’ for fear of hurting her career. But the allegations have never gone away.

She had the nightmare stage mother to end all nightmares who cruelly and relentlessly drove her through a scary life as a child star (see below). Nathalie eventually died in mysterious circumstances off a boat when her husband Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken were present. Questions have lingered but nothing has ever been proven in any direction.

Her synastry with Kirk Douglas was stark with his Saturn in Cancer and Neptune in Leo conjunct her 10th house Sun, Mars, Pluto so he would tune into her deepest fears and be attracted by her vulnerability. His Pluto opposition Mars would also home in on her 5th house Jupiter in Pisces.

TheIR relationship chart had an affectionate, spark-of-attraction composite Sun conjunct Venus which was conjunct Mars, but there was also a brutally dominating composite Mars square Pluto – so not a match of equals for sure. He’d have been 38 at the time.

 

From previous post: FEBRUARY 1 2018.

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.

There was little happening on her Solar Arc directions vis a vis her natal chart – though transitting Saturn was conjunct her Solar Arc Venus and tr Pluto conjunct her Secondary progressed Venus, so a highly emotional and not easy 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 very 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 directly at the time of her death from transits – 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 are health or otherwise related. But he looks devastated this month and on and off to late 2019 with tr Pluto conjunct his Mars/Saturn midpoint. That coincides with 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.

 

9 thoughts on “Nathalie Wood – great beauty, tragic and traumatic life

  1. Thanks, Solaia. That kind of makes sense. More so when she won her Oscar. She seemed to storm the stage with such bullish, arrogant energy, rip the award from the person’s hand like they were nobody, and seemed like she was manically high. And it seemed more than shock. I suppose a situation like this could also trigger a surge of mania. I do know someone who is bipolar and they are an absolute nightmare as they use others for the most part when they are surfing on their mania. And have the worst black depressions. I think I read narcissism is closely tied up with the bipolar disorder too. It’s a shame that a chemical brain imbalance can override someone’s real personality to devastating degrees.

  2. I know it’s a big ask, Marjorie, but is it possible to look into the chart of 1940s actress, Jean Spengler? Apparently, there has been talk for decades of Kirk being involved in her 1949 disappearence. I wonder if there are similar dangerous crossover aspects to Natalie’s?

    Kirk even admitted in his own autobiography that he loved rough sex, loved beating, dominating and humiliating women, and had probably gone way too far a number of times. He sounds like a horrific monster. I wished to God he paid for his crimes. He embodies the cesspool of the Hollywood male elite. They could probably literally get away with murder of they are bankable stars.

    Dennis Hopper was another one who tried to expose Kirk as Natalie’s rapist. Natalie’s sister, Lana, said she would reveal the man’s name when he died. Kirk has outlived all the actors of his generation so maybe the reveal is coming soon. Though it’s all much too late but he needs to be remember for what he really was. A violent predator.

      • Ooh wow, that sounds interesting. Poor souls…

        Doesn’t Catherine Zeta feel obligated to address these rumours…as a woman? As an actress?

        • No doubt. She looked like she adored Kirk actually. I get quite a dark vibe from her but it may be projections (I loved her at first and like most found her from The Darling Buds of May, which is a classic! I was disappointed to find she’s quite a right little madam, actually.) But what with Kirk having a dark sexual history. Husband Michael, the same with sexual addiction, but to what degree? Maybe no where as bad as his father. But she was also involved with John Leslie too, who has had sexual addiction (and cleared from rape allegations). So, just by being caught up in that ‘coincidental’ pattern it makes me wonder about her, to have had 3 men close to her with similar instincts of varying degrees. Maybe’s she’s drawn to men like that.

          • Catharine Zeta-Jones has a type II bipolar disorder she has seeked treatment for. Type II involves at least one full blown manic episode, but typically, there are more than one before people affected or their loved ones seek help, and it typically happens only after sufferes have messed up the their and loved ones lives, because mania itself apparently feels great, makes one think they are invincible. I think many of CZJ’s more “extravagant” behaviors may rise to this.

            Also, I’ve seen at least one person who is aware of their condition and in therapy often doubt their perception on people and events, because they’ve made horrible calls in the past.

          • Catherine ZJ has Sun conjunct Uranus in Libra, opposition Chiron, square Mars in Capricorn. Kirk Douglas’ Mars-Pluto opposition connects with this pretty exactly. Michael Douglas has Sun conjunct Neptune in Libra, square Moon in Capricorn, which is also aligned with these patterns in his father’s and wife’s charts. Family patterns…..

  3. Thank you Marjorie. It’s an odd coincidence (or not) that a new HBO documentary “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” will soon be released. It was made with the co-operation of family and friends and shows much of her life, not just the dark and tragic strands. Christopher Walken (31 March 1943), who was present on the night Natalie drowned, declined to take part however. He has never spoken about that night, other than to the police. They were close friends, and its very likely that he knows the truth about Natalie’s rape – along with her husband, Robert Wagner. Walken’s Jupiter in Cancer connects with that dramatic Sun,Mars,Pluto in Natalie’s chart. He may, or may not, also know the truth about the night she drowned.

    Natalie’s terrible mother Maria knew about the rape, and was apparently instrumental in covering it up to avoid damage to Natalie’s career and reputation. It’s almost impossible to be objective about this woman, but I suppose in the context of the time her decision wasn’t unusual. This is how people got away with so much then, and onwards into more recent times. Hollywood is full of such scandals, right from the beginning of the film industry. It’s interesting to see that the chart for Los Angeles, 4th April 1850, is ablaze with six planets in Aries including Venus conjunct Uranus and Pluto. There is a cruel Mars in Cancer square Saturn in Aries too. The LA Pluto (28) and Uranus (25) square Natalie’s Sun,Mars, and Pluto….

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