Actress Natasha Richardson died in New York City on March 18, after a head injury suffered in a fall during a ski lesson on March 16. She was born on May 11, 1963 in London (1). The birth chart has the Sun at 20°15’ Taurus, squared by Mars at 19°29’ Leo and Saturn at 22°41’ Aquarius. (Mars and Saturn are opposite one another and both square the Sun.)
The February 9 solar eclipse at 20°52’ Leo was conjunct her natal Mars, which, therefore, triggered the natal pattern.
The Combination of Stellar Influences, Reinhold Ebertin’s classic text on midpoints, calls the Mars/Saturn midpoint, “the tendency to get hurt or injured.” (2) In aspect to the Sun, representing the life force, this can suggest an injury that is life threatening.
As the last planet visible to the naked eye, Saturn represents the terminus, the boundaries of life as we can see it. In 1986, Saturn turned retrograde by progression; at her death, progressed Saturn was exactly back to the natal degree, i.e., 22°41’ Aquarius.
A further indicator of an accident or injury is seen by transiting Mars at 1°14’ Pisces, opposite natal Uranus (1°09’ Virgo). The progressed Midheaven had also come to 1°03’ Virgo, conjunct natal Uranus. Both points were therefore opposed by transiting Mars.
Venus, natally placed in Aries, rules the natal first and eighth houses. If the birth time is correct, the Ascendant is 13° Libra. At the time of the accident, transiting Venus was retrograde and conjunct the Descendant at 13° Aries. As a sad tribute to both Aries’s insouciance and life’s fragility, the actress was reported to have been laughing and talking after the fall. It was only after several hours that her injuries became apparent and her condition deteriorated with shocking speed. It was subsequently determined that the “blunt blow had caused internal bleeding which formed a clot (an epidural haematoma) which in turn placed pressure on her brain.” (3)
Tributes from friends spoke of her “luminosity,” “radiance” and “generosity,” all qualities astrologers can readily imagine when seeing the beautiful fire trine in her birth chart: Moon (23° Sagittarius) trine Venus (21° Aries) and Mars (19° Leo).
Sadly, the lights on Broadway were dimmed the night after she died for a minute as a tribute to her passing. Natasha Richardson’s progressed Ascendant had come to natal Neptune at 14° Scorpio. One feels that her memory will live long. May she rest in peace.
Notes:
(1) www.astro.com/astro-databank
(2) Reinhold Ebertin, The Combination of Stellar Influences, Wurttemberg, Germany: Ebertin-Verlag, 1972, p. 156.