This is one I wasn’t expecting. Heath Ledger was found dead today in an apartment in the Soho district of Manhattan with an empty bottle of prescription sleeping pills by his bedside and pills strewn over his body and the bed.
Heath Ledger was determined to win fame through serious acting and not by capitalizing on his “pretty boy” looks. He won an Oscar nomination for his breakthrough performance in Brokeback Mountain, and won critical acclaim in his character performances in other films. He dated Naomi Watts for two years before apparently settling down with Michelle Willliams when their baby was born in 2005. They ended their relationship in 2007 and were often photographed by paparazzi in various arguments.
Although Ledger had a fiery Aries Sun, his astrological chart shows that he was an extremely sensitive individual. His Moon (emotional needs and nature) was in the sign of Cancer which rules emotions and moods. Mars (drive and aggressive instinct) was in Pisces where it tends to blur our desires and make it difficult to achieve them, and so was Mercury (mental functions) which shows an extremely empathic and delicate individual. Both of these planets have been stressed by cycles Pluto over the past two years, creating upheaval in his life and likely dredging up (Pluto rules the Underworld of the psyche) old emotions and thoughts that were problematic.
Venus in Ledger’s chart was also in Pisces, showing that he was a romantic and yearned for relationships (Venus) where he could connect totally with his mate. However, Venus was opposite the planet Saturn which can be cold and critical, indicating that he never felt that he was good enough for his partners. Saturn in his chart was retrograde which intensifies the effect even more and suggests that he was most critical of himself.
It is difficult for someone with a fiery Aries Sun to have so many planets in water signs in the birthchart since that fire is not able to be easily expressed. This sometimes leads to depression and an inner rage.
Ledger was in the middle of his Saturn Return at the time of his death. This is an event that happens to all of us when we’re about 28-30, and Saturn in the sky returns to the same degree as Saturn in our birth chart. This is a time of either great stress or great achievements, and sometimes both. For someone who is innately self-critical, the Saturn Return can be a very difficult time when all of our dreams and longings are blocked by the Lord of Time (Saturn). Saturn can be a severe taskmaster, and these two years are best spent in hard work and struggle for achievement which can then be rewarded. Some people experience their greatest success during these periods. But many others instead struggle against the Taskmaster’s pressure to grow up and face the next stage of our life, and for these people the Saturn Return is difficult indeed.
Because Ledger’s Venus made a tight aspect to Saturn in his chart, Saturn affected Venus during the Saturn Return which culminated in November of 2007 (he probably started feeling it in October as Saturn approached his Venus and natal Saturn), coinciding with the period immediately following his breakup with Michelle Williams in September of last year.
At the time of his death, transiting Mars made a square to Mars in his chart, perhaps the irritating influence that pushed him over the edge. It’s such a tragedy when someone so young takes their own life, never realizing that time is the greatest healer.
Updated 1/23: Initial news reports quoted police as saying that pills were “strewn about the apartment,” but later reports denied this. As of 8:am this morning, Ledger was reported to have been taking three types of sleeping pills including Ambien and a few reports suggest that he had pneumonia which would have interacted with the drug. The autopsy will be done today and then it will become clearer.
posted January 22, 2008 at 8:46 pm
We aren’t sure yet it was suicide it could have been an accidental overdose. I am leaning towards accident myself only because there wasn’t any info about him being violent, depressed or making bad judgments. A friend said he said he took Ambien. it may have badly interacted with pills and at it may have been the wrong time to take the pills
posted January 22, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Lynn- So glad you were on this ASAP. I loved him as an actor,and a person. Looking back- the sweetness in him was probably all those Pisces planets. He was an old soul. Everything happens for a reason. It was time for him to go. The world is going to be a very tough place in the upcoming years. I will miss him. I feel so sad.
Lorele
posted January 23, 2008 at 7:12 am
why do you assume he “took his own life”? There hasn’t been an autopsy yet to see what the cause of death was, and the news reports say at this point there is no indication of suicide. It may have been a tragic accident
posted January 23, 2008 at 8:01 am
It may have been a tragic accident
This may be true, but in yesterday’s reports police said they found pills strewn on his body and on his bed, which is not a good sign. In news today the police commissioner said that pills were NOT scattered about, but usually the first reports are the most accurate
posted January 23, 2008 at 8:14 am
As soon as I heard I asked the Goddess to make his return to her swift, that he doesn’t linger. Its very sad, but this had to be the plan, somewhere it is written. I send blessings to his soul and to his family. He made it through his journey, no matter how tragic the ending
posted January 23, 2008 at 12:05 pm
You know, I have to wonder what on earth these doctors are thinking. Doesn’t anyone monitor medications anymore, or do these doctors just write prescriptions? And don’t people have any sense about the medications they take? First you have Vicodin in the death room of Christopher Bowman — a known substance abuser; and now three kinds of sleeping pills in Heath Ledger’s room — a guy who was reportedly suffering from pneumonia.
One thing I’ve realized after paying attention to two of these in the last two or so weeks (somehow the death of Brad Renfro had a much shorter half-life; I’m still getting traffic from Google searches on Bowman) is to not believe any early reports. These high-profile deaths have a habit of luring all kinds of wackjobs out of the woodwork claiming to be “friends”, “girlfriends”, etc
posted January 23, 2008 at 12:13 pm
To answer someone’s question – no, I don’t believe medications are at all vetted properly these days. I won’t bore anyone with the recitation of people I know who are prescribed Percocet, sleeping pills, Vicodin, etc. for minor issues. Barbara Brennan says that the right medicine at the right time and at the right dose has an alchemical effect on the body for transformation (positive, that is), and that’s true … but powerful medicines are being handed out when simpler & safer alternatives would probably suffice very well
posted January 23, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Its horrifying that something like sleeping pills could do something like this. Yet another reason why I believe in holistic medicine. If he wasn’t sleeping they should’ve gotten to the root of the problem… was it his role as Joker which he described as twisted and draining… was it the split from his partner, was it the Saturn return… maybe it was all of these things at once. Maybe instead of pills they could’ve gone the route of therapy, meditation, a vacation, yoga, acupunture, etc etc… too little too late I guess
posted January 23, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Sometimes the route of healing the underlying wounds is too painful and can take years, and not everyone has the stomach for it
posted January 23, 2008 at 6:25 pm
This one shocked me too. I so enjoyed watching him dive into his roles. It seems the sensitivity that allows actors/actresses to become their roles also can be difficult for them to live with. Did you note Uranus was exactly conjunct his South Node in Pisces also
posted January 23, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Several articles said he recently was using Ambien. That is one nasty legal drug. I know someone who was prescribed it who would take it, get up in the night stumble around the house trying to find the bathroom and then his wife would have to drag him back to bed when he would fall and could not get back up on his own. In the morning he wouldn’t remember what happened and want to know why he was covered in bruises. Some people do NOT react well at all to Ambien. See
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/
0…agewanted=print
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/
0…agewanted=print
Some people take ambien and sleep walk, sleep drive, and sleep eat. Or maybe Heath took more than ambien desperate for sleep and the combo was too much for his pneumonia