Astrological Musings

Astrological Musings

Heath Ledger: A posthumous genius

posted by Lynn Hayes | 8:51am Friday July 25, 2008

It adds fuel to the tragedy of Heath Ledger’s early demise that his work in the latest Batman film is garnering reviews that call him the greatest actor of his generation.  Although his death was considered accidental, the quantity of (legal) pharmaceutical drugs in his body indicate a troubled soul desperate for relief.

 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.

At the time the Batman movie came out last week, transiting Jupiter (abundance and opportunity) was making an exact trine to the North Node in Ledger’s chart.  The North Node is a signpost that points to our destiny, and a transit of Jupiter to the North Node often brings about a significant event that aligns us with a successful traverse of our life’s path.  This is a fitting conclusion to the short life of Heath Ledger. 



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Comments read comments(11)
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Isobel

posted July 25, 2008 at 1:41 pm


My brother died suddenly around the same time as Heath. He wasn’t able to express his emotions either and was very unhappy. He was sagittarius, but became very inward looking and depressed, but I know he is happy now. New Years 2008: My Little Brother Chris Dropped Dead – a moving testimony to a brother with Asperger’s Syndrome, by Zen Peace at amazon. If you know someone who is socially naive, shy and intelligent then read this book.



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Adele Aldridge

posted July 25, 2008 at 7:44 pm


Firstly I have to say I enjoyed this posting so much and to note that you haven’t “Dumbed down.” This discussion about Heath was brilliant. Is it “true?” God knows! But what you write is as true as anyone else’s assessment of the matter whether that be from the field of psychology, medicine, genetics – what ever. Show me a better assessment of what you write here.
I have a personal question, if that is allowable: What significance is there to a transit that occurs when the north node conjuncts the natal north node?



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Yvonne

posted July 26, 2008 at 3:10 pm


Dear Lynn,
Your recent Astrlogical Musings about Heath Ledger were very
interesting and probably right on. Regarding his obvious suicide,
you make a point of his having 5 planets in water signs overpowering
his fire Sun in Aries. Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide, also had
about 9 placements in water signs. Do you think too much water in a
man’s horoscope tends to disimpower him, possibly leading to suicide?
(See “Aspects” book by Robin Antepara published by Llewellyn Worldwide)
Hope you comment. from Yvonne



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Lynn Hayes

posted July 26, 2008 at 5:50 pm


Adele – you spoke, I listened. :) No dumbing down!!
You ask:

I have a personal question, if that is allowable: What significance is there to a transit that occurs when the north node conjuncts the natal north node?:

We call this the “nodal return” and often it coincides with an event in our life that is significant for our future destiny. From a practical perspective this isn’t often an event that we can put our finger on, but when we look back later we say aha! That was the turning point.



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Lynn Hayes

posted July 26, 2008 at 5:58 pm


Yvonne – another great question:
“you make a point of his having 5 planets in water signs overpowering his fire Sun in Aries. Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide, also had about 9 placements in water signs. Do you think too much water in a man’s horoscope tends to disimpower him, possibly leading to suicide?”
I don’t think that a prevalence of water in a man’s chart necessarily always empowers him, but it doesn’t make it any easier. What I’ve seen is that a man with a watery chart usually experiences his emotions through the women in his life: wife, daughter, etc. Often I see these men after a divorce or after being widowed and they are left not knowing what to do with their emotions.
Kurt Cobain had a very difficult chart, with the Uranus/Pluto conjunction exactly on his ascendant opposite a triple conjunction of Chiron, Venus and Saturn on the descendant, all in Pisces. That didn’t help him, unfortunately.



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Jill

posted July 26, 2008 at 10:40 pm


I’m not convinced this was a suicide, and I’m certainly not convinced that Ledger was “the greatest actor of his generation.” Certainly he did some very fine work, The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain being the best examples. But if you think he was always a great actor, go rent Casanova — a perfect example of what happens when a cute guy actor is allowed by his director to get by on his looks. Ledger was loaded with talent, but he needed the right director to bring it out. Ang Lee is one of those directors. So is Christopher Nolan.
I think it’s dangerous to perpetuate this suicide meme. Ledger apparently alluded to having to go to some pretty dark places to do this role, but he also said it was the most fun he’d ever had. Still, I’m not sure you can go to those dark places without suffering the kind of insomnia, nightmares, and depression that apparently haunted him in his last days. His death is more an indictment of a culture in which people go to doctors who write prescriptions for everything instead of treating the underlying cause. Like Christopher Bowman, who died around the same time similarly from a mix of prescription drugs, this is more a case of manslaughter-by-prescription than a suicide.



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Lynn Hayes

posted July 27, 2008 at 7:23 am


I believe I wrote that he was called the greatest actor of his generation, not that I thought he was. And I have to dispute your point about his death being an indictment of our prescription drug culture, although you know that I am with you on this indictment in other areas. But Heath Ledger’s drug use was well-known for several years before he took the role of the Joker, and he had been spiraling into a depression for quite a while before he actually swallowed the pills. But this raises an interesting question: at what point does a suicide becomes a suicide? If someone is told that if they keep drinking they will die, and they keep drinking, when they die is that a suicide even though no trigger was pulled? In the case of Heath Ledger, is it an accidental death just because the drugs were prescription drugs and not an overdose of heroin? The death wish is the same, and that is the subject of the psychological analysis.



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Your Name

posted January 14, 2009 at 8:58 am


I can’t stop watching Heath in The Dark Knight – Pure, I mean pure Brilliance!!! Genius? – good Question, but, it doesn’t get better than this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… his performance – I think… it’s GREAT!!!!!! There was … after this… nothing left for him to do… he’s not tied to his family – as spirit – he is his own being – as all ov us are … watch this movie again – could he have achieved more – acting-wise …. NAAAAAAAA!!!! I’m TOTALLY Sold!



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Neilhoven

posted January 14, 2009 at 9:05 am


If I may, respecfully,…
We can ‘read’ Numbers, Stars and all else… but if you really want to ‘know’ you need to learn to ‘read’ life patterns. This type of reading happens at the Soul level … this said, Heath, I know, was here to demonstrate something … can you work out what it was?



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additional comment

posted February 1, 2009 at 4:31 pm


I am a student of astrology and I think that having 4 of his 5 personal planets (moon, mercury, venus & mars) in water signs made him more susceptible to the negative effects of drug addiction and dependency. And, it is all the water in his chart that made him such a great actor. His empathy, compassion and intuitiveness made him able to step into his roles so easily. I was stunned when I saw the news that he had been found dead. Reading the “stars” and “numbers” cannot tell us the answers but they are guide posts. It can help up to understand that life is cyclical, we will go through highs and lows. And, speaking of numbers, his birth day was a 4, 4′s are known to be hard workers — which can sometimes be over done to the detriment of one’s health. Also, his north node was in Virgo, another sign that can go over board in the work arena. He needed a break from work and some time to center himself. He also needed to get off the medication.
He will be missed.



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Julien Peter Benney

posted January 3, 2011 at 9:52 am


It is always interesting to note really troubled souls with so many planets in water signs. I had always noted Heath ledger’s huge water sign stellium even before it was discovered that he was a double Aries. however, if one looks through astrology, it is by no means certain that this extra fire is going to help someone with a lot of water in their chart to avoid the problems of addiction.
Aries, though extremely demonstrative and extroverted, has such an abundance of energy that it can easily create a workaholic that is drained by lack of rest and relaxation. This is especially true with only Uranus in a fixed sign in Heath’s chart. One can compare both Ledger and Cobain with nineteenth-century poet Charles Baudelaire, who had absolutely nothing in fixed signs, and despite five planets in Aries he suffered from the problems of social ostracision that one might associate with his Cancer Moon and Pisces Mercury. His poetry was – even taking into account the time – as dark and violent as Cobain’s music, if much more cathartically so rather than with hints of celebrating it. Baudelaire was also a heavy opium user, which probably accounts for his relatively short life.



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