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Perky
Blonde's Dark Shadows
In
an unsentimental era, actress Meg Ryan is the only Hollywood actress who
fans and industry folks alike can call "America's Sweetheart" with a straight
face. In 1989, she made a permanent mark on moviegoer's psyches in the
romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, co-starring Billy
Crystal. She's been called "the new Mary Pickford" by some, and "the new
Judy Holiday" by others. She has gone on to huge success in genteel films
such as Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail
and Hanging Up. But this summer, it's the breakup of her
ten year marriage to actor Dennis Quaid that's making all the headlines.
 Like
most Scorpios, Meg Ryan presents a charismatic front to the public, but
rarely, if ever, reveals the depth, darkness and complexity of her true
nature. Ryan has four planets (Sun, Mercury, Venus and Neptune) in Scorpio,
and her Moon is in Aries. Both of these signs are co-ruled by Mars, the
planet of aggression and fiery passion. It's fascinating that Ryan found
her niche playing endearing and gentle roles in sentimental romantic movies.
Many
astrologers are strongly influenced by pioneering pyschologist Carl Jung,
who wrote extensively about the shadow side of human nature. In astrology,
the shadow can often be found in our opposite signs. So, for instance,
Ryan's shadow signs would be Taurus (opposite her Scorpio Sun) and Libra (opposite
her Aries Moon), the two signs in the zodiac that are ruled by
gentle, sentimental, romantic Venus. Ryan may be a tough Scorpio with
a fiery Aries Moon, but it's the shadow (less easily expressed) part of
her psyche that she's put up there on the screen for America to fall in
love with.
When
Ryan has taken roles in darker (more Scorpionic) films, like When
A Man Loves A Woman, in which she played an alcoholic wife,
or Hurlyburly, in which she played a juicy, drugged up,
slutty role, the fans didn't pay to see her and the critics snubbed or
panned her. The public has kept her firmly pigeon holed. Ryan has also
had her greatest film successes when she's co-starred with water sign
actors Tom Hanks
(a Cancer) and Billy Crystal (a Pisces) who bring out her gentle side
even more.
A
Melancholy Ending for Meg and Dennis
Ryan
herself fell for fiery actor Dennis Quaid, who made a name for himself
in hot roles in The Big Easy and Great Balls of Fire!
In recovery for substance abuse for many years, Quaid has had a less consistent
movie career, but his marriage to Ryan has seemed picture perfect to the
public.
One
of the elements that may have drawn them together
is the fact that Quaid's Sun in Aries is conjunct (in the same sign, at
close degree) Ryan's Moon. This Sun-Moon connection is often present in
successful long-term relationships. It shows that the Sun person expresses
the qualities of the shared sign on the outside while the Moon person
feels those qualites on the inside.
The
difficulty in the Quaid-Ryan union may lie in the fact that Quaid's Saturn (the
heavy planet of structure, discipline and responsibility) sits right
on top of three of Ryan's Scorpio planets, including Mercury (communication)
and Venus (love). These aspects put Quaid in the more parental role in
the relationship, and may have made Ryan feel constricted and misunderstood.
Also,
both Quaid and Ryan have Mars (where their passions lie) in Sagittarius.
Sag is the sign of the great adventurer, and often Sag planets don't "mature"
until later in life. Perhaps the two followed their passions when they
wed, but just changed and grew in different directions during their married
years.
New
Love Affair
Rumors
are flying that Ryan left Quaid for Gladiator star, Australian
Russell Crowe,
with whom Ryan just shot Proof of Life. Ryan’s and Crowe’s
charts make significant aspects to each other. Crowe is another Aries,
whose Sun is conjunct Ryan's Moon. Crowe's Venus (the archetypally "feminine"
planet of love) in Gemini also makes a very close opposition to Ryan's
Mars (the archetypally male planet of passion) in Sagittarius. This gives
them a definite yin-yang chemistry. No doubt the attraction is there in
full force.
Crowe's
Jupiter (planet of good fortune and freedom) sits on Ryan's Moon, making
him lucky for her in an emotional way. Crowe's Saturn is also in close
opposition to Ryan's Uranus (planet of progress and often abrupt change).
All this adds up to Crowe being some sort of positive catalyst in Ryan's
life. She needed more freedom—a major change in the name of progress—and
Crowe played some sort of emotional part in her process.
Symbolic
Death and Rebirth for a Scorpio
Major
change in a person's life is associated with the planet Pluto (Scorpio's
primary co-ruling planet). This past spring, around the time that rumors
of Ryan's impending divorce began to surface, she was just recovering
from the shock of five planets in her opposite (shadow) sign Taurus coming
together in an extremely rare conjunction. These planets all had a high-pressure
triggering effect on Ryan's four Scorpio planets. If ever there was a
time for her to decide whether to take the Scorpio route of throwing herself
into the volcano of the unknown in the hopes of coming out a truer, realer
version of herself, this spring was the time. Right now, she's still in
the midst of the chaos of change. When the intensity of this period of
her life dies down, here's what we can expect from America's sweetheart:
Her film roles and persona in Hollywood may toughen up and more closely
match the inner complexity of this very intense, passion-driven woman.
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