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|  | Meg Ryan in the Middle
by Jill Dearman
StarIQ.com Syndicate |
Perky Blonde's Dark Shadows
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. RyanÕs and CroweÕs 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 freedomÑa major change in the name of progressÑand 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.
This article was provided by the astrologically adept folks over at StarIQ.com, and was written by Jill Dearman. They have a very cool, FREE email list that will send you personalized astrological info every couple days... so go sign up! Need more LOVE-specific help? No problem... just order their helpful Venus Cycle special reports that will keep you appraised of your romantic potential. |
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