Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder's most famous part is that of Lois Lane in Superman, and she did make a feisty reporter, she played the role well. I was surprised to read that she had a mental breakdown in 1996. I was curious to see her natal chart and transits for that period in her life. Margot was born under the sign of Libra and she is conscious of imbalance and has an innate sense of justice. Libra can be accused of continually adjusting their behavior to create a smooth and harmonious environment. In my earlier studies I used to have preconceptions about Libra being a "weak" sign, the Sun represents individuality and it falls in the sign of Libra. For a long time I thought that perhaps these natives were weak in personality and individuality.

However, I came across quite a few women with their Sun in Libra who are just the opposite of what I thought they would be like (according to old textbooks). A while back I looked at Sigourney Weaver's chart and in a lot of her roles she has played high powered women. In Working Girl she played the uncompromising Boss. In Alien she played a skinhead taking the lead role and pulled it off with style. Sigourney is a Libra, but has Mars conjunct Pluto in the leadership sign of Leo. This combination is far more self-expressive and aggressive with powerful urges to win. Margaret Thatcher was born under the sign of Libra. And funnily enough, she too has a Mars-Pluto contact in her chart. Libra is a masculine air sign and is an intellectual, some individual's born under the sign do seem to exude the sweet, light and charming aspects of Libra. Other women born under this sign express the masculine side of their personality with ease and grace. This side of Libra is explained by Liz Greene in  Astrology for Lovers and it concerns the polarity of Libra:

"It's a curious thing but many Librian men have an appreciation of the feminine side of life - beauty and culture, the arts, harmony, relationship. Not that they are effeminate. In fact, this touch of the artist makes them devilishly attractive to women. But it's as though the need for balance means, amongst other things, they're trying to balance the sexes as well, within themselves. That's where Tiresias comes in-he tries both. Some Librians, of course, do this literally. More often it's in a psychological way-an interest in women and the feminine things in life. And many Librian women possess a fine intellect, the gift of strategy, of statesmanship, of organization. Margaret Thatcher, with the Sun in Libra, is an excellent example. Her manner is completely soft spoken and subtle. But her mind can function with as much strength and clarity as society has traditionally thought only men's minds could. Whether she's hated or loved, whatever one's political persuasions, this aspect of Libra is evident in her character. Many Librian women have this gift of clear sight and logic and intellect, and need some sphere of life where they can put their gifts to use beyond the sphere of the home and family".

My brother's wife has Sun in Libra and she is exactly like this; on the one hand she is very concerned with her appearance and will buy every beauty product on the market. However, she does have an extremely sharp intellect and has passed business degrees. His wife works in negotiation (Libra) more examples here - Sun in Libra women.

Mars in trouble

The only planet in any real difficulty in Margo's horoscope is natal Mars in Sagittarius. The Archer conjuncts Chiron and squares Saturn in Virgo. A challenging and accidental configuration, that may explain the serious accident that she was involved in. The accident put a halt to her career causing serious financial problems. Sagittarius is known for it's accidental qualities and in traditional terms this is a malefic contact. Regarding mental health problems the star was diagnosed as a manic depressive; this difficult combination could explain her lack of motivation and depressive episodes. For manic depressives I would look to fire signs or planets severely stressed by Saturn or Pluto.

Meltdown Moment: In April 1996, the whisky-voiced actress, who hit it big as Superman's sweetie Lois Lane, suffered a manic-depressive episode while in L.A. and spent several days living on the streets, sharing a cardboard box with a homeless guy named Charlie. By the time police found her hiding in a stranger's back yard, she was dirty, dazed, missing her front dental bridge, and had hacked off her hair to escape detection from CIA agents and one of her ex-husbands (she was experiencing a wee bit of paranoia).


Dysfunctional Dialogue: "Mental illness is the last taboo," the actress told Barbara Walters shortly after her episode, admitting she had suffered from depression for decades. "It's the one that scares everyone to death, and I have to include myself in that until the last few months."


The Aftermath: According to Kidder, she's been able to keep her illness in check without drugs, instead relying on a combination of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. "For me, the solution was finally getting away from psychiatric drugs and actually healing my body so I wouldn't have the symptoms that are called mental illness,"

The Transits

The transits at the onset of her mental breakdown show Pluto in Sagittarius conjunct Mars. This sets off the Mars-Chiron-Saturn configuration. Pluto in it's morbid form represents paranoia and loss of control. A Mars-Pluto transit can show an episode of extreme violence, depression/powerful feelings of anger. Bottled up rage and the resultant depression erupted, and this brought the onslaught of a volcanic 'meltdown'.

Pluto seeks to unearth what we haven't sufficiently dealt with in the past, and takes us away from our civilised state. The planet often puts us into situations  were we need fight for our very survival. Pluto is the prime significator of anything that is about to 'blow' in the psyche. It symbolises a volcano erupting and releasing years of suppression. It could be compared to an act of purging, but it's not like a day at the spa! The Pluto experience allows us to let go of painful emotions. The process can be extremely cathartic, cleansing and releasing. Years of torment, shame, or secrets are released as the body/psyche clears itself. Hopefully, she has made progress since and has found some healing.