Actress and Singer Brittany Murphy Dies at 32: The Astrology of her Death

Most of us were shocked to hear that Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead this morning at the young age of 32 and I was very saddened to hear  it. Her ability to play intense roles and yet light her whole aura up when she smiled was remarkable. While I am no expert on the astrology of death, I took at look at the aspects hitting her chart right now and did find some things that make me speculate about its cause (cardiac arrest - but why?).

This is Brittany's natal chart (alas, without a birth time) in the center, and the transit and progressed wheels have been set for around 8 am pacific time, when the 911 call was made. Several things stand out in this chart immediately: The moon in Aquarius was approaching a sextile to her natal Neptune and was nearly exact, as well as having just passed a square to Uranus. Transiting Mars is about a degree away from a square to her Sun, something that is made more profound by the fact that Mars stations to go retrograde today and its exact time of stand still was around 5:30 am today, not long before the 911 call. Saturn is also approaching a square to her Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto opposing it, but both have been happening for more than a few weeks now. An additional fascinating thing about this chart that is not readily apparent from the image is that her progressed Mars also stationed retrograde, just 10 days ago. This is a rare event, and may not signify anything much on its own, but coupled with transiting Mars doing the same thing makes one wonder. It is unfortunate that we do not know her time of birth, because I wouldn't be surprised to see stressful aspects to her ascendant.

Mars has a great deal to say about how one defends their boundaries, processes anger, and acts on their motivations, but it's significance in the physical realm can have a lot to do with our physical energy and our robustness. According to Eileen Nauman, an astrologer who is an expert at medical astrology, squares between Mars and the Sun can signify issues with the heart, such as heart palpitations, high blood pressure, or anything that causes stress (Mars) to the heart (Sun).* Brittany does not have this aspect natally, so it is less likely that heart trouble was a chronic condition but something that was triggered as transiting Mars' strength squared the Sun, and was then amplified by it standing still (stationing). Was something started 10 days ago (or earlier in the build up) as her progressed Mars also stationed to go retrograde, while squaring her own Moon?

EDIT: Today People.com reported an interview with Brittany's husband Simon and he did indicate that she had a heart condition:

"He added that his wife of three years did suffer from a heart murmur (mitral valve prolapse), which can cause fatigue, dizziness and irregular heartbeats – but is generally not life threatening. Murphy didn't require medication to treat it, says Monjack."

So perhaps the square from Chiron to her natal Mars in Leo is another factor here. I'm not too sure what to make of the sextile from the Moon to Neptune, but I mention it because of the timing of the aspect and Brittany's death, as well as the fact that Neptune is the most basic rulership of drugs and since it's not common for a 32 year old to be vulnerable to going into cardiac arrest, one can speculate if drugs were involved, prescription or otherwise. I wonder if this speaks merely (or additionally) to the mystery surrounding her death, so it will be interesting to note what they find that caused her to enter cardiac arrest.

So sorry to hear the passing of this actress.

*From Eileen Nauman's book Medical Astrology, third edition.

Comments

[Amy Herring]

Hi Amanda,

Thanks for commenting! I for one would be interested to note how these similar aspects have played out in your medical life, but ONLY if you wish to share it in this public space.

I also feel it very important to mention in instances like these that I do not believe in using astrology in the absolute predictive sense, because I've seen far too many instances where people simply don't live out the fate that someone might say is likely, so I would hope that going forward in your studies you can know that this doesn't mean that everyone with Saturn at 29 degrees, etc. is going to die like Brittany. Astrology is a study of potentials and there are myriads, so instead of predicting outcomes, it's most useful at seeing things like weak or strong spots and potentials for growth so that one can use one's free will to minimize or maximize their inherent traits. :)

[Amanda]

Thanks for the insightful article. I was born 4 days before Brittany (Nov 6, 1977) and I took her untimely death particularly hard. I also have the same Mars Leo and 29 Saturn Leo and have spent much time trying to figure out what it is my 29 Saturn means. Not that my story is of much interest here but we did seem to have some similarities. I've never really delved into medical astrology but I may look into it now.

My heart goes out to Brittany's family and friends and I hope that she finds peace in her resting.

[Amy]

Valerie - thank you so much for your comments! It's a very interesting idea about 'too much life force at once' and the idea of burning out. Obviously not everyone with that much Scorpio will, but I get what you mean. Thank you!

[Valerie]

My comment from LinkedIn:

Fascinating! A very in-depth article despite the lack of correct birth time. Thank you for providing the combined charts. Leo is the sign that rules the heart, and with Mars there in square to Scorpio Moon, that could mean a tendency to inflammation or acute heart trouble. The Moon also has a bearing on health especially for women, and she had all that other Scorpio stuff, so she must have been a very intense, driven sort of person. Add to that the Mars return AND progressed Mars, you have some pretty heavy duty Mars action going on. It will be interesting to see what other information is revealed about her diet, lifestyle, rumored anorexia, etc. A chart like this may portend a shorter life- too much life force all at once, an entity who might burn out too quick.

I too was very sad to hear this news. Really cute little actress, I adored her in Clueless and Uptown Girls.

Good job with the article, and a very nice website you got there! :)

ps- I agree with Eileen's input about Saturn. Saturn has a bearing on what parents bring to the life, and 29 degrees is the anarectic degree- any planets or cusps that fall there are extremely important, very karmic. Some feel that is the last chance degree to work out a certain kind of karma. If she could only have known, an early cardio check would have helped! But sometimes we can't know, and events take the course planned by the soul. :)

[Eileen Nauman]

Amy, when you have Mars in Leo it usually means a lot of extra stress on the heart. That, in and of itself may or may not be a concern in a person's chart. BUT, the tail that wags this dog is 29 degrees Saturn in Leo. So, if you have Sat 29 Leo and you add Mars in Leo to the mix...then you definitely can have heart related problems sooner or later. I'll bet there's heart problems in her close family, too....genetics here with Saturn involved--the family genes get passed on powerfully when Saturn is on the Asc. or MC (10 degree orb) OR, at 29 degrees of some sign. And all you have to do is look at the zodiac sign to know what part of the body is implicated. By the way, your Neptune connection could well be a mixing of OTC and/or prescription drugs, too. I do agree with your statement about that :-)

[Amy Herring]

Thank you Eileen! You mentioned Mars at 5 Leo as a reason you'd check into family history, why is that significant or is it because it's in Leo with Saturn already in that same sign in a dangerous degree?

[Eileen Nauman]

Amy, it's a great blog. I think you honed in on the right stuff. From a medical astrologer's perspective, if she had been my client, I'd have INSISTED on heart stress test for her the first time she walked into my practice. Why? Because her Saturn is 29 Leo. Anything at 29 degrees is just begging to express itself. It's the most deadly degree in medical astrology. The fact Saturn was in Leo shows the potential for clogged arteries surrounding the heart. Or blood clot/cholesterol, etc. Saturn rules blockages. All you have to do is ask: what is it potentially going to block? The answer is Leo, the heart/cardiovascular system. Mars is also at 5Leo and this would really underline for me to get her medical history (parent or grandparent dying of heart related condition) and push my buttons even MORE to get her to a cardiologist. Mars is square Venus and this can again, show blood related ailments that involve the heart. Mars also (potentially because we don't have her time of birth) squares the Moon...which would put a high emotional drama around her at the time of her death. The progressed Mars going R on top of the T. Mars going R would be screaming red flags for me to get her to see a cardiologist immediately. You did great work!"

[Deb]

There are rumors floating around which suggest that Murphy may have been suffering from an eating disorder based on her having appeared very, very thin in recent televised appearances.

This is very, very sad. My heart goes out to her loved ones...