Astrology at Work: The Marriages of Debbie Reynolds

In astrology we associate the Seventh House with marriage. Often, when a person has more than one planet in the Seventh House, you’ll hear an astrologer say that the person is going have multiple marriages, one for each planet in the Seventh. In practice, of course, this doesn’t always work. We have people with lots of planets in the Seventh who have only married once (or not at all), and people who have nothing in the Seventh who have married several times.

However, every once in a while we get someone for whom this notion of multiple planets equals multiple marriages works perfectly. An example of this is the actress Debbie Reynolds.(Click on Debbie Reynolds to see her horoscope)

Reynolds has had a long and successful career as an actress and as performer, but her track record when it comes to choosing husbands is abysmal. She’s had three disastrous marriages. Of course, she has three astrological bodies, the Sun, Uranus and Mercury, in her Seventh House.

The Sun leads the way in Reynolds’ Seventh House. Appropriately enough, her first marriage was to a “star”, Eddie Fisher. At the time of their marriage in 1955, Fisher was a popular TV star and recording artists. As a couple they were dubbed, “America’s Sweethearts.” Then Fisher left Reynolds and their two children to pursue Elizabeth Taylor. Reynold’s heartbreak and humiliation was spread across the media.

Uranus comes next. In 1960, Reynolds married Harry Karl, a wealthy man somewhat older than Reynolds. It looked like Reynolds was going to be a trophy wife. But Uranus brings us surprises, and the surprise the Karl had for Reynolds was not at all pleasant. It turned out that he had a gambling addiction, and that he was not only gambling away his own fortune, he was also losing hers. By the time this marriage ended, Reynolds was financially ruined.

Reynolds’ spent the next ten years working hard to restore her solvency. Predictably she wasn’t interested in another marriage. But then she met Richard Hamlett and decided to try one more time.

Mercury is the third planet in Reynolds’ Seventh, and Mercury can be something of a trickster. At first Hamlett seemed to be the ideal husband, but then Reynolds learned that properties purchased with her money had somehow ended up in Hamlett’s name. After more financial improprieties were revealed, Reynolds filed for divorce, but the marriage left her bankrupt and profoundly disappointed.

That’s one way to look at the three marriages of Debbie Reynolds, but there is another way. We can see the three astrological bodies in her Seventh House as indicators of different psychological needs related to the issue of partnership.

The Sun in the Seventh tells us that being married was important to Reynolds’ self-image, and that she needed to be married to a man who was a “star” or exuded confidence and power. The problem is that Reynold’s Sun is in the middle of a square aspect between her Moon and Venus. The Sun is 45 degrees (called a semi-square) from both. So, while marriage might be necessary for her ego, it is not a place where she can expect emotional support or comfort.

Uranus in the Seventh describes a need to partner with someone unique, unusual and rebellious. But Uranus in Reynolds’ chart is in a tight square with Pluto, so this need is going to be blocked. Even if Reynolds had found a man who met these criteria, the square from Pluto would have made a union difficult. Also, this unique partner would also have to be in line with the needs of her Sun. That’s a tall order.

Finally, we have Mercury, which is also squared by Pluto, though the aspect is wide. I would say Mercury represents the most positive planet in Reynolds’ Seventh House, but it describes a relationship based more on intellectual affinity than emotional intimacy. The relationships we get with Mercury tend to be strong friendships and close business partnerships.

Some astrologers like to look at astrology as a kind of divination. Others see it as a tool for in depth psychological work. Sometimes, which method you use comes down to a matter of taste, but in this instance it works pretty well both ways.