It’s hard to imagine one of entertainment’s funniest and most lovable characters in such a dark place that he would try to end his life, but that is apparently what Owen Wilson did over the weekend. Wilson was most recently tabloid fodder when his relationship with Kate Hudson ended earlier this year, and the news of his hospitalization with a slit wrist and ingestion of a bottle of pills coincided with announcements of starring roles in two new films.

Owen Wilson has the Sun in Scorpio, along with three other planets (Neptune, Mercury and the Moon), giving him an exceptionally strong intensity and passion in everything he does. Scorpio is a fiery water sign that is anchored in the realm of the emotional underworld; the dark and deep underbelly of our feelings that others may fear to witness. There is a great deal of courage in the Scorpio personality, since they are the ones willing to face their inner demons and become transformed by them. This doesn’t sound like the Owen Wilson that we see in films, but this is due to the fact that it is actually the sign that is rising in the chart, the ascendant or rising sign, that describes the outward personality. The rising sign is determined by the time of birth, and this is rarely available for celebrities so all we can do is make a guess, and in Wilson’s case I would guess his rising sign to be something fiery such as Leo or Sagittarius. Wilson himself has said that he is surprised he ended up in comedy, because he was so serious in high school. However, the inner Owen Wilson is strongly Scorpio.

Scorpios have a reputation for being sexy, and it’s true that there is a strongly sexual component to their nature, but they are much more. They can be intensely secretive with a strong need to be in control of their relationships, and typically become consumed by their relationships and everything else they do because of their intensity. They dislike the superficial and probe beneath the surface in order to discover what lies beneath. Even under Owen Wilson’s silliest characters there is a depth that surprises you.

Neptune conjuncts the Sun in Wilson’s chart, creating a tendency to lose the Self – in other people, in one’s work, in whatever he becomes involved in. The Sun/Neptune conjunction shows a lack of boundaries and difficulty establishing an identity for himself. Ultimately, the combination of Neptune and the Sun encourages us to be spiritual beings and to surrender our individual self to a higher purpose. But if we fail to reach the heights of that aspiration we may find ourselves surrendering instead to drugs and alcohol in an attempt to achieve that transcendent experience.

Wilson’s chart is made more complex with the addition of three planets in Libra, the sign of relationships (Mars, Uranus and Jupiter). Partnerships are very important to him with this strong Libra emphasis, but the combination of Mars and Uranus can be problematic. Mars is our aggressive urge and Uranus shows where we are rebellious and dislike convention, and this is a combination that is exciting and energetic but also dislikes restrictions. Wilson enjoys living alone and when in a relationship with a woman he fears the restrictions that a commitment will require. When Wilson broke up with singer Sheryl Crow, his last serious relationship, he said that his lack of “focus” (read commitment) was the cause of the failure of all of his relationships. His most recent publicized relationship was with a Hollywood stripper which ended with Wilson feeling trapped. This need for freedom and autonomy conflicts with Wilson’s intensely passionate nature, and creates within him a conflict over commitment.

When transiting Saturn made a conjunction to Venus as well as Mercury earlier this month, all in Leo, these planets were all in a square formation to Wilson’s Sun/Neptune conjunction. Saturn is known as the Lord of Karma, and when we experience challenging Saturn transits the chickens come home to roost. These can be very productive periods if we face the challenges that are offered to us, but they can also be times of depression and emotional pain.

What is more difficult for him right now is a transit of Pluto, the planet of endings and regeneration, that is affecting Chiron in his chart. Chiron shows where we have been wounded and where we have a place in our inner psyche of emotional pain that requires healing. Pluto transits to Chiron force us to face those difficult places and release the pain so that we can leave the past behind and move forward. Since we are only human, we tend to run from these painful cycles until we can run no more, and for Owen Wilson that time appears to have come.

Pluto will continue to pass over sensitive places in Wilson’s chart throughout next year, making this a time of change and transformation for him.