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Ted Haggard's Devastating Saturn Transit 
November 4, 2006 |
| Vedic Astrology Diary Archives |
By Vaughn
Paul Manley, M.A.
Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard is one of the most influential
Christian leaders in the US. He has been the president of the
National Association of Evangelicals (N.A.E.) with 30 million
members nationwide, as well as the founder and head pastor of
the New Life Church, a megachurch of 14,000 members in Colorado
Springs. Yesterday, his untarnished public image may have been
permanently marred as allegations surfaced that he has been
in a three year relationship with a male prostitute and used
drugs during their encounters. This is an outrageous accusation
since Haggard is the leading opponent of the gay marriage amendment.
Haggard initially denied all charges but then when his accuser,
Mike Jones, provided incriminating voice mail recordings from
Haggard he was forced to admit at least some of the allegations.
He immediately resigned as leader of the N.A.E. as shockwaves
rippled across the US Christian community.
Ted Haggard Natal Chart
When this kind of news appears I like to try to find the person's
birth information and see if I can find astrological reasons
for the events. In this case, Haggard's birth time is not available
so I just used 12:00 noon. No matter what time of the day he
was born he would now be somewhere in his 19-year Saturn mahadasha.
While we don't know his correct ascendant we can always just
analyze the chart from chandra lagna or the Moon ascendant.
We can also always look at the transits of the major planets.
Interestingly, the day that the story came out on November 2nd,
Saturn had just transited into Leo. In Haggard's chart this
puts Saturn into a tight opposition with his Moon in Aquarius.
Saturn's transits are always significant since it's the slowest
moving transit. However, Saturn's transit becomes even more
significant during Saturn's dasha. Mantreshwara's classic text,
Phaladeepika, says during Saturn's transit in the 7th house
from the Moon "The native's wife suffers and he himself
may apprehend danger." Saturn's transit in the 7th
house from the Moon can be a time of great emotional hardship.
It generally indicates potential challenges in the
area of relationship, and a need to focus on one's emotional,
personal and family life.
Transits November 2, 2006
For Haggard this must be a gross understatement as his life
has crumbled over the past 2 days. Saturn is a planet of responsibility
and its transit will show the areas that we need to be responsible
and accountable. Saturn's close conjunction by transit over
natal Jupiter indicates Haggard's need to come clean with his
lack of integrity. It's likely that either the Moon or Jupiter
is his 10th lord or at least in the 10th house, because of Saturn's
tight transit over these planets at the time of such a devastating
public scandal.
In Haggard's natal chart notice how Mercury is aspected only
by malefic planets. An afflicted Mercury is typical in the charts
of liars, hypocrites, and con men. In a letter to his congregation
that was read at the Sunday service after the allegations hit
the news Haggard admits that he's been sexually immoral, a liar
and a deceiver. Read part of Haggard's
apology letter.
This article was originally titled, "Ted Haggard's Sudden
Fall from Grace," but then I thought that that sounds quite
harsh. We all make mistakes and 'fall from grace.' I think it's
healthier to think of mistakes as temporary ignorance that can
be corrected. In Haggard's chart, his gajakesari yoga formed
by the opposition of Jupiter and the Moon, and his chandra mangala
yoga formed by the conjunction of Mars and the Moon also indicates
someone with a positive, resilient spirit. This event certainly
represents a major turning point in his career and personal
life, but these yogas indicate that he could have the ability
to bounce back. It would take an accurate birth time to know
for sure.
Copyright 2006. Vaughn Paul
Manley. All Rights Reserved. |
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