
âRahu made me do it,â Falwell explains to a packed media scrum, in response to a series of allegations, revelations and speculations that have come spilling out of his now-unzipped private life.
For years, itâs been an open secret at Liberty University, the flagship of Christian evangelical higher education where Falwell was President until this past month, that he liked to talk about his sex life. Talk is cheap, they say, but photographs have lent credence to rumors, and when Falwell posted a pic on Instagram last month showing him at a party on a private yacht with (a) his fly open, (b) a drink in his hand, and (c) his arm around a woman not his wife whose shorts were also unbuttoned, God was probably not amused.
Certainly, the board of trustees at Liberty University were concerned about the optics, so they in their wisdom decided to grant Falwell an immediate and indeterminate leave of absence from his official position so that he could get his act together. As the weeks unravel, itâs fast becoming its own little reality show.
This week, Falwell announced that his wife Becki several years ago had an âimproper relationshipâ with a man who later threatened to reveal the affair âunless we agreed to pay him substantial monies.â So apparently, itâs her fault that Jerry eventually had to unwind on the party yacht. But as more details ooze out, apparently the (pool boy) lover was a regular feature in the Falwell marriage, and he now claims that Falwell watched him have sex with Becki. Is this crazy or what? If nothing else, itâs highly hypocritical, since Liberty University demands of its student and staff that they conform to the Biblical code of sexual behavior inside (monogamy) and outside (abstinence) of marriage.
Witnesses to Falwellâs âuprightâ character confide that he often shared personal and provocative photos of his wife with other men, including people with whom he worked at Liberty University. Maybe those were just âlocker roomâ Bible classes regarding one or more of the Ten Commandments, or perhaps it was a just a nasty case of hubris running amok.

Falwellâs chart does present some challenges in the realm of lifetime monogamy. For starters, he has Sagittarius rising, and the dual signs are often (not always) susceptible to a certain ambivalence about the marital regime. But any judgment of a personâs relationship dynamics merits a more thorough analysis involving the 7th house, ie, its lord, occupant(s) and karaka.
Falwellâs 7th house is ruled by Mercury in the 6th, rendered strong (to create problems) by virtue of its retrogression, and under duress because it is flanked by malefics Sun and Mars. The 7th house itself is occupied by a malefic Sun, yet stabilized by a benefic Jupiter, both of ordinary status, neither strong nor weak. Venus, the karaka of relationships, is ordinary in the 8th house, but associated with a malefic Rahu, and aspected by malefics Mars and Saturn, both of which are strong, especially Saturn. And thereâs the rub.
Falwell has the luminaries, both regarded as sattvik, in the kendras, but even those present a study in contrasts. The Sun is a command-and-control planet, and it may have been this essential disposition that helped Jerry Falwell Sr decide to appoint Jerry Jr, with his aggressive business instincts, to the position of President at Liberty University. Meanwhile, his younger son Jonathan, with a more charismatic and morally upstanding character, was granted the ministry at Thomas Road Baptist Church.
In Falwellâs horoscope, the full Moon occupies his ascendant, and this certainly reflects his substantial public profile. He has been a strong advocate for the Republican Party, evangelicals, the NRA, and Donald Trump. But that Moon is also the lord of the 8th house, which is where scandals are typically born, involving as they do sexual affairs and other peopleâs money. Indeed, such a Moon may give an intense, passionate, charismatic, secretive, manipulative, obsessive and/or addictive persona, as well as the potential for many changes, upheavals, secrets, obsessions, disgrace, scandals, bankruptcy, misfortunes, other people’s money and/or ill health in life.
Both his Moon and lagna are in Mula nakshatra. Mula is one of the difficult nakshatras associated with problems, losses, and disappointments. Its deities are Nirriti, the god of destruction and misery, and Prajapati, the lord of progeny. The desire of Mula is to find the root of all progeny. This may give the person a powerful desire to procreate, and thereby invoke considerable (uncontrollable) sexual/creative energy.
Central to this latest âreality showâ are the patterns in Falwellâs chart that constitute combinations for sexual passion. Although there is a more specific pro forma for this, the basic set-up requires ârelationsâ between certain planets that represent the sexes. The Moon and Venus represent the ladies of the horoscope, while Mars and Saturn are the bad boys of the birth chart. Combinations involving male/female âcross-fertilizationâ will provoke passion, all the more so if any among those planets is exaggerated in any way, eg, exalted, debilitated, combust, retrograde, or in planetary war. If the participants operate from positive houses, the passions may be socially sanctioned, but if they operate from dusthanas, they are much more likely to provoke scandal. In addition, any involvement of the nodal axis has the potential to blow things up.
In this particular paradigm, the Moon is out of play, since itâs influenced by neither Mars nor Saturn. But Venus is involved in a ménage à trois. Itâs aspected by both Mars and Saturn, each strong in its own sign. Furthermore, Saturn is exaggerated by virtue of its retrogression. On top of that, Venus is associated with Rahu, whose essential nature is Saturn-like, and only adds fuel to the fire. To top it off, Venus is in the 8th house, a dusthana which is virtually synonymous with scandal.
Falwell is running Rahu dasha, which in his rashi invokes the conjoined influence of every planet with which Rahu has a relationship â its association with Venus, its aspects from Mars and Saturn, and its being disposited by a full Moon. If we dig deeper, note that Rahuâs nakshatra dispositor is Mercury, his 7th lord in the 6th.
Fallwell is running Mercury bhukti. Since Mercury in the rashi is 12th away from the 7th house which it rules, this is when things can get uncomfortable in the martial bed. Since every dasha and bhukti lord also invokes the effect of its nakshatra dispositor, Mercury in Rohini also serves that full Moon ruling the 8th house of scandal.
If we examine Falwellâs D9 (navamsa), we can find further astrological evidence of discord on the home front, but also hope for a recovery. As per Seshadri Iyerâs protocol, we first examine the status of dasha lord Rahu. Here, it occupies a dusthana, so thatâs a negative. Rahu is aspected by both Mercury and Saturn, both strong via retrogression, but benefic Mercury tips the scale in its favor since itâs in its own sign. Finally, Rahuâs dispositor Jupiter is strong in its own sign in a trikona, and thatâs so positive that the lone aspect of malefic Saturn canât take it down. Overall, a bit of a mixed bag for Rahu dasha, but solid enough to persevere.
Examining bhukti lord Mercury the same way, we see that Mercury is in a dusthana (bad) but in its own sign (good) but associated with Saturn and Ketu (doubly bad). And itâs this combination of being in a dusthana associated with two malefics, absent the salvation of any benefic coming to its support that makes Mercury bhuktis the worst of any in his life.
Recent transits have conspired to further shake things up in Falwellâs life. Transiting Jupiter through Sagittarius aspects both Falwellâs 5th/9th houses, and simultaneously their lords, Mars/Sun, respectively, thereby invoking issues of dharma, and good old evangelical debates along the lines of, What would Jesus do in times like these? Transiting Saturn is in Capricorn this year and next, setting Falwell up for his 2nd Saturn return. Since both natal and transiting Saturn aspect the 11th house and its lord Venus in the 8th, we can expect some fallout in his social network and in his income.
The trigger for this tabloid-grade scandal would seem to have been the solar eclipse of June 21st which occurred at 05GE19. That was just 2deg19 from Falwellâs Sun in the 7th house, 2deg45 from exact opposition to his 8th lord Moon, and just 6deg31 from opposing his ascendant. This triple whammy eclipse on the trinity of Udaya-, Chandra– and Surya-lagna will not allow Falwell to go quietly into the night.
Praise the Lord and pass the popcorn!
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For an alternate discussion of Jerry Falwell Jr’s chart, go to YouTube. Please subscribe to my channel to see more videos as they are posted.
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Alan Annand studied with Hart de Fouw, and is a graduate of the American College of Vedic Astrology. He’s also a former tutor for the British Faculty of Astrological Studies, and the author of several books.

Kala Sarpa is a first-of-its-kind reference book on a unique pattern in jyotish that is not discussed in shastra yet is part of India’s rich oral tradition.
Stellar Astrology, Volumes 1 & 2, offer a wealth of time-tested techniques in the form of biographical profiles, analyses of world events, and technical essays. Parivartana Yoga is a reference text for one of the most common yet powerful planetary combinations in jyotish. His Mutual Reception is an expanded companion volume written for western astrologers, covering planetary exchange as seen through the lens of traditional astrology. Likewise, his book The Draconic Bowl is a reference text for western astrologers for whom the extensive delineations of the nodes by house position and planetary influence will provide a wealth of information.
His New Age Noir crime novels (Scorpio Rising, Felonious Monk, Soma County) feature astrologer and palmist Axel Crowe, whom one reviewer has dubbed âSherlock Holmes with a horoscope.â
Websites: www.navamsa.com, www.sextile.com
You can find his books on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.
The way you interpret charts of famous people is outstanding, you does it with so much ease with taking only nine classic planets though I have a question many of your articles you have mentioned that Rahu exalt in scorpio which is not true since in vedic text it said to exalt in Gemini. Also what makes you not use the aspects of Rahu could you elaborate it.
Utkarsh –
Thank you for your comments and questions. Although Parashara says in BPHS that Rahu gains dignity in GE, I follow the guidance of my teacher Hart DeFouw whose guru Mantriji taught him a Tantrik principle regarding the exaltation/debilitation signs of the moon’s nodes. This would be better with a diagram, but please visualize an 8-pointed cross consisting of 4 axes. It doesn’t matter where it begins or ends, but these particular pairs of planets are always positioned at opposite ends of their axes: SU/SA, MA/JU, and ME/VE. You may recognize already the relationship between these pairs.
SU is exalted in AR where SA is debilitated; SA is exalted in LI where SU is debilitated. MA is exalted in CP where JU is debilitated; JU is exalted in CN where MA is debilitated. ME is exalted in VI where VE is debilitated; VE is exalted in PI where ME is debilitated. So far, so good? The only thing missing now is the Moon and its nodes. So at one end of the remaining axis we have MO, and at the other end, RA/KE. Thus, MO is exalted in TA where (both) RA/KE are debilitated; RA/KE are (both) exalted in SC where MO is debilitated. This will strike one as odd, but so it is with many things Tantrik. Note that, if RA is debilitated in Taurus (as it will be later in September), Ketu will at the same time be exalted in Scorpio! In certain amshas where RA/KE appear in the same rashi, you could also have the unusual phenomenon of both RA/KE exalted, or both debilitated!
As for nodal aspects, there are three basic operating principles:
1. The most liberal says, both Rahu and Ketu exercise aspects like Jupiter, casting drishti five and nine signs forward, some even allowing 12 signs removed.
2. The intermediate stance says, only Rahu casts drishti 5/9 signs forward, because Rahu is the serpent’s head with eyes to see, while the tail Ketu has no eyes.
3. The most restrictive practice (my teacher/guru) says, the nodes cast no aspects, influencing only by association those planets at either end of the nodal axis.
Like so many other elements of jyotish, there are differences between schools of thought, and this is just another example.
– Alan
First, thanks so much for taking your time to reply me your analysis is mind blown but a question arises in my mind if Rahu and Ketu exalt and debilitated in same sign respectively, will not it loses their dignity since they have to remain 180 degree apart considering they are north nodes and south nodes the polar opposites if you ask me I like to put it in this way since Moon already exalt in Taurus, Mercury exalt in virgo, Venus exalt in Pisces, and they debilitated in their opposite sign so now we have left only two sign for exaltation and debilitation which is Gemini and Sagittarius and since gemini rules 3rd house of desires rahu seems to work much better as it has better playground to show up his tact, manipulation, tricks, I was reading a source that said Rahu is intense, much darker side of mercury so it makes sense.. While Ketu have sagittarius occupying the most intuitive and spiritual house that is connected with your past and consider very important for good and bad karma Ketu is our past life talent so it makes sense that sagittarius is easily the best sign of him while he can also co-rules scorpio.. This is only my opinion and I completely I agree with you Rahu and Ketu have no aspects you need sight to cast drishti not shadow but some vedic astrologers straightaway assigned the aspects to them which is big stupidity we have already so many divisional charts for different matters. Just one more question since you have come from western astrology but now become a vedic practitioner are you comfortable with the total omission of outer planets in your prediction.
dear Utkarsh ~
Yes, it’s an anomaly of the the RA/KE exaltation/debilitation pattern that, when one is exalted, the other must be debilitated. But are you surprised that such an “odd” rule applies to the nodes? They are, after all, the most contrarian, unpredictable and weird of the grahas.
But with respect to your argument for alternative dignities, I find some of your ideas to be a mish-mash of notions from western astrology rather than Jyotish. Gemini rules 3rd house of desires? Only for an Aries ascendant, not all. Rahu a darker side of Mercury? Why only Mercury, as opposed to Venus or Mars? Sagittarius the most spiritual house? SG is not a house but a sign, and it doesn’t inherently make things spiritual. Ketu associated with the past? Definitely a western notion from Dane Rudhyar and others, not from Jyotish.
As for your final question, why don’t I use the outer planets? Because I am a jyotishi, not a neo-Vedic astrologer. When I decided to let go of western astrology and move into Jyotish, I committed myself to following the rules of the new game, not trying to have it both ways. At first, I wasn’t sure I could do without UR-NE-PL, each of which had significant placements in my personal horoscope, and whose presence had seemed important in the charts of clients. But for the past 20 years I have ignored them, such that I scarcely even know where they are in the sky today. And I don’t miss them. Jyotish is a system complete unto itself, and everything I need is there in Parashara, or Phaladeepika, and the other classics. No outer planets.
If you want an analogy, it’s as if I decided NOT to judge anyone by their color of their skin. That’s only a distraction, and provides no advantage in understanding the real person, for which there are already many time-proven psychological models.
~ Alan
Why you are not bringing new articles. it’s been a month since it happened please i can’t wait for your masterful predictions if possible please analyse the chart of two deranged people Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka i found their stories very fascinating. Thank you waiting for your new analysis.
Taking note of your suggestion re Bernardo & Homolka. We’ll see.