At time of print, Roger Ailes, now former head of Fox News Networks, has been forced to resign due to multiple accusations from former female employees and a lawsuit brought forth by one of the network’s top news personalities Gretchen Carlson on the charge of rampant sexual harassment.
Based on the birth information made available publicly, can we see the potential for this kind of behavior in his natal birth chart? As I have disclaimed in the past, not knowing TOB significantly diminishes our ability to see the full spectrum of his personality and life path. However, planetary aspects on the day of birth can give us a glimpse of potential behavior patterns that can prove to be strengths or challenges.
Roger Ailes, D. O. B. May 15, 1940
Roger Ailes is a Taurus, so it makes complete sense that he would have sought out and ascended in the world of corporate management. Money, material gain, and worldly success are essential to the ego needs of the typical Taurus. Ailes has 3 planets in the sign of Taurus and so this energy is a significant part of his personal makeup and drives. However, few of us in this world are allowed to pursue our path unencumbered and I will address several of the challenging aspects he possesses and their potential to create problematic sexual behavior in aggregate. Again, an accurate birthtime is needed to fully assess anyone’s natal chart. Having any (or all) of the following aspects can produce very different outcomes between individuals.
Mars square Neptune
I am writing about this one first because I think looking to the Mars placement and the challenging aspects made to it, is essential when looking for markers of a disruptive sexual / physical drive in an individual. A challenging Mars-Neptune aspect (the opposition, the square, and sometimes the conjunction) are what we often see in people who may display some of the following if an outlet with a positive aspect is not available (and even then, this behavior may display on and off):
Poor personal and sexual boundaries, sexual compulsion, sexual addiction, addiction to pornography, misinterpreting or confusion around the sexual boundaries of others, a highly developed fantasy life, insecurities around sexual performance, a strong need for fantasy or alcohol or drugs to accompany one's sex life. Mars-Neptune aspects in general can be very good for athletic performance, creating a strong identity of warrior or elite sportsman in the ego of the individual with this placement. That same energy can be transferred into other arenas outside of sport. But the essential need for "escapism" as part of one's sexual identity and the importance of fantasy in their sex life is paramount. With challenging aspects, those qualities can become twisted into obsessive, compulsive and self-destructive sexual behaviors. One's personal drive is heavily tied to one's sexual drive and this can also disperse the physical stamina of the individual, requiring a need for rest and sleep that may seem excessive to others but it essential for their health and well-being. It also makes one more susceptible to illness as the bodies defenses are not as strong with Neptune's influence on Mars.
Sun square Moon
With this aspect the ego needs and the emotional needs are at odds with each other. This can make for a person who is very hard to please, irascible, and does not easily incorporate the emotional needs of others, especially in his intimate sphere. Another person’s planet that makes a positive contact with his Sun will be in conflict with his emotional needs (Moon), and anyone who makes a positive contact with his Moon will be in conflict with his ego (Sun). The Moon, along with Venus, in a man’s chart represents his feminine energy and how he relates to women and the kind of women he attracts/is attracted to. Having the Moon in conflict with the Sun is a well-known aspect of men who have adversarial at best and violent conflict at worse, with the women in their lives. It is a challenge for a person with this aspect to be at peace with his own emotional needs, and I say this likely the case because as a white heterosexual male born in the 1940s, a man like Ailes was likely socialized or had reinforced the idea that you didn’t have to “be nice” and especially not required to be nice to women, in order to get ahead. So this would have posed a greater challenge for him as the decades rolled on and women were given more access to the largely male environments of corporate America.
Uranus square Moon
Again, feminine energy and female relationships (Moon) meeting with a challenging aspect (the square). Uranus making challenging contacts to the Moon typically shows an erratic presence and disturbing behavior of the mother in childhood, as experienced by the chart holder. This would greatly disrupt the chart holder’s emotional landscape in youth and cause a lot of pain. What it also does is set a blueprint for a man’s female interactions later in life by creating significant impairment in the areas of empathy and sentiment and relating to the emotional needs of others. The early example set by the dysfunctional interactions with the mother will color the chart holder’s behavior toward women through the rest of his life. This can be diffused by positive natal aspects to the Moon (or through positive synastry), but the essential energy and likely rejection of the feminine/emotional principle that we all possess can be a constant struggle in this person’s life path.
Sun conjunct Uranus
There is high likelihood that a person with this aspect is extremely headstrong, rebellious, non-conformist and is willing to flout the rules because they feel as if they don’t – shouldn’t! – apply to them. This can lead you to the path of criminality or innovation, insanity or genius, social deviant or social reformer. This is the “rule-breaker” par excellence, but the conjunction can make this energy manifest in either positive or negative ways, depending on the will and environment of the chart holder. What it does say is that this is a person who does not like being told what to do, how to do it, or having someone cracking a whip over them. They are fiercely independent and willful.
Suffice it to say, someone in a position of power with these aspects will likely have conflict with colleagues. However when it comes to their dealing with women, the chart holder is will likely have a particular difficult time understanding and being respectful of boundaries with women. The above aspects to do excuse any propensity for lewd behavior or other forms of sexual or other harassment, but what it does call for is changes to be brought about either in synastry (a relationship) or through transits that make one aware of these deficiencies so that they can be addressed and soul-growth can occur. This is work many will leave this life unfinished, but sometimes it takes a public airing of one's poor behavior to act as a wake-up call. There is a chance to make amends to those you have shown disrespect and insensitivity toward in past behavior and to rectify it and reap the wealth of a new perspective as one completes their journey in this life. It takes a strong person to take that leap and accept these challenges. Until then , those who may have been a victim of their actions have every right to stand in protest of it and demand respect in the workplace.