NOTORIOUS LUNATICS – Ted Bundy
The individuals whose charts I am examining in this series range from the involuntarily (in)famous to more or less shady eccentrics and scammers right to the crème de la crème of evil, such as serial killers or cult leaders.
This is not a conventional reading, but one where the Moon’s eye view aka Luna and her mansions is the starting point for unraveling the chart’s tapestry. I am incorporating methods from the Hellenistic and Medieval traditions into my analysis as a counterbalance to the many “normal”, modern chart readings that are available.
Needless to say, not everyone with the lunar mansions presented here is dangerous or otherwise a red flag. Just like with the zodiac signs, and contrary to the oversimplified mainstream astro-fluff, it is always a matter of specific combinations and the interplay of certain factors that determines how a chart’s story unfolds. Not to mention free will.
Ted Bundy needs no introduction as one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century. Constantly described as extremely slick, affable, and one of those people who seem to have a magnetic aura about them that instantly made (some) people trust him, he used his natural gifts to his utmost advantage as an effortlessly cold predator. Having said that, not everyone fell for him and found him irresistible or even attractive. Some women found him decidedly creepy, and his efforts at appearing vulnerable and in need of their help went nowhere because of their gut feeling signaling that something was very wrong about this guy. Others who were involved with him personally or professionally also weren’t completely sold on him, or sensed something lurking behind the polished façade that they couldn’t put their finger on. It is safe to say that his charming tactics worked best on those who were of a trusting and open, unsuspecting nature, tragically the best match for someone looking for easy prey.
There is seriously alarming stuff to unpack in his chart, beginning with his Arabic Lunar Mansion (Manzil) and how it is expressed:
Ted Bundy’s Manzil is called The City/ The Janus Head and gets its Arabic name from the star Al Baldah which is positioned near the “eyes“ of the Sagittarius constellation. The astrologer Al Biruni compared the mansion’s character to a desert or void, while Ibn Arabi defined it as the “death giver“. The symbolism of the Manzil is connected to a hidden place or inner development happening away from the public perception, just like a person playing a role to the outside world while concealing a secret. The emphasis lies on compartmentalization and dissociation, very much like the head of the god Janus with one face looking one way and the other looking in the opposite direction.
In the 2026 documentary Love, Ted Bundy, an interesting observation was made by his cousin regarding Bundy’s eyes: She recounted how he would suddenly seem to drift off into some distant inner space, completely dissociating from the social interaction he was engaged in, with his eyes literally going blank. He would then, equally suddenly, return to the conversation as if nothing had happened.
With the mansion’s themes touching upon division, separation, conflict, loss, invisibility and secretive stillness, its nature may not be overtly aggressive or predatory on the surface, but makes perfect sense for someone who had the ability to appear (mostly) normal while leading a clandestine double life and keeping his dark cravings meticulously disguised and locked away until it was time to act upon them.
The Moon and Mars are associated with this Manzil, and therefore, their placement and condition is of special significance as it shows how the Manzil’s story plays out in the chart. In Bundy’s case, the Moon and Mars are in a close conjunction, the implications of which paint a picture that is significantly different from the outward character of a more typical Sun-in-Sagittarius person that is described as sociable, humorous, amusingly blunt, free-spirited, adventurous, and likeable. The conjunction with Mars colors the Moon’s otherwise positive nature significantly as it dampens Sagittarius’ jovial expression and hints at serious impulse control issues that can very well turn violent. Mars, the planet of masculinity, sexuality and war, in the mutable aka potentially uncontrollable and all-consuming fire sign does not bode well for self-control beyond a certain, tenuous point. In addition, we have Sagittarius’ ruler Jupiter in Scorpio, definitely not a joyful placement for the planet known as the Great Benefic, as we will see later on.
The Moon represents emotions, intuition, the mother archetype, women and the feminine principle in general, and potentially sexually aggressive Mars is closely affecting, or attacking, it. In this chart, the Sun in Sagittarius is acting more as an amplifier for a naturally nervous predisposition (the Gemini-Sagittarius axis rules the nervous system), and not as a mitigating factor for the hidden darkness. This is why Bundy’s baseline nature is not the typical, lighthearted Sagittarius type whatsoever. The Sun is also dominated by Saturn’s iron fist, as will be demonstrated below.