True Crime Horary

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I have a friend, Kelly (her real name), a fine psychological astrologer, who has been bitten by the horary bug. Yesterday she sent me a question that, unfortunately, involves a woman she knows. The woman whom we shall call Jane, was recently arrested for the murder of her husband whom we'll call John. Kelly, of course can't think of her aquaintance as capable of murder and is concerned about her. She asked the question:

Did Jane kill John?
June 11, 2004
4:21:37 PM EDT
Windham, Vermont, USA
72W44" 43N11'
3 Scorpio Rises

Note Kelly is asking about her friend so we need to use the radical 11th house to signify Jane and radical the 5th to signify her husband.

Kelly and I both worked out an answer, but I'm leaving that out for now and I'm leaving out other details so as to make it easier to look at the chart objectively. I will provide the means of death. John was found lying in his driveway and the cause of death, according to the authorities, is from multiple blows to the head with a blunt instrument. He may have been drugged with sleeping pills as well.

This chart can be spun like a roulette wheel offering all sorts of perspectives, so be sure to look at it from several vantage points, and let us know what you think.

Perhaps Deb will post the chart?

Tom

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Here's the 'who dunnit?' chart Tom. We can see immediately it is very descriptive so on that basis it looks like a very well-timed question. I've got my theory but I'll give others a chance to contribute to this as it's such an interesting chart.
Image

I'll take a stab at it...

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the wifes significator Mercury is in the husbands radical 4th house, the end of the matter... and her radical 10th house, putting her in public view.

I'm not very good at this yet, but from a very simplistic view I'd say that did not look well for the wife. I'm not certain what the meaning is of the husbands significator being on the cusp of the wifes first house?

The husbands 8th house is empty, I would have thought it would have had some planet there? the Southnode is in the (husbands) Ninth, and for some reason this struck me as significant, perhaps a denoting the death is outside the devine?

granny

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I feel as though I have been going around in circles looking at this. In the turned chart putting Jane on the ascendant (as Kelly?s friend) gives Jane Mercury and her husband John Jupiter. Mercury has had recent contact with Jupiter by square but is now separating. Mercury is in Gemini, the sign of its rulership, while Jupiter is in Virgo, the sign of detriment. Jupiter is in Mercury?s exaltation as well as being on the cusp of the 1st house. Mercury is in much better shape than Jupiter. Mercury is in the 10th house. Whether or not she is guilty, the fact that Jane has been arrested for murder will bring notoriety. The Moon is in an applying square to Mars. Mars is the ruler of both the 4th and 8th houses. I think it was Watters who said that the 8th house signifies the victim in a murder. The Moon is in the 8th house, possibly showing someone who was involved in the death. The Moon and Mars are in mutual reception and in an applying square. The Moon is in a separating sextile to Mercury. I was a bit confused by the applying aspects of the Moon in particular. I also wasn?t completely clear on whom to give the Moon to. My initial thought was that Jane gets the Moon but I?m not convinced. Is there a third party involved in this somewhere? It seems like there might be.

I looked at John?s turned chart, putting him on the ascendant from the radical 5th (husband of the friend) and giving the 7th to his wife. The significators are still Mercury and Jupiter of course but the ruler of the 4th and 8th houses becomes Venus, which is in the 4th house. Mercury is applying to a conjunction of Venus.

I haven?t finished with this yet. Just thinking out aloud as I go along. I?m a bit confused at this point.

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Moon sextiling Neptune and then Venus, ruler of 2nd, Money.
Neptune trine Venus - did this event have something to do with money?

Sun separating from an opposition with Pluto - Sun, ruler of her 12th - her whole life has changed; seems like she may be in solitary confinement or something.

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The true crime horary doesn?t have a resolution yet, so we won?t know for a while how the various scenarios will play out. In other words, we cannot give a definite answer as to whether or not ?Jane? killed ?John? or, as several have suggested, if Jane had help. However I?m getting more and more information and I don?t want to prejudice my answer any more than it has already been prejudiced so I?m answering now.

My take is this: Jane is an acquaintance of the astrologer who asked the question, so Jane is the 11th house; Virgo is on the cusp, so Jane is Mercury. John is Jane?s husband so John is the turned 7th or 5th house; Pisces is on the cusp so John is Jupiter. Jane is strong in essential dignity as Mercury is in his own sign, Gemini. Some have suggested that a planet in strong dignity represents an honorable person, therefore it is highly likely Jane is not guilty. I would question how honorable Jane is given the following: Mercury is under the beams and racing towards the Sun and is in radical the 8th house of death. Jane loves herself as she is in her own sign

John is Jupiter in Virgo, a Mercury sign, in detriment and in the 11th house. He is/was in Jane?s power. I?ve learned that John was quite ill with lung cancer prior to his death, but he was, reportedly, on the mend. What I did not know yesterday when I posted the horary is that John was 78 years old and Jane is 71. Jane claims she returned home from playing tennis and found John?s body in the driveway.

Jupiter?s last aspect was a square from Mercury. This shows us what was in the past. This doesn?t look good for Jane. John?s 12th house of secret enemies is the radical 4th ruled by Saturn. There is no connection between John and Saturn either by reception or aspect. John?s house of illness is shown by the radial 10th (Leo) and the Sun. Although ill, John?s planet is in detriment, there is no connection in the question to his illness other than the Sun is in John?s detriment.

I worked out the turned part of death using the radical 5th as the first house cusp (Saturn + 8th cusp ? Moon). If I did it right, it works out to 9 Capricorn 00. This is close to the fixed star Facies, which Robson tells us, ?It is of the nature of Sun and Mars, and causes blindness, defective sight, sickness, accidents and a violent death.? Yes falling out of a car and hitting one?s head is an accident and perhaps a violent death, but I think there is more here than that.

The part of death is in Capricorn ruled by Saturn and exalted by Mars. Saturn and Mars are both in Cancer with no overt connection to Mercury. Recall, too, that he may have been drugged with sleeping pills prior to his death. Saturn rules narcotics and poisons in general and Mars rules drugs all according to Al Biruni. Saturn opposes (widely) the turned part of death putting it into play. The antiscion of Mercury is at 17 Cancer 19 putting him on the midpoint of Mars ? Saturn. Jane is involved but behind the scenes so to speak. Or she didn't kill him in a fit of rage.

Ebertin gives us this for Mercury=Mars/Saturn: ?Thoughtlessness, hopelessness. ? Thoughts on separation, illness, death, or the next world beyond. ? News of mourning and bereavement (murderers).? I have no idea why ?murderers? is in parenthesis.

Is Mercury combust? I?ve been taught, a planet in great dignity cannot be combust, but acts more like a mutual reception. Mercury then is about to enter mutual reception with the Sun. This could mean she is heading to prison the radical 10th (Leo on the cusp) is her turned 12th. Or it could mean an accomplice as has been suggested here. Since Mercury is in Gemini, and quite independent, I?m going for Jane acting alone, but secretly with violence (Mars) and poison (Saturn).

Mercury?s next aspect is to Venus. Venus rules Jane?s turned 8th, John?s turned 2nd: John?s money and perhaps insurance is the motivation.

Tom

correct me if I'm wrong, but does not

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(for Tom)

Venus rule Janes 9th, 10th & 2nd houses? Johns 3rd, 4th & 8th?


Johns second house would be ruled by mars I believe? which is in his 6th or Janes 12th. Mars in Janes Twelfth ?? would that indicate she is imprisoned, or that she will be? or?

the cusp of the 9th house of Divinity and Travel does fall on 25 TAU 28, is this close enough to Algol to present an issue?

The moon is just past sextile of both Mercury and Venus and will aspect several other planets before it Trines Jupiter, much research before the truth of the matter comes to light, perhaps?

Venus the lady of the 8th for John is in the 4th the end of the matter, which makes sense, but Mercury is approaching conjunction, not yet there, which makes me wonder if Jane might have wanted to do the deed but was beaten to it by someone else?

But that Jupiter on Janes cusp makes me wonder if it isn't John who is thinking about Janes welfare? I'd love to hear more thoughts on this. Very interesting.

:D Granny

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Mars is conjunct the fixed star Pollux. Ptolemy says that Pollux is of a similar nature to Mars. Robson says that Pollux is 'crafty, spirited, rash, and connected to poisons.

I would be very interested to see an event chart to see if it yields up more clues.

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Hi Sue,

The police are not commenting on the time of death. There was an emergency call placed to police by "Jane", and she claimed she found "John" dead in the driveway upon her return home from playing tennis (Check the Moon).

Kelly tells me 2:00 PM June 2, 2004 West Townsend VT USA might be right for the call. The town is right, the time is uncertain. Take a peek.

After Deb's thoughts I'll post some newspaper details and town gossip.

Tom

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Hi Tom,

Hubbie?s significator on the suspect?s cusp and in her sign shows him under her control.
Moon on the turned 8th cusp acts as the clue to the murder. It is only separating from Mercury (and then Saturn-death) pointing to the suspect?s involvement. The mutual reception between Moon and Mars shows a brutal attack, but the Saturn involvement brings blunt and heavy rather than sharp blows. Mars and Saturn in Cancer also describe the drug/poison element. It?s all reinforced by the separating square between Mercury and Jupiter showing a hostile contact.
So it?s thumbs down for Jane as far as I?m concerned.
:,
I also noticed the presence of Venus retrograding to Mercury straightaway. Venus rules John?s turned 8th and is receiving that partile sextile from the Moon. This made me think that the motive was either because John was seeing someone else, or more likely she was. I was a bit put off with that theory when you mentioned their ages but I think that Saturn?s involvement is key. Saturn is closer to the upcoming development of the case than Mercury, being the last contact of the Moon and in an applying sextile with Jupiter. This describes an elderly person that John would regard as a friend. But Saturn rules Jane?s 5th house and stands in her 11th house - he's her friend, not his. Seeing as the Moon translates from Saturn to Venus some kind of murky relationship issue appears to be indicated.

I?m more confident of Jane?s involvement than the rest of what follows but if I had to put together my best ?Miss Marple?s? theory, knowing that no one would hang for my errors, it?s this:

Jane instigated the murder. She wasn?t under anyone?s influence because Mercury is in its own sign so making its own decisions. She was aided by a friend, signified by Saturn, who represents an elderly gentleman. Jane is enamoured with this friend. She organised the drugging, he did the heavy blowing. He was someone that John knew and trusted.
Jane will be charged for the murder and go to court (Mercury in turned 10th), be found guilty and then go to prison (Mercury applying to combustion in 10th; Sun rules 12th). Details of the friend will come out later (the aspect between Jupiter and Saturn is not yet complete). He and Jane will never see each other again (the Moon was translating between them, but now that's all gone).

Of course, Venus could be money and Saturn ruling her 5th could mean she was sexually frustrated and? ? Dammit, need more information ... Either way I think Jane did it.

How does Jupiter describe John physically, and Mercury Jane?

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Hi All,

Thaks for your time and thoughts on this chart. I don't know about the physical descriptions yet, I will pass them on if I get them.

This case is big doings in a small Vermont town. It isn't they kind of place that routinely experiences murders like a large or small city might. Therefore, there is lots of gossip. Newspaper reports are also notorious for getting thngs wrong. What I'm about to give you is what Kelly knows, what Kelly has read and what she sent to me. Some of it makes more sense than other things, but there is nothing to indicate that "Jane" is innocent.

Jane is 71 years old and her husband "John" was 78. John had gone through a serious bout with lung cancer and apparently was not expected to survive. Things turned around for him, and he was on the mend. Jane supposedly had been complaining to friends, co-workers, and neighbors that she hated her husband and wanted to poison him. Recently at 71 she decided she wanted to go back to school and become a social worker. Again supposedly her husband was against the idea and told her she was too old. There have been reports, recently surfaced that Jane had a viscious temper that she unleashed at deliverymen and store clerks when things didn't go her way. She used to abuse the UPS deliveryman in the winter when his truck wasn't able to drive up the hill to her house when the road was ice covered. Kelly told me she never saw that side of her.

Kelly alternately referred to Jane as a friend or acquaintance. They knew each other well enough to call each other on the phone and chat. Kelly is in her mid to late 30s. Jane, as I said, is much older.

In addition to mentioning the poison, she also used to tell people how she would like to sell her house and apparently travel or do other things and she even mentioned that if her husband died accidentally, she would get a sizable insurance settlement. This would not be a well planned murder. Notice the south node "where you get hurt" is in Jane's third house (Thaks to Sandy Curren for pointing that out).

Jane called police and told them she found her husband in the driveway when she returned from playing tennis. This would be on June 2 and Kelly thinks but isn't sure it was about 2:00 pm local time. She said he must have fallen from his vehicle. The coroner supposedly found evidence of multiple blows to the head with a blunt instrument and may have found evidence of a large quantity of sleeping pils in his blood. Unless John got up and repeatedly fell on such an instrument, we can safely say he was murdered. Again supposedly the police responding to the call found blood everywhere inside the house. John must have got up after each fall and paraded around the house depositing his blood before making his final fall in the driveway for her story to be true. Jane supposedly had blood on her person and clothing when the police arrived (Why would she call them in that condition?), and bloody clothes were found stuffed into a dog food bag with kitty litter on top. Suddenly Jane can no longer remember making the phone call or what happened to her husband. I don't know how much of this is literal truth.

The motive seems to be pure greed. She wanted all the money from the sale of her house and from his insurance to do with as she pleased. John may or may not have been the most pleasant guy in town or maybe not even a good husband, but if that was worthy of a death penalty, very few of my gender would have survived long after marriage.

Did Jane have help? I doubt it although there are stories of another man. Supposedly after her husband would fall asleep at night, probably under the influence of cancer medication, Jane would sneak off to see a man. As of this writing, no one else has been connected to the case.

Mercury, Jane's significator is very independent in Gemini, and she is just shy of combustion (putting aside whether or not a planet in rulership can be combust) giving her the strength to act. I don't know that anyone else was invovled. If she felt it necessary to drug a 78 year old man recovering from a bout with terminal lung cancer in order to subdue him first, she probably didn't have or need any more help.

Local scuttlebutt has it that she killed him in the house and dragged his body outside before calling the police. Not a real smooth plan if you forget to wipe the blood off the doorknobs.

So it looks like Jane did it, and if the chart were admissible along with all the fine analysis from tis group, the prosecution would need no more to makes its case.

Tom