Frequencies of Various Aspects in the Horoscopes of Murderers and Serial Killers vs. Those of Randomly Generated Control Groups. Part One

Acknowledgements:

First and foremost, I would like to thank Lois Rodden. Without her tireless efforts in collecting thousands of timed birth charts, this research would not have been possible. ]

Thanks are also due to Mark Mc Donahue who put it all on the Astrodatabank CD, and Mark Pottinger who wrote the CCRS research program. Yes, it's a DOS program from a decade ago, but it still does almost everything (except Windows).

Thanks also to the New York City chapter of the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR) for a $200 research grant. Last, but definitely not least, I would like to thank Diane Cramer, who ran most of the controls.

Background:

A horoscope is like a two-dimensional "snapshot" of planetary positions at a given moment. It should be noted that these charts are 100% objective since they are calculated with Astronomical data based on good old reliable Newtonian mechanics. It is the claim made by astrologers that horoscopes are related to actions taken by people here on Earth that skeptics have questioned, not the objective fact of planetary location.

The way to settle the skepticism about alleged connections between horoscopes and human actions is clear. Find a group of people who have performed some specific action, obtain their birth information (birth date, birth time, and birth location), and see if any objective horoscope features occur in this group by more than random chance in comparison to a control group. There are several problems here:

Most astrologers either don't know how to do research or have no interest in it.Those who are interested usually have neither the time nor money. And there are few, very few, research grants available for astrological research, and those that are available are small.

Most scientists simply dismiss astrology or have no interest in doing a study.The few scientists who do research studies know nothing about astrology. As a result, they test assertions that no astrologer ever made and thereby commit the "strawman fallacy."

Still, this research must be done. Anecdotal evidence is insufficient as proof and the responsibility of demonstrating that astrology is valid belongs to astrologers. In other words, the people who listen to what you say don't have to prove that it is true. That's your job.

Caveat:I am not claiming that the following paper is "proof" of astrology. It clearly is not. It is,

however, a logical first step in the testing process. Hypothesis hunting (explained below) is a legitimate procedure for finding factors which may be tested further on new batches of data.

Test Proposal:

The test proposed here is as follows: we will examine the timed horoscopes of people who have performed a specific act, in this case murder, and see if angular separation between certain points on the horoscope wheel occur by more than random chance. But there are several questions that have to be answered first.

Who is a murderer?

Do we include soldiers and police officers who kill in the line of duty? How about someone who kills out of negligence, such as a drunk driver? How about an otherwise peaceful person who kills in self-defense? The problem here is one of motivation. Killing done deliberately (murder in the 1st or 2nd degree, or manslaughter, where there is an intent to injure) is different from that done accidentally (negligence) or where there is no other choice (self-defense or in time of war). This study will be limited to those who deliberately kill or who kill while intending to otherwise cause harm.

But even here, there are differences. Can someone who gets angry one day and kills their spouse be classified with a serial killer or with the "quiet person" who suddenly goes berserk and kills many people at once? For this reason, the murderers are separated into three groups:

1. Single murderers. Those who killed only one person. 2. Serial killers. Those who killed several people one after another. 3. Mass murderers. Those who killed several people at one time.

There are still problems here. Suppose someone comes home one day and finds their spouse in bed with someone else. If they take a gun and kill either the spouse or the lover, they are a single murderer. But what if they kill both? Do we classify them as a multiple murderer? Is their motivation that different from the person who kills just one? And then there are "spree killers" like Andrew Cunanin. They kill people one after the other, but not all at once. Unlike serial killers, they don't try to cover up. And they kill during a relatively short span of time. They fall in between mass murderers and serial killers.

Even among serial killers there are differences. Some, like Ted Bundy and John Gacy, kill during sexual encounters. Others, like David Berkowitz, the "son of Sam" killer, simply kill. Richard Ramirez, the "night stalker", claimed to kill for Satan. Kenneth Kimes and Dorthea Montalvo killed for money. Jeffery Dahmer cooked and ate his victims. Still, the main motivation for all of them would seem to be the act of murder itself, so, initially at least, killers as diverse as these could be grouped together.

Setting Up the Groups:

In this study, murderers were divided into three groups: single murderers (M), serial

killers (S), and mass murderers (MM). Each group was then divided into sub-groups of twenty each. There were less than 20 mass murderers, so they were put aside until data on more cases could be obtained.

Setting Up the Control Groups:

The control groups were computer generated with the "Jigsaw" research program. One group of control horoscopes was generated for each batch of murder horoscopes. Each control chart was set up for the same year and same location as the corresponding chart of a murderer. Controls were labeled with the letter "C." For instance, the control group for the first group of single murderers (M1) was labeled CM1; the control group for the first group of serial killers (S1) was labeled CS1; etc.

Why Use Computer generated Horoscopes?

Wouldn't it be better to use horoscopes of actual people taken from the general population? First of all, it would be extremely difficult to make a control group of people born the same year and in the same place as each murderer. More importantly, what would be the difference statistically between a group of computer generated horoscopes and those taken randomly from the general population? None whatsoever. A computer generated control group should yield the same statistical result as a random group taken from the general population.

Specifics of the Test Itself:

The objective feature of the horoscopes that will be analyzed is the angular separation between planets and the angular separation between planets and certain points in the charts that astrologers claim to be significant. In addition, the particular degrees of the zodiac will be examined to see if any appear by more than random chance.

Back in 1998, I had lunch with Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine. He said he had never heard of angular separation being used in astrology before and asked when astrologers started doing it. "Over 2,000 years ago" I replied. "The technique goes back at least to Claudius Ptolemy." It would be helpful if skeptics learned something about astrology and astrological techniques before reaching conclusions about its validity. But, as I mentioned above, it is the responsibility of astrologers to provide the evidence.

The astrological term for angular separation is "aspects." There are several aspects referred to as "Major." These are angles of 0, 60, 90, 120, and 180 degrees. The 60 and 120 degree (called the sextile and trine respectively) aspects are said to have a "soft" effect and are alleged to be beneficial. The angles of 0, 90, and 180 degrees are called "hard" aspects and are claimed to be associated with problems and dysfunctions in the life. Since we are examining the horoscopes of murderers, a dysfunctional act to say the least, the obvious place to start would be with the hard aspects.

Aspects don't have to be exact. Astrologers allow an "orb of influence" of a few degrees on either side. How much? Regrettably, there has been no statistical research in this area. Orb size can vary with circumstances, and even with the astrologer. There are those who allow orbs of up to eight degrees. To be safe, the orbs used in this study have been set on the smaller side of the range. The orb size for the conjunction (the 0 degree

aspect) and the opposition (the 180 degree aspect) were set for + or - 5 degrees. The orb for the square (the 90 degree aspect) was set at + or - 4 degrees.

Now what is the chance of any two planets making a "hard" aspect if we use the above orbs? Well, picture a stationary point on a circle. If there is a second point moving around the circle at a uniform rate, what are the chances of that second point making a hard aspect with the first?

That second point will make a hard aspect with the first if it lands in any of the zones around the aspect points. In other words, if it lands within 5 degrees of the first point, it will make a conjunction. If it lands within five degrees of the opposite point, it will make an opposition. And if it lands within four degrees of either square point (there are two possible ways to have a 90 degree aspect; to the left or to the right of the first point) it will make a square. Adding up all of these zones (5+5) + (5+5) + (4+ 4) + (4 + 4) = 36we get that there are 36 possible degrees on that circle where the second point can land and make a hard aspect with the first. Since there are 360 degrees in a circle, the odds of the second point making an hard aspect with the first point is 36/360 or 0.1 which is 10%.

But planetary motion is not uniform. Won't that throw the calculations off? Not if we take birth dates over a long enough time span. The fluctuations even out in the long haul. Even for a planet like Neptune, which takes over 160 years to make one orbit? In that case, Neptune is moving so slowly that it can be considered stationary compared to the faster moving planets. But how about aspects that the outer planets make to each other? They stay in force for so long that they appear in the horoscopes of entire generations. Neptune and Pluto, for example, made an aspect of approximately 60 degrees for decades after 1943. For this reason, aspects outer planets make with each other will not be covered in this study.

Since everyone has a 10% chance of having any one aspect, it should be obvious that no one aspect could be the only factor in cases of murder. However, if there is an astrological effect, there should be some aspects that would increase the tendency towards murderous behavior. That tendency should be detectable by statistical techniques. Those who have committed murder should have certain aspects occurring in their natal horoscopes by more than would be expected by random chance.

Could there be a difference between individual angles? In other words, even though the angles of 0, 90, and 180 degrees are alleged to have similar effects, could one of them predominate in some cases? That is something that would also have to be checked. The odds of having either a conjunction or opposition occur by random chance would be 1/36. For the 90 degree angle (the square) the odds would be 16/360 (remember that there are always two possible 90 degree angles, clockwise and counterclockwise) or 2/45.

How about other factors? Could certain degrees of the zodiac, for instance, play a role? The odds of any planet or other point in a horoscope appearing in one particular degree of the zodiac are 1/360. Using an orb of + or - one degree, this becomes 1/180. It must be remembered that every planet or point must appear somewhere in the chart. What we have to look for are repeats, one planet or point appearing in a particular degree by more than the theoretical odds of 1/180. Once again, it is possible for the three outer planets

to stay in a particular degree for months. For this reason, caution must be exercised when examining outer planet degree placement.

According to Astrology, What Aspects Would We Expect to Find?

Aspects to Mars, of course. Mars is said to be the planet of action and aggression. Negatively, that would be an indicator of violence. Pluto intensifies whatever it touches and it is supposed to be the ruler of death. Early upbringing could be a factor, and, in the horoscope, that would be influenced by the placement of the Moon. But has there been any previous work done on this topic?

Previous Studies of Murder in the Astrological Literature:

The first source here is "Astropsychiatry" by Harry Darling, M.D., and Ruth Hale Oliver, CSA Press, 1973. They claimed to have found the following aspects in the horoscopes of murderers:"I believe that the midpoint of Mars with Saturn, Uranus or Neptune, when occupied by a natal planet, gives a tendency to violence, that is, to commit violence or to be its recipient. The midpoint of Mars/Saturn coarsens and makes cruel, the midpoint of Mars/Uranus excites and makes erratic and aggressive, and that of Mars/Neptune creates hysteria, sensationalism and sometimes fanaticism, as well as aggression." (Pg.145).

Also mentioned were the midpoints of Venus with either Saturn or Uranus.

Less than 10 cases of the horoscopes of murderers were listed. No mention was made of control groups or of aspects that were tested and gave negative results.

The second source is "Destined for Murder: Profiles of Six Serial Killers" by Sandra Harrison Young and Edna Rowland, Llewellyn Publications, 1995. While the cases were discussed in detail, the number examined was nowhere near statistically significant, and, once again, there were no control groups. It should be stated that until recently, obtaining accurate birth data for a statistically significant number of cases was extremely difficult and time consuming. For astrologers, it was either do anecdotal research or none at all.

At the end of the book, possible astrological factors in the horoscopes of murderers were mentioned.

"Planetary aspects and placements, and the rulers of the following houses, should also be examined carefully: the 8th house (which rules death and sexual preferences); the 4th house (which rules our family heritage and endings, including the end of life); and the 12th house. (The 12th house rules imprisonment or incarceration in any institution where we may be deprived of our freedom. This is sometimes referred to as 'the house of self-undoing.')" (Destined For Murder: Pg.179).

"In the examination of the charts of criminals or mass murderers such as those described in this book, we can't overlook the importance of midpoints. Although all midpoints are vitally important, the following can be classified as key in cases of murder or crime: the Mars/Saturn midpoint (death); Mars/Pluto (murder); Saturn/Pluto (cruelty or violent

assault); and the Mars/Uranus midpoint (accident proneness). The Sun/Pluto or Mars midpoints are equally important in indicating a potential for violence, and the Moon/Saturn midpoint should be also noted, since it often indicates an unnatural dependency on one of the parents beginning in early childhood. Occupied midpoints should be given special attention, as well as those aspecting chart angles or cusps of angular houses." (Pg.180).

Hypothesis Hunting:

No previous study cited "negative" outcomes, horoscope features that gave a result no greater than random chance or, alternately, that showed no difference from a control group. Nor did any previous study claim to be complete. Could there be other aspects out there that give positive results? The only way to do a thorough job is to do some "hypothesis hunting", checking everything in the initial sample to see what is there. Now it is common sense that this procedure has to give some result, and it is possible for one sample to have one particular aspect give a very high result by random chance alone. The key, however, is reproducibility. As long as enough cases are held in reserve to so that the initial results can be retested and verified (or falsified), hypothesis hunting is a valid procedure.

Now how is the test itself to be run?

Test Parameters:

As mentioned above, the cases were divided into groups of 20. An individual group of this size is too small to run meaningful statistical tests. For this reason, the results from several groups were totaled. The tests were run initially on the totals from four groups. A minimum standard was set arbitrarily. An aspect had to appear at least 50% above random chance to be considered significant.

For example, the random chance result is 10%. For 80 cases, that means 8 "hits." To be considered significant, a particular aspect would have to appear at least 12 times out of 80 cases.

Test Results, Phase One:

Aspects were run for the following groups: M1, M2, M3, and S1. This initial phase involved some "hypothesis hunting" as well as examination of combinations that would be "expected" to give positive results. In Phase Two, the same tests were to be run on group S2 and the results totaled. In Phase Three, the same tests would be run on group S3 and the totals tabulated.

The following results were obtained for Phase One :  

 [ Appendix: All Tables & Charts used to perform this research ]

There were no stress aspects between the Sun and any planet. There were two "hits" to midpoints. The Moon had eight "hits." Astrologers allege that the Sun has to do with "ego", outward personality, and relations with the father and male authority figures, while the Moon indicates one's feelings, habits, "instincts", early nurturing, and relations with the mother.

A stress aspect between the Moon and Mars is not surprising. Mars is allegedly aggression and violence and a stress aspect to the Moon would show anger directed towards women, starting with the mother. Mass murderer Richard Speck, for example, who killed eight student nurses, had the Moon square Mars. (His chart is not included here as he was neither a single murderer nor a serial killer). Once again, let me emphasize that these aspects will be possessed by 10% of the general population. What we are looking for are those aspects which occur at least 50% above the number predicted by random chance. If there is to be an "astrological effect" at all, it will be statistical and not a one-to-one correspondence. And there would be several aspects involved, not just one.

Stress aspects from the Moon to Venus are more of a surprise. After all, in astrology Venus allegedly affects pleasure and comfort. However, our first experiences of these come from our relationship with our mothers. Any problems at that early stage could indicate trouble later in life.

In astrology, Mercury is said to rule conscious thought and the ability to communicate. There were no aspects of Mercury that gave positive results.

Venus gave two more hits (besides its aspect to the Moon, already covered). One was to Mars (violence). Stress aspects between Venus and Mars allegedly are associated with difficulties in expressing affection and passion. The other is a stress aspect between Venus and the planet that rules the first house (it made no difference which planet happened to rule the first house). Again, this could indicate difficulty in both giving and receiving pleasure and affection.

Since early nurturing is known to have a strong effect on subsequent behavior, the next question to ask is: are there other things in the horoscope that are supposed to affect it? In astrology, the Moon is not the only alleged indicator of nurturing. The asteroid Ceres is also claimed to have an effect. Ceres aspects would be the next place to look. Ceres stress aspects gave positive results with Jupiter and the Mars/Saturn midpoint. The connection with that midpoint is not surprising, since Mars/Saturn has a reputation for brutality. Jupiter, however, expands things. Too much nurturing? Perhaps too much of the wrong kind of nurturing, since we are looking at stressful aspects here. Or could it indicate an excessive need for nurturing? Further study is certainly indicated here.

The Venus/Ceres midpoint also gave results. Venus/Ceres would allegedly show pleasurable nurturing, or one's ability to experience pleasure from nurturing. That midpoint gave strong positive results when configured with Mars (violence), Jupiter (excess) and Saturn (deprivation).

Mars/Jupiter stress aspects are supposed to give a volatile temper. This also gave results. No surprise here. The Moon/Mars connection was already mentioned. Mars configured with the Moon's Nodes showed positive results as well. The nodes are the points where an orbit crosses the plane of the Earth's orbit.

The asteroid Juno gave a result for the Pluto/Node midpoint. Demetra George in her book "Asteroid Goddesses, claims that Juno "…represents our capacity for meaningful relationship…" and that its horoscope placement "…describes the ways in which we face the issues of compatibility, receptivity to others, mutual sharing, trust, jealousy, possessiveness, and power struggles"(pg.168). Pluto, however, is the planet of both extremes and death. It too has a connection with power struggles. And the Moon's Node does have a connection with emotion. Murder is, after all, about power.

Jupiter gave no results with Saturn or Chiron, or the outer planets. However, there were positives for the following midpoints: Venus/Ceres (mentioned earlier), Venus/Uranus, Venus/Neptune, Mars/Uranus, Saturn/Pluto, and Pluto/Node.

Venus/Uranus and Mars/Uranus are two of the midpoints mentioned by Darling and Oliver in "Astropsychiatry." Venus/Uranus has to do with sudden surges of amorous feeling as well as affection expressed in an unusual or bizarre fashion. It is also associated with rapid changes in the level of blood sugar. The negative effect of Mars/Uranus is claimed to be associated with sudden outbursts of temper. The alleged effect of Jupiter is to "expand" whatever it contacts. These combinations in the horoscopes of murderers are no surprise.

Neither are the stressful aspects of Jupiter to Saturn/Pluto or Pluto/Node. Pluto is known (anecdotally) to act like sort of a super Mars, but is more internal and brooding. This would mean that, potentially at least, Saturn/Pluto could have similarities to Saturn/Mars, a point of brutality. The (alleged) effect of Jupiter to expand things could bring out the negative side of Saturn/Pluto. As for Pluto/Node, we have already seen it give a positive result with Mars (action) so it is not unexpected for the (alleged) effect of Jupiter to expand things to have similar results.

There seems to be a lot of activity for Saturn with various midpoints of Venus. In several cases, the results were over the 50% minimum. For instance, Saturn gave a strong positive with the Venus/Chiron midpoint. Venus/Chiron is one of the places where we can have trouble experiencing pleasure. This would be a problem that would tend to linger. Saturn also shows positive results when in aspect to Venus/Ceres (pleasure received from nurturing). According to astrology, Saturn restricts and inhibits things. This does not necessarily mean that there was no pleasure from early nurturing. It could also indicate a lessened ability to accept nurturing. In any event, if the child did not perceive sufficient nurturing, there could easily be repercussions later in life.

Astrology alleges that the effect of Uranus is to excite, to make restless, to cause us to desire change, and increase our attraction to anything unusual or bizarre. Uranus gave positive results with the Moon/Mars midpoint (Moon=emotions, Mars=anger), and also with the Venus/Neptune midpoint (which is associated with sexual fantasies). Both gave strong results in three out of four groups. Uranus gave another strong result in stress aspect to the Moon's Node.

The Special Case of Oppositions:

The sixty horoscopes of the serial killers were inspected visually. It was noticed that there seemed to be an above average number of certain planets forming opposition aspects to the cusp (beginning) 8th house (death) and/or the 12th house (psychological problems). The odds of an opposition occurring by random chance alone are, of course, less than the combined odds for all of the so-called stressful aspects. Since we are allowing an orb of influence of plus or minus 5 degrees, a planet can land in any one of 10 degrees of the zodiac circle and form the opposition. 10 degrees divided by the 360 degrees of the full circle yields 1/36, or 2.8%.

A striking example was the planet Saturn opposite the 12th house cusp. This happened in 6 out of the 60 horoscopes of the serial killers, or 10%. This is 3.6 times what would be predicted by random chance. Granted that the sample size is small, however this does indicate a subject for further research.

 

To be released on November 6th, 2003 - Part Two of this Article

The Claim being made for this Study:This is a work still in progress so no claim is being made (or can be made) as to whether or not there is any validity to astrology. The claim I do make is that this method (comparing objectively observable horoscope features, such as angles between planets and midpoints, with objectively observable phenomena in the lives of people, e.g. murder) is a valid way to put astrology to the test. Further results will be reported as obtained.

Appendix: The Supporting Data used for this Study. This section exhibits the astrological charts and the tables used to perform this research.

Frequencies of Various Aspects in the Horoscopes of Murderers and Serial Killers vs. Those in a Control Group, Part Two

Acknowledgements: This study would not have been possible without the accurate data collected by the late Lois Rodden and made available through the Astrodatabank program, which was put together by Mark Mc Donough. Thanks also to Alphie La Voie and his Astroinvestigator program, which can perform a great number of tests at once. And of course, thanks to Diane Cramer who did many of the computer runs and the table.

A Detailed Analysis of the Horoscopes of Sixty Serial Killers. Are there are any Overall Patterns of

Aspects?

I've said this before in Part One of this study, but it bears repeating. In fact, it bears frequent repetition in order to avoid misunderstandings. I am NOT claiming that the research presented here is proof of astrology. But I am claiming that the model used here provides the best way so far to put astrology to the test. Please note that I am also NOT claiming that the factors found here will predict who will be a serial killer with 100% certainty. However, we have to remember that the studies which showed smoking causes cancer did not show exactly who would get this disease with 100% accuracy either. Woody Allen's father started smoking at eighteen and he smoked two packs a day for the rest of his life. He was 100 when he died (from a heart attack). What is being looked for here is a statistical correlation between objectively observable factors in the horoscopes of serial killers and their objectively verifiable behavior. If it can be shown that certain astrological features (aspects or sign and house positions) occur consistently by considerably more than random chance, then the case for an "astrological force" can begin to be made.

In Part One of this study, the horoscopes of sixty serial killers and sixty single murderers were examined to see if the angular separation between planets and between planets and midpoints of various planetary pairs occurred with a frequency greater than one would expect from random chance alone. In astrology, certain angles (which astrologers call aspects) are said to be "stressful" and these are the aspects that were examined (these are angles of 0, 90, and 180 degrees). An arbitrary standard was set. To qualify as a "hit", stressful aspects between planets (as well as between planets and certain points) had to occur at least 50% more than one would expect by random chance. For the full details on the model, please see  Part One of this study. In this paper, we will examine a host of new factors and see if there are any combinations of them that are common to several of the horoscopes.

A more powerful research program recently became available, the Astroinvestigator (from AIR software). This program can perform dozens of tests at once with one mouse click. One of the things found was the increased frequency of placements in certain astrological signs and houses.

Before we examine those results, we have to ask what are the odds of the Sun, Moon, or one of the faster moving planets being in any particular astrological "sign"? Since there are twelve signs of equal size (thirty degrees each) the odds would obviously be one out of twelve. Since our sample consists of sixty cases, we would expect any particular placement to occur in five charts (60 x 1/12 = 5). We will continue to use the arbitrarily set standard from Part I of 50% above random chance. That means a "hit rate" of at least 8 cases out of our 60 charts. The results are shown in the following tables.

NOTE: Ten computer-generated controls were run for each chart in the sample. The Range of results is listed in the far right column. The number on the left of the dash shows the Least number of "hits" in a control, while the number to the right of the dash shows the Most number of hits in a control. The column immediately to the left of this shows the average number of hits for the controls. 

 

The outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) move very slowly and, as a result, tended to concentrate in a few signs over long periods of time. Because of this, the numbers would be skewed. For this reason, the sign positions of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were excluded.

The above average placements for the signs of Gemini, Sagittarius, and Capricorn are interesting. For one thing (according to astrological tradition) Gemini and Sagittarius are "mental" signs. They have to do with our ability to think and communicate. There was also increased activity in houses three and nine, the houses that correspond to Gemini and Sagittarius. Of course at this early stage of the research, no definitive conclusions can be drawn. However, to an astrologer, the increased placements in both mental signs and houses is an indication that something could be up and that further research should be focused on this area.

The Sun, Moon, and Ascendant are alleged by astrologers to affect one's "personality. All have "hits" in the sign of Sagittarius at least 50% above random chance. The Sun was found to be in the opposite sign, Gemini, in 11 cases, more than twice the random amount. The corresponding houses also showed an increased hit rate. The Sun and Moon had above random placements in the 9th house (the house that corresponds to Sagittarius, the 9th sign). In addition, the Moon had a higher than random hit rate for the 3rd house.

The Node of the Moon showed a similar effect. It was found to be in the sign of Gemini in 11 cases, and it also occurred in the 3rd house (which corresponds to Gemini, the 3rd sign) 8 times.

There were also above normal placements of the Sun and Moon in the sign of Capricorn. In astrology, Capricorn allegedly shows the area of the life where we have an above average need for "control." Of course, this study is only preliminary. However, the fact that the same signs show up repeatedly for several factors does attract notice.

Patterns: the Search for Combinations of Aspects

In Part One, another finding was the apparent increased presence of opposition aspects (an angle of 180 degrees) to the cusps (beginnings) of both the 12th and 8th houses (sectors) of the horoscopes. The 12th house is alleged to deal with "restriction," including self-destructive behavior and all forms of psychological problems. The 8th house supposedly rules death. Serial killers tend to have "stressful" aspects (the conjunction, square, and opposition) to the cusps of one or both of these houses, and, in particular, the opposition.

Let's do a brief review. Given any point on the horoscope wheel, what are the odds of another point being opposite within an orb (range) of + or - five degrees? That would be 10 degrees (5 + 5) divided by the 360 degrees of a circle, or 1/36. This was noticed first with the opposition of Saturn to the 12th house cusp. Out of 60 charts of serial killers, 7 had this aspect (7/60). That is 4.2 times what would be predicted by random chance. The controls yielded only two "hits," which is within the range of random results.

A rate 50% above random chance may be evidence if the results are consistent and the sample large enough, but we are dealing with serial killers here, and they are

(mercifully) only a small, very small portion of the population. Even if there is an "astrological force", no one aspect can possibly account for this. We would have to have combinations of aspects, sign placements, and house positions where the odds of occurrence are much smaller. Fortunately, the data used here was from the Astrodatabank program, which has a research function called the "filter" that enables a sample to be screened for multiple factors. This was the procedure:

First, the 23,103 charts in the Astrodatabank database were screened for those where the data was rated B or better. These were then filtered for serial killers to yield 83 cases. This group was examined to remove political figures (e.g. Ivan the Terrible, Nazi officials, members of the Red Brigade, etc.) and military figures. Those were removed because of the possibility that the motivation for their murders were different from that of the "ordinary, everyday" serial killers. The serial killers that were left were largely those who killed for sexual reasons (e.g. Ted Bundy) or simply killed for no apparent reason (e.g. David Berkowitz) or for "Satan" (Richard Ramirez). This was the latest version of the Astrodatabank program (version 2.01). Part One of this study was done with an older edition that yielded only sixty cases. For consistency, Part Two was limited to the same cases. The few extra cases were set aside for future work.

The first screen was for an aspect, in this case the Moon's North Node making a "stress" aspect (0, 90, or 180 degrees) with the cusp (beginning) of the 12th House. The orb was + or - five degrees. The number of charts expected by random chance from a sample of 60 is six. The number we are looking for in order to have a rate at least 50% better than random chance is nine. The number found was eleven. The charts that passed this screen were; 

1. Bob Berdella 2. Ian Brady (the Monster of the Moors) 3. Clarence Carvalho 4. Dean Corll (the Candy Man Killer) 5. Thomas Dillon 6. Neville Heath 7. Ed Kemper 8. Dennis Nilsen 9. Pietro Pacciani (the Monster of Florence) 10. Arthur Shawcross

11. Randall Woodfield

* Note: Click on name to view charts

The next screen was for the Sun in one of the following signs: Gemini, Sagittarius, or Capricorn. The odds of the Sun being in any one sign are approximately 1/12. The odds of it being in three possible signs out of 12 are 3/12 or 1/4. Eight out of the above eleven passed the test: charts numbered 2,4,6,7,8,9,10,and 11. The odds of passing both screens are 1/10 x ¼ or 1/40. With a sample of 60 charts to start with, the random result would be 60/40 or 1.5 charts selected. The actual number of 8 charts is 8/1.5 or 5.33 times random chance.

The next screen was for any one of the following being found in the 12th House: Mars, Saturn, Neptune, or Pluto. The odds of finding any one planet in a particular house are 1/12. The odds of finding one out of four possible planets in that house are 4/12 or 1/3. The random chance result should give us 1/3 of the eight charts. The actual result was that seven charts passed the screen out of the eight we started with. They were chart numbers 2,4,6,7,8,10, and 11. The odds of this happening by random chance are:

1/10 x 1/4 x 1/3 or 1/120.

We actually got 7 out of 60. 120 x 7/60 is 14 times the random chance result.

Controls

With over 23,000 birth charts in its database, the Astrodatabank program makes it easy to run other groups as controls against a test group. Click on "Filter", select Rodden Rating of B or better, and pick artists (fine art). 257 charts are chosen. One of them, however, is John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer in our test sample who also happened to paint! His chart was eliminated as a control. This left 256 cases. Now we apply the same tests that showed above average results for serial killers. The first screen was for the Moon's North Node making a stress aspect to the 12th house cusp. 15 out of 256 charts passed, or 5.9%. This compares with the 11 charts out of 60 that passed for the test group (18.3%). The percentage predicted by random chance is 10.0%. The second screen was for the Sun in any one of three signs, Gemini, Sagittarius, or Capricorn. This reduced the number of artist's charts to three. The percentages are100 x 3/256 = 1.2% vs. 100 x 8/60 or 13.3% for the serial killers. The last screen, having Mars or Saturn or Neptune or Pluto in the 12th house, left only one chart for the artists vs. 7 out of 60 for the serial killers. The final percentages for this series of screens are 100 x 1/256 = 0.39% vs. 100 x 7/60 = 11.7%. The serial killers rate is 30 times that of the artists.

The one artist remaining out of the initial 256 control cases was Anne Marie Rasmussen, who first achieved fame as the poor housemaid who married one of the Rockefellers. During the 1970's, she suffered from extreme bouts of depression and had three nervous breakdowns. Lithium treatments eventually stabilized her condition.

The second control group consisted of 403 fiction writers. The 1st screen (Node in stress aspect to the 12th house cusp) reduced this to 34, or 8.4%. The second screen (Sun in Gemini, Sagittarius, or Capricorn) lowered the number to 8, or 2.0%. The last screen (Mars or Saturn or Neptune or Pluto in the 12th house) gives us a final number of 3, or 0.74%. The 11.7% scored by the serial killers is 15.8 times the result for the writers.

The writers who passed this test were the anti-Semitic French writer, "Celine", who wrote a book titled "Death on the Installment Plan, Umberto Ecco, whose "Name of the Rose" is a Medieval murder mystery, and Whitley Strieber, whose books include "Wolfen" and "The Hunger." Strieber also claims to have been abducted by a UFO on several occasions.

Another Combination With Node in Stressful Aspect to the 12th House as the First Screen.

Another screen applied to the original 11 charts that passed the first test is the placement of the Moon's North Node in either house 3 or house 9. The odds of finding the any particular placement in one house are 1/12. The odds of finding it in either of two particular houses are 1/6. Five charts passed this test: 3,4,7,8,and 9. Adding the Sun in Gemini, Sagittarius, or Capricorn screen from above eliminates another horoscope and leaves us with the charts numbered 4, 7, 8, and 9. The odds are

1/10 x 1/6 x 1/4 = 1/240.

Since we found 4 out of 60, we have (240 x 4)/60 or 16 times the random chance result.

Another screen is Uranus in either house number 8 or 9 or 10. The odds are 1/4. Applying that to the above case still leaves us with same four charts: #4, 7, 8, and 9. However, the odds now rise to

1/10 x 1/6 x 1/4 x 1/6 or 1/960.

Since there were four charts out of 60 charts passing the test, we have (960 x 3)/60 or 48 times the number predicted by random chance. Now we are starting to get some serious numbers (but once again, let us remember that this is still not proof). So one combination of factors to look for in future studies would be charts that have the following: The North Node of the Moon making angles of 0 or 90 or 180 degrees with the 12th house cusp (5 degree orb), that same Node in either the 3rd or 9th house, the Sun in Gemini or Sagittarius or Capricorn, and Uranus in either the 8th, 9th or 10th house.

The artist control group yielded the following results: 4 passed the 2nd screen (Node in house 3 or 9), 1 passed the 3rd screen, and that chart also passed the last screen. It belonged to Canadian artist Harold Town. One chart out of 256 is a success rate of 0.4% vs. 100 x (4/60) or 6.7% for the serial killers.The fiction writer control group had 10 pass the 2nd screen, 2 passed the 3rd screen, and one pass the last screen, Umberto Ecco.

Other potential combinations of factors to be searched for in future tests:  

1. Node in stress aspect to the 12th house cusp, plus Sun in Gemini or Sagittarius or Capricorn, plus Jupiter in the 2nd or 7th or 10th houses, plus Saturn in the 1st or 6th or 12th houses. The odds are 1/10 x 1/ 4 x 1/4 x 1/4 = 1/640. There were 3 hits (charts 2, 6, and 9) out of 60. This is 48 times the random chance result. The artist control gave a final result of Zero. The fiction writer control also gave a final result of Zero.2)

2. Saturn opposite the 12th house cusp (5 degree orb), plus Mercury in the signs of Scorpio or Sagittarius, plus Neptune in the 2nd or 7th or 12th house. The odds are 1/36 x 1/6 x 1/4 = 1/864. Three charts were found here: Angelo Buono (one of the Hillside Stranglers), Clarence Carvalho, and William Heirens. This is 43.2 times random chance. The percentage is

100 x (3/60) = 5.0%The artists control had 7 charts pass the first screen. Two made it past the second screen. Zero passed the third screen.The fiction writer control group had two pass all screens. The first was Deepak Chopra, a doctor and writer on holistic health who also published a novel. The second was French novelist Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary. The percentage result for the fiction writers is 100 x (2/403) = 0.5%, or one-tenth the result for the serial killers.

3. The Moon making a "stress" aspect to Venus (5 degree orb) combined with Mars or Saturn or Neptune or Pluto in the 12th house, and the Moon in Sagittarius or Capricorn or Pisces, and Jupiter in the 7th or 10th house. The odds are 1/10 x 1/3 x 1/4 x 1/6 = 1/720. Four charts were selected: Henri Girard, Neville Heath, William Heirens, and Herbert Mullin. This is 48 times random chance. The hit rate is 100 x (4/60) = 6.7%.The artists control had one chart out of 256 pass these tests, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (who also paints). The percentage is 100 x (1/256) = 0.4%. The fiction writer control had Zero hits.

4. The Moon making a "stressful" aspect with the Ascendant (5 degree orb) and the North Node of the Moon in either house 3 or 9, plus Venus in the 6th house. The odds are 1/10 x 1/6 x 1/12 = 1/720. Three charts passed: David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam Killer), Arthur Goode, and Pietro Pacciani. This is 36 times random chance. That's 100 x 3/60) =5.0%.The artists control had one pass these screens. No name given. Identified only as Mensan 7769. The 3/60 for the serial killers is 12.8 times the 1/256 result for the artist controls. The hit rate percentage is 100 x (1/256) = 0.4%.The fiction writer control had Zero pass.

5. Uranus making a "stressful" aspect with the 8th house cusp (5 degree orb) and the Sun in Gemini or Sagittarius or Capricorn, plus Saturn in house 1 or 6 or 12, plus Neptune in house 2 or 7 or 12. The odds are 1/10 x 1/4 x 1/4 x1/4 = 1/640. The three charts selected were Ted Bundy, Ed Kemper, and Peter Kurten. This is 32 times random chance. The hit rate percentage is 100 x (3/60) = 5.0%. The only artist to pass was singer Donna Summer. As in example number 4 above, the 3/60 result for the serial killers is 12.8 times the 1/256 for the artist control group. The hit rate percentage is 100 x (1/256) = 0.4%. None of the 403 fiction writers passed this test.

Two Objections to This Procedure.

The first is the "Royal Flush" objection. The odds of getting a royal flush are enormous, but they are the same as getting any other hand. The only reason we notice the royal flush is because we assign it a value. In any sample of horoscopes, there will most likely be some aspect combinations that will show up even though the odds against it are very

high.

The second objection is that the procedure of searching for single features that appear 50% or more above chance and then checking for combinations of these factors is "stacking the deck." Since these aspects and positions start with higher than normal occurrence, it is to be expected that their combinations should also appear more often as well.

I totally agree with both of these objections! That is why there is no claim being made that these results constitute "proof" of astrology in any way shape, or form. Then what exactly is being claimed? That the results obtained here give us a target to aim for with future samples. If these results are repeated consistently, then that will be evidence that there is an "astrological force." That will be the white crow that proves all crows are not black. This study is a work in progress. With this in mind, let's take a look at combinations that have considerably lower probabilities of occurring by random chance alone.

The First chart belongs to Angelo Buono, one of the infamous "Hillside Stranglers." He and his cousin, Ken Bianchi, terrorized L.A. Buono had Saturn opposing the 12th house cusp and the aspect is less than two degrees from exact. He also had the Sun making an opposition aspect to the cusp of his 8th house. Other "indicators" (or rather what we are tentatively terming "indicators") in Buono's horoscope are: Mercury in Scorpio, Saturn in the 6th house, Uranus in the 8th house, Pluto in the 11th house, Mars in the 12th house, and Neptune in the 12th house (total: seven indicators).

The next example is Clarence Carvalho, a serial killer from Hawaii who killed two men. The third time he tried to kill, the victim survived and identified him. Once again Saturn is opposite the 12th house cusp. Other tentative indicators in Carvalho's horoscope are: Sun in conjunction aspect with Pluto, Mars in conjunction aspect with the Moon's North Node, Saturn in the 6th house, Jupiter in the 8th house, and Uranus in the 10th house (total: six indicators).

Let's pause to review the odds of this happening by random chance alone. Saturn opposite the 12th cusp: the odds are 1/36. The Sun opposite the 8th cusp: again, 1/36. Mars making a stressful aspect to Saturn: 1/10. Odds of all three things happening together in one horoscope: 1/36 x 1/36 x 1/10 = 1/12,960 or 0.0000772. In other words, if there were a completely random distribution, we would need to look at 12,960 horoscopes in order to get one with all three of these aspects. We found two such charts in a sample of 60, so we have (2 x 12,960)/60 = 432 or 432 times as many charts as would be expected by random chance alone. 100 x (2/60) = 3.3%.

None of the 256 charts in the artist control passed. In Fact, none passed the first two screens (Sun and Saturn opposite the house cusps).

The 403-member fiction writer control group had one chart pass. It belonged to Teuvo Saavalainen, a Finnish novelist. 100 x (1/403) = 0.25%.

Of course, as any statistician will tell you, this is not proof of a causal connection. The planets have to be somewhere in the wheel, and you can always get a highly improbable combination occurring one in any sample. These results do, however, provide things to

look out for in future research. There were a total of six horoscopes with Saturn opposite the 12th house cusp. The others were

Paul Bernardo who was convicted in 1995 of torturing, killing, and dismembering several teenage girls in Canada. He has the telltale Saturn opposite the 12th house cusp. Other tentative indicators are Saturn in the 6th house, the Moon in the 8th house, the North Node of the Moon in Gemini, Pluto in the 12th house, and the ruling planet of the 8th house (Mars in this case) making a stress aspect to the cusp of the 8th house (total: 6 indicators).

Pietro Pacciani, the "Monster of Florence," (who specialized in killing tourists) also had Saturn opposite the 12th house cusp. Other tentative indicators in his chart are the Sun in Capricorn, Mercury in Sagittarius, Mars in Aries, Venus in the 6th house, Jupiter in the 7th house, Saturn in the 6th house, Uranus in the 10th house, and the North Node of the Moon in the 3rd house (total: 9 indicators).

William Heirens, the "Lipstick Killer," is next. He used to write "Stop me before I kill again" at the crime scene with the victim's lipstick. It turned out that this was not a cry for help. Heirens was taunting the police. Other tentative indicators are the Moon is in the sign of Capricorn, Mercury in Scorpio, the North Node of the Moon in Gemini, Mercury in the 4th house, Venus in the 6th house, Mars in the 12th house, Jupiter in the 10th house, Neptune in the 2nd house, and Pluto in the 12th house (total: 10 indicators).

The last horoscope with Saturn opposite the 12th house cusp belongs to Richard Eberling, who was convicted of killing two elderly women. It is believed (but not proved) that he was also the killer of Marilyn Sheppard. Sam Sheppard, the husband, spent 10 years in jail until a young lawyer named F. Lee Bailey got him acquitted at a retrial. Other indicators are the Sun in Sagittarius, the Moon in Pisces, Mercury in Sagittarius, the Moon in the 8th house, Neptune in the 2nd house, Pluto in the 12th house, and the Moon making a stress aspect to Mars (total: 8 indicators).

Now we consider cases where the odds are considerably greater than one out of thirty six. There are three cases out of the sixty charts where the Moon is making a conjunction aspect with the same fixed star. Traditionally, the orb given for a conjunction to a fixed star is only plus or minus one degree. This means that the odds of having this aspect are 1/180. Three out of the sixty cases had the Moon within one degree of Scheat, a star that has had a nasty reputation among astrologers for centuries (alright, it's anecdotal). 3 out of 60 is 1/20. This is nine times what is expected by random chance for this one aspect alone.

Let's take a look at the horoscope of John Wayne Gacy. Gacy tortured and murdered over thirty young men, most of whom he buried in the crawl space under his house. While he was in prison awaiting execution, he started a 900 number and sold his paintings and other memorabilia. His Ascendant was in the sign of Sagittarius and both his Sun and Moon in the sign of Pisces. His Moon, as was just mentioned, is making a conjunction with the fixed star Scheat. Fixed stars have a very narrow orb of influence, only plus or minus one degree. Other tentative indicators in Gacy's horoscope are a Sagittarius Ascendant, Saturn in the 6th house, Jupiter in the 7th house, the North Node of the Moon in Virgo, and the North Node of the Moon in the 9th house, and either the Moon in the 3rd house or Mars in the 7th house (total: seven indicators).

Why the uncertainty? There is some question about the time zone in effect at the time of Gacy's birth. Wartime was in effect, but there seems to have been a law in Illinois to the effect that all birth times had to be reported in Standard Time. Some hospitals followed the law, but not all. In this case, Sagittarius is the Rising Sign for both possible birth times. Standard Time gives the Moon in the 3rd house. Wartime gives Mars in the 7th house. In either case, the number of indicators remains constant at seven.

In addition to Gacy, the horoscopes of Ricardo Ramirez, the infamous "Night Stalker" of Los Angeles, and Eugen Weidmann, a German serial killer, also have the Moon within one degree of Scheat.

Ramirez terrorized Los Angeles in 1985. His victims, who were apparently chosen at random, ranged in age from 6 to 84. They were beaten, shot, stabbed, raped. Five of the rape victims had their throats cut. He has both the Sun and Moon in Pisces and the Ascendant in Sagittarius, the same sign placements as Gacy. After his capture, Ramirez claimed to be a Satan worshiper. Other tentative indicators in his horoscope are the Ascendant in Sagittarius, the North Node of the Moon in Virgo, the Moon in the 3rd house, Saturn in the 1st house, Uranus in the 8th house, and the North Node of the Moon in the 9th house.

Perhaps you might have noticed that several of these indicators were also present in Gacy's chart. What are the odds here? Well, there is the same Moon Sign 1/12), same Ascendant Sign (1/12), same Sun Sign (1/12), Same Node Sign (1/12), and same house placement for the Node (1/12). The odds of having all these identical are

1/12 x 1/12 x 1/12 x 1/12 x 1/12 = 1/248,832!

Since we have 2 cases out of 60 here (or 1/30), we have a situation that is 8,294.4 times what we would expect by random chance alone. Of course, if we replace the 1/12 odds of having the Moon in Pisces with the 1/180 odds of having it within one degree of Scheat. The odds become

1/180 x 1/12 x 1/12 x 1/12 x 1/12 = 1/3,732,480!

That's 124,416 times the predicted random result.

The artist control group gave a result of Zero.

The fiction writer control group gave a result of Zero for just the first three steps (Sun and Moon in Pisces, Ascendant in Sagittarius).

And then, there is Eugen Weidmann.

Weidmann was estimated to have killed 86 people, some for the small change they had in their pockets. He was executed by guillotine in France in 1939. Other tentative indicators in this horoscope are Mars in Aries, the Sun in the 9th house, Uranus in the 8th house, Neptune in the 2nd house, the Moon making a stress aspect with Saturn, and Mars making a stress aspect with the North Node of the Moon (total: 7 indicators).

Another degree where the Moon showed up frequently was the 25th degree of Capricorn (between 24 degrees 1 minute of arc and 24 degrees and 59 minutes of arc). Four horoscopes out of the sixty had the Moon here. What are the odds of that happening by random chance alone? 60 x (1/360 x 1/360 x 1/360 x 1/360) or 1 out of 279,936,000! Of course, with only one sample, even odds this magnitude may still be only a coincidence. However, this does give something to look for in future research. Let's take a look at these horoscopes.

The first one belongs to Arthur Goode, a homicidal, schizophrenic pedophile. He killed two young boys and was stopped before he could kill a third. Goode was executed in Florida on April 4, 1984. Other tentative indicators in his chart are the Moon in the 3rd house, Venus in the 6th house, Saturn in the 1st house, Neptune in the 12th house, Pluto in the 10th house, the North Node of the Moon in the 3rd house, the Moon in stress aspect with Venus, and Uranus in stress aspect with the North Node of the Moon (total: 9 indicators).

Fredrick West also has the Moon in the 25th degree of Capricorn. He was accused of killing 11 young women, including his own daughter and stepdaughter. Most of the victims were tortured first. After his arrest, West killed himself in prison on New Year's Day, 1995. Other tentative indicators in this chart are Mercury in Scorpio, Venus in Scorpio, Mars in Aries, the North Node of the Moon in Virgo, the Moon in the 3rd house, Mars in the 7th house, Uranus in the 8th house, Pluto in the 10th house, the Moon in stress aspect to Mars, and the Ruling Planet of the 8th house (Venus in this case) making a stress aspect to the 8th house cusp (total: eleven indicators).

Henri Girard made history by being the first "scientific killer." He was a bon vivant who moved in high social circles. Like many sociopaths, he had lots of charm, enabling him to attract victims. What set him apart was his collection of germ cultures. Girard's first victim was Louis Pernotte, whom he insured for 300,000 francs and killed by gradually feeding him the germs. He tried to kill a couple with poisoned mushrooms, but failed.

The next victim was a war widow, whom he insured and poisoned. They caught him because he killed her too soon after having her insured. Before he could be tried, Girard killed himself in May 1921 by swallowing a germ culture. Other tentative indicators are the Ascendant in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Scorpio, Mars in the 12th house, Uranus in the 8th house, The Moon in stress aspect with Venus, and the Ruling Planet of the 8th house (the Moon in this case) making a stress aspect to the cusp of the 8th house (total: seven indicators).

Richard Lee Tingler killed at least seven people. He was on the FBI's ten most wanted list in 1968 and 1969. He shot four people through the head on September 16, 1968, and two more the following month. In April 1969, he killed a man and stole his car. Tingler was arrested the following month. Other tentative indicators in Tingler's chart are the Sun in Sagittarius, Mercury in Scorpio, Venus in Scorpio, Mercury in the 9th house, and Neptune in the 7th house (total: six indicators).

One artist had had this Moon placement: Pierre Soulages, an abstract artist. That's a rate of 100 x (1/256) = 0.4%. None of the 403 fiction writers had the Moon in this degree of Capricorn.

Postscript:

After Part One was published, information was obtained on another serial killer. John Muhammad made headlines with his sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C. area. This is a good test case of the factors that were found in our original sample. The following factors were found: Sagittarius on the Ascendant, the Sun in Capricorn, the North Node of the Moon in Virgo, Mars in the 7th house, Saturn in the 1st house, Uranus in the 8th house, and the Moon making a stress aspect to the Ascendant (total: seven indicators).

The work is continuing....

Bob Marks, Astrologer