Criminal Intent
Can your birth chart reveal criminal tendencies?
Recently, I was invited to participate in a conversation involving the charts of a few well-known criminals. The idea, to the curious non-astrologer who asked me aboard, was that criminal tendencies could be found in a birth chart. She asked me to weigh in on the horoscopes of Bernie Madoff, who was convicted of the largest Ponzi scheme in America, and Scott Peterson, a man who was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci.
Look up your own personal tendencies in your Essential Birth Chart report!
I thought it was quite interesting that patterns revealed themselves immediately in each man's horoscope, consistent with his particular criminal behavior. But what I was determined to prove to the non-astrologer during our dialogue was that nowhere in a horoscope can you detect whether or not anyone will actually ever commit a crime.
You see, it's all about level.
There's a good chance you share certain horoscope patterns consistent with any number of criminals. I know I do. I remember reading in horror from an old Astrology text written in 1973 about my Mars conjunct Saturn-Pluto square. According to that author's interpretation, this aspect combination can "produce brutality and criminal tendencies." However, even here the author goes on to state that: "When combined with reason, discipline, and diplomacy, this square can provide the energy for great achievements."
I joke with my students all the time about this danger of putting anyone in a corner based on their Astrology -- of determining for them how the energy will manifest. According to certain "doom and gloom" astrologers, I have the potential to be a cold-blooded murderer.
Free will makes all the difference
Ummm, yeah. That doesn't work for me. Why? Because at the end of the day, we ALL have free will. WE determine how we'll use our natal tendencies. Do I have a short temper? You betcha. Will I fight to the death for my family? Yep. But am I a criminal? A murderer? Never! I choose to use Mars-Saturn square Pluto in my chart as a driver to overcome great difficulty.
Scott Peterson, on the other hand, didn't use his planets in as enlightened a way. He has a close conjunction between Mars and Uranus (both in partnership-oriented Libra). Together, these planets are known as being accident prone and capable of sudden fits of anger or aggression -- if it is expressed in the shadow form. If, however, the energy is expressed in its more positive direction, this can produce a native with tremendous drive to lead a revolutionary movement and to spearhead social change.
Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child. His level? The shadow.
The Astrology of Bernie Madoff
Madoff has a fascinating horoscope. A double Taurus (Sun and Moon) with Leo Rising, he has significant indications of money and power struggles during a life filled with opportunity to master and maintain material security. His mind, however, and his ego, was his downfall.
Madoff has a tight square between Mercury and Pluto. Expressed in a positive way, this aspect endows the native with incredible mental power. Extremely perceptive, this mind is quite astute at research, digging up secrets, and mining the psyche of emotional debris. Madoff, however, chose the darker expression of this square. He was a master manipulator, and he used his mental power to lie and control -- all for his own personal gain.
The young woman who asked me to explore these criminal charts has a Mercury-Pluto opposition in her chart. Is she a master manipulator? Not at all. She, in fact, uses her extraordinary opposition to dig up information. Her job is to open up conversations about taboo subjects like this in order to help us think about things from a different perspective. A deeper, more meaningful perspective.
Choosing between your higher and lower self
In the end I was able to convince her that criminal intent cannot be predicted by looking at anyone's horoscope. The owner of the horoscope alone determines whether or not anything in the "natal promise" will be fulfilled in the most illuminative way possible leading to soul growth, or in the most shadowy, pervasive form.
As human beings, like it or not, we make the choice every day between higher self and lower self. Choose wisely. Your soul will thank you.
Look up your own personal tendencies in your Essential Birth Chart report!