Living here in the UK I have not heard anything of the Jody Arias trial but in the United States it seems that this story has been dominating the news for weeks. She has been convicted of 1st degree murder of her former boyfriend Travis Alexander back in 2008 and now in sentencing the jury at the case were split 8-4 to whether she should receive the death sentence. If she were to receive it in a retrial due to be held in July, then she would become one of only a few women on death row in the US. This case is notable for the graphic nature of the relationship of the two former lovers and the brutal manner in which Travis Alexander was killed. Looking into the Astrology between the two, a fascinating picture appears.
Jodi Arias was born on 9th July 1980 at 01:52am in Salinas, California according to Astro Databank and as such she is a Sun sign Cancerian with a Gemini Moon and a Taurean Ascendant. For sure this is a very wilful and controlling woman with Pluto square to her Cancerian Sun and Mercury and Saturn in her 5th house of lovers conjunct to Mars and at the point of a mini grand trine connected to Uranus in her 7th house and the Sun Mercury conjunction in her 3rd. This set-up could possibly could suggest that something harsh, violent and unpredictable could happen in a relationship. She is certainly an independent type with her 3rd house Sun and Mercury trine to Uranus and with Uranus in her 7th house and this house ruled by Scorpio, I can tell that any permanent relationship she would have could be prone to sudden upsets and unexpected incidents and for sure she would be drawn to dark intense men and experiences.
That Saturn also sits at the point of a t-square square to Venus Moon conjunction indicating emotional disappointments in relationships were likely in her life and the opposition between Neptune and Venus connected to Saturn indicates to me that ultimately she might find that any relationship she had would start with high optimism and hopes only for them to be dashed when the cold reality about any relationship hit home. Neptune here also hinted at dark religious practices connected to any potential relationships which apparently occurred.
You can see the focus on that 5th house Saturn very clearly. Saturn in the 5th house in Virgo does show a potential to be harsh and critical to a lover and if a transiting planet were to make a stressful angle to that Saturn then the potential of her getting violent and angry too would come into play because of Saturn?s wide conjunction to Mars. When the murder or Travis occurred, this was just the case.
Once we add in Travis Alexander to the picture, things get very interesting. The top of the two chart here show the synastry between them. Several aspects stand out to me. Firstly adding in Black Moon Lilith to the picture sees Travis? BML conjunct to his Mars sitting directly on Jodi?s Moon, the core of her emotions, and this says to me that Travis was able to play with them and manipulate her very freely through the physical side of their relationship. Her Black Moon Lilith sits conjunct to his Pluto and this is a sexual, dark and subversive connection where she could play with his deepest desires and unlock secrets within him. Remember Black Moon Lilith in Astrology is an influence that can lead one astray and can ruin reputations and lives because of desire, greed and lust. We do know that their relationship from the beginning was based around brutal sexual tension as was revealed in the court case.
Also on that first chart above I have highlighted a square between Chrion and Saturn. Any tense aspect between these two planets in Astrology (conjunction, square or opposition) I consider a heartbreak connection. I have seen in my own life star crossed lovers with a tense connection between these two, and when the relationship breaks, as they often do, the Chiron person is the one with the deep wound in their heart and the Saturn person blithely can go away as if nothing had happened between them. The one with the wound as you can see was Jodi.
Moving down to the second chart, I have highlighted two t-squares between them both. You can see Travis? Saturn sitting on Jodi?s North Node square to her Uranus and this could indicate a harsh and damaging (Saturn) link to her destiny (North Node) and also connected to unpredictable and shocking events (Uranus) through her relationships with him (7th house). Also her Pluto sits on his North Node square to her Sun and this can indicate two things. I think these two people were linked intrinsically ? her basic energy through the Sun square to his nodal Axis affected the direction of his life and some potential brutality from her through Pluto had the potential to be connected to his destiny too. Pluto at the North Node indicates this might have been a difficult relationships and one based around her mystery and her power, something he would have been fascinated with. One other thing crossed my mind here, might her death (Pluto) eventually be linked to his destiny?
Hidden away in the midpoints of these charts are a couple of significant connections. Jodi?s Venus sits just 0:10 degrees from exact to Travis? Venus/Mars midpoint, the point of love and sex on his chart so here was a deep connection to love and sexual relations between them. His Sun also made a conjunction to her Venus/Mars midpoint, another link of love between them. On the other side, his Venus the planet of love and relationships sits in a tense square to her Mars/Saturn midpoint, the point of death on her chart ? her death linked to a relationship with him?
This is Jodi?s chart against the time of the murder as best I know it on 4th June 2008. You can see the transiting Nodal axis exact to within one second of a degree making a half return to her Nodal Axis, i.e. South Node to North and visa versa indicating a fateful turning point in her life. At the same time, transiting Chiron was conjunct the transiting North Node and opposing her natal North Node, square to Uranus, trine to Pluto and trine to her natal Mars creating a temporary grand trine. Also transiting Mars was making a square to her own Chiron and Ascendant conjunction. Here we have a wound (Chiron) being healed through anger and rage (Mars) in a unexpected, shocking event (Uranus), through violence and brutality (Pluto) to her former lover (Venus). Remember trines allow events to happen and oppositions can cause huge tension and animosity .
Transiting Pluto was making a close square to her natal Mars moving through her 8th house of death and change, so and dark thoughts in her mind would have been agitated and activated by the connection to Mars. Transiting Uranus was opposing her natal Saturn, that same Saturn I spoke about that was under so much pressure, an influence for her to break free from old attachments through in this case a horrendous and unexpected murder. Uranus was also trine to Uranus, another aspect of independent thought and freedom and trine to Mercury affecting her thought patterns and square to Neptune in her 8th house bringing self delusion and deception at a deep level in her psyche, when the incident occurred, I don?t think she was thinking straight at all. Look also and you will see that Chrion and the transiting North Node were making a temporary Yod connection to her 5th house Saturn and her Sun Mercury conjunction and in reverse transiting Uranus and Jupiter were making a risky sextile in the skies pointing down through a temporary Yod to her North Node. Again fateful moments in her life, ones where a risk she took went too far and has now cost her dear. She decided to eliminate the wound in her heart through horrible harsh retribution.
This is the chart for the retrial set for 18th July when the sentencing phase will begin again. You will see that the Nodal Axis now has moved onto her Ascendant/Descendant axis almost exactly saying that this time is another turning point in her life, a point where she will have to adjust her view of things and to new conditions. Transiting Neptune will be opposing her natal Jupiter so there may be more confusion over this trail and potential outcome. Her personal judgement will not be sound now however with Neptune (through Pisces) ruling the 12th house of prisons and Jupiter (through Sagittarius) ruling the 8th house of death, this is not a good opposition to have at the start of any retrial.
Transiting Chiron is square to her Ascendant ruler and her 4th house ruler as well as quindecile her natal Mars (Aries it?s ruler sits encased in the 12th house) so I can see personal suffering and incarceration as a result of this trial. With shocking Uranus in her 12th house of prisons and Pluto, the planet which can deal out the ultimate punishment in her 9th house of judgement trine to her natal Jupiter the planet of law, this is not a good set up for her and I wouldn?t mind betting that the judge and new jury will in the end send her to death row.