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It is often said that you can tell a lot about a person's personality by their zodiac or star-sign; whether they're mild-mannered, moody or mischievous, happy, half-witted or horny, astrologers believe that everything about us is "in the stars". But is this also true about serial killers? Can the stars predict a madness according due to the month they're born? Are Pisces predatory, Virgos vicious, Geminis less likely to garrote or an Aquarius almost certain to go ape-shit? And more importantly, do you share a star-sign (and personality traits) with a mass murderer? Let's find out.
The following study is taken from a RANDOM SAMPLE of 100 of the world's most infamous serial killers with a few notable exceptions where I was unable to track their exact date of birth (listed in the footnotes**). Therefore not every serial killer nor murderer can be included. This is a part one of a three-part blog on whether the star-sign*, birthday or lunar cycle can predict whether anyone is predisposed to becoming a serial killer. Who knows, it may be you?
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Which Serial KIller Shares My Zodiac/Star-Sign?
So what does that mean? Are those born under the sign of Gemini, Pisces and Capricorn more likely to be murderers, with those born under Cancer being more placid and less likely to kill, and every other star sign set aside to be... erm... their victims? Let's see. The following attributes of each star-sign was kindly purloined from The Psychic Guild website and Astrology.com. .
ARIES: Strengths; independent, generous, optimistic, enthusiastic and courageous. Weaknesses; moody, short tempered, self-involved, impulsive and impatient. Ruling planet: Mars (God of War), life pursuit: the thrill of the moment, secret desire: to lead the way for others, and serial killers who are an Aries; Henri Desire "The Ladykiller" Landru (who romantically trapped widows and murdered them for their money), John Reginald Christie (the West London strangler, necrophile and murderer who killed under the guise of a kindly neighbourhood abortionist) and Judy Buenoano.
TAURUS: Strengths; dependable, persistent, loyal, patient and generous. Weaknesses; stubborn, laziness, possessive, materialistic and self-indulgent. Symbol: the bull, life pursuit: emotional and financial security, secret desire: to have a secure, happy and wealthy life/marriage, and serial killers who are a Taurus; Albert Fish (the child killer and cannibal), Orville Lynn Majors and Michael “Hungerford Massacre” Ryan
GEMINI: Strengths; energetic, clever, imaginative, witty and adaptable. Weaknesses; superficial, impulsive, restless, devious and indecisive. Life pursuit: to explore a little bit of everything, intense mental energy, secret desire: to be ahead of the crowd, and serial killers who are Gemini; Peter "Yorkshire Ripper" Sutcliffe, Peter "The Vampire of Dusseldorf" Kurten, Anthony "The Camden Ripper" Hardy, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, Jeffrey "The Killer Cannibal" Dahmer and Dr Thomas "The Lambeth Poisoner" Neil Cream. And if you're wondering? No, they don't just dole out notorious nicknames to anyone, you have to have... erm... earned it.
Oh, and who else is a Gemini? The 45th President of the USA - Donald J Trump.
CANCER: Strengths; loyalty, dependable, caring, adaptable and responsive. Weaknesses; moody, clingy, self-pitying, oversensitive and self-absorbed. Life pursuit: constant reassurance and intimacy, secret desire: to feel safe (emotionally, spiritually and financially). That's an interesting series of personality traits given that there are ONLY TWO SERIAL KILLERS (in the list above) were born under the sign of CANCER. Hmm.
LEO: Strengths; confident, ambitious, generous, loyal and encouraging. Weaknesses; pretentious, domineering, melodramatic, stubborn and vain. Symbol: the lion, life pursuit: to lead the way, secret desire: to be a star, and serial killers who are a Leo; John George "The Acid Bath Murderer" Haigh, Myra "Moors Murderer" Hindley and Faye Copeland (aged 69, with her husband Ray aged 78, they were the oldest couple ever sentenced to death for murder in the USA).
VIRGO: Strengths; analytical, observant, helpful, reliable and precise. Weakness; sceptical, fussy, inflexible, cold and interfering. Symbol: the virgin, life pursuit: to do the right thing, secret desire: to love and be loved in return, and serial killers who were Virgo; Dr H H Crippin (supposedly killed his wife to marry his mistress), Albert "The Boston Strangler" DeSalvo and Ed Gein (the inspiration for Norman Bates in Psycho who slept with his dead mother's corpse, fashioned himself a "woman suit" made from the skins of his victims, as well as wearing belts made from their nipples, making lampshades from their faces and eating out of bowls made from their skulls).
LIBRA: Strengths; diplomatic, graceful, peaceful, idealistic and hospitable. Weaknesses; superficial, vain, indecisive and unreliable. Life pursuit: to be consistent, often unsteady, secret desire: to live an easy, uncomplicated life, and serial killers who are Libra; Fred West (part of the notorious killer couple Fred & Rose West), Derrick "The Cumbria Killer" Bird and Beverly "The Angel of Death" Allitt (a paediatric nurse who'd attempt to murder 13 sick children under her care in just two months).
SCORPIO: Strengths; loyal, passionate, resourceful, observant and dynamic. Weaknesses: jealous, obsessive, suspicious, manipulative and unyielding. Symbol: the Scorpion, life pursuit: to survive against all opposition, resilient, secret desire: to triumph, and serial killers who are Scorpio; Kimberly Clark-Saenz, Kristen Gilbert and Velma Barfield - all of whom were nurses who killed their patients.
SAGITTARIUS: Strengths; independence. Weaknesses; unemotional (oddly there were only two personality traits listed for Sagittarius, it's almost as if they're robots or inhuman)? Life pursuit: to live the good life, overly expressive with frequent burnouts, secret desire: to make a difference in the world, and serial killers who are Sagittarius; Dennis Nilsen (murdered 15 men, attempted to murder 9 others), Ted Bundy (killer of 30+ victims and necrophile), Edmund "The Co-Ed Killer" Kemper and Rosemary West. (Learn more about the life of Dennis Nilsen on a Murder Mile Walks tour).
CAPRICORN: Strengths; responsible, patient, ambitious, resourceful and loyal. Weaknesses; dictatorial, inhibited, conceited, distrusting and unimaginative. Life pursuit: to be proud of their achievements, powerful resilient energy, secret desire: to be admired by their family and friends and the world at large, and serial killers who were Capricorn; "Moors Murderer" Ian Brady, "Doctor Death" Harold Shipman (283 known victims, estimated to be 400+), Cynthia Coffman (lured four women to their deaths at the hands of her brutal husband), Dorothea "The Death House Landlady" Puente and Janie Lou Gibbs, who murdered her three sons, grandson and husband with rat poison.
AQUARIUS: Strengths; witty, clever, humanitarian, inventive and original. Weaknesses; stubborn, unemotional, sarcastic, rebellious and aloof. Life pursuit: to understand life's mysteries, secret desire: to be unique and original, and serial killers who are Aquarius; Joel Rifkin. That's it. And for those of you who don't know, I am an Aquarius, and as much as I don't believe in Astrology, that's a pretty accurate assessment of me. Eek!
PISCES: Strengths; compassionate, adaptable, accepting, devoted and imaginative. Weaknesses; oversensitive, indecisive, self-pitying, lazy and escapist. Life pursuit: to avoid feeling alone and instead feel connected to others and the world at large, erratic energy levels, secret desire: to live their dreams and turn fantasies into realities, and serial killers who are Pisces; John Wayne "The Killer Clown" Gacy (sadist, serial killer and children's entertainer), Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez, Colin "The Gay Slayer" Ireland (who pretended to be gay to lure homosexual men to their deaths) and Aileen Wuornos (prostitute, who murdered her punters, claiming self-defence in all cases).
Whether you believe in Astrology or not, I think it's safe to say, by the personality traits alone, steer clear of anyone who is a Gemini, Pisces and Capricorn, and anyone else in between, except Cancer and Aquarius. Join me for next week's blog which asks: "could you be a serial killer because of the day you were born?"
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers as Siblings, Serial Killer's Nicknames, Serial Killers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals.
* Obviously anything to do with Astrology is slightly cocked up, given that the exact dates in which your star-sign sits changes according to the celestial cycle, as explained by New Scientist
** Those I couldn't find the exact birth dates of were Linda Hazzard 1867, Catherine Flannagan, “Black Widows of Liverpool” 1829, Margaret Higgins “Black Widows of Liverpool” 1829, Mary Elizabeth Wilson 1893, Rhonda Belle Martin 1907, Tillie Klimek 1876, Jane Toppan 1857, Amy Archer-Gilligan 1868, Amelia Dyer 1837, Gordon Frederick Cummins 1913/14, William Burke “The body snatchers” 1792, William Hare “The body snatchers” 1792, and Michael Lupo 1953. Oddly, excluding those born overseas, the majority were working-class females.
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
11 Comments
Amanda
17/1/2017 07:55:39
Um, John Christie was a Cancerian. With the same birthday as me (which is how I know). Just thought I'd mention it :-)
Amanda
17/1/2017 08:04:19
Duh. Ignore me, I'm a twat. That was the day he was executed. Apologies. Pleased I'm wrong as you're the expert! :-)
Murder Mile Walks
17/1/2017 11:59:11
HI Amanda Ha the dates don't 'change' the Sun moves into each sign at a different time and sometimes a different day each year. Look up your astrological chart, you may need your time of birth for accuracy, and then you will know what sign you Sun and all the other planets were in at your time of birth. There is no ambiguity, just a man-made inaccurate calendar that we work to :-)
Chrissy Brown
27/1/2018 04:38:09
It's "Kemper" not "Kempner" just letting you know.
john edmondson
15/2/2018 16:38:45
Crippen was not a serial killer. In fact doubts have been expressed as to whether he killed his wife, certainly he killed no-one else. Odd that there should be three Copelands on the list, not a particularly common name.
Matthew
9/8/2018 15:08:22
Ypu forgot Adolf hitler who was a Taurus.
KIMBERLY
25/8/2018 17:57:06
I have a suspect that the Vallejo police dept have high on their list of suspects here recently.. Maybe you could dig in to this "Astrologically" ... Name: Golden K. Sturgell DOB: 10/16/1905. DOD: 11/12/1975
Evelyn
5/9/2019 22:00:00
Well that’s probably their sun sign it would be more interesting to know their moon sign and rising sign to truly know. Also their Mars = how you react when you are mad at someone.
Arthur
15/6/2020 21:04:12
Yes, that would be more accurate, indeed. The Moon would explain their emotional drive, coupled with Mars' aggressive desire to act out the underlying emotion. I am not surprised by the amount of Pisceans and Geminians in the list, though, quite shocked with Capricorn and Virgo. 24/5/2021 13:21:54
Wow, you have some really mean comments on here considering the work you have done! I think Stalin and Hitler, genocidal maniacs is quite the separate category. LOL. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorMichael J Buchanan-Dunne is a crime writer, podcaster & tour guide of Murder Mile Walks, hailed as one of the best "quirky curious & unusual things to do in London". 
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