Crime of Passion

I had a look at a case involving an affair, which ended in death for the man who had been carrying on with a married man's wife. Here are the details of the case below by wikipedia:

"Philip Barton Key was a United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.He is most famous for having been shot and killed by the man whom he cuckolded, Daniel Sickles. Sickles defended himself by adopting a defense of temporary insanity, the first time the defense had been used in the United States.

Born in Georgetown in Washington, D.C., Key was the son of Francis Scott Key and the great-nephew of Philip Barton Key. He was also a nephew of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. He married Ellen Swan, the daughter of a Baltimore attorney, on November 18, 1845. Allegedly the handsomest man in Washington and by 1859 a widower with four children, Key was known to be flirtatious with many women.

In 1859, Congressman Daniel Sickles shot and killed Phillip Barton Key, for having conducted a public affair with his wife Teresa Bagioli Sickles. Some time in the spring of 1858, Teresa Sickles began an affair with Key.Sickles had accused his much-younger wife several times during their five-year marriage of adultery, but she had repeatedly denied it to his satisfaction. But then Sickles received an anonymous note on February 26, 1859, informing him of his wife's liaison with Key. He confronted his wife, who confessed to the affair.Sickles then made his wife write out her confession on paper. Sickles saw Key sitting on a bench outside the Sickles home on February 27, 1859, signalling to Teresa, and confronted him. Sickles rished outside into Lafayette Square, cried "Key, you scoundrel, you have dishonored my home; you must die", and with a single pistol repeatedly shot the unarmed Key, who died. Key was taken into the nearby Tayloe House, where he died moments later.

Sickles was acquitted on the basis of temporary insanity, a crime of passion, in one of the most controversial trials of the 19th century. Sickles' attorney later became a powerful rival Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Years later, while attending the theater in New York City, Sickles was aware of the presence of Key's son James Key in the audience, and both men kept watching each other throughout the performance. But nothing happened".

Astrology

At the time of this murder, transiting Saturn was moving through Leo and formed a tense square with transiting Pluto in Taurus, a fixed configuration which involves defending one's honour (Saturn in Leo). Pluto in Taurus relates to possessions, hidden sensuality, property, along with self-worth and stability. Saturn/Pluto is an inflexible pairing and these planets share some commonality with the need for control and power, and when these two figures meet the issues surrounding them become dominant in the psyche of man and his world. Pluto has the effect of destroying all known forms of security and protection (Saturn). And this dominant energy was overhead in the sky the night Sickle took a gun and shot the man who had been acting dishonourably with his wife. Saturn/Pluto formed a t- square to Sickles Jupiter in Aquarius, and this pattern affected his ethical morals and a confrontation with his beliefs and worldview. It can represent great mistrust and his previous worldview goes down like a lead balloon. It can represent a time of being confronted by a moral dilemma (Saturn). Daniel Sickles has a natal Venus in Libra square Mars in Cancer - this aspect can bring quarrel in love or even a romantic triangle, read more about Venus/Mars here. This link is to a synastry contact rather than natal, but many of the themes still apply. With Sickle's natal aspect he has an idealised and romanticised image of love (Venus) however domestic quarrels upset and threaten the security of the bond (Mars in cancer).

I noticed transiting Pluto was slowly leaving an opposition to Sickle's natal Venus in Libra. At the time of the killing it was 7 degrees away from natal Venus. For most of his five year marriage he had his suspicions (Pluto) of a love affair (Venus-Mars), and he unconsciously believed his wife was having an affair, his mistrust heightened and he questioned his young bride about the possibility of her playing away from home. Mrs Sickle's brushed his accusations away, until fate revealed what was happening. The death of the love rival cultivated the end of the affair and the Venus-Pluto contact. His rival Philip Key was under a transit from Jupiter in Gemini forming a hard aspect to Saturn in Pisces. It was a letter sent to Mr Sickles, which uncovered his deceit.

The transits are not powerful for his death, and without a birth time no aspects to Key's angles are shown. However, transiting Mars was conjunct his Sun/Mercury in Aries on the day of the shooting. This can represent a sudden quarrel and act of violence. Natally he had a stellium in Aries with Venus the planet of love placed in Aries. Both men had Sun square Mars in their nativities, and Mr Key with his Sun in Aries (ruled by Mars) and Sickles with Sun in Libra (ruled by Venus) I guess all is fair in love and war!! The synastry between these two men show a tight Venus square Mars aspect. Sickles Mars in cancer forms a square to Key's Venus in Aries, a battle over love. I am still exploring synastry between people who meet instantly and the contact ends in violence/death. It's not like they have had much time to bond. However, the issues concerning their brief meeting are powerful. Sickle's Saturn conjuncts Key's Pluto and he represented a threat to Sickle's security. Here is brief extract of this contact in synastry, by Liz Greene, Saturn a New Look at an old Devil:

"Something is usually destroyed in the Saturnian as a result of this confrontation. He may find it is necessary to completely re-evaluate himself and understand his own defensiveness because his defences are useless against Pluto's energy. The person's who's Pluto is involved will usually initiate the end of a phase of life and the beginning of a new one for the Saturnian person. Pluto thrives on this kind of confrontation".

Unfortunately the birth details of the woman in the middle of all this drama could not be found. I have concentrated on transits and some of the synastry between the two men involved. I do have a set of accurate birth times involving a crime of passion. A third party is not involved, but the natal charts, synastry and composite can all be analysed. It will be a good exercise for me, it stretches my astrological brain muscles, and it will be interesting to explore more themes on this topic.