With the furor over gay marriage and health care reform taking precedence over the past few years, the battle over abortion has faded into the backdrop of American society.  But just as the conjunction of Chiron and Neptune is culminating, the murder of one of the few doctors who performed late term abortions as he worshipped in his church is bringing the abortion discussion back into the public consciousness.

Jupiter is the planet that gives us the desire to play God.  Jupiter, you may remember, was King of the Gods, and his exuberance and confidence often gives us the feeling that we ARE King of the Gods.  Jupiter is the planet of righteousness and judgement; the dispenser of laws and the creator of theology.  In the Judeo-Christian mythology, Jupiter is Yahweh, the harsh god of justice, where Neptune is Jesus, the god of compassion and love. (The original Jesus bears very little resemblance to the Jesus of the militant right wing and Christian terrorists.)

The addition of Jupiter to the Chiron/Neptune mix is very visible in the murder of George Tiller on May 31st. The Chiron/Neptune conjunction is reaching down into the soul and exposing old wounds so that they can be healed, and this can happen on a global level, a national level, a family level and as individuals.  

Tiller’s murderer, Scott Roeder (born 2/25/58, Merriam Kansas, time unknown) was a member of several anti-government and militant anti-abortion groups.  Those who knew him said that he believed murder to protect the unborn was justifiable homicide.  Roeder’s birthchart shows the Sun conjunct Mercury in sensitive Pisces.  Pisces is known as the sign of the Saint and the Sinner, because its tendency to blur the boundaries of reality can be channeled into a spiritual life or a life of escapism.  

In any case, the sense of Self is often weak in those with the Sun in Pisces; they often prefer to blend in with the people around them.  This is exacerbated by the conjunction of the Sun to Mercury, which doubles the shapeshifting qualities of Pisces and can create a guile that is very effective.  Rupert Murdoch has the Sun conjunct Mercury in Pisces and he has used this ability to adapt to his environment to very successful ends.  

In Roeder’s chart, the conjunction of the Sun and Mercury is opposed by Pluto, the lord of death and transformation.  In opposition to the Sun, Pluto often denotes a childhood of abuse of some kind and a pattern of compulsive behavior.  In a person who is on a path of self-understanding, these patterns can be broken and the power issues balanced internally.  But in a person who is motivated solely by instincts and reaction, the challenging aspect of Pluto becomes the victim who becomes the perpetrator.  

Often in a heinous crime such as this we find a transit of Jupiter, giving the individual the confidence to commit a crime that has long been a fantasy.  In Roeder’s case, Jupiter along with Chiron and Neptune all made a trine to Roeder’s progressed Sun.  The fact that the murder took place in a church leads one to think that Roeder likely fancied himself executing the Will of God under Jupiter’s influence.  With the confidence of Jupiter as an ally and with Yahweh’s “eye for an eye” proclamation as his inspiration, Roeder made his move.