In SMA I noticed early on that Venus-Neptune aspects were surprisingly common for shooting massacres. This is inconsistent with astrological tradition, but I had an inkling it was related to psychological factors in the adolescent and young adult shooters. I had accepted it as the distinctive form of afflicted Venus for this sort of event, but always felt a bit apologetic - I was pretty sure the examples were representative, but I couldn't easily pin down an exact justification, just a few vague intimations and key phrases.
The initial identified shootings are hardly minor or unrelated in style: Columbine, Sandy Hook, and the Aurora shootings stand out. Add to these the 2015 Colorado Springs shooting ,the San Bernardino massacre, the Overland Park Jewish Center shootings, the Murrysville school stabbings, and even such similar-but-distinctive events as the 2015 Paris attacks, the Benghazi attack, and the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure. We also have high profile individual murders, such as John Lennon's shooting, though in general the pattern is for massacres.
In working on the critical 10th version of SMA, I finally decided I had to do something to pin this down more substantially. I did some digging around, found various psychologists supporting my underlying theory, and in particular this excellent article in Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... ly-dreams/
Here is part of the rewrite of the Aurora "Dark Knight" events discussing what I think is the real meaning of Venus-Neptune in such events. (I just realized when typing this that I didn't do justice to the "celebrity" angle, I might edit that in.)
Venus-Neptune aspects recur in other shooting massacres. Historically, astrologers have not linked this aspect to this kind of event. Probably the examples available all involve a certain character type, such as a pattern of disillusionment and social alienation. For example, in “Deadly Dreams: What Motivates School Shootings?” (Scientific America, August 1, 2007), Frank J, Roberts reported on research into routinely fantasy-driven “premeditated and choreographed” school shootings. Reading Roberts’ discussion makes these incidents seem, to me, as much like performance art as any other kind of event. He and his colleagues found that the shooters are motivated by violent adolescent fantasies that “take root in a desperate mind that yearns for recognition [and respect]”. Over time, these fantasies intensify, grow more detailed, and “often become buttressed by a distorted sense of what is just or moral, such as the need to avenge a perceived offense.” Although most people use fantasy in part as a psychological escape valve that helps equilibrate their psyches, a few people dive deeper into their increasingly elaborate fantasy worlds which become the frameworks within which they experience social interactions.
This seems deeply consistent with Venus-Neptune aspects. In any case, the available data requires us to accept this as a signature aspect for this category of event.