On September 7, 1988, a Long Island couple was brutally murdered in their prestigious cliffside home.  Transiting Mars was retrograde.

The accused killer was their teenage son, Martin Tankleff, who was born on August 29, 1971, when Mars was retrograde.

Since little reasonable evidence indicated Martin as the actual murderer, and instead, a good deal of evidence pointed to the senior Tankleff’s business partner as the more likely culprit, popular opinion was in the adolescent’s favor.  Nevertheless, due to some suspected courtroom hanky panky, on October 23, 1990, Martin was scandalously convicted and sentenced to two consecutive 25-year jail terms, and yes, Mars was retrograde.

In the past week, New York news was abuzz because, after numerous appeals for a retrial and with just as many rejections, finally, Martin Tankleff, now aged 36, was set free on bail, awaiting a retrial.  And guess what!  Mars is retrograde!

Obviously, this story is a great tragedy, but it is also a perfect example of the forth-and-back commotion when Mars is retrograde as well as the resonance in astrological cycles.

Another interesting example of such resonance rests with eclipses.  In 1988, a Lunar Eclipse occurred on August 27th at 4 Pisces and a Solar Eclipse occurred on September 11th at 18 Virgo.  Of course, those are the same positions as our most recent eclipses, exactly when, in fact, the Tankleff’s family made a public appeal in Martin’s defense, setting the stage for the retrial.

Working with cycles, a notable point is this:  the murder took place on the conjunction of Saturn and Uranus.  As the retrial unfolds and develops in 2008, we will be seeing the opposition of Saturn and Uranus, “seeing” being the keyword in relation to the opposition phase.

Whether Martin is guilty of murdering his parents or not, clearly, this is an astounding karma here.  Without a birth time to provide houses, we won’t be able to interpret that karmic story completely.  However, the natal planetary positions can tell some of the tale:
Martin’s Sun at 5 Virgo sits in a T-square with Saturn and Neptune.  Depending on the birth time, the Sagittarius Moon additionally might be in that configuration.

Of course, transiting Saturn is in aspect to that T-square now, exemplifying the dynamics of a Saturn transit, especially over the Sun, representing death-and-rebirth.  The king is dead!  Long live the king!  Victory!

The Secondary Progressions should give Martin great hope for the immediate years too.  He is approaching a progressed Full Moon in Libra, conjoining his natal Uranus, and Pluto will be progressing out of Virgo and into Libra, perhaps proving there is some justice in this world, after all!