Erin Patterson’s Natal Chart: Astrology of Australia’s Mushroom Case
After publishing my previous blog post predicting the outcome of the mushroom murder trial, I received confirmation of Erin Patterson’s date of birth as 30 Sep 1974 (thanks, Neil). The date had been circulating widely among astrologers but I didn’t feel comfortable using this chart until I had a confirmed and reputable source.
There’s no time of birth, so I’ve cast a noon chart for the date of birth and turned the chart so the Sun is in the first whole sign house.
Erin Patterson’s natal chart showing planetary positions at noon with solar houses
What is Erin Patterson’s Star Sign?
Erin Patterson’s Sun sign is Libra, which suggests her self-identity is defined through relationships and cooperation, and she is driven – Libra is a cardinal sign – by the desire for harmony, civility, fairness.
One of the most interesting – and talked about – features of her natal chart is that Pluto is tightly conjunct her Libran Sun. This means that Pluto – the planet of control, obsession, death and rebirth - adds intensity to the solar priorities, showing a willingness to pursue that purpose obsessively, to take all-or-nothing risks, and to destroy oneself in the process….
Sun Conjunct Pluto: Power, Control, and Cazimi
If you’re relatively familiar with astrology, you are likely to have come across the word, cazimi. The term is of Arabic origin and means "as if in the heart." The heart spoken of is the Sun and the core idea is a planet at the very centre of the Sun's light is purified and strengthened, rather than weakened and overwhelmed by solar fire.
Like many modern practitioners of traditional astrology, I am not convinced that this fleeting proximity to the centre of the Sun elevates a planet from debilitated to auspicious before being burned up again. (Cast your mind back to 24th-ish June 2025, when social media was abuzz with Jupiter cazimi as “the day of miracles” or “luckiest day of the year“… ‘nuff said.)
In Erin Patterson’s chart, there is only 9' of arc between the Sun and Pluto. It’s an applying aspect too, so gaining in strength – and, well within the 17' arc as defined by traditional sources.
Has the Sun empowered Patterson’s Pluto to claim a few innocent souls for the underworld?
No.
This tight conjunction adds a layer to interpretation of her natal chart, but it is not the main story. I wonder if a modern planet can be cazimi at all?
Before the invention of the telescope, astrologers were not aware of the outer planets. Modern planets do not fit into the rulership scheme so don’t have dominion over any sector of the chart. They don’t change visibility, even when beyond the reach of the Sun's beams. Our astrological relationship to them is different, so to me this suggests they cannot be cazimi.
While I agree that Pluto, Uranus, or Neptune conjunct the Sun in one's birthchart is relevant and likely to colour the native’s experience of the life, I strongly resist the temptation to explain away Patterson’s murderous impulses to her Sun-Pluto conjunction. Plenty of people have strong Pluto signatures in their chart; few of them are killers.
What else can we see in this chart which might explain this crime?
Under the Beams: Shadow Self and Hidden Motivation
Though quite a bit wider compared to the noisy “Pluto cazimi”, the Sun is also conjunct Mars, which adds motivational oomph to the Sun/Pluto combination. But neither planet is operating at full strength here. The Sun is in fall, while Mars is struggling in detriment and under the beams. These aren’t comfortable placements; both planets are struggling to accomplish their aims and find themselves in difficult territory with unhelpful company.
Mars just isn't under the beams; it is incinerated by the supercharged Sun/Pluto conjunction. This suggests that Mars-in-Libra anger is simmering quietly under the surface, like the neighbour who is perfectly polite to your face but secretly lodging noise complaints. Put Mars’ primal urges in serene, civilised Libra and the battle is internalised: how to process their inner rage and destructive impulses without furrowing your brow or upsetting anyone. When that tension is amplifed by Pluto, it becomes white-hot covert fury.
Again, not everyone with these placements would have the same experiences or make the same choices as Erin Patterson. That's the beauty of free will. However, all planetary placements need an outlet. To borrow a New Age truism: what you resist, persists. This also echoes Jungian ideas about the repression of the shadow self.
If one ignores, stifles or denies a certain planet energy - especially when that planet is engulfed by the blinding light of the Sun - it doesn’t cease to exist. It finds another way to express itself, often in distorted or unconcious forms.
It's always better to acknowledge one's less appealing qualities than have them devour you. Or in this case, serve it up for lunch.
Moon in Pisces: Emotional Complexity and Relationship Dynamics
Because we don’t have a birth time, we cannot know the degree of the Moon. The earliest position of the Moon that day was 14Pi58; the latest, 27Pi12. At noon, in the middle of that range, the Moon is at 21pi04.
The Moon in Pisces is quite lovely in my opinion. Perhaps short on boundaries and drive (especially when compared to that cardinal Sun/Pluto/Mars cluster) but imagination, feeling, and interconnection swims freely here in the watery realms of Pisces.
Of course, the ocean rages as much as it becalms, so the trine to Saturn may act as an anchor - although, Saturn isn’t in great condition in detriment in Cancer. Also, the potentially stablising trine to Saturn slips away as soon as the Sun rises, leaving the Moon’s opposition to prim Venus in Virgo to become the dominant aspect.
Oppositions commonly play out in partnership dynamics as someone else reflects back to us what we are unable to see ourselves. The Moon in Pisces is acutely, physically, psychically aware of emotional interconnections; Venus in Virgo restrains desire, through self-sufficient earnest maiden energy.
Venus is not just in the sign of her fall here in Virgo; she’s also on the degree of her fall. And Venus is the planet responsible for those planets in Libra.
Venus is also the second most dignified planet in the chart (after Jupiter, by far the most functional planet, which offers fascinating insights regarding faith and belief).
This is a challenging chart.
Further Analysis
This is just a quick taster of my astrological analysis on the Erin Patterson mushroom murders. In January 2026, I’ll be taking a much deeper dive in “The Astrology of the Mushroom Murders” for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, tracking the magic and menace in the charts — from the trial and natal signatures to the murderous transits, the verdict, and the coming appeal.
👉 Join me live:
The Astrology of the Mushroom Murders – C*I*A Webinar