{"id":1885,"date":"2014-05-24T09:22:05","date_gmt":"2014-05-24T14:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/?p=1885"},"modified":"2014-08-30T17:16:44","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T22:16:44","slug":"scorpio-rising-excerpt-1-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/?p=1885","title":{"rendered":"SCORPIO RISING: book excerpt 1.4"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As some of my readers know, I’m a writer as well as an astrologer. A couple of years ago I wrote\u00c2\u00a0SCORPIO RISING<\/em>, the first book in my New Age Noir<\/em> series. Here’s the cover blurb:<\/span><\/p>\n

Criminal profiler Axel Crowe investigates the killing of a New York heiress, and discovers her death is linked to two other murders on the same day: a dot-com millionaire in San Francisco, and the team leader of a counter-terrorist project in Los Alamos, New Mexico.\u00c2\u00a0A finder of wayward people and stolen possessions, the enigmatic Crowe profiles subjects in a distinctly unique manner \u00e2\u0080\u0093 using astrology, palmistry and other unconventional techniques.\u00c2\u00a0Facts are gross, but the truth is subtle<\/em>,\u00c2\u00a0Crowe\u00e2\u0080\u0099s guru used to say. And although the truth behind this three-way conspiracy lies buried in the past, Crowe is relentless until he uncovers it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many reviewers have commented that, no matter whether you’re just curious about astrology, a beginner, intermediate or professional, there’s something here for everyone — to learn or be inspired.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>See the review highlights from the astrological press here<\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To expose people to the series, this is the first of several excerpts I’ll post from\u00c2\u00a0SCORPIO RISING<\/em>, basically to introduce Axel Crowe and his unconventional profiling techniques. The excerpt that follows is taken from Chapter 4, in which Crowe and Margo Riordon, a forensics instructor from the Toronto Police Services, have been invited to speak to a Criminology class at the University of Toronto:<\/span><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Crowe held up his hand. \u00e2\u0080\u009cI\u00e2\u0080\u0099d like to talk about the future. As Margo said, police forces now have more data than ever to work with, so if a fingerprint isn\u00e2\u0080\u0099t available from the crime scene but a writer\u00e2\u0080\u0099s palm is, they can still match a suspect to a crime. Aside from providing identification, these additional points of reference also supply fresh data for profiling \u00e2\u0080\u0093 using fingerprints and handprints to extrapolate behavioral characteristics of the perpetrator.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

A hand went up in the audience. Crowe nodded to the young man. \u00e2\u0080\u009cBut fingerprints aren\u00e2\u0080\u0099t currently used in profiling,\u00e2\u0080\u009d the student said. \u00e2\u0080\u009cOr did I miss that episode of\u00c2\u00a0CSI<\/em>?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cYou\u00e2\u0080\u0099re absolutely right, but I predict that within a decade fingerprint technicians will routinely print the entire palm for purposes of both identification and analysis, the latter of which will provide input to the process of offender profiling.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cAnd you think FPTs will do the profiling as well?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cDepends on their interest and talent. Patrol officers get promoted to detectives. With training, FPTs could become handprint profilers. Even if the job seems routine, it involves pattern recognition which is interpretive.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

A young woman raised her hand. \u00e2\u0080\u009cCould you give us an example of a suspect profile based on the hand?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

Crowe looked at the fingerprint form still projected on the screen. At a glance he saw sufficient detail to make a good example. He turned to Margo who\u00e2\u0080\u0099d taken a seat in the first row. \u00e2\u0080\u009cMargo, do I know the identity of the person whose prints are shown here, or any background regarding crimes they may have committed?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cNo,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Margo said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cI\u00e2\u0080\u0099ll start my profile with the structural elements of the hand.\u00e2\u0080\u009d Crowe used the laser to point at the form. \u00e2\u0080\u009cIn the flat, the index finger is short and the ring finger very long. There\u00e2\u0080\u0099s a scientific correlation between testosterone and index-to-ring finger length ratios so I\u00e2\u0080\u0099ll play the odds and say this is a man\u00e2\u0080\u0099s hand. Based on the same ratio, I\u00e2\u0080\u0099d say this person has low self esteem but takes risks to prove himself. The pinkie is long, delicate, and crooked, so he\u00e2\u0080\u0099s a white collar criminal.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

He pointed the laser at another feature. \u00e2\u0080\u009cIn the right-hand writer\u00e2\u0080\u0099s palm, a horizontal line an inch above the wrist suggests substance abuse. Since it also appears in the left hand, a family history of the same.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

He targeted another aspect. \u00e2\u0080\u009cWithin the inter-digitals, loops flanking the ring finger indicate cleverness and entrepreneurial instincts. A deep vertical crease under the ring finger suggests a risk taker or a gambler.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

He pointed to the fingerprints. \u00e2\u0080\u009cArch patterns occur five times out of ten, which is significant, since arches are less common than loops and whorls. He\u00e2\u0080\u0099s a skilled craftsman with an eye for details.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

Someone in the audience asked, \u00e2\u0080\u009cWho should the police be looking for?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cA solitary white collar criminal, maybe someone writing bad checks to support a drug habit.\u00e2\u0080\u009d Crowe turned to Margo. \u00e2\u0080\u009cWhat can you tell us about this subject?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cBoth parents were alcoholics,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Margo said. \u00e2\u0080\u009cIn high school, he forged birth certificates for underage classmates to get into bars and clubs. After developing a cocaine habit, he wrote bum checks to pay for it. Recently arrested and charged with counterfeiting.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

Crowe\u00e2\u0080\u0099s correct interpretation earned a flurry of applause.<\/span><\/p>\n

A professor spoke up. \u00e2\u0080\u009cThat was quite a demonstration. But surely you don\u00e2\u0080\u0099t suggest palmistry will replace traditional profiling?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cOf course not. It may become just another element in the profiler\u00e2\u0080\u0099s toolkit.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cBut profilers would need training. Will police academies give courses in palmistry?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cNot such a crazy idea. Palmistry has been practiced for thousands of years and is a well-documented science.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cMost people would object to calling it a science,\u00e2\u0080\u009d the professor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cTimes change. Fifty years ago, offender profiling was itself unknown. The FBI enjoyed its first success in 1973. Initially profiling was accused of being too subjective, even\u00c2\u00a0mystical<\/em>.\u00e2\u0080\u009d Crowe paused to let that sink in. \u00e2\u0080\u009cUltimately the willingness of profilers to study all facets of the\u00c2\u00a0unsub<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u0080\u0093 the unknown subject \u00e2\u0080\u0093 will include psychological clues from fingerprints and handprints. If we have to borrow interpretations from palmistry until we can build a database of statistical behaviors, so be it.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cGood grief! What\u00e2\u0080\u0099s next on your agenda \u00e2\u0080\u0093 astrology?\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cDon\u00e2\u0080\u0099t write it off. But that\u00e2\u0080\u0099s a subject with even more emotional baggage than palmistry. Let\u00e2\u0080\u0099s stick to the subject at hand \u00e2\u0080\u0093 no pun intended.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

The group had several more questions, which Crowe answered with authority, clarity and occasional humor. A faculty member thanked Crowe and Margo for their time and reminded the audience there\u00e2\u0080\u0099d be another pair of lunchtime talks next month, details on the faculty site. Crowe descended from the podium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Margo gathered her acetates into a briefcase. \u00e2\u0080\u009cThat went over pretty well.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u0080\u009cThanks for inviting me,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Crowe said. \u00e2\u0080\u009cIt\u00e2\u0080\u0099s always nice to speak to the open-minded, even if only because there are so few of them.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n

You can purchase SCORPIO RISING at Amazon<\/span><\/a>, Apple<\/span><\/a>, Barnes&Noble<\/span><\/a>, Kobo<\/span><\/a> or Smashwords<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As some of my readers know, I’m a writer as well as an astrologer. A couple of years ago I wrote\u00c2\u00a0SCORPIO RISING, the first book in my New Age Noir series. Here’s the cover blurb: Criminal profiler Axel Crowe investigates the killing of a New York heiress, and discovers her death is linked to two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,37],"tags":[171,172,40,170],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1885"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2127,"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885\/revisions\/2127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.navamsa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}