Unconfirmed Zodiac Letter - Cancer FLT 555 Paste-up Message

A page from The Zodiac / Manson Connection book first printed in March 1997.

We believe, and so did Zodiac expert and police reporter Dave Peterson, that Zodiac sent this envelope containing a torn-out page from an astrology magazine with a message pasted onto it. The magazine was "Astrology -Your Daily Horoscope" published by Popular Library, New York, New York.  Peterson believed that this magazine helped guide Zodiac in his “timed” attacks. We were the first to publish this little known paste-up in our book in 1997.

The envelope is a standard business envelope for classified ads to be placed in the Sacramento Bee newspaper. Note the Zodiac-like cross out of the words "Classified Dept." on the envelope. We believe Zodiac did this so the mail would not be forwarded to that particular inbox and instead go to the regular inbox. This was mailed from Sacramento, California on 12/10/69, the very same date Leona Roberts was abducted from her boyfriend’s apartment. She is a possible Zodiac victim. Click here to see the Roberts victim page.

The enclosed astrological magazine’s torn page is for the month of November (Scorpio, which is Charles Manson’s sun sign) and it is for people who have the sun sign of Cancer. Cancer is a water sign and water is connected to Zodiac. The word “Cancer” has been, we believe, circled for a reason. (Explanation is below.)

On the page are the pasted on words: ACTION GUIDE, WANT ZODIAC, WATCH, FLT 555 (which is pasted upside down), BIRDS FLY SOUTH, HIDDEN MAGIC AMULET.

We interpret this as saying, “If you want the Zodiac killer then use this ‘action guide’ (just as the astrology information was an ‘action guide’) and watch Flight 555.” Dave Peterson told us that a reporter had found out that there was a United Flight 555 that flew from San Francisco to San Diego every Wednesday at 7:30 PM. This direction of flight seems to confirm the pasted words "birds fly south" as San Diego is south of San Francisco. Bird(s) is slang for a plane. It is also a slang term in Great Britain for young females (the Zodiac’s British connection - there are numerous British colloquialisms in Zodiac's missives).

The flight number, 555, is interesting. In neo-Nazi literature this is used as Hitler's party number. Zodiac had sent a letter on Hitler's birthday, 4/20/70. Bruce Davis married Nancy Pittman (who Manson had called one of his “best assassins”) on this very same month, day and year! Manson and Davis both idolized Hitler. Manson had said, "Hitler had the answer to everything" and called him a “tuned in guy who leveled the karma of the Jews!” The same number, 555, (an occult number) was used by Aleister Crowley, the British black magician, and Manson and Davis both followed his teachings. Zodiac killed Paul Stine in San Francisco on Crowley's birthday.

On this paste-up message the ambigram, or inverted wordage, is "FLT 555." On the "bloody cross" paste-up card of 10/5/70 it has the "P.S." message upside down or as an ambigram. Then on the 3/22/71 Pines card paste-up it has as the ambigram "around in the snow." So all three paste-ups have upside down writing. In the occult sometimes words or symbols are written as an ambigram, or upside down. The inverted cross of Christ is one example of a symbol presented as an ambigram. Whether or not this was used to link all three paste-ups to the same author, or Zodiac, and/or it has occult meaning remains to be seen.

Since Zodiac had a penchant for double meanings in his communications was this “southerly” direction pointing to previous victims? Click here to see about a young couple slain in San Diego in 1964 that the press called the “Seaside Honeymoon Slayings.” Note the fact that it was a couple and there was water nearby - Zodiac traits. Nikki Benedict was murdered in Poway, a suburb of San Diego, in 1967. Click here to see about this case. After Darlene Ferrin's death at the hands of Zodiac,  her younger sister, Christina, moved to San Diego with her husband who was in the Navy. She told us that she was “followed.” They even went to the Naval authorities regarding this. San Diego may have had connections for Zodiac.

Tex Watson had been arrested in Texas on a warrant from Los Angeles and on December 10^th, the postmark date, was in court there concerning extradition to LA. Also, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, and Linda Kasabian were all brought before the judge at LA Superior Court on the 10^th. The day before, when the paste-up was no doubt contrived, Manson was brought before the court in Independence, California to be charged with murder. On this day, the 9^th, there was a new moon - a connection to Zodiac, who would like new moons due to his interest in astrology. Stine had been killed on a new moon as well as Jensen and Faraday. Also around this same time Manson victim Jerome “Shorty” Shea's car was found. Bruce Davis' palm print had supposedly been found on Shea's locker.

Zodiac letter dates always seem to be timed with Manson Family events!

A puzzle that had bothered us for many years was the pasted words "hidden magic amulet."

In July 2010 a letter dated 8/13/72 sent by Dave Peterson to Sgt. Les Lundblad, the investigator of the Jensen/Faraday Zodiac attack, was reread. Dave states, based on his research, that Zodiac’s "sun sign was Libra. This would put his birthday in the Libra period of Sept. 23 to Oct. 23." Bruce Davis was born October 5 – a Libra. This letter was mailed seventeen years before we ever had any contact with Dave.

The October 5, 1970 paste-up postcard had the same "In the Beginning God..." postage stamp (an unusual stamp for Zodiac to use) that was used on the October 27, 1970 Halloween card which was another paste-up. Davis had been Editor-in-Chief (Zodiac wrote "Dear Editor" or the like many times.) of his High School yearbook and would have been familiar with doing paste-up work. According to his sister he was also into art, etc. Portions of the Zodiac’s paste-ups (if we count the 3/22/70 Pines card (anniversary of the Kathleen Johns attack)) were actually “brush painted,” which seems to link the cards to the same author.

We will be commenting more on this Peterson letter later, but Peterson shows Sgt. Lundblad why he felt Zodiac was a Libra.

Now, to get back to the "hidden magic amulet" paste-on: What is hidden and what is a magic amulet? As this letter of Peterson's was reanalyzed it suddenly became clear that Zodiac had connected, in his usual very subtle manner, his sun sign of Libra to the circled word “Cancer” on the torn-out magazine page.

As is commonly known in the occult, astrology symbols or signs and the planets are used as “magic amulets!” The “magic amulet” referred to in the paste-up was his astrology sign!

So how and where is this link “hidden”? Zodiac had craftily circled the water sign Cancer. Zodiac has been connected to water. But, the real connection or link was that in the July issue of this magazine (Cancer is the astrological sign for July.) it says for those with the sun sign of Libra, "Uranus has reentered your sun sign (Libra) . . . It will have an increasing influence on your life . . . Venus, which rules Libra, is making various aspects this week . . . on July 5 and 7, Venus makes inspiring aspects to Jupiter and Uranus (on July 4/5 was the Ferrin/Mageau Zodiac attack) . . . Starwise you have an inside track in several ways - but you must recognize opportunities when they are available and be ready to handle them in a judicious way."

The Cancer section of the July issue actually delineates the exact date of the Zodiac attack on July 4 and that Libra is connected! So Zodiac's “hidden magic amulet” is his ruling planet, Venus, which rules his sun sign of Libra! This further points to Zodiac being a Libra and Bruce Davis was a Libra and into astrology and the occult. The 10/5/70 paste-up also points to Davis as he was born 10/5 as given. The date of Zodiac’s Halloween card was 10/27/70 the year-to-the-day date of when Davis was released from jail on 10/27/69!

According to witnesses, while in England Davis associated with some members of a coven in Manchester. One book written in Great Britain also says Davis associated with a satanic group while there. Manson was into Satanism as well as witchcraft and Druidism. Manson was into astrology, too. Manson used to tell people, "I am a Scorpio." Attorney Bugliosi in his book Helter Skelter brought out this fact. Bugliosi even looked-up in astrology columns, knowing of Manson's belief in astrology, to see if he followed them in regards to murder dates, etc. And, as given, the torn-out page was for the month of November 1969, which is the month of Scorpio, Manson's sun sign. With the Manson/Davis team what one was into so was the other.

FBI file 9-HQ-49911 Section 3 Page 42

Note that the Cancer FLT 555 paste-up is mentioned on this FBI report page as well on at least three other pages in this FBI file. Also note that another torn page, that was sent to the San Francisco Newspaper Printing Company, was from this same series of publications and is for Leo. (Zodiac’s 1966 Confession letter was typed on Teletype paper that had been torn off of the roll. The Riverside Police Department had thought this was odd.) It is our opinion that Zodiac used these particular publications to assist in timing his attacks. For example, the July fourth attack at Blue Rock Springs is right on for the month of July if one is a Libra. And that was Peterson's contention - in 1972 - that Zodiac was a Libra!

It is of interest that the other torn-out page mentioned in the FBI reports is for Leo or the month of August 1969. This is when Manson's associates murdered Sharon Tate and her friends as well as the LaBiancas. The dates were August 8^th and 9^th and three months to the day of when Zodiac sent two letters on the 8^th and 9^th of November, the month on the above torn-out astrology magazine page!

As given, Bruce Davis was involved in the vicious stabbing death of Jerome Shea on August 27, 1969 during a full moon. There are many 27s involved. July 27, 1969 Gary Hinman was murdered with Davis being involved. (He was found July 31^st when Zodiac mailed his letters to the Northern California newspapers.) On September 27^th Zodiac attacked at Lake Berryessa. On October 27, 1969 Davis was released from jail having been in there since he was arrested on October 12^th at 6:30 PM. A year later, Zodiac sent the Halloween card on October 27, 1970.

Numerology uses fadic math in which a 27 equals 2+7=9. We have mentioned the importance of the number 9 on this site and in our book and soon will have vital information displaying just how important this number was to Zodiac.

See our book for more comments on this subject.

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