Saturn in Virgo nitpickery:

Psychopathy isn't really very well defined. At it's broadest definition, it's any mental illness (psycho = mind, path = disease).
When I asked my old boss about the differences between psychopathy and sociopathy, he was quick to set me straight that there actually isn't diagnostic criteria for what popular culture calls "psychopathy." It's generally considered, according to him, as sociopathy with violent tendancies but there's no one disorder one can point to as psychopathic in and of itself. There are disorders that crop up more commonly in what we call "psychopaths," true, but ... eh.

My words evaporated. I think I got the basic idea across, though. I hope?

Anyway. </nitpickery>

I don't know that I've met any psychopaths, period, let alone female ones. I've run across a few sociopaths (at times I think I might be one, myself), but psychopaths... Nah. Can't think of any.

I think that deserves a "yay, me!" Yay, ME!

As I understand it, a sociopath is a person with psychopathic tendencies who has learned to disguise and/or control those tendencies sufficiently to function within society. Many psychopaths are true loners, but some are not and do have families and other relationships. Both have the characteristic lack of empathy and conscience

Psychopathy is a term which has been used for a generation or more, whereas sociopathy is fairly recent coinage, or concept; a refinement if you will of the general malady

As I noted elsewhere war often reveals the true extent of psychopathy in the population. The fate of the Jews in WWII alone is evidence of that, and the women guards at the female camps like Ravensbruck were as depraved and violent as any of their male counterparts at Belsen and Auschwitz

I think there is alot to learn about female psychopathy. Often in the chart there are personal planets aspecting pluto, uranus and neptune. Pluto and uranus for sociopath, cruel, violent. Personal planets touching neptune would compel people to be negectful. A book called The Astrology of Fate by Liz Greene is an interesting read that touches on 'potential energy never realized' can create behaviour and characteristics in the Mental Health Arena. Males can act out their behaviour more socially acceptable than woman, woman's pathology goes underground, festering, manipulating creating negative scene's for those closest to her.

I read a book just recently called 'Mindhunter' by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. John Douglas heads the elite FBI Investigative Support Unit, his speciality is criminal profiling. Often when profiling a serial killer, John makes comments in this book about how the offender had a terrible mother? John Douglas states this a number of times in this book and i took note of that because i thought it was unfair to blame the mother?

This is an interesting topic and i'm sure there is heaps more to learn.

welcome, Merlene! your reply is fascinating, thank you.

I have that Liz Greene book; I really should finish it. I spend way too much time on lighter fare.

I have known just one suspected case. It was my first (ahem) fiance's ex, whom I also played soccer with. She was normal and charming on teh surface but had some incredibly strange behaviours.

When she was dating my ex (before my time) he would describe how they would be in a club dancing away and she'd 'pull' guy after guy and bring them back to the table. They all thought they were heading for a good time until it dawned on them she was just playing power games.

Other times she would lead men on and never follow through, she had a habit of waiting until the worst time to crush someone in company, and if she was riled on the soccer pitch, it was genuinely scary - tho she'd be back to her normal 'charming' self soon after.

Nowhere near the scale of seriousness as BP's experience, but looking at the various criteria, she scored surprisingly highly. It opened my eyes to knowing that people can never be judged by their appearances.