How to Break the Zodiac Code

Locate the Zodiac Code online. Print the coded messages from your computer so that you may work with them on paper.

Analyze the code symbols for those which occur most frequently. Factor in the theory that the Zodiac Killer would most likely use the words "kill" and "I" in his messages. Locate double symbols or two symbols which always occur next to one another. These will most likely be the symbols for the letter "L" based on the theory that "kill" would be written more than once in the murderer's letters.

Locate the two symbols to the left of the double "L" and you can assume that these are the letters "K" and "I" in that order. Work through the rest of the symbols and substitute these letters for the shapes which stand for them. Build any other words containing the letters letters "K, I or L" based on context and word length.

The letters which most often occur in the English language are "E, T, A, I, N, O, S, H, R, D, L, U, C, M" in descending order of frequency. Look for the most frequently appearing letters and substitute members of this group until a pattern begins to emerge. Build words from the letters as you discover more and more information from context, word length and word order. Use a dictionary to help in your word search.

Check your decoded message against the actual message to see if you have completed it correctly.