Monday, June 14, 2010

Parenting Astrologically - part 1 - Delineate!

As an aspiring Astrologer, I find the many subjects and aspects of Astrology fascinating, and I still feel that there is So Much to learn! Really, one could spend a lifetime just exploring one Natal Chart with all it's nuances and intricacies! My interest in Astrology ebbs and flows - sometimes I feel ready and motivated to dive into it's depths, and other times I feel too overwhelmed. (Interestingly enough, the flow of my interest has a strong correlation with current moon and sun sign activity; yet another subject to add to the list of things to explore!)
As a mother, I have a strong interest in understanding my children's charts. Theoretically, understanding your child's astrological personality; and how it relates to yours, could be an amazing parenting tool. There are surprisingly few books and websites about using astrology in parenting or with children, but I hope to write a series of blogs here with my thoughts and findings as I explore my children's natal charts.
So, last night I stayed up late, looking over my first-born's chart. As I said before, I feel that one could spend a lifetime just analyzing one chart, so I realized I needed to organize my thoughts and have a purpose here rather than just breaking it down. I want to be able to understand my daughter, and hopefully her chart can help me understand the bits of her personality that mystify and confuse me. I mean, 11 years old is a very confusing age! How can I, a Capricorn, help my pre-teen Aries through the difficult and confusing times ahead of her? (Middle School, boys, friends, High School?? EEk!!) Where to begin? "DUH... "I thought to myself. "Begin at The Beginning! DELINEATE!"

To Delineate an astrological chart, you simply break down the signs and planets into Qualities - namely Elemental and Triplicities. This will be part one of exploring my Miss Zee's chart and my own.
Here is Miss Zee's Chart -

Breaking It Down


THE ELEMENTS
Miss Zee is an Aries Sun(Cardinal Fire), Leo Rising (Fixed Fire), Aquarius Moon (Fixed Air).
She has a dominance of Fire Signs (5/13), with her Sun, Jupiter, Ascendant, and Pluto all in Fire Signs. Fire Signs are Active, Enthusiastic, and Independent. Fire signs enjoy being leaders or the center of attention, are very passionate and can have "fiery" tempers. Her Sun and Ascendant in Fire Signs tells me that the Fire Aspects of her personality are quite strong and this is how she will be seen by others and Fire Energy is how she will react to most situations.
Miss Zee also has some strong Air Sign Qualities, with her Moon, Uranus, and Neptune in Air Signs. Air Signs are intellectual, valuing communication, learning, and relationships. This tells me that Miss Zee's fiery passions and enthusiasm will likely be focused in areas which involve learning, intellect, and friendships and family relationships. With her Moon in an Air sign I can see that this intellectual side of her is more a part of her Inner Self, her "shadow self"... not a part that she will always show; but a part that drives her nonetheless.
Though Miss Zee only has two planets in Water Signs (Mars and Mercury) - one of these two planets has heavy weight in her chart. Mars is the ruler of Miss Zee's Sun Sign, Aries. This tells me that her the Active, Enthusiastic, Leadership qualities of her Aries personality are often driven by the Emotional, Intuitive, and Nurturing qualities of Water Energy.
The Elemental Energy that Miss Zee would have trouble accessing is Earth Energy. Venus and Saturn are the only two planets of her chart that reside in Earth Signs, and neither one of these planets have especially heavy weight in relation to her Sun, Ascendant, or Moon. A lack of Earth Energy reflects a certain lack of stability and practicality, and certainly explains her daydreaming, over-active imagination, hyperactivity, and trouble getting grounded or centering her energy.

As an Earthly Capricorn, I'm sure that this lack of Earth energy in my daughter is a big part of what can be so frustrating for me when dealing with her. Recognizing this huge difference in our Elemental make-up will definitely shine a light on some intricacies of our Mother-Daughter relationship.

TRIPLICITIES
Miss Zee is predominantly a Fixed sign. With her Ascendant, Moon, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all appearing in Fixed Signs within her chart, there is no question that these aspects will strongly appear within her personality. Fixed signs are stubborn, resistant to change, perfectionists and like to see things through to the end. They are not usually the initiators or leaders, but once placed in a position of leadership or authority they will see things through to the end. With a lack of Mutable and Cardinal Energy, Miss Zee may at times be shy, and lack a certain versatility and adaptability. It can be hard for fixed signs to adapt to change.


Let's take a brief look at some of the Qualities of my own chart;


Lady Josephine;

I have a Capricorn Sun (Cardinal Earth), Capricorn Ascendant (Cardinal Earth), and Scorpio Moon (Fixed Water)

I have a heavy dominance of Earth Signs (7/13) with my Sun, Ascendant, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in Earth Signs. The ruler of my Sun Sign (Capricorn is ruled by Saturn) is one of these planets in Earth, giving quite Heavy weight to my Earth Energy. This abundance of Earth energy makes me Practical, Stable, Grounded, and focused on success.


The other elements are not nearly as strong in my chart, but Water is the next in line for influencing my personality - but only because of the heavy weight of the presence of my Moon in Scorpio. My Inner Self, my "shadow self" is driving by the watery energy of emotion, intuition, and nurturing qualities. It seems that Miss Zee and I have this underlying Water energy in common, though hers is expressed through Mars and mine is expressed through the Moon.

I have a definite lack of Fire Energy in my chart - with Neptune being the only planet present in a fire sign, and not a very influential or "heavy" planet at that. Perhaps this is why, although I love my daughter with all my heart, I can find her quite exhausting to be around. Her fiery enthusiasm and energy tends to confuse and bewilder my Earth energy, which prefers to be more contained and steady.

TRIPLICITIES -
My Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable aspects are more balanced. With only slightly more weight given to Cardinal Energy due to my Sun and Ascendant being Cardinal Capricorn, this is the slightly more dominant part of my personality; giving me Enterprising, Initiating, and Outgoing traits. There is a balance between my Mutable and Fixed energies, indicating that I can adapt when needed, but I can also resist change and be stubborn at times. This balance among these astrological triplicities can probably be both one of my greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses as a parent. I am adaptable and can change my reactions and actions, but this may also mean that I am not consistent, and we all know that children crave consistency - something that may be especially important to my "Fixed Sign" daughter.

CONCLUSION -
As you can see, you can learn a lot by simply delineating a chart. I haven't even begun to explore the positions of the planets in individual signs, Chart Type, Decantes, Aspects, etc. Yet the basic understanding of the Elemental differences between my chart and my daughter's chart lays the groundwork for a more complete understanding of our relationship. It begins with understanding the relationship between Fire and Earth (our dominant elemental energies). Think about how Fire and Earth act together in the physical world. Fire is a neccessary part of the life cycle on Earth. With fire we find comfort, cook our food, and protect ourselves. Yet if it is not contained, fire can destroy Earth, burning up all it's nutrients and rescources. On the other hand, Fire needs Earth.... without Earth providing the fuel, fire cannot burn. Interestingly enough, Earth can be used to put out fire, shoveling scoops of dirt onto a flame to smother it is one of the most efficient ways to put out a fire.
With Fire and Earth, it is a delicate balance. They need eachother, yet they can just as easily destroy eachother. My challenge as a parent of Miss Zee will be to nurture her and help her find balance and stability as she lacks that Earth energy; yet at the same time to avoid being "burned up" by her fire energy and to avoid "smothering" her flame with my Earth energy. I know that at times over the past 11 years I have failed at finding this balance in many ways. Yet maybe now, understanding the root of this imbalance and the nature of our differences and strengths, we can work together to find balance and support eachother in a way that only Fire and Earth could do! With an understanding of the relationship of our delineated charts, I also recognize that it is important for me to let my little Fire sign explore her independence and to not be too controlling (and yes, as a Capricorn Mom, sacrificing control can be very challenging!). It is also important for me to be understanding that my daughter's Fixed nature requires patience when it comes to any change in routine or environment, and that consistency will be something that gives her comfort. Giving her the opportunity to act and react independently, but acting as a gentle and patient guide and a stable place to find comfort and strength is what she needs from me as a parent.

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