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Title:

Hey Baby! Interpreting the Chart for Small Children Date Published: by Marion March

Bio: Marion March

Marion March is a noted teacher, lecturer and writer on astrology, as well as a valued astrological counselor in her own right, and the mentor of many younger astrologers. With Joan McEvers, she is the author of a series of comprehensive instructional books: The Only Way to Learn Astrology in five volumes, which has gone through many editions, and has been translated (and published) in several languages besides English including German, Spanish and Portuguese.

[This article first appeared in the Summer, 1988 issue of Aspects magazine.]

How could this topic deserve the length of an entire lecture or article? What can be so different in delineating a chart for a toddler as opposed to that of an adult? After all, Astrology is always Astrology, isn't it? The planets don't change, nor do the aspects or house positions or anything else, so why? There are two important reasons, and within these are a myriad of delicate questions requiring thought, a gentle hand, a careful evaluation of the ethics involved, and much more.

A baby, small child or elementary age school child, will not have a personal consultation with the Astrologer. Information will be told to a mother or father or both, maybe even a grandparent or guardian. How much personal information should we, Astrologers, give to a third person? Where does help stop and invasion of privacy start? Do we give a child a chance of a better and richer life when we tell the parents certain talents should be encouraged from early on? Most people will say "yes" to that question.

But what about telling parents that their precious little one could develop into quite a sexpot? Are we saving the innocent lamb from unwanted abortions, herpes, a broken heart and other hardships, or are we revealing a most private potential that is nobody's business except the individual's and whomever he or she decides to share it with? Are we maybe actualizing something that is merely potential by drawing the adults' attention to it?

And that brings us to 2.

With a baby or very young child you have only the potential to work with, no established pattern, bad habits, excuses, lack of time, priorities or any of the other causes that will eventually shape a person one way rather than another. Isn't that wonderful? You and I, the Astrologer, can detect all that's good and wholesome and helpful and evolved and tell the parent, and as a result that child is going to flourish and blossom into a perfect rose. Or is it? Many Astrologers already suffer from a "let's play God" complex and this poor little innocent babe may turn out to be their next victim.

If I sound worried - you're right. The power trip this can put on you is awesome and dangerous. What we really tell the parent is our interpretation of good and bad, wholesome or degenerate, evolved or sinning. We Astrologers are mere humans; our values and mores are fashioned by our own upbringing, parental influences, environment, traumas, successes and failures. Yet here we are, ready to judge how a parent can best proceed to help their child achieve what we deem best for that child.

Now that I really have you worried (I hope), I have achieved an important part of my goal, namely to make you aware that we are NOT omnipotent.

We need to consider many things when delineating for a child.

We must mention all the potential talents or abilities without forcing our opinion onto the thinking of the parent.

We need to leave lots of room for individual growth.

We must carefully seek to balance between emphasizing possible positive traits and still warning against possible negative ones.

Our first and foremost role is to help the parent give the child parental guidance, not to run the child's life.

In most cases parents get so involved in doing FOR their children, that they forget to do things WITH them, or just enjoy and more important, LOVE them.

There is one theoretical point I would like to raise.

Looking back at your own clientele, friends and family you have dealt with as well as your personal experience - how important do you think stress and challenges are in your life? Do you think you would be where you are if everything had always gone your way? Has most of your growth come through life's tough moments, or through the easy times?

Astrologically speaking, I am referring to squares, and in a lesser way, [to] oppositions and conjunctions in the chart. We need a good square to grow up, to learn to stand on our own feet, to defend ourselves, to fight back when necessary. It's the old Aries/1st house/Fire syndrome, versus Cancer/4th house/Water or the Capricorn/10th/Earth. Aries' Fire feels threatened by Cancer's Water which could put it out as well as by Capricorn's Earth which could smother it. Therefore, Aries immediately learns to fight back. "No way are you going to extinguish my flame, mother" (4th house). "I will not let you smother my fire, father" (10th house). That is nature's way of helping us become a person in our own right.

So I don't feel that every square is terrible, traumatic, hard, difficult or any other worrisome adjective, because without that square, we would probably be only half as good as we are. Please keep this in mind, especially when dealing with children. Squares are positive growth potential.

Words or theory alone are not enough to really stick in your mind. We will work with some actual cases to illustrate some of the issues, problems and possible solutions. Let me share the chart that indirectly got me started in astrology. It is my daughter's. My mother wanted to give me a little surprise gift and had a rather well known European Astrologer, Mrs. Bendix, interpret my children's horoscopes. We were living in America, but my husband and I went to visit my mother regularly in Switzerland. On one of those visits, when the children were 5 and 2½ respectively, she insisted that I listen to the Astrologer and find out about my children. As open-minded as I had been raised, I really was not too excited to hear what a woman who had never set eyes on my kids could possibly tell me about them.

My daughter Mikki is Chart #1. After some informative input about Mikki's potential characteristics, Mrs. Bendix started to tell me about her relationship to her younger brother, how she loved him and could relate to his feelings (Pisces on the 3rd house) but how he always seemed to upset her emotional apple-cart (ruler Neptune Inconjunct Jupiter in the 3rd, in fact part of a yod with Jupiter the finger, Pluto the other inconjunct). This same statement could of course be confirmed with Venus and Mars conjunct each other in the 3rd house. Click on the chart to pop-up a big chart.

I was amazed, because brother Nick used to drive Mikki up a tree, yet she adored him and understood him better than anyone else. Mrs. Bendix looked at my son's chart to add that he needed his sister more than she needed him. This, by the way, is still true today. She also indicated that they could probably get along well in very active situations (keep that Mars in a T-square as busy as possible!). It worked. They never fought on skiing trips or youth group outings, but boy did he irritate her when we tried to spend a leisurely afternoon "en famille."

The most valuable thing Mrs. Bendix told me was that she felt Mikki was quite musical and that musical could be soothing to her often-frazzled nerves and always-striving ego. She felt that instrument or voice [training] would help. She added that Nick was also musical, but that we should avoid letting them play the same instrument. I can't tell you how much music helped, how many times Mikki was able to flee into it for relief of tension, for uplifting of spirits, for the pure joy of it. Would I have gotten her into it at an early age without astrological advice? Would I have put my husband's hard-earned money into piano lessons and later voice lessons? Would I have insisted that Nick stay with the flute and piccolo through mutilated Bach and Mozart? Maybe - but with that advice in my ears, I made sure that, despite financial ups and downs, music stayed a priority for my children - and I have never regretted it.

This experience stayed so alive in my mind that I started studying Astrology as soon as my children were in school long enough for me to have some time to myself, and a dear friend invited me to audit an Astrology class. I was luck to have a responsible Astrologer as a role model, and I have since tried to be helpful to many young parents and caring grandparents.

Bolly Chart #2 - has Sagittarius rising and his chart ruler, Jupiter, is unaspected in the 7th house. His Taurus Moon in the 5th house is inconjunct Neptune in the 1st and Pluto in the 10th, forming a yod. A second yod is formed by making Neptune the finger, still inconjunct the Moon on one side and the sun on the other; two powerful configurations involving the luminaries. Neptune is conjunct the Ascendant. Quite a few adjustments will be necessary to use the creative potential of putting ideas and imagination into tangible form and application (Neptune and Ascendant trine Saturn). Click on the chart to pop-up a big chart.

The Moon's 5th house position could be helped in early years by looking at the Mars rulership and realizing that physical activity could be very helpful in working out frustrations, as well as fulfilling the fiery needs of a Sagittarian Ascendant and Leo signature. (The "signature" is derived by the predominance of quality and element, using the Ascendant to break any tie.) This Leo signature, working like a second Ascendant, indicates a child, and later young man, who would prefer activities where he can excel or "look good." You might suggest outdoor activities, since Sagittarian energies often relate to the great outdoors. Horseback riding, skiing and possibly water sports (with Neptune so close to the Ascendant) would be plausible suggestions.

Saturn aspects should always be carefully watched in any horoscope. Bolly has an exact Moon/Saturn square which could indicate a tendency to feel unloved by one or both of the parents, not getting as much tenderness or affection as his needy Cancer Sun desires. It could also signify that he perceives one parent, usually the mother, as too domineering, strong or demanding, which can make him fearful of not being able to live up to parental expectations. The best early antidote would be to urge both parents to give Bolly lots and lots of hugging and kissing, regardless of how many times he might protest. Touching is especially important in this case with a Taurus (tactile) Moon.

When Bolly's parents first consulted me, they indicated that they wanted a second child after four or five years. Though I hate any kind of "predictions," my hunch had been that a sibling for Bolly could be expected before three years, since the Midheaven (status) was the first applying aspect to Uranus, ruler of the 3rd house of siblings. 5 Libra 28 to 7 Scorpio 42. This seemed confirmed by the Ascendant conjoining Neptune, ruler of the interception in the 3rd house, in 3 years. 10 Sagittarius 34 to 13 Sagittarius 59. There were a few other indicators, such as Moon exact[ly] sextile the Sun in 2½ years, and so on.

The new birth would be particularly important, considering the Moon/Saturn Square. Regardless how much Bolly might like a baby sibling, intermingled with his emotions would probably be feelings of denial, resentment, loss of love and loss of status as the one and only baby. This would be the time to show Bolly more caring and devotion than ever.

Unexpectedly, the mother developed female problems and was told she could have an operation, or should she wish to become pregnant, it could all be handled at the time of birth. She opted for pregnancy and 2 years and 3 months after his birth, Bolly had a baby sister. Her moon at 17 Cancer sits smack on his Sun, and there is a deep bond of love between the two children. With Uranus, ruler of Bolly's 3rd in the 11th house, I presume they can stay good friends throughout their lives.

Do you tell the parents that colors and working with tactile materials, such as finger-paint, play-dough, arts and craft materials, etc., would be soothing for Bolly? (Mars, ruler of the 5th house in Taurus in the 6th; Moon in Taurus in the 5th, Moon in aspect to Neptune; Saturn in Leo sextile Neptune, and more.) Of course!

Do you tell them that if he cannot work out a possible feeling of inadequacy, it may lead to sexual overcompensations? (Moon, ruler of the 8th in the 5th in Taurus square Saturn.) Of course not! You don't know at all how he is going to develop, nor how he might express or work out his hang-ups or frustrations, and certainly his potential sex life is nobody's business at this point in time.

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