Understanding Children

Western Psychology would have us believe that environmental factors are the primary influences involved in the formation of the young psyche. But as anyone who has taken care of infants and young children knows, they do come into this world with many clearly defined characteristics that are obviously there from the very beginning. Identifying these inborn characteristics and their attendant behavior patterns is an area where Vedic Astrology birth chart analysis can be of great help.A newborn is, so to speak, 'fresh out of the oven', i.e., uncontaminated by environmental influence. Not including the obvious exceptions of those experiencing extreme early trauma, we can assume the first couple of years of life as still leaving the person relatively 'pure'. Thus, astrologically speaking, an infant or toddler should clearly exhibit the chief features indicated by their birth chart, with the more subtle traits showing up later in life.This is, in fact, what is observed: that the main physical, emotional, and psychological patterns foretold by the Rising sign, Moon sign, Sun sign, and major conjunctions of planets in the chart are the first to make themselves known. For the child's parents and caregivers, this information can be very useful in understanding what appears as unfounded or arbitrary conduct, and help in determining what a positive response might be, especially in the case of the more troublesome behavior patterns. The Moon in particular, is closely associated with the 'original nature': the psychology, the perceptions, and the basic mental patterns (i.e., non-intellectual mind) such as a child exhibits.For example, a child born with the Moon in Scorpio will be extremely emotionally sensitive, and have a noticeable tendency to hold on to negative feelings. Furthermore, if this Moon is in the part of Scorpio between 3 and 17 degrees, it lies in the Lunar sign known as Anuradha, which is closely associated with friendship. The analysis shows that such a child (or grownup!) will be very attached to friends, and really have a hard time 'letting go' of anyone whom he/she experiences as emotionally supportive. Knowing this, the informed caregiver can anticipate an over-reaction to any 'separative' event in the child's life, and take appropriate measures to ease the transition, to reassure that the friend will return, to have photos available to help 'reconnect' with that person, etc., so as to help avoid the powerful negative reaction that arises from such separation. Lunar signs (Nakshatras, or lunar mansions) in particular give very accurate clues to inborn behavior patterns. For instance, in the middle of the sign Gemini we have the lunar sign Arudra, which is associated with Storms. The symbology of a storm includes the gathering of clouds, the intensifying of the energy, the forceful 'explosion', and finally the cessation, and resultant clarity and calm, that follows. My suggestion to the parents was not to try to stop the behavior, but rather to provide more of it, of course in a safe form, such as a 'jungle-gym' for toddlers. The more 'victories' the child gets to experience, the more her self-confidence grows.The training, or conditioning, of a child is provided by the parental response to the child's actions. The positive alignment of the parental response to the child's predispositions will determine the child's sense of acceptance, which has so much to do with the path of development of the young mind. With a Vedic Birth Chart reading one comes to understand the natural traits that one's child is born with, which then will help in designing conscious parental responses that condition desirable childhood development.