Premature and Caesarean Birth: An Astrological Mis-inheritance?

Astrology holds that your natal chart is a blueprint of who you are. But what if you were not born when you were supposed to be? What about premature babies or elective caesarean births? Will babies born “at the wrong time” be affected by having the wrong birth chart? Well, since my daughter was born nine weeks prematurely AND by caesarean, I feel particularly well suited to answering this question!

The astrology behind this question is more complex than it might look, but for the purposes of this article, let’s consider it in relatively simple terms. It is often assumed that if a baby who “should” have been, say, a Taurus is born early and becomes a Pisces instead then there may be some kind of problem for the baby in coming to terms with the personality that has been “forced” upon it, as opposed to the personality it “should” have had. Of course, astrological charts are different from minute to minute, let alone from month to month, so even parents of a baby born by planned caesarean a few days or weeks before or after the due date are often concerned about this.

Babies Are More Than Sun Signs

In order to answer to the question “Does an early (or late) birth make any difference to the personality?”, it’s important to understand two things.

First of all, remember that a due date is an adult human concept, designed to help parents-to-be plan for the arrival of their little one. Fewer than 10% of babies appear to be born exactly on their calculated due date, although the vast majority are born within two weeks either side of that date. Within that four week, completely normal range for giving birth, a huge range of astrological factors will change – so really, the due date is meaningless as far as astrology is concerned.

When we say that an expected child ‘should be a Gemini’, all we are really saying is that the Sun will be in Gemini on the due date – which, statistically, is unlikely to be the actual date of birth. The only date which truly matters is the eventual date of birth.

Secondly, it’s important to understand the way a birth chart or natal chart works. Astrology is about far more than just a Sun sign. The Sun is just one out of hundreds of astrological factors in any one chart, and more often than not, it is not even the most important factor. So worries about the baby not suiting its Sun sign are totally unfounded – the baby’s astrological make-up as a whole will be complex, whenever and however birth occurs.

Even for a baby born on its due date, the concept that the baby will necessarily exhibit strong signs of being ‘a Gemini’ is incorrect. Consider, for example, the Ascendant sign or rising sign. This is the sign rising on the Eastern horizon at the moment of birth and is a critical factor in any birth chart. This sign changes approximately every two hours, and the exact degree of the sign changes about every four minutes – so even a baby born on it’s due date can have any one of the twelve signs as this most vital factor. Unless the Ascendant sign also happens to be Gemini, there’s a very good chance that the sun-in-Gemini baby will not fit most people’s ideas of ‘being a Gemini’ at all.

As an astrologer, I believe that babies are born when they are ready to be born. A spontaneous birth, i.e. not unduly premature and without emergency intervention is of course what we all hope for, and the majority of babies, born this way, are inheriting their correct astrological make-up, having been born at the right time for them – regardless of due date. For babies who are born prematurely (naturally or by caesarean), or later but with emergency or non-emergency intervention, the situation is a little more complex.

Premature Births and Emergencies

Our own daughter was due in late February, twenty years ago, which would have made her a Sun-in-Aquarius-or-Pisces baby, depending on the exact time (the Sun changed signs on that day). She was actually born on the 2nd January, which made her a Sun-in-Capricorn baby. Did my daughter have a problem with this? Has she always been a Capricorn person who feels like an Aquarian/Pisces? Or vice versa? Well, the answer is no, none of those. She has always been a Sun-in-Capricorn,

Ascendant-Scorpio baby, now a young woman, with all of the other planets in their relevant positions too, and that is how she should be. You see, my daughter was born by emergency Caesarean due to placental abruption – had she not been born when she was, both her life and mine would have been in grave danger. Therefore, astrologically speaking, we say that she was born at the “correct” time for her – had she not have been born then, she might not have been born at all.

Babies born prematurely are always born with their “correct” astrological inheritance intact. Think of it, if you like, as the baby having chosen to be born at that time. Very often, had premature babies not been born early, they may not have survived at all. Likewise babies born by emergency caesarean, whatever their gestational age. Although human adults have intervened in the birth process, the baby might not have survived if they had not – so again, we can think of this as the baby choosing to be born at that time.

Elective Caesarean Births

For babies born by planned caesarean, however, a slightly different picture emerges. Planned caesareans, although undoubtedly carried out with the best interests of mother and baby at heart, are usually planned to the mother’s or the hospital’s convenience, not the baby’s. In this case, we cannot really say that the baby chose to be born at that time, and it is therefore true to say that the baby’s intended – or chosen, if you like – astrological inheritance may be slightly different from that which it ends up with. However, fortunately, planned caesareans nearly always take place quite close to the due date, within a matter of a couple of at most. Although the Sun, Moon and Ascendant and faster moving planets will be in different positions to those that could have been anticipated on the baby’s due date, the slower moving planets will have moved only slightly, and are unlikely to have changed sign.

These children tend to grow up feeling slightly different – but this is unlikely to cause them any stress or problems. As the planets move and progress, so they do through the baby’s birth chart. It is often the case with these babies that they have a ‘cranky’ few months to begin with, until the planets have symbolically ‘progressed’ to where they would have been on baby’s chosen birthdate – and then, as if by magic, the baby settles and relaxes into it’s new life. By the time a child is old enough to understand it’s own feelings and give voice to them, the experience of life will have outweighed this slight difference in astrological inheritance, and all should be well.

Ultimately, of course, all that matters is the safe arrival of baby, and the safe recovery of Mum. Provided both of these are achieved, then astrological considerations should never be a worry – none of us have ‘perfect’ charts, we all have some issues to work through during our life-time. These issues and challenges are what make us, us. If a baby is born with an astrological make-up slightly different to how it “should” have been, then experience shows us that as the baby grows up, he or she is always well equipped to deal with it.

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About the author:

Nikki Harper is a spiritualist writer, astrologer, and editor for Wake Up World. She writes about divination, astrology, mediumship and spirituality at Questionology: Astrology and Divination For the Modern World where you can also find out more about her work as a freelance astrologer and her mind-body-spirit writing and editing services. Nikki also runs a spiritualist centre in North Lincs, UK, hosting weekly mediumship demonstrations and a wide range of spiritual development courses and workshops.

Say hi at Questionology.co.uk or on Facebook.

Babies Are More Than Sun Signs

Premature Births and Emergencies

Elective Caesarean Births

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