Episode 214 features an interview with astrologer Wendy Stacey about the increasing frequency of caesarean births, and the implications this has for natal astrology.
Wendy is the Chair of the Astrological Association of Great Britain, and Principal of the Mayo School of Astrology.
She did an MA degree at Bath Spa University College in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, with a thesis that focused on the medicalisation of childbirth and changing birth time patterns.
The crux of the issue is that it is becoming more and more common for doctors to recommend that births are induced, especially using c-sections, and these are usually scheduled ahead of time during normal business hours.
This is having the unintended side-effect of leading to greater conformity in when people are born, so that it is happening Monday through Friday, during daytime hours.
This has some potentially startling implications for astrology, in term of having certain placements show up much more frequently, and other placements less frequently.
You can read more about Wendy’s research in an article that she wrote for the Astrological Association’s Astrological Journal in 2010 titled Pearls of Tomorrow: Birth Intervention and the Astrological Face of the New Generation.
For more information about Wendy visit:
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Another great interview. Fascinating stuff. Thank you, Chris & Wendy
A world without night charts?! Mind boggles.
Fate vs freewill discussion seemed to skip over a lot… to say that the chart is the chart even if a doctor determined the birth time is saying that the person being born had no will until a breath is taken. Why not investigate? 1) Do mothers report having any sense of the personality of the baby before it is born? 2) Do astrologers struggle to have meaningful insights from charts of caesarean births? If so, it doesn’t mean that nothing can be done with such a chart. 3) Mothers (and fathers) are agreeing to these procedures and schedules. What is the condition of the moon and sun? Do they seem right?
Saying either of: ‘The birth was supposed to happen at some other time’ or, ‘the birth happened by a schedule and that is what was supposed to happen’ might both be wrong.
I have had no trouble getting accurate insights from caesarean birth charts. My mom was born via c-section as was my son. I was heavily monitored during my pregnancy because I was/am an older mother. After a scan at 36 weeks, I was told that I had to have a c-section the following week as waiting any longer would be potentially dangerous for me and my baby due to a placenta previa. They mailed me a form letter telling me when to report on a Monday, but then sent another changing the date to that Tuesday. In looking at the two charts, the Tuesday chart had many more synastric aspects to my chart due to the Moon’s placement–the Moon in my son’s chart trines my Moon, but there are no connections between the Moon and other planets in my chart in the Monday chart, as just one example. I had been puzzled earlier in my pregnancy when looking at potential charts for around the 40-week mark because there wasn’t much in the way of synastry between the baby-to-be’s potential charts and my own. I n the end, I definitely thought that the universe did have a hand in determining time and date of birth.
We had no trouble agreeing to having a c-section since it would save our lives, and my son has a Grand Trine involving the Moon and Sun,Mercury, and Uranus. My only sense of my son’s personality pre-birth is that he was very active, something that has remained true so far!
This was so fascinating. Thank you! Reminded me of a dystopian novel I’ve been wanting to write for a while…
Speaking of mini baby booms, there is usually a baby boom 9 months after the superbowl in the winning city. I happened to be in the ER 9 months after the Broncos won and I counted 7 women walking into Rose Medical for their labor.
Peoria, IL has one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country and there is a huge amount of Capricorns, especially born on Dec. 30th.
I’d be interested in seeing the major celebrations in each city and if that effects the birth rate compared to that celebration. And if that does effect the city birth rate, would each city have a particular dominant sun sign population?
When I toured a maternity ward in the Boston area, I noticed that there was a sign showing the number of births each month. I asked why there were so many births that happened during one particular month. They said there was a baby boom in Boston that coincided nine months after the Red Sox won the World Series. 🙂
Great interview. Fascinating to hear, think, and expect the societal changes. Loved this interview
Wendy, what a thought provoking study! I have just come across the following info (which you may already know) : recent research has demonstrated that children born by C-Section have far lower levels of good bacteria in their gut than children born naturally. This is significant because there is a link between gut bacteria and brain function (via the vagus nerve). Also, mothers giving birth by C-section are given antibiotics, so if they breast feed the infant’s gut bacteria is also diminished. I am no expert and certainly not a medical person, but I read this recently in a book called “Brain Maker” by Dr David Perlmutter who quotes the medical research which he has used as his sources of info. The book was recommended to me by an Ayurvedic practitioner so I reckon it is a serious, well researched book. As there is increasing evidence of the link between gut bacteria and brain function(and the medical implications) I think this is interesting. As you said your research is continuing, I am passing this on, for what it is worth. Best wishes.
Very interesting, I’ve been thinking about this for some years, that people who want a private life, with more personal planets below the horizon, will become (are becoming?) the social weirdos. Though I suppose plenty of 12th-housers might make up for that!
But as every attempt at social engineering has its flip side, a world of 10th, 11th and 12th housers might also be more mature, caring, evolved social beings. The innumerable generations who have had randomly spread of birth signs, houses, quadrants etc due to non-interference in birth times…have we done very well in taking care of the planet?
There is another but to all this: people who live far from cities, very poor people, indigenous people with their own customs, will carry on having babies according to natural rhythms.
I wonder what the data on the births of “poor” people are? How many cesareans per capita? With the spread of the western medical big pharma model it is bound to be increasing but how quickly?
Astrology, so far, is a first-world, middle-class pursuit (except in India, BIG exception!.)