Sagittarian Moira Collins has taken a special interest in children's astrology, with two websites that focus on Sun, Moon and Rising signs. The reports are written in simple language for parents wanting to delve a little further than the Sun sign. Both kiddiegram.net and kiddiegram.com hone in on the elements, and the role it plays in the parent-child relationship. There's rich material about elemental dynamics that can be used in families and playgroups. Understanding a child by knowing which elements are at play, helps parents draw out potential and work with his or her built-in astro challenges.
What inspired you to create kiddiegram.com?
When my partner and I founded our company Astrogram,many people wanted to give our natal report as a baby gift. Rather than send out an adult report with the words, “Welcome to the World, we hope you enjoy reading this when you are twenty one,” we developed a children's report which was called Kiddygram.Although we created an affordable site kiddiegram.net that could calculate these reports on-line, it turned out that people still wished to give the printed report as a gift or create a keepsake birth record. Thus a sister-site was created.
Are parents today more tuned in to the stars? Does astrology slip into casual conversation on the playground?I do think it depends on what playground and what group of parents. Astrology on the playground or cafe is related still to sun sign talk. It takes a fairly sophisticated, interested or savvy parent to know moon signs and ascendants. And I don’t see school rooms with ephemeris in the corner with the world atlas.
However, we feel a lot can be understood about a child by just knowing his or her moon sign and rising sign along with the sun sign. This is why we have developed the concept of Kidsigns, to make the patterns of a child's chart more accessible to a lay person. It's for those not even interested in astrology per se but perhaps struck with the right on qualities of sun sign information.
For example, at a gathering, people might say that a Leo child doesn't seem to share the same showmanship qualities of his uncle born on the same day, although he still likes to organize theatrical productions. They share the same natal day, but were born different years -- the Uncle's Moon is in Aries and the birthday boy's Moon and rising are in the more modest, less all about me sign of Virgo! When people are talking experientially, the astrological signs can provide a lot of fun insights. Just like kids walk their talk, they also walk and talk their chart.
Do you think there's a more intuitive understanding of astrology these days....for example, your guide goes into the elements. Is this something that today's parents are ready for?
Yes and No. I think anyone raised in the Western tradition of crisp cool logic may initially feel that terms like the "elements" are throwbacks to medieval times when people were diagnosed as being one of four "humors." However as the psychological sophistication of Eastern modes of thought are discussed through alternative medicine and new modes of thinking about quantum physics, the "invisbile" world of earlier centuries can be looked at as another form of knowledge. It's extraordinary knowledge that can be used with a sensible but intuitive approach that relates to the idea of "being in one's element" as something one already knows.
A fire sign often would feel completely out of sorts if they were stuck with a family of "earth" types who always wanted to barbeque in the same backyard in the same way every Sunday, when the fire being would like to bike over to a city food festival serving ribs and tofu sticks. Accommodating each others basic elements is a sane easy way to plan activities that will honor the preferences of different friends and family members. That's what diversity is all about.
How can it help parents with things like sibling rivalry?
It's very important that parents understand their own energies when dealing with sibling rivalries. Many pacts are made in families unconsciously, when a parent finds it easier to relate to one child over another because their energies are more in synch. The child is easier to raise because his or her basic approach approach is in concert with the family or parents style.
Sometimes a little scientist can be raised quite successfully in a family of artists! The key is understanding the different talents and styles in children, so the differences do not become difficulties. Difficult ties can emerge in families when a child's basic being is not encouraged. Children who respond emotionally can be puzzling to parents who are down to earth and deal with situations logically.
Parents can help children honor the way they are, by valuing their child's basic being. "The way to do" is to be. Sometimes parents are more concerned about what their child does, than who they are. We're not talking about taking a Taurus child to the grocery store and back in four minutes. It's not going to happen. Self love is key. When parents are comfortable in their own skins, they can tolerate the differences in their children and they can see their children not as extensions of themselves but as little beings in their own right. This is easy when a child adores a parent and is their sun, moon, stars and good night moon parent -- it's harder when that child starts to assert their individuality.
