MOTHERING WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM ASTROLOGY

by Rinna Plofino-Garrucho

Mother and Child. Photo by guille pozzi on Unsplash

In the astrology community, often I would hear, “I wish I knew astrology earlier.”. Now knowing what I know, whenever I hear that, I think of my children. We have four children; eldest is a sweet grown-up lady, 20 years of age, then twins - a boy and a girl -  aged 11, and youngest is a 10-year old girl. I gave birth to our eldest when I was 22 years old, and needless to say, I was groping in the dark as a young mother. Although young, the desire to love her, protect her and give her the best was all that I had in my mind. Growing up, I would be overprotective of her, set high expectations and so many other things that had led to a less than ideal mother-daughter relationship. On the other hand, my relationship with my 3 younger children is better as I started mothering wiser in my 30s.

A big family of 6 members each with different personalities is not for everyone. To this day, dining out is a challenge as the 4 kids have their own food preferences. One loves pizza, pasta, and burgers, one loves meat- pork or beef (like me and my husband), one only prefers chicken which all five of us do not eat. I, on the other hand, prefer to have seafood at certain times but that does not fill up my husband and our eldest absolutely stays away from it. Our only son is the most adventurous but still picky when it comes to the thickness and texture of his meat viand.  When it comes to character and personalities, each child shares different traits of myself and that of my husband. Clearly, there is no same character and personality.

As the years have gone by, I discovered that the best way for us to spend quality time with our kids is to dedicate one Saturday with only one child wherein the child gets to have alone time with us while we do errands then an activity of their choice afterwards. This way, we are all focused on each other and our conversations on numerous topics with not having another child overpower or taking time and attention away from the other strengthened our bond with each other.

Fortunately, I attended a seminar at my son’s school where I was made to do an exam which was called Language of Love. They made us take home a copy of the exam. I made all kids take the exam and Voila! Four different results for four different children. While the test helped, I wished at times I understood them more so I could help them better when they encounter difficulties at school, in sports, with their friends or even with us. This is mostly applicable to our eldest wherein I feel that I have lost so much time trying to understand her and how we can adjust to each other. Then astrology came into my life.

Among the areas in my life which astrology has helped, mothering has been one of the most rewarding. Knowing my children’s tendencies, I am now more able to communicate better. It also helps my husband to understand them better so he does not tell them off too much. For example I tell him; “No he’s not stubborn, he’s just really built that way", "He’s too emotional he cannot control it.” or “She’s just really like because she likes being the center of attention, I don’t think she really means to hurt her sister by doing that.” In fact, it’s not only Mothering that’s gotten better but Parenting has gotten better too!

In a recent Sunday lunch, I discussed with the family what I do when I read astrology books and articles since they see me constantly reading, as well as what I do when they see me look at charts. I told them, “I look at your charts and I look at what you are probably feeling at a certain time!” And they looked at each other in horror. I asked them, “Wanna try?” to which they all excitedly said yes. When I told them what they are, how they are, what their interests are, how they usually feel when they’re mad or upset… all of them were shocked!! After such a fun long lunch, I told them that’s how I understood them better and if anything, they just need to come to me in the future and communicate their problems or confusion. Whether it be having to deal with challenges in school or in their chosen sport, or when they have problems with friends, or perhaps on the onset of financial difficulty, love problems or even problems with us, their own parents! Astrology has helped me get through my own challenges and has led me into clarity for the past few years, and I wish to do so for my own children as well. This is how I see astrology helping me in my motherhood for years to come.

While I wish I knew then what I know now, I am making up for lost time and I owe a lot of it to astrology.