RISING SIGN & THE GESTATION PERIOD

THE RISING SIGN

AND THE GESTATION PERIOD

by Lynn Koiner

It is my theory and contention that the rising sign is determined by the mother’s attitude, feelings and experiences during the gestation period.  The rising sign is generally accepted as being conditioned by the environment but I contend that this environment states during pregnancy.

The mother’s created environment during this vulnerable period of life conditions the individual to react to certain stimuli.  This “environment” mayor may not be in tune with who the individual really is.  For example, if Cancer rises and the Sun is in Sagittarius, the mother may have been very emotional, especially during the gestation period, and, therefore, the individual experiences emotional responses with which he or she cannot identify.  A Capricorn or Saturn rising person may carry an inner feeling of not being wanted even though there was a great deal of love in the early childhood years, generally shown by favorable aspects to the Moon.

The following are examples of my theory.  Keep an open mind and compare these examples with your own experiences.  I do find, however, that any planet in the first house supercedes the influence of the rising sign itself.  For example, if Leo rises, the mother may have received a lot of attention while pregnant but, if Pluto rises in Leo, the experiences are more descriptive of Scorpio rising.

ARIES RISING:  Mother frequently got into a lot of new interests and activities while pregnant.  One friend stated that a new world opened for her with studies in esoterics while she was pregnant with her Aries rising child.  Another felt that her whole life changed for the better as she got rid of the old and outmoded in her life and took on a new life and experiences.

In tune with the Aries temperament, one Aries rising woman described her mother as a very impatient woman, especially when she was pregnant.  Another felt that, while she was pregnant with her Aries rising child, she had to do a lot by herself, to take charge to do things alone, and she also dealt with many crisis in her life at that time.  As you will read under the description of Aries, they thrive on the challenge of a good crisis.  What mother experienced while pregnant becomes part of the child’s experience, temperament and orientation.

When the Fire sign of Aries, Leo or Sagittarius are rising, the mothers expressed strong feelings of well being when pregnant.

TAURUS RISING:  The parents may have been in the acquisitional stage of their relationship at the time of the pregnancy with the Taurus child.  Acquiring lovely “things” felt good for mother and, therefore, the Taurus child will feel a return to the safety of the womb when purchasing something that sounds, feels, smells or looks good.

Taurus is a creative sign and I find that the mother was frequently exposed to cultural experiences while pregnant.  One student born with the Moon and Venus rising in Taurus stated that both parents were highly creative so that this type of exposure during the gestation process was highly probable.  The Moon, Venus and sometimes Neptune are frequently indicative of music, especially in Taurus, Libra and Pisces.

A mother who gave birth to a child with Jupiter rising in Taurus stated that she listened and danced to music during the entire time she was pregnant.  The dance was a flowing style rather than contemporary dance.  When the child was born, he naturally took to dance.  Jupiter rules movement and dance during the gestation period, especially when in the creative signs.

GEMINI RISING:  The mother often experienced much moving about, changes of scenery or changes in the environment while pregnant.  One mother moved to a different neighborhood while pregnant; others experienced a lot of traveling, especially short trips.

One mother cited an unusual interpretation of Gemini’s moving about.  When I asked if she experienced a lot of moving around when pregnant, she felt that this was not true – but then remembered that she did aerobics up until the day she went into the hospital to give birth! !

CANCER RISING:  I found that mothers who gave birth to Cancer children generally felt sick, especially morning sickness, while they were pregnant.  This may be why Cancer is more sensitive in the area of the stomach and digestion – there is a predisposition inherited from the pregnancy.  One woman told me that her son had Cancer rising and she felt wonderful while pregnant – I later discovered that the child had the Sun rising.  The Sun and Fire signs help the mother feel good.

The mother was frequently emotional, sensitive and moody during the experience; the emotions experienced could either be positive or negative.  This is true when the Moon rises.  A friend who gave birth to a child with the Moon and Mars rising felt powerful emotions of anger since she did not want to have the child and her husband would not agree to an abortion.  Yet another woman whose child was born with a well-aspected rising Moon felt wonderful emotions of harmony and “attunement.”

LEO RISING:  Mother frequently received a lot of attention when pregnant.  One friend said that the bigger she got the more attention she received – people waited on her, told her how beautiful she looked and she felt important.  This bestows an orientation in the Leo child to be important since it felt so good during the gestation period

Planets rising strongly affect this rising sign.  In the late 1940s, several outer planets were in that sign, especially Pluto.  If this is the case, read the description of Scorpio rising.  I always use Transpluto in my charts and this planet began its transit through Leo in the late 1930s and it will continue to transit Leo until after the turn of the century.

When Transpluto rises, the mother may have manifested strong self-sufficiency traits, feeling that she had to do everything herself and this was incorporated with critical or discriminating tendencies.  Mother may have complained about doing everything herself but it is often a personal choice.  Self-sufficiency means that people cannot criticize, try to change you or tell you what to do!

VIRGO RISING:  Mother usually manifested very fussy habits while pregnant.  She very likely watched her diet and took great pains not to harm the child.  In several instances, mother had a previous miscarriage and, therefore, took every precaution that this did not happen again.  I often find that mother had some Virgo placements herself and this precipitated such fussy habits while pregnant.

LIBRA RISING:  Mother frequently tried to keep the life in balance, sometimes to the point of being unfair to herself and losing her own identity in the process.  One mother said that she tried to balance a home life with a career – indeed losing some of her own identity with the balancing act.  Inner peace is important and achieving this frequently came through some creative outlet – lovely flowers, nice music and beautiful colors.  There could have indeed have been stress in the home but mother kept everything in balance, took others needs into consideration before her own, and repressed any tendency to express anger or anything unpleasant.

At this point I would like to mention that Venus rising (without conjunctions with malefics) generally indicates that the child felt very loved during the gestation period.  An astrologer in Nevada, Patricia Munns, sent me an article describing a child who was born to a dead mother – the mother being kept alive by a live support system until after the birth.  When I calculated the chart, Venus was rising in the sign of Virgo.  I felt that the child had actually felt strong feelings of love even in the body of the dead mother.  Patricia told me that this was very true.  The father visited the baby and talked to the baby every day while the mother lay in the hospital.

SCORPIO RISING:  Generally with Scorpio or Pluto rising, mother felt angry, resentful and very resistant to being out of control while pregnant.  There may have been tensions occurring within the family and mother internalized the anger with powerful emotions.  Even the unborn child felt feelings of being out of control by what was happening during gestation!

There are some very important exceptions! ! One of my students was born with Scorpio rising but her Moon was in Capricorn (often the favorite child – as strange as this seems) and very well aspected.  I felt that, while mother experienced resentment during pregnancy, she loved the child very much once she was born.  The student told me that she was born in a very impoverished community during the Great Depression.  She mother was indeed very resentful because she knew that she would have to go to a welfare hospital and her proud nature found this very difficult to accept; however, once the baby was born and the experience was behind her, the resentment was gone.  Yet, because the child felt this powerful emotion during gestation, she is very responsive to being out of control and manipulation as an adult.

Another experience relayed to me during an astrological convention was quite unusual! The mother told me that she enjoyed being pregnant so much that she tried very hard to keep the baby from being born.  Obviously, the baby felt this as a control issue! Remember, too, that benefics rising alter the influence of Scorpio rising.  Along similar lines, one individual reported that labor was induced.

SAGITTARIUS RISING:  Like other Fire signs, mothers expressed feelings of well being and feeling good while pregnant.  With such positive input during gestation, the child finds it easy to cultivate a positive inner attitude throughout life.  Only one mother interviewed experienced poor health but she found the next statement to be true.

Some mothers have stated that there was a major move during the pregnancy but the theme during the pregnancy mentioned by all of the women was an inner expectancy that things were going to get better, prosperity was just around the corner, and they sought new horizons.  They left the past behind them and found themselves acting with a great deal of faith.  The mothers felt a strong spiritual or philosophical outlook while pregnant.  It was an expansion of consciousness period, believing in something greater than themselves and acting in that faith.

CAPRICORN RISING:  Frequently, when Saturn or Capricorn rises, the child is either the first or last born.  With the first born, there is a feeling of anxiety about the new experience.  The child can be very much wanted but, as mother walks around feeling like she has a bridge table under her dress, there can be moods of “Oh no, what did I get myself into!” With the last born, mother’s attitude is, “This is it – no more kids!” Sometimes, after several years have passed, mother can change her mind but that does not change her attitude with that Capricorn/Saturn rising child that she thought was going to be “Finis!”

Sometimes there are actual feelings of not wanting to be pregnant or some feeling of “dread.” However, this dread may not be connected with not wanting the child.  One friend assured me that she wanted her last child – born with Capricorn rising – and that she planned to have more…someday.  Later, she realized the source of the feelings of dread that I mentioned.  She told me that she and her husband were into New Age philosophy but his parents belonged to a strict, traditional religion.  Whenever she became pregnant, all of his relatives would come down from New York and try to convert their children and get them back into the fold.  This was a strong thought pattern while she was pregnant with her Capricorn child and she did feel strong emotions of dread – “Oh no! I’m going to have to deal with his relatives again! ”

An unborn child cannot possibly discriminate as to the source of such emotions.  All it knows is that it feels unwanted; it feels mom’s dread about being pregnant.  When one feels unwanted at the most vulnerable stage of development, there is imbued within the individual strong feelings of reserve, insecurity and distrust – feelings of not being wanted which are coded into the cells of the body.  Hence, people with Capricorn or Saturn rising often have an aura of reserve about them until they feel they can trust and open up to their environment.  Life experiences which prove to them that they can trust help to eliminate such programming.

Years ago I gave a reading for a woman’s children.  One was born with Saturn rising and the natal Moon was squaring Jupiter.  I asked if she had not wanted to be pregnant but then compensated for the guilt of not wanting the child by indulging her.  She confessed that the first child had been such a problem that she dreaded having another but, once the child was born, she truly loved her and did indeed try to compensate by indulging her more than the first born.

AQUARIUS RISING:  With Aquarius or Uranus rising, mother may have been in a rebellious phase of her development.  Sometimes mother wanted to be out of the house and the confinement of pregnancy so she rebelled against the experience.  One mother experienced Uranian health problems – a pinched nerve which paralyzed her hand.  Several of my Aquarius or Uranus rising students have expressed thoughts that their mothers did not want to be pregnant – but it was a rebellious mood over the experience rather than the dread of Capricorn/Saturn.

One friend gave birth to a child with Uranus rising in Leo.  She had been told by her doctors that she could not physically carry this child and, if she did have it, she definitely could not nurse it.  While my friend is a sweet, easy-going earth sign woman, she struck a mood of fierce rebellion towards authority figures – the doctors! She was determined to have the baby, to do it her way and to nurse it if she had a mind to do so.  The attitude of “I am going to do want I want and I am going to do it MY WAY!” was dominant.  Obviously, she gave birth to a child who, while I feel he is very sweet, carries a rebellious attitude towards authority figures.

PISCES RISING:  With Pisces or Neptune rising, mother frequently tuned out during the pregnancy.  There was a mood of ambivalence, not being there – and not being grounded or connected either.  Some mothers said that they sought to escape through art, reading, studies in mysticism and daydreams of fantasy.  Sometimes mother may have been on drugs that kept her “out of it” while pregnant; in some rare cases, mother experienced a neurosis while pregnant whereby she was psychologically “out of it.”

With positive influences from the Moon or Venus, mother’s escape through creativity will produce creativity in the child.  The child learns a healthy means of escaping reality through the mother.  Yet, with the example mentioned under Cancer/Moon rising, the woman who felt very angry because she did not want to have her baby learned to tune out in a mood of ambivalence when she could not have an abortion – and the child was born with the Moon conjunct Mars in Pisces.  Sometimes in trying to cope with negative feelings, the mother can resort to drugs or alcohol.

Regardless of whether or not it was a positive experience, mother’s “not being there” quality kept her from being grounded while pregnant.  This creates a dilemma for the incoming entity.  The mother’s disconnectedness makes it difficult for the incoming entity to integrate effectively into the dense physical body.  There seems to be some gaps or spaces between the dense and subtle bodies which makes the child highly empathetic and sensitive to external vibrations.  Such sensitivity makes life on planet Earth stressful due to the heightened receptivity.  Obviously, it may be more easy for such an individual – when creative escapes are not found – to seek relief through addictions.  I include smoking here because smoking tends to cut off connections emanating from the solar plexus.  I find many psychics light up a cigarette when a reading is finished and this helps cut off the established connection.

The Sun represents our true identity; the ASCENDANT represents our environmental conditioning – our early years and our pre-natal development.  If the Sun Sign and the Ascendant are not harmonious, we may have been encouraged to be something that we feel we are not.  For example, one student with Leo rising and the Sun in Virgo rising felt that she was always pushed to be important, to be bigger than life, to be on stage and perform when she was basically a shy, introspective person.  Leos often prefer the fast pace of the big city but Virgo prefers the quiet of small, intimate communities.  When there is a conflict, the individual will find that people strong in their rising sign will expect them to be that person molded by the parents and the early environment, frustrating any attempt to be the true inner self.  Using this Leo/Virgo example, Leo men would want her to be flashy, a social performer and the center of attention and not her shy, quiet self.