DYSFUNCTION : SOCIETAL - PSYCHOLOGICAL -ASTROLOGICAL ?

This might be coincidental, and will likely not bear too much prodding with the fact fork, but I think it's worth a mention.

In reading a powerful article (I Am Adam Lanza's Mother) by a woman who has a son with a personality disorder, possibly something similar to that which, it is being assumed, Adam Lanza was afflicted, I came across a comment stating:

The hard truth , is this country has experienced a swell of acute mental dysfunction in particular group. That group being 13- 27 yr old males. This has occurred simultaneously with key changes in our societal norms. An emasculation of young male children,increase in loss of male mentoring or fathering, an increase exposure to violent themes at a young age ( video , movie , etc) a systematic desensitization of human traits a severed sense of empathy , a culture that glorifies attacks on the very values our founders knew would support families, and communities.(Part of a comment by bekahlyons (2.06pm) 16 Dec.)

Among the very long thread of comments, of which I read only a part, there are several other contributions from parents of young adults with a similar disorder to that described in the original piece, all of those I read involved young people (mainly males) of this same age group. A bell kept annoyingly ringing in my head
That age group (they are now 13 - 27) is also, roughly, the age group which, a few years ago, was associated with so-called Indigo Children. Not everything in the list below seems to fit, but some of it does. See this article Astrology of the Indigo Children by Arwynne O'Neil
It begins

#Introduction

The generation of children born from approximately 1983 to 1999 (broader estimates say 1978-2003) includes a special classification of individuals first identified by authors Lee Carroll and Jan Tober in their 1999 book The Indigo Children.

In this excerpt, the authors list several attributes they feel best describe those children:

• They come into the world with a feeling of royalty (and often act like it).
• They have a feeling of "deserving to be here," and are surprised when others don't share that.
• Self-worth is not a big issue. They often tell the parents "who they are."
• They have difficulty with absolute authority (authority without explanation or choice).
• They simply will not do certain things; for example, waiting in line is difficult for them.
• They get frustrated with systems that are ritually oriented and don't require creative thought.
• They often see better ways of doing things, both at home and in school, which makes them seem like "system busters" (nonconforming to any system).
• They seem antisocial unless they are with their own kind. If there are no others of like consciousness around them, they often turn inward, feeling like no other human understands them. School is often extremely difficult for them socially.
• They will not respond to "guilt" discipline ("Wait till your father gets home and finds out what you did").
• They are not shy in letting you know what they need.

Every generation shares certain characteristics which can be attributed to the lengthy transits of the outer planets through the twelve signs; Uranus stays in each one for approximately seven years, Neptune spends about fourteen and Pluto, with its erratic 248-year orbit, takes anywhere from 10 to 25 years to move through any given sign. Each combination of these three planets lasts long enough to influence a vast swath of the world's population, imprinting upon each new personality the unique qualities of their time..................

There's a theory based on astrology further into the piece... starting:

"According to Richard Brown, the astrological signature of the Indigo Children is a combination of outer planetary conjunctions and their aspects to Quaoar between 1983 and 2002........"

I'm wondering if the particular differences noticed in a group of children once labelled "Indigo" might have developed in a much different way from that originally supposed. I should point out that not every person born in that time span was categorised "Indigo" - those children were a minority. The idea of Indigo Children wasn't widely accepted, it was thought to be New Agey, or pseudo-science-ish; or, quite often, complete hogwash, and it might have been just that. Still, throwing baby out with bathwater is never a wise move! Anyone have any thoughts on this, astrological or otherwise?

Uranus/Neptune Conjunction in Charts of American Idol Finalists. Any Indigo Kids in the House?

Wikipedia has published birthdates and birth places for the remaining 11 American Idol contestants. Wiki isn't always 100% accurate on these details, but this week the young singers were asked to perform a song from the year they were born, and each did tell us their birth date in video clips during the show. Yours truly wasn't ready with pen and paper however, but Wiki's details do match my memory of the data.

This season's crop is an unusually talented collection - the judges keep telling us this, but it's quite evident to Idol junkies like me. I'm not sure that it would be ethical to display natal charts of the young people at this stage. Most will be eliminated during the next few weeks anyway. Until the crowd thins out a bit I'll limit myself to a few general notes.

I've set the full list of birth dates below in zodiacal Sun sign order. No remaining contestants have Sun in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo or Sagittarius. So no Fire Suns this time around - a little surprising.

Full list of birth dates:

Jacob Lusk (born June 23, 1987) is from Compton, California. SUN CANCER

Paul McDonald (born August 24, 1984) in Auburn, Alabama. SUN VIRGO

Haley Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is from Wheeling, Illinois. SUN VIRGO

Pia Toscano (born October 14, 1988) is from Howard Beach, New York. SUN LIBRA

Scotty McCreery (born October 9, 1993) in from Garner, North Carolina. SUN LIBRA

Naima Adedapo (born October 5, 1984 in Maywood, Illinois) is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. SUN LIBRA

Lauren Alaina (born November 8, 1994) is from Rossville, Georgia. SUN SCORPIO

James Durbin (born January 6, 1989) is from Santa Cruz, California. SUN CAPRICORN

Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991 in Austin, Texas). SUN AQUARIUS

Thia Megia (born January 30, 1995) is from Mountain House, California. SUN AQUARIUS

Stefano Langone (born February 27, 1989) is from Kent, Washington. SUN PISCES

Back row left-right: Casey (in hospital when pic was taken), Pia, James, Paul, Jacob, Scotty. Front row left-right: Haley, Karen (eliminated this week), Stefano, Naima, Thia, Lauren.

Their birth years span 1984 to 1995. Steven Tyler quipped to one of the youngsters when giving his birth date: "I've got spare sandwiches under my bed that are older than that".

Around 1989 to 1996 there was a building conjunction in Capricorn of slow-moving planets Uranus and Neptune. That conjunction, near or exact, is a feature in several of the contestants' charts. A Uranus/Neptune conjunction affects a generation or age group rather than an individual, but when personal planets link in to such conjunctions, the "power" and "flavour" will seep through into the personality.

My favourite go-to for generational thoughts is Horoscope for the New Millennium by E. Alan Meece (see extract HERE.)
In considering the generation with Neptune/Uranus conjunction he writes:

"The committed ones," 1988-1995 (Generation Y-b) (Uranus conjunct Neptune in Capricorn, Pluto in Scorpio) This is a group with outstanding potential. It is a very precocious generation, but won't burn itself out in youth. They are steady, persistent, determined, ambitious and passionate. They have great talent in the arts, politics and organization, and they may be the great leaders who lay down lasting foundations for a new age of civilization. On the other hand, some might consider them too cold, calculating, rigid, worldly or obsessed with their own goals."

A question sprang to mind as I drafted this post: were some of the above young people among so-called Indigo Children? This from astrologer Donna Cunningham:

I’ve been an astrologer for over thirty years, and some time ago I began wondering about an astrological pattern unlike any I had ever seen. Parents were suddenly asking me about the charts of some very unusual children - gifted yet struggling to fit into the system - and these charts were unique. Uranus and Neptune had been conjunct - that is, traveling been together in the sky - for a number of years when these children were born, first in Sagittarius, then in Capricorn, and finally in Aquarius. (The years 1984-1999 were especially significant). These strangely gifted youngsters tended to have Uranus and Neptune highlighted in their charts, perhaps connected with their Sun, Moon, or Rising sign or with several factors at once.

Both Uranus and Neptune are planets that grant out-of-the-ordinary gifts and out-of-the-ordinary difficulties in fitting into the mainstream - standing together they would be at the outer limits of anything already known! Applying traditional astrological interpretations to these children charts seemed both inadequate and needlessly alarming for the parent. I went to a metaphysical bookstore, and The Indigo Children, by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober came home with me. Immediately, the book provided some important answers, for the traits given for indigo children were very similar to the traits of people who have Uranus and Neptune as prominent features of the chart. Uranian types are highly intelligent, inventive, extremely independent, visionary, and follow their own guidance rather than submit unquestioningly to authority. Neptunians are sensitive, dreamy, creative, imaginative, often psychic, and with a strong sense of compassion for the vulnerable. Many indigo children display both sets of traits.

No times of birth are available, making it impossible to see exactly where the Neptune/Uranus conjunction and associated planets lie in the charts. If positioned close to one of the angles (ascendant, midheaven and opposite points) that would add more strength to both conjunction and associated links.

Will a personal link to the conjunction be a help or a hindrance in these American Idol competitive circumstances though? My guess: it will be extremely helpful

The four contestants below (love 'em or hate 'em) have been "stand-outs" from the get-go:


Scotty McCreary has the conjunction exact, both planets at 18 Capricorn, with personal planets Mercury and Venus in sextile and trine aspect to it from Scorpio and Virgo respectively. Unusually deep voice for his age - ideal for singing traditional country music, which he does with a poise far beyond his years.









Casey Abrams has Neptune @ 15 and Uranus @ 12 Capricorn with Mercury semi-sextile at 10 Aquarius and Venus sextile from 18 Pisces. He has been hospitalised twice already since the season's shows began, suffering from ulcerative colitis. He's probably the most original of the whole bunch. I hope health issues don't spoil his chances.








James Durbin has an interesting planetary cluster around his 16 degree Capricorn Sun: Neptune 10, Saturn 6, Uranus 2 degrees Capricorn, flanked by Venus @ 25 Sagittarius and Mercury @ 5 Aquarius. James has Tourette's and Asperger's syndrome, by the way. He's the would-be rocker of the bunch, and good enough for Steven Tyler to have told him that he's showing "an inner vein of crazy" - so necessary to be a true rock musician.










Lauren Alaina has Neptune/Uranus at 20 Capricorn with Sun and Jupiter sextile from Scorpio; there's also a possible Moon link to the conjunction, but without time of birth, I cannot be sure. She's talented, very young - though her looks belie this. Precocious too.

Indigo? Going....gone?

I haven't read much about so-called Indigo children lately. What happened? Did that cash-cow dry up for authors and film-makers? It was an engaging concept, though, one I'd really like to have believed in.

I've had the article, from which the following excerpt is taken, in my Favourites file for years. I like the connection to the outer planetary positions, as mentioned below. And yet, child prodigies of various kinds have popped up here and there throughout history without the aid of peculiar outer planetary line-ups, and without causing much of a stir. There have always been hyper-active kids, driven by a combination of diet too high in sugar, and the natal chart they were born with. Where Indigo children were supposed to differ from the not-so-common-and-garden child prodigy was in their aptitude for some kind of psychic ability.

Perhaps it's still far too early to be reading news of fantastic feats performed by the Indigo youngsters. I'd have thought that something special would have emerged by now though, if these kids are as unusual as has been put forward.

From
Indigo Children: The Birth Charts of Indigo Children
By Mary English DSH

In September 1977 the major planets had moved into the following signs:
First indigo date
Nep-13 degrees Sag,
Uranus-9 degrees Scorpio
Pluto-14 degrees Libra
Sun-21 degrees Virgo
Saturn-24 degrees Leo
Jupiter-3 degrees Cancer

As you will notice, all the signs follow each other. This was when the first Indigos began to be born. These are the early Indigos and the heavy planets are close, but in separate signs. By 1981 the first conjunction occurs, with Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter in Libra. By 1983 Jupiter has caught up with Uranus in Sagittarius. In 1989 Uranus, Saturn and Neptune are all in the signs of Capricorn.

Now - what if you were born at this time and all your personal planets were in these same signs? What would make you different (or the same) as others?

First of all, you would be very focused in certain areas. You'd know how to operate the Playstation, but you might have problems tying your shoelaces or remembering to wipe your feet... Your chart shape would be called a 'Bundle', or a 'Bowl', and you would have interests that would definitely need to be expressed otherwise problems would occur.

In my practice I have noticed that Indigo Children have birth charts that are rather unique. All their planets are located on one side of the chart, i.e. six houses or less (out of twelve) are occupied and six (or more) are empty, meaning that their energies are strong in certain areas, and non-existent in others.

In 'The Bowl' shape, all the planets are concentrated within one half of the chart. Reflecting the shape of this pattern, 'Bowl' types are said to be immensely self-contained and resourceful, but they also tend to be 'one-sided', so their life's challenge is to integrate the empty half of the chart.

The 'Bundle' shape is rare, and reflects a narrowness of vision and experience. 'Bundle' types tend to channel their energies into issues related to the occupied section at the expense of the rest of their chart. This shape describes the specialist in his or her field, or, negatively, the obsessive personality. And because a 'Bundle' chart has no oppositions, the person whose chart it is, will have more difficulty seeing things from others' perspectives, unless those 'other's' are fellow Indigos.

A 'Bundle', or 'Cluster',' is not an especially rare shape; 30% of my clients have this configuration. What is rare, however, is having Neptune and Uranus conjunct (in the same sign). This only ever happens in the sign of Capricorn and last happened in 1827 (before that in 1657) and will next occur in 2157.
From 1978-1989 the bundle of planets stayed together, various outer planets moved a little and at certain times of each year, personal planets clustered with the biggies.

So, what does a cluster feel like? What does it look like from the outside? And what do cluster charts have that Splays or Grand Trines do not?
From my observations, clusters have an intensity as well as a complete and natural understanding of their peer group and their generation. We all know what it feels like to be out on a limb and not recognised by others. The child born at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and the wrong era really. Well, Indigos don't suffer that. They were born in exactly the right year/month/day location. We all choose our parents in the planning stage before we were born, and maybe Indigos are a little more astute at doing this.

Indigos understand fashion, latest gadgets, popular music, popular TV soaps/programmes. They know what is 'cool' and what is not. Why? Because their outer planets are all together with their personal planets. They're not usually interested in history or old out-dated ideas. (God forbid that they should like folk music!)