Chart similarities for parents and children

I received this question by email yesterday:

How unusual is it for someone born with a Grand Trine in water signs to have a mother with a Grand Trine in water signs -- and what would be the significance?

Here's my reply:

 

Thanks for your question!

 

I don't know how unusual that exact circumstance is -- but it is very common for children and parents to have similar themes in their birth charts. So, for instance, a parent might have a Pluto-Moon opposition, and their child might have a Pluto-Moon square, or the Moon in the 8th house or in Scorpio, or Pluto in the 4th house... (or vice versa).

 

We know that themes, talents and issues often run in families. I always consider that as children, we both inherit certain traits/issues genetically, and we are exposed to specific issues in our environment while living with our parents. That truth is, of course, reflected in our birth charts.

 

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is often true -- even if we don't carry exactly the same manifestation of an issue, we often have the same issue at core. So, if we have a parent who expresses a lot of anger, and we decide as a result never to express anger, both child and parent have an anger issue -- just expressed in opposite ways.

 

And, a parent with a Grand Trine who has a gift for music may have a child with a similar Grand Trine and gift -- but it may or may not be expressed outwardly, since trines represent an easy flow of energy but do not indicate whether there is discipline or desire to utilize that flow. The gift might be more likely to manifest in tangible ways in either the parent or the child if they also have a planet squaring one of the grand trine planets.

 

I hope that makes sense!