(Published in the June 2017 edition of the Career Astrologer – OPA)

The Argument:
People born at the same time and place, whether biological twins, or astrological twins, would be the only ones to share the same chart, at least very closely so. The question asked is whether they should share the same personality traits and life course.

The answer to this argument is not straightforward, but more ambiguous and layered.

From limited observation, I have observed some interesting patterns. It appears that individuals born with the same chart – a phenomenon that can only occur if they are born the exact place and time – will share many similar tendencies and parallel life circumstances. We do hear about related stories, such as the twin sisters who both gave birth on the same day in 2012:

Identical twin sisters, Shaakira White and Zaakira Mitchell, gave birth just an hour apart on July 24 in South Carolina. But that is not the biggest surprise. White, the oldest sister, gave birth to twins. Originally, Mitchell traveled from Rock Hill, S.C. to accompany her sister to her doctor’s appointment at Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital in Columbia. However, she had no clue that both of them would be giving birth that day. “Around three, 3:30 she came back and said ‘I’m 5 centimeters dilated.’ So Dr. Ferguson was telling her that she was going to be admitted today, so that meant we were both going to have our babies on the same day,” said Mitchell. “We didn’t know, it wasn’t planned.” Mitchell gave birth to baby Kadin Zaakai and an hour later, White delivered twins, Landon Elijah and London Elise, via C-section. Dr. James Ferguson delivered all three babies. The sisters’ delivery dates were originally a month apart. Mitchell’s due date was July 26 and White’s was on Aug. 16.

Another story of separated twins leading parallel lives: When their single mother killed herself, twins Daphne Goodship and Barbara Herbert, were adopted into separate British homes. It wasn’t until they were 40 years old that they reunited and realized that their life experiences were unbelievably similar. They both left school at the same age, worked in the local government, met their husbands at the same age, miscarried the same month and even gave birth to the same sexes (two boys and a girl). If that isn’t strange enough, they also both drink their coffee cold, have heart murmurs and use the same brand of products. Even their personalities are strikingly similar.

It really makes us wonder how it may be possible that there are so many striking coincidences in their lives. Yet, upon a closer look, it is not always so clear cut. Parents of twins will often reflect on how different their twin children are in character. There are numerous factors to explain their distinctions:

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR: two siblings born at the same time will compete for resources and attention. Because they are constantly compared to each other and must share everything, they will naturally attempt to distinguish themselves from their twin and develop diverging interests. That said, they are still operating with the same astrology chart, but will develop different ways of using the chart: for example, Gemini Sun twins may both have intellectual interests and strong mental faculties as Gemini purports, however, one twin may be more scientifically inclined while the other may have interest in literature and perhaps write fiction. The chart reflects natural tendencies, but there is a range of expressions under the same influences. Hence, environmental factors can generate different outcomes. We tend to think that because twins have the same parents and conditioning, and are typically raised in the same environment, , they should develop the same way; however, the opposite may be true, when exposure to the same conditions prompts the pressure to distinguish themselves from each other.

THE CONTEXT FACTOR: The chart does not reveal what it represents—we cannot know from the chart the person’s gender, religion, or even what is born at the time. When Pauline Einstein gave birth to baby Albert, we may speculate that perhaps a goat was born at the same time in the vicinity of the hospital. In other words, we must understand the context of the chart to evaluate how it applies. The same chart will work for the goat and for Albert Einstein, but the expression will be contextualized to their different reality. This is why we need to get such information when analysing a chart and cannot read it accurately just by itself. In simplest ways, two people born with the same chart may be of a different gender, affecting both hormonal development and cultural expectations that will affect the different ways that same chart is expressed.

THE SOUL AND FREE-WILL FACTOR: The chart does not reveal the level of awareness or consciousness of the person. In Evolutionary Astrology – a growth oriented approach to astrology analysis – we consider that people are born with different levels of consciousness, and that affects their perspective and value system. A more highly conscious soul will perceive life more holistically and make decisions accordingly—this is where free-will becomes a mitigating factor; our different levels of consciousness will determine how we choose to respond to the same chart activation. This gives us an opportunity to explore the fate and free-will polarity. What in a chart reflects what is fated, and where choice can alter outcomes? We are fated to our birth chart, it is not changeable; yet, examples show that we have the free-will to express the influences of our chart in a more or less conscious way. Even biological twins who share the same chart, biological imprinting, and familial conditioning, do not necessarily share the same level of consciousness.

Dane Rudhyar first referred to the concept of different consciousness levels in astrology in his book The Astrology of Transformation, and Jeffrey Green further developed this concept in his Pluto I&II books.

I have myself written extensively about this topic in my book Astrology and the Evolution of Consciousness—Volume One:
When analyzing a birth chart, one of the most important things to understand and consider is that the person’s evolutionary level of consciousness greatly influences how the chart’s energy is used. A birth chart represents themes and energies symbolically reflecting the individual’s entire reality; yet there is no way to know from the chart alone to what extent these energies and themes have been applied in actual reality. For example, if we identify an astrological signature that describes unresolved anger, it will not possible to know in advance whether the person remains consumed by that anger and has recurrent violent outbursts throughout his or her life, or whether, with higher awareness, eventually find ways to channel these strong emotions in a healthier and more productive way. A chart describes evolutionary themes and the potential development associated with those themes, but in order to assess how far and in what manner a person is likely to access the chart potential, it is essential to identify the person’s evolutionary level of consciousness. The more conscious a person is, the deeper he or she can go when addressing the themes of the birth chart. It is very imperative to realize that the evolutionary level of consciousness is not in any way described in a person’s chart: it can only be assessed when making contact with the individual – the same way we cannot know if the chart is for a male, a female, a person, an animal, or just an event. The way to identify a person’s level of consciousness is through assessing the nature of his or her values and choices in life.

For more insights into the levels of consciousness, refer to listed literature. To summarize the above points, we return to our initial conclusion: Twins will, on the one hand, share parallel circumstances sometimes to striking similarity—sharing fated circumstances depicted in their astrology chart. On the other hand, they can develop in significantly different directions under the same chart umbrella—the result of free-will intrinsic to their consciousness.

© 2018 Maurice Fernandez – all rights reserved
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