Learning in the Time of Corona

by Alex Trenoweth

Taking Stock

The past few months in quarantine has seen an exponential increase in online meetings (including astrological consultations) as well as contactless opportunities for learning. The medical profession, online companies with the resources to provide delivery, and technology companies such as Zoom and gaming platforms are booming. These developments appear to be the good news.

The bad news, of course, is that the loss of businesses, such as in the hospitality industry has led to severe unemployment and a more prominent imbalance between the haves and the have-nots. There is, also, the not-so-small problem of the temporary termination of public education. Many families are affected by employment cuts and are, consequently, forced to accept different levels of family responsibilities which, of course, extend to home-educating their children with little to no guidance.

Schools provide the skills and knowledge required to cultivate success in adult life. At least, this is what our parents and teachers told us. Passing exams, they said, were our ticket to wealth and happiness. However, it has now been recognised that the importance of exams pales in comparison to the other opportunities schools can provide.

For working parents, schools provided a safe place and cost effective way for children to learn and socialise. Children who came from a disadvantaged home environment could use the facilities a school can provide: a big playground to explore, the chance to make friends and to widen their horizons through shared experiences with teachers and classmates. Schools could provide a safe environment, healthy school dinners, a break from the television/internet as well as offer lessons parents may not be able to provide such as Art, Music, Sports and Drama in addition to the standard Reading/Writing, Mathematics and Science.

Remember that during the times of Corona, children have had to navigate a kind of grieving process at the same time as their parents. Everybody is hurting in some way, and astrologers would do well to support their clients by taking into account the diverse ways the pandemic has stressed people’s lives.

When schools closed and the world started collapsing into itself, children all over the world let out a collective cheer. The children I had spoken to were looking forward to days of waking up when they liked, not wearing their school uniforms (although I was reliably informed that many children did choose to keep wearing their uniforms at home), playing on social media sites and eating whenever and whatever they liked. By contrast, parents despaired. How would they cope with having their offspring around them 24 hours a day, seven days a week with absolutely no where to go? The impact of this became clearer as lockdown dragged on with no end in sight.

Despite the initial excitement of former pupils, the novelty of staying home all day quickly wore off as pupils realised they were no longer allowed to see their friends. The only people former students saw were their siblings who became their classmates and their parents who became their teachers. Families were forced to get to know each other, to learn the importance of respecting space and feelings and most of all to learn how to tolerate individual needs and wants. The biggest difference of course was that children were no longer taught by year group which brought its own challenges and opportunities.

Astrologers can help parents to understand their own cycles of development by concentrating on Saturn, and the major hard transits to its natal position. Once the parents have Saturn under control, they can understand their child’s Saturn. Then they can have some fun with Jupiter. Before we take a look at Saturn through the signs, we’ll have a quick detour through the brain development during the teenage years.

Brain Development in Adolescence

Astrological adolescence can loosely be defined as the years between the first Jupiter return (age 11) and the completion of the first Saturn opposition to its natal position (age 15).

Arguably, there is no more tricky stage of development than adolescence, so spare a thought for parents who have one or more children going through puberty during lockdown. When children are young, they are easier to manage because they haven’t reached the stage of their lives when they are ready to be independent. Adolescents are stuck between the need to do their own thing and the frustration of being unable to be emotionally or financially independent from their parents. Up until a few years ago, this was blamed on ‘raging hormones’. But now, we know something else is happening.

The adolescent brain is developing at an incredible rate. It used to be thought that only the brains of babies developed at such speed. What is now understood about the brain of an adolescent is that it is essentially re-wiring itself. It is an incredibly wonderful opportunity for parents to help their children develop new skills and hobbies, —to take them to explore a different culture and learn a new language (virtually, of course). Keep them busy (and off their phones good luck with that! wink) and help them develop the habits of a lifetime. Because what is also now understood is that this sudden burst of brain development only lasts for a couple of years during those early teen years, and then the brain becomes more “fixed”, essentially locking in any bad habits that will become incredibly hard to break in the future. By the way, if you have a client with addiction issues, look at this stage of their lives. Understanding the root of the addiction can provide an opportunity to work towards resolving the underlying causes.

The Hard Reign

The hard aspects (conjunction, waxing square, opposition and waning square) of transiting Saturn to its natal position will remain in the same modality of the natal Saturn. Saturn in Cardinal signs will have to balance their need to be pioneering with the need to support others. Saturn in Fixed signs will have to consider the merits of moving forward with their desire to stay where they have been planted. Saturn in Mutable signs will have to decide what is important for them and how they can incorporate this into their lifestyles and ways of thinking. Be aware that parents can have Saturn in different signs and so issues of discipline and organisation can arise, creating conflict in an already difficult situation.

Here are a few suggestions you can give to parents as they struggle with their teaching role, based on their Saturn’s position:

Aries

Strengths:  Physical activity, self-reliance, assertion, self-discipline.
Challenges: Difficult to please, impatience, austere.
Saturn in Aries can find it difficult to work with others and can also unintentionally (or intentionally) start competition between their children that leads to unnecessary drama. It is important to be aware of the individual needs of children and to know when enough is enough.

Taurus

Strengths: Patience, methodical, realistic, economical, nature-loving.
Challenges: Materialistic, slow moving, stubborn/resistance to change.
Saturn in Taurus can find it difficult to keep up with the pace of faster learning styles that may be present in their children. While they plod through instructions, children get fidgety and cause problems. It is important to recognise that even their own children can have different values to theirs.

Gemini

Strengths: Clever, Systematic, observant, versatility.
Challenges: Pedantic, critical, too focused on facts and figures.
Saturn in Gemini has a fear of not knowing the answer which can lead them to saying anything just to appear they know what they are talking about. It is important to be aware that children enjoy searching for their own answers.

Cancer

Strengths: Protective, helpful, shrewd, perseverant.
Challenges: Hiding feelings, comparing self to others, feeling sorry for one’s self.
Saturn in Cancer can be insecure in coping with the powerful emotions, children are capable of expressing. Working through past trauma and developing positive mechanisms to help children work through difficulties should be a priority.

Leo

Strengths: Self-assured, responsible, good-hearted.
Challenges: Defensive when criticised, self-conscious, demanding.
Saturn in Leo can find it difficult to be ‘on stage’ if they feel less than perfect. Unfortunately, in a home classroom, very often no one can be on top form all the time. It is important to realise that while you are in charge of the classroom, you must allow your children the means to express themselves.

Virgo

Strengths: Health conscious, attentive, discretion, efficient.
Challenges: Pedantic, impossible expectations, worrying too much.
Saturn in Virgo can often get so caught up in how to teach that they forget how much they actually enjoy it. It is important to put as much fun into learning as you can without worrying over the progress of your children’s work.

Libra

Strengths: Loyalty, diplomacy, well-mannered, cooperative.
Challenges: Indecision, unrealistic, over-commitment.
Saturn in Libra can find it difficult to decide what it is they want their children to achieve. They tend to think pushing children towards a target will make them seem mean. However, children do need guidance and direction—and just the right amount of politeness to encourage them.

Scorpio

Strengths: Persistent, intriguing, insightful.
Challenges: Overly ambitious, focusing on the weakness of others.
Saturn in Scorpio can find it difficult to step back and allow independent learning. Children doing their own research can seem threatening to the teaching style because children stray too far away from the lesson objectives. It is important to learn to relax in the home classroom and not try so hard to keep things under absolute control.

Sagittarius

Strengths: Fearlessness, earnestness, honesty, philosophical.
Challenges: Tactlessness, too academic, hypocritical.
Saturn in Sagittarius has the potential to be an effective teacher if the temptation to give the ‘answers’ can be avoided. Children tend to enjoy learning through exploration so serving as the observant guide rather than the leader will allow children the right kind of freedom.

Capricorn

Strengths: Disciplined, industrious, self-controlled.
Challenges: Ruthless, suspicious of others, too concerned with status.
Saturn in Capricorn tends to focus more on the outcome rather than the process of learning. It is important to celebrate achievements, but it is equally important to examine mistakes and setbacks. Being comfortable with making changes and amendments should be a part of every home classroom repertoire.

Aquarius

Strengths: Open-minded, friendly, genuine, impartial.
Challenges: Clinical, refusal to follow rules, indifference.
Saturn in Aquarius can create so many rules and amendments to ensure equality and freedom that the red tape becomes frustrating to all concerned. Allowing children to express their individuality—even if it is different to yours—will create lively and interesting learning experiences.

Pisces

Strengths: Humbleness, easy-going, imaginative.
Challenges: Fear of failure, fretful, disorderly.
Saturn in Pisces has to work towards becoming more organised. Unused resources tend to get lost, out of order or even become completely ineffective. Try sticking to a routine that works for all concerned and always get pupils to help with tidying up.

Everyone on the planet has had to learn how to cope with social distancing, with the grief of losing loved ones through death and isolation,  and with being terrorised by newspaper headlines predicting more widespread viral destruction. It really has become a strange, new world where an old-fashioned education is exactly as it sounds.

Takeaway Points

1. Lockdown, as miserable as it is, has provided parents with the opportunity to understand how their children learn and astrology can be an incredibly useful resource.
2. Encourage parents to understand their Saturn by sign, house, aspect and transit.
3. Recognise that adolescence is not just about maturing physically, but neurologically too.
4. Help your family and friends with children in these difficult times by offering to read a bedtime story, to teach a new skill, or just to spend virtual time with a struggling family. Look after each other and remember, a little astrology can be a big help.

Published in: The Career Astrologer, September 2020.

Author:
Alex Trenoweth, MA (CAA), DFAstrolS, CIA Agent 144 is an astrological researcher and professional schoolteacher in London UK. In 2015, she was awarded “International Astrologer of the Year” by the Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology (KIA) for her ground-breaking and innovative research on Astrology and Education based on her book “Growing Pains” (The Wessex Astrologer). Since then she has spoken at astrology conferences around the world and has contributed to major magazines and publications such as Dell Horoscope, The Career Astrologer (OPA), The ISAR Journal, The Journal of Research for AFA (Grant Trust), Kindred Spirit and Astrodienst.  https://alextrenoweth.co.uk/

Images:
Girl homeschooling: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Boys homeschooling: Photo by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash
Rewiring adolescent: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Family: Photo by Raj Rana on Unsplash

© 2020 - Alex Trenoweth - The Career Astrologer

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