Using Astrology to Predict the Number of Children One Will Have

by Milky Way Maid

One of the most popular questions in any astrological life reading consultation is how many children one is likely to have.

The best technique I have seen to handle this question is one promoted by prominent astrologer Carol Rushman. We will take a few charts and see how her method works.

The method is as follows:

1- Assuming you have drawn up an accurate birth chart, look to the fifth house of children. Determine the traditional ruler of the sign on the cusp of the fifth house.

Note that we will use the traditional rulers, although in the case of signs that have gained a modern ruling planet with the discovery of more planets in our solar system, we will of course try using the new ruler to see what that yields.

This means that the ruler we will use for Pisces is Jupiter, for Aquarius is Saturn, and for Scorpio is Mars.

2- Determine how many planets that ruler is APPLYING to. For the purposes of this exercise, we use only the classical aspects of conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition. Do not count the semi-sextile or inconjunct.

So, for example, if the ruler of the fifth house is Venus at 10 degrees Cancer, and it is applying to a sextile to Mercury in Virgo, a square to Jupiter in Libra, a trine to Pluto in Scorpio, and an opposition to Saturn in Capricorn, then that would mean a potential for four children.

Rushman feels that with the prevalence of birth control and other methods, people may not elect to fulfill the potential for all the children promised in a chart, but the potential is nevertheless there. Another astrologer feels that birth control has little effect on the number of children actually produced, because prevailing economic conditions will have more influence.

3- There is a second system if for some reason it is difficult to make a determination using the first two steps. That is to see how many planets are in the native's fifth house; each planet will in some way represent one of the native's children. Three planets in the fifth? Then probably three kids –potentially. If one has Jupiter in the fifth, then there may be any number of children.

At any rate, this is a very simple system to use, so let's look at a few charts and see how they work.

First up is the chart that started a recent discussion between myself and another astrologer on the subject – for Ringo Starr.

Starr's birth time is given as 12:05 am BST in Liverpool, England on July 7, 1940. This yields a chart with a very late degree of Pisces rising, and Cancer on the cusp of the fifth house. The Moon is also in the fifth house, incidentally, at 4 degrees of Leo. It applies to five planets: a conjunction to Mercury at 5 Leo, squares to Jupiter at 10 Taurus and Saturn at 12 Taurus and Uranus at 24 Taurus, and a sextile to Venus at 29 Gemini. He had three children with wife Maureen before they divorced. He and Barbara Bach decided to remain childless in his second marriage.

This would seem to be a miss, but note that Barbara Bach had two children from her previous marriage. Her children become his whether or not he formally adopts them. Her oldest was only 13 when she married Ringo. Three plus two equals five in my book.

Let's take another public figure. Princess Diana of Wales was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, England at 7:45 pm. This gives 18 Sagittarius rising and the fifth house is Taurus. Ruler Venus is at 24 Taurus, applying to a square to the Moon at 25 Aquarius, and a trine to Saturn at 27 Capricorn. As is well known, she had two boys, William and Harry.

Let us also take the case of a non-celebrity female born Feb. 23, 1949. The ascendant is in the latter half of Sagittarius, making Taurus the fifth-house. The ruler, Venus at 21 Aquarius, makes just one applying trine to Uranus at 26 Gemini. She had just one child before divorcing. Venus makes an applying semi-sextile, but this is not counted in this system.

Let's look at someone where we do not yet know how many children he will ultimately have. Prince William was born at 9:03 pm on June 21, 1981 in London. With an ascendant at 27 Sagittarius, the ruler of the fifth house is lovely Venus at 20 Cancer. Venus applies to a square to Pluto at 21 Libra, and a trine to Uranus at 26 Scorpio. We do not count the inconjunct to Neptune at 23 Sagittarius. Only time will tell if Wills and Kate settle for producing “an heir and a spare.”

People today may choose not to manifest all the potential children in their chart by using various forms of birth control. By the same token, people may have quite a large family if they have Jupiter in the fifth house or strongly connected to the ruler of the fifth house.

Sometimes the fifth house is tenanted by some planets and each one describes each child in some way.

For grandchildren, look to the fifth house of the fifth house – or in other words the ninth house. The ninth house will especially describe the first grandchild. To find descriptions of successive grandchildren, go to the eleventh house for the second grandchild, then the first house for the third grandchild, then the third house, etc for each.

Try this out on people you know and see if it works for you.

To go to the source, read Rushman's book:

"The Art of Predictive Astrology" by Carol Rushman, Llewellyn Publications, 2002, 272 pages including index.