The Mother Wound.

We’re all wounded in some way.

That’s the human experience. We are all born in specific situations and contexts that necessitate belief in a higher power. I mean, what can explain a soul born in abject poverty and a soul born with a silver spoon? When basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) aren’t met from the get-go, one must turn to metaphysical solutions and console ourselves with philosophy.

Each of us has lessons we must learn in this lifetime on this home we call earth; and hopefully have some fun while we’re at it.

So, with the mother wound too, we have to look beyond just our context and understand that this wound talks more about generational trauma than we can imagine. This wound is larger than you/me.

This wound encompasses your female ancestors- those wounded young girls turned women turned mothers turned matriarchs. This wound refers to multiple generations of women who came before us in our family whose emotional, spiritual, physical needs haven’t been met time and again. Who had to sacrifice their self-hood at the altar of their parents, husband, children and society at large. The combined and accumulated trauma of women who were subjugated, dismissed and martyred against their will by intensive societal shaping. The inter-generational trauma seeps into behavior patterns within families that perpetuate these belief structures that seek to dis-empower the feminine in all of us. This dis-empowerment affects men too as it gives rise to a very specific phenomenon of toxic masculinity that benefits neither men nor women.

In astrology, the mother wound is experienced at an emotional level through the afflicted moon. When it is placed either in the 6th, 8th or 12th house and/or in squares to outer planets, it feels like an open nerve that keeps getting touched.

Why moon, you ask? Because the moon in astrology signifies- among other qualities- the divine feminine, our emotions/feelings, our subconscious. As children, we learn to respect and honor our inner divine feminine by observing the women around us and how they function in the world. Literally, monkey see, monkey do. The divine feminine for all children is likely to be the mother (or the primary caregiver functioning as the mother) ; hence mothers are likened to the astrological moon (like the father is likened to astrological sun).

Read this too: “Healing The Mother Wound”.

Possibilities how this could manifest in a natal chart. (Remember that the whole chart needs to be looked at in entirety and astrology shows possibility not absolute certainty).

This here is a general description of challenging aspects to the natal moon. The significations would diverge and compound If the moon is placed in the 6th, 8th or 12th house, and squaring outer planets like Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto. The houses of the moon will be covered in another post.

 Moon square Sun

• Emotions vs ego
• Conflict between the inner feminine vs inner masculine
• Parents in constant conflict
• Divorced parents

Moon square Mars

• Predisposition to emotional outbursts and can be very competitive
• Seeks emotional excitement over stability
• Can be self destructive in terms of choices they make
• Can be self absorbed and narcissistic
• Very passionate, sometimes immoderately.
• Very quick to react, and often this reaction is disproportionate to the stimulus.

Moon square Venus

• Mindset of Me vs you/others
• Finds it difficult to maintain relationships, especially romantic.
• Can be self absorbed and self centered due to focus on meeting ones own needs- whether emotional (moon) or relationship (venus)
• Could be demanding, needy and clingy

Moon square Mercury

• Emotions(moon) and rational mind (mercury) are in conflict
• Decision making could be either entirely driven by head or by heart without healthy merging leading the native to regret decisions taken.
• Potential to be great artists, writers or performers

Moon square Jupiter

• Conflict between expressing Jupiterian qualities vs emotional needs.
• Can fluctuate between wanting to expand and grow vs maintain status quo
• Can tend to excessiveness in emotions

Moon square Saturn

• Likely had a parent(s) who was emotionally unavailable to meet your needs as a child.
• Did not receive suitable emotional nurturing
• Could have had parent(s) who was excessively critical, strict or demanding
• May have had an emotionally repressive childhood.
• Could find it difficult to express feelings/emotions because of fear of vulnerability
• Is likely to be uncomfortable with self or others expressing emotions
• Likely to lack self confidence and possibly has self esteem issues

Moon square Neptune

• Native could find it challenging to identify their feelings and emotions because neptune fogs what it touches. 
• Possibility of lack of clear emotional boundaries between parent/child. (Parentification)
• Often has difficulty separating oneself from others because of emotional enmeshment
• The native can be very sensitive and empathetic, and can be taken advantage of by emotionally needy people
• Points to heightened psychic sensitivity.
• Could have a saviour complex and end up in relationships where native is abused or exploited.

Moon square Uranus

• Natives need emotional excitement and stimulation in their lives
• Possibly had a tumultuous relationship with parent(s) who vacillated between nurture and neglect
• Can be detached from their emotions/feelings and find it challenging to express themselves appropriately, preferring to remain silent.
• Is likely to dislike confrontation and conflicts. Prefers to intellectualize emotions/feelings

Moon square Pluto.

• Painful childhood. If Saturn is emotional restriction and repression; Pluto is deep penetrative wounds.
• Native likely had parents or caregivers who were abusive-emotionally or physically or mentally
• Possibility to have had power conflicts with parents/authority figures which caused deep wounds. These authority figures could have used shame or guilt to manipulate natives
• Relationships seem to have a theme of power issues, manipulation of emotions and emotional transformation.

Resources

It’s easy enough for me to point out placements that signify wounds in the chart and we can keep talking about these placements until the cows come home. But, what next? How does one go about healing these energetic placements so that we lead a peaceful, loving life towards others and more importantly, ourselves? How do we stop self sabotage? How do we attain that elusive inner peace that makes us feel whole, complete and in charge of our emotions and our lives? How do we take back our power and feel less victimized?

I’ll talk about it more in later posts, but here’s a good starting resource list. This is a list of experts who are certified psychologists and researchers. (I am not affiliated in any way to these authors or psychologists and I don’t get paid to recommend their services).

I’ll add to this list as I find resources/ideas worth sharing. Please do re-visit this page from time to time for additional resources.

Dr Nicole LePera

She works under the name ‘The Holistic Psychologist’ and her Instagram (that is linked) gently guides you to heal the deep wounds lingering from childhood. I prefer her Instagram platform to her website as the IG profile has bite sized pieces of advice and suggestions dripping on a daily basis. It doesn’t seem as overwhelming when it is a little bit everyday which pushes us further and further towards healing, right?

The power of Habit, Charles Duhigg.

How does one retrain and reprogram our minds to stop churning the painful memories over and over again? After all, even rehashing the past is a habit. I simply love ‘The power of habit’ for its far reaching applications. From something as simple as a morning lifestyle change of exercising to even changing our thought patterns.

The Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

To fully enjoy Marcus Aurelius, I suppose one must begin at Stoicism. What it is and how being a stoic can benefit and enrich our lives. You could begin here to learn more about stoicism.

The power of your subconscious mind, Dr Joseph Murphy.

Mixing philosophy and his own unique version of spirituality culled from many different religions, Dr Joseph Murphy writes on how to harness the power of the subconscious and why it is necessary to do so. There’s a free compiled version floating around the internet such as this one.