What Can We Truly Say About Twins?

Astrologer analyzes conflicted answers to age-old question

Do people born at the same time and place with the same astrological birth chart – whether biological or astrological twins – have the same personality traits and life course?

The confusing answer to this question is both yes and no. Individuals born with the same chart – a phenomenon that can only occur if they are born the exact place and time – will, on the one hand, share many similar tendencies and parallel life circumstances. We 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 travelled from Rock Hill, S.C., to accompany her sister to her doctor’s appointment with Dr. James Ferguson at Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital in Columbia. She had no clue that both sisters would be giving birth that day.

At around three to 3:30 she (Mitchell) discovered she was five centimetres dilated. So Dr. Ferguson told her she was also going to be admitted today, which meant the sisters would be having babies on the same day.

“We didn’t know; it wasn’t planned,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell gave birth to baby Kadin Zaakai and an hour later White delivered twins, Landon Elijah and London Elise, via C-section. 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 August 16.

Here’s another story of separated twins leading similar 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. 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 drink their coffee cold, have heart murmurs and use many of the same product brands. Even their personalities are strikingly similar, which makes one wonder how it’s possible for there to be so many similarities between them. Something beyond mere coincidence appears to be involved.

Differences Examined

On the other hand, it’s 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 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 changes. We tend to think that because Twins have the same parents 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 is what 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, or a spider was born at the same time in the vicinity of the hospital. In other word, we must understand the context of the chart to know 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.

People born with the same chart may be of a different gender or have different cultural influences that will affect the way 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. People are born with different levels of consciousness and they will express their chart differently according to these differences. This is where free will comes in, our different levels of consciousness will determine how we choose to respond to the chart activation. We are fated to our birth chart, but we have the free-will to express it in a more or less conscious way.

Consciousness Matters

Even biological twins who share the same chart do not necessarily share the same level of consciousness. They can choose to react differently to the same challenge. We are fated to our birth chart, but we have the free-will to express it in a more or less conscious way. Twins have the same chart but do not necessarily share the same level of consciousness. They can choose to react differently to the same challenge and accordingly alter the course of their individual lives.

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 book. 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 find an astrological signature that describes unresolved anger, it is not possible to know in advance if the person remains consumed by that anger and has continual violent outbursts throughout his or her life, or if, with higher awareness, he or she has eventually found ways to channel these strong emotions in a healthier way.

A birth 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 important to realize that the evolutionary level of consciousness is not described in a person’s chart in any way: 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, and yet on the other hand, they can develop in completely different directions under the same chart umbrella. The simple reason for this is that some of the chart influences are fated and will apply the same way for anyone sharing the chart, while other influences are subject to free-will and context.