I came across a book recently that made the claim that about 80% of childhood mental illness shows up in just 20% of the population. The children who struggled were called orchids, while the children who didn’t were called either tulips or dandelions.
The idea is basically that most people have a good sense of resilience and are able to cope with adverse conditions. They may struggle at times, but are basically fine. Those people are tulips.
Then there are people who cope exceptionally well, often failing to even show signs of grief during serious trauma, simply because they don’t need to. They can thrive just about anywhere, making them dandelions.
And then there are the people who struggle the most with mental health, needing specific conditions in order to thrive. But in those conditions, they can be incredibly high-achieving. These people are called orchids.
But what isn’t as obvious is that the orchids have a secret power. See, there is other research showing that people who struggle with mental health in average conditions actually feel much better in incredibly adverse circumstances, like natural disasters, war, etc. They find their grit and a sense of purpose when things are as dark as they can get.
This puts me in the mind of dignified or debilitated planets. Planets that are dignified, either in their home sign or in the sign of their exaltation, are great at functioning normally. They do exactly what they are meant to do under normal conditions, and they do it damn well. Those planets are like dandelions. And then we have peregrine planets, which is the state of most planets most of the time. This just means that they’re neither strengthened nor weakened by their sign. They are just…fine. Those planets are tulips.
And then we have the planets that are in the sign of their detriment or fall. They have trouble functioning in the way they’re “supposed to.” They just work differently. But when the entire world is upside down, things finally make sense. Nothing is normal, so there’s no standard to live up to. There is simply survival, support, and community. And those are things that give people purpose, no matter how “differently” they do things.
In the context of mental health, I would imagine this has a strong connection to the condition of the Moon, though Mercury is also a contender. But really, I think it can apply to any planet because this principle can apply to any aspect of our lives. Sometimes we struggle, sometimes we coast, and sometimes we thrive, no matter the odds. And our charts can tell us exactly why.
What do you think of this? Are you a dandelion, tulip, or orchid? Can you tie in the astrology?
I love this! Midara you are such a wise woman – love how you connect the dots. I’m going to add a consult with you to my Christmas/birthday list. Hugs!
Aww, thank you, Kate! I can’t wait to work with you!! <3
Never thought of it. Makes sense.
I have Pisces Mercury. In detriment and fall. Moon Aries 4th house.
I struggled with mental health since childhood. It was environment that did the most damage. I was teased, bullied at school and had a mother who was an alcoholic. I ended up in a psychiatric hospital for a few days.
Third house is a bunch of benefics though, Venus Jupiter and Mercury. I’m 47 now. Doing better, but still a little loony?.
Is it wrong if the first thought was ‘ Well, I’m a bouquet’? Four planets in domicile, two planets in detriment, one in fall, three peregrine. ?
Back in 1999, I had read at the library about natal charts.
I was very lucky, I just happened to find a truly gifted astrologer.
I did not have the money for a reading, so she printed out my natal chart and asked me very distinct questions about my parents. I think she charged me 15 bucks. Her questions about my parents were uncanny. I never met her in person, yet she was zeroing in on them. She explained when I asked that the luminaries, along with Neptune and Saturn represented them. She asked if my dad abandoned me and if my mom was a drug addict, check mark yes to both.
My Sun and Moon are opposed and squared by heavy planets. I am 58 yrs. old and I struggle with my self esteem everyday. I started a new job last month, driving a cab. I gave people financial breaks and sometimes give a few bucks cash back on their fares if they complain, sit in traffic or if I make a mistake and make the wrong turns. I left work the other day very angry with myself for being such a moron. I did a tarot spread about this job because walking into the office after my 12 straight hour shift is like a viper den. I asked about work and got the 5 of Wands reversed along with the Emperor reversed. I realized with the Emperor reversed that the tarot was telling me that giving too many breaks to my passengers stems from my dad abandoning me. I am literally trying to bribe passengers, thinking somehow I can buy their favor.
Scorpio Neptune 4th house, square Leo Sun 2nd house and Aquarius Saturn in the 8th. Neptune is the apex of the T Square, and Uranus is currently transiting opposite my Neptune, so this is coming to a head right now in my life.
Jupiter in Capricorn, I laugh about hard times
I have a 7th house Gemini moon conjunct Dejanira and a 8th house Cancer south node. My Gemini moon is aspecting my 10th house Virgo Mercury, Mars and Venus stellium. I was a victim of child abuse and I was in foster care. I did go to many different therapists. My biological mother is a bipolar drunk and my step father was a psychopathic drug addict. I have have sado conjunct saturn in my astrology chart. One therapist would tell me I maybe bipolar and never treat me and the next therapist would tell me I probably have bpd and refuse to help me and send me to another therapist. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and when I went to get my medicine refilled at at a community mental health center, they looked at me and told me that they don’t do that there and laughed at me. I was irritated and sad and empty at this point and I completely gave up on finding any resources or help and I stopped going to therapy. I turned to astrology and I saw what was going on with me when I looked at my astrology chart. I started practicing holistic healing, Tai chi and mindful meditation.
My step father was extremely violent, he beat me up, he drugged me, raped me and attemped to murder me and my family
I have Chiron conjunct sun, Chiron trine moon, moon trine sado/saturn, and sado/saturn square my sun in a kite formation
Asteroid Sado
…is all about abuse and pain, if touching Saturn it can make one prone to cruelty or people can show this to them. They can also be very good at torture tactics but regimented since Saturn is about discipline. Pretty sure the folks running Guantanamo have this placement somewhere in their chart
Asteroid Sado
…is all about abuse and pain, if touching Saturn it can make one prone to cruelty or people can show this to them. They can also be very good at torture tactics but regimented since Saturn is about discipline. Pretty sure the folks running Guantanamo have this placement somewhere in their chart