Attack of the Bigot Babies

According to an article over at Jason Kottke's blog (kottke.org),, Baby Researcher, Elizabeth Spelke, is finding that early on in life babies show a preference for people who speak their own language. This seems to be the strongest determinant for a baby's likes and dislikes in people at that age. The Researchers are saying that this language preference might be more at the root of Prejudices in people than visual factors like skin color.

Astrologically this means there might be some sort of a link with the sign of Gemini, 3d house, and the Mercury rulership. The Gemini traits seem to be the reason why humans see themselves as more intelligent than the other beasts: we can speak and we can use our opposable thumbs to build things (some of us can even knit with our opposable thumbs although I'm not one of them).

Since some of the Gemini Sun charts I've studied on this blog have been heavily involved in problems concerning Racism, like Paul Rusesabagena (the Hotel Rwanda Saint) and Geronimo (the Apache Hero) I tend to think that there might really be some connection between Bigotry and Gemini, but not necessarily on the wrong end of the thinking. Gemini is meant to observe and then communicate, sometimes there can be a complaint that there's not more factored in, no sensitivity or diplomacy.

On the other hand, in the spiritual sense, Gemini would be the first to be able to sit on both sides of the fence at the same time. At UAC, I attended a lecture with Karen Hamaker-Zondag who gave a really incredible lecture on the meaning behind the Eye of Horus in Ancient Egyptian Mythology which factored in the spiritual side of Gemini. (I was hoping to share what she said but I'm pretty certain I may butcher it, buy the CD.)

Very fascinating that Elizabeth Spelke, the researcher who is studying the babies has a very strong Gemini emphasis in her chart. Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus & Uranus all in Gemini. And Mercury is Retrograde!

Rex Bills doesn't offer a rulership for Racism & Bigotry. Last year a lot of questions were raised while Jupiter and Pluto were passing through Gemini's opposing sign of Sagittarius, the sign of Opinions. I've since seen that sign attributed to bigotry. Sagittarians are certainly very opinionated and outspoken and like to ruffle feathers, but this sign also rules higher Education and International Affairs. IThe sign is interested in knowing what and who is out there than to set up the types of barriers that come with Bigotry.

One might also want to suppose that signs related to Conservativism, Security and Boundaries might have something to do with this. The first signs of the Zodiac might be more inclined as they are connected with growth of the inner self rather than development of the social whole.

So, back to the babies. I wonder if it's not very important to attend to a baby's preferences and perhaps fears concerning these social factors very early in life. The first Return a Baby experiences is the Lunar Return and the next one will be the Mercury Return. These will be his/her first self identifying "events" from an astrological point of view. I seem to remember that Spelke's research shows that this preference might be innate. Her research shows that it is showing up as early as 3 months. Her findings are controversial as of now. Everyone knows that babies are sweet and innocent.

Here's a link to an interesting article about Elisabeth Spelke and her research center appropriately called "Spelkeland" at Harvard which specializes in learning about the minds of babe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/30/sm_babies03.xml

"More fascinating still is that Spelke's lab has revealed a deep-seated prejudice, present in infants, that trumps racial bias: language. Dr Katherine Kinzler, though based in Harvard, spends much time running parallel studies in France. 'Five-month-old babies will look longer at somebody who spoke to them in their language. Older infants want to accept a toy from someone who has spoken their language,' Dr Kinzler says.

'They like toys more that are associated with someone who has spoken their language. They prefer to eat foods offered to them by a native speaker compared to a speaker of a foreign language. And older children say that they want to be friends with someone who speaks in their native accent.' Accents and vernacular, far more than race, seem to influence the people we like. 'Children would rather be friends with someone who is from a different race and speaks with a native accent versus somebody who is their own race but speaks with a foreign accent.'

Also interesting is the amount of software we are born with already loaded. (Too bad no warranties). We are born with all kinds of math skills. According to researcher Dr. Koleen McCrink, who works with Dr. Spelke, when we are born....

"We have got core systems for understanding the world,' which are not shaped by learning. What is striking, McCrink says, is how formal mathematics is such a slog. 'Babies can do all this complicated stuff, and yet it takes years to teach kids how to add and subtract precisely. It is so frustrating.'

Dr. Spelke's birth information is below. As I said already she's got Sun and Moon in Gemini along with Mercury, Venus and Uranus. And the Mercury Retrograde in Gemini must have a really interesting story in her life. It is in Gemini it is in its own rulership and is dispositor of the chart. Her Aries North Node seems such an excellent study for someone who works with babies. It's the Birth Point of the Zodiac.

Dr. Elizabeth Spelke
b. May 28, 1949 New York, NY

Sun 7 Gemini; Moon Gemini; NN 26 Aries