Here's What Astrology Can Reveal About Your Relationship With Your Mother
Astrology is gaining new popularity with many beginning to acknowledge what our ancestors have realized for civilizations - that astrology can reveal an awful lot about our lives, our personalities, and our psyches. Sure, we're all pretty familiar with the personality types of certain signs, but did you know that astrology can also reveal insights about your relationships with certain people? Specifically, your moon sign can shed a ton of light on your relationship with your mother - for better and for worse!
Are you and your mother thick as thieves, or is your relationship with her strained? Can you tell her your deepest and darkest secrets, or do you find it difficult to be yourself around your mother? Are you the apple of your mother's eye, or do you feel like you were never able to really please her?
Knowing your moon sign can reveal a lot about the way you view the person who brought you into this world.
If you do not know your full birth chart, find your moon sign here and then check out the information below to get a glimpse inside of your and your mom's emotional dynamic.
Discover Your Moon Sign and Its Impact on Your Relationship with Mom
I. Moon In Aries:
If your moon is in Aries, your mom is the leader of her household. Growing up, you viewed her as brave, bold and fun-loving. She was fiery and knew exactly how to put others in their place, if needed. You respect her, but may have found her to be overbearing at times.
II. Moon In Taurus:
If your moon is in Taurus, your mom knew how to tend to all your creature comforts. She expressed love through food and the material nourishment she provided to you. She was a very hands-on, affectionate mother but also extremely headstrong and stubborn. Not the best at negotiating, your mom wants things to go her way or the highway!
III. Moon In Gemini:
If your moon is in Gemini, your mom is extremely expressive and intelligent. You felt most connected to her through words and your stimulating conversations with her. Her behavior, at times, seemed unreliable to you, but you admired her on an intellectual level. Always moving, you probably felt like she was difficult to pin down as a child.
IV. Moon In Cancer:
If your moon is in Cancer, you are the apple of your mother's eye. You love and care for her deeply. In fact, sometimes you served as a mother to her - comforting her and constantly expressing your understanding of her emotionally. You are extremely close - sometimes too close. Your mom tends to err on the clingy, over-mothering side.
Growing up, you sometimes felt like you needed more emotional and physical space from her. You share a psychic connection with your mother - it's easy for you to take on her emotions and moods as your own, for better and for worse.
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V. Moon In Leo:
If your moon is in Leo, your mother has always been a large presence in your life. Growing up, you felt a pressure to present yourself a certain way in order to preserve your mother's reputation. You felt the way you looked and behaved was a direct representation of your mom so you had to stay sharp! Your mom was potentially someone of public note, someone that many people in your neighborhood or community knew very well.
VI. Moon In Virgo:
If your moon is in Virgo, you love your mother dearly and would move mountains for her. You are extremely protective and defensive of her. Your mother is your world. Though you've always needed her deeply, you sometimes felt like she was unable to be there for you in the ways that you yearned for. You've been aware of her shortcomings since birth; otherwise, you found her to be very nit-picking and critical of you.
VII. Moon In Libra:
Growing up, your mother was known for her attractiveness, fashion-sense, her ability to throw a fun party and the beautiful way in which she kept her home. If your moon is in Libra, it is likely that your mother was popular for her congenial and pleasant personality. Erring toward the formal and structured in your relationship, you've learned to establish specific roles in each other's lives, making sure not to over-step them in order to maintain peace and a sense of fairness between you both.
VIII. Moon In Scorpio:
Your mother has affected you in deep and profound ways; deeper than she or you may even realize. If your moon is in Scorpio, your relationship has gone through major transformations through the years. You've felt that she was, at times, out of tune with your emotions.
You wished and expected that she would be able to intuitively understand you. When she didn't, you may have felt somewhat abandoned by her.
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IX. Moon In Sagittarius:
If your moon is in Sagittarius, you've always required freedom in life. If your mother respected this, you both enjoyed a fun-loving and adventurous relationship together. If she did not fully respect your desire for freedom, you may have felt unfairly held back or restricted growing up. Wise beyond your years, you may have perceived her to be immature and naive, learning to rely on your own judgement rather than hers.
X. Moon In Capricorn:
If your moon is in Capricorn, your mother has always been more concerned with the serious matters of life. She viewed you as mature and knew she could rely on you for support and sound judgment. Self-sacrificing, she always put work before play and constantly had tons on her plate. You sometimes wondered why she worked so hard and why she didn't take an easier approach to life. She held extremely high standards for you growing up. Favorably, she pushed you to be ambitious in pursuing your goals.
XI. Moon In Aquarius:
If your moon is in Aquarius, you've always viewed her as more of a peer than a parent. Being chastised by her felt unnatural and foreign to you - almost silly! Parenting was unconventional - you did not have the typical parent-child dynamic. You were raised to be emotionally self-sufficient and didn't rely on her for an overly emotional or affectionate relationship.
XII. Moon In Pisces:
If your moon is in Pisces, you share an extremely intuitive bond with your mother. You often took on her burdens and emotions as your own. You were extremely sympathetic to the things she went through in life and were mindful not to add anything else to her plate. You felt like her caretaker in certain ways. You loved her extremely deeply and would fight for her. You are keenly aware of all of the sacrifices she's made in life for you. You wish you were able to rely on her more as a child and may have felt like you had to grow up much quicker than you would have liked.
What's your moon sign and how would you describe your relationship with your mother?
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The Reality Of Living With Severe Asthma – As Told by 2 Women On Their Disease Journey
This post is in partnership with Amgen.
The seemingly simple task of taking a breath is something most of us don’t think twice about. But for people who live with severe asthma, breathing does not always come easily. Asthma, a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, affects millions of people worldwide – 5-10% of which live with severe asthma. Severe asthma is a chronic and lifelong condition that is unpredictable and can be difficult to manage. Though often invisible to the rest of the world, severe asthma is a not-so-silent companion for those who live with it, often interrupting schedules and impacting day-to-day life.
Among the many individuals who battle severe asthma, Black women face a unique set of challenges. It's not uncommon for us to go years without a proper diagnosis, and finding the right treatment often requires some trial and error. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who may be fighting to get their severe asthma under control. We spoke with Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq. and Jania Watson, two inspiring Black women who have been living with severe asthma and have found strength, resilience, and a sense of purpose in their journeys.
Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq.
Juanita Ingram has a resume that would make anyone’s jaw drop. On top of being recently crowned Mrs. Universe, she’s also an accomplished attorney, filmmaker, and philanthropist. From the outside, it seems there’s nothing this talented woman won’t try, and likely succeed at. In her everyday life, however, Juanita exercises a lot more caution. From a young age, Juanita has struggled with severe asthma. Her symptoms were always exacerbated by common illnesses like a cold or flu. “I've heard these stories of my breathing struggles, but I remember distinctly when I was younger not being able to breathe every time I got a virus,” says Ingram. “I remember missing a lot of school and crying a lot because asthma is painful. I [was taken] to see my doctor often if I got sick with anything so I was hypervigilant as a child, and I still am.”
Today, Juanita says her symptoms are best managed when she’s working closely with her care team, avoiding getting sick and staying ahead of any symptoms. Ingram said she’s been blessed with skilled doctors who are just as vigilant of her symptoms as she is. While competing in the Mrs. Universe competition, Juanita took extra care to stay clear of other competitors to ensure she didn’t catch a cold or virus that would trigger her severe asthma. “I would stand off to the side and sometimes that could be taken as ‘oh, she thinks she's better than everybody else.’ But if I get sick during a pageant, I'm done. I had to compete with that in mind because my sickness doesn't look like everybody else's sickness.”
Even when her symptoms are under control, living with severe asthma still presents challenges. Juanita relies on her strong support system to overcome the hurdles caused by a lack of understanding from the public, “I think that there's a lot of lack of awareness about how serious severe asthma is. I would [also] tell women to advocate and to trust their intuition and not to allow someone to dismiss what you're experiencing.”
Jania Watson
Jania, a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, has been living with severe asthma for many years. Thanks to early testing by asthma specialists, Jania was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child after experiencing frequent flare-ups and challenges in her day-to-day life. “I specifically remember, I was starting school, and we were moving into a new house. One of the triggers for me and my younger sister at the time were certain types of carpets. We had just moved into this new house and within weeks of us being there, my parents literally had to pay for all new carpet in the house.”
As Jania grew older, she was suffering from fewer flare-ups and thought her asthma was well under control. However, a trip back to her doctor during high school revealed that her severe asthma was affecting her more than she realized. “That was the first time in a long time I had to do a breathing test,” she describes. “The doctor had me take a deep breath in and blow into a machine to test my breathing. They told me to blow as hard as I could. And I was doing it. I was giving everything I got. [My dad and the doctor] were looking at me like ‘girl, stop playing.’ And at that point [it confirmed] I still have severe asthma because I've given it all I got. It doesn't really go away, but I just learned how to help manage it better.”
Jania recognizes that people who aren’t living with asthma, may not understand the disease and mistake it for something less serious. Or there could be others who think their symptoms are minor, and not worth bringing up. So, for Jania, communicating with others about her diagnosis is key. “Having severe asthma [flare-ups] in some cases looks very similar to being out of shape,” she said. “But this is a chronic illness that I was born with. This is just something that I live with that I've been dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know because that determines the next steps. [They might ask] ‘Do you need a bottle of water, or do you need an inhaler? Do you need to take a break, or do we need to take you to the hospital?’ So, I think letting the people around you know what's going on, just in case anything were to happen plays a lot into it as well.”
Like Juanita, Jania’s journey has been marked by ups and downs, but she remains an unwavering advocate for asthma awareness and support within the Black community. She hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women with asthma who may not yet have their symptoms under control. “There's still life to be lived outside of having severe asthma. It is always going to be there, but it's not meant to stop you from living your life. That’s why learning how to manage it and also having that support system around you, is so important.”
By sharing their journeys, Juanita and Jania hope to encourage others to embrace their conditions, obtain a proper management plan from a doctor or asthma specialist like a pulmonologist or allergist, and contribute to the improvement of asthma awareness and support, not only within the Black community, but for all individuals living with severe asthma.
Read more stories from others like Juanita and Jania on Amgen.com, or visit Uncontrolled Asthma In Black Women | BREAK THE CYCLE to find support and resources.
Promise Your Skin And Hair That You'll Do These 12 Things In The New Year
Aight. We all know that this is the time of year when resolutions are at their peak. My suggestion? Make less resolutions (80 percent of them fail within the month anyway) and instead focus on vowing to do some things that are manageable, super attainable, and can be easily added into your self-care routine. Things like the following 12 on this beauty list — six for your skin and six for your hair.
To be honest with you, some of these are big beauty trends for 2024. Others? They are simply things that, I can say from very up close and personal experience, will help you to achieve glowing skin and longer and healthier hair.
So, are you ready to make this the best year yet as far as how your appearance goes? Me too!
From Vitamin C to Tea Rinses: The Beauty Resolutions That Will Elevate Your 2024
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Skin: Topical Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that, health-wise, can help to keep the common cold at bay, make it easier for your system to absorb iron, and it can fight off free radicals as well. As far as your skin is concerned, if you apply it in the form of a cream or serum, vitamin C can deeply moisturize your skin, help to fade hyperpigmentation, boost collagen production, reduce sagging of the skin, and help you to look years younger. As a bonus, if you happen to battle with dark circles underneath your eyes, it can help to fade those out, too.
So, if flawless skin is your goal for this year, Elle has their top list of vitamin C serums here, Byrdie has some of their favorites here, and we have some of our favorites here.
Hair: Bond-Building
Even though some folks are haters of this next recommendation (because they aren’t convinced that they actually work consistently and effectively), I’ve been sold on bond-builders since, I think, late 2022. Since my hair has high porosity, I get that my cuticles stand out and that there are gaps in them. What bond-builders do is help strengthen the chemical bonds of your hair strands in a way that can literally make you feel like your damaged or weak hair has been “cured” after one treatment. To be fair, if you’re looking to do something like repair any split ends that you may have, nothing can fix that — you’ll need to cut them off.
However, if you want more elasticity, for your strands to feel smoother, and for styling your hair to be a lot easier, bond-building is that one, you hear me? What I can personally vouch for is Marc Anthony’s line. His Marc Anthony Repairing Leave-In Conditioner Treatment and Marc Anthony Repairing Mask are the absolute truth.
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Skin: Neck Care
Y’all…Y’ALL. I know that Black women like to brag on us not crackin’; however, the reality is that if we don’t take care of our skin, crackin’ is on the horizon (check out “Yes, Black CAN Crack. Here's What To Do About It, Tho.”) — and that is especially the case when it comes to women who ignore their neck. I ain’t gonna name no names, but there are some celebs out here who look amazing in the face, yet their neck tells on them every single time because it sags, it wrinkles, or it’s got rings all around it. That’s why there’s no way I could do an article like this and not mention how important neck care is.
You need to moisturize your neck (with a thicker cream than what you would use on your face). You need to exfoliate your neck. I actually read that consuming omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, walnuts, and eggs, especially at night, along with applying retinol (because it helps to increase the elasticity in your skin) can also do wonders for your neck.
If retinols are something that you’d like to get more into this year, Today has a list of serums that they stand behind here. Whatever regimen you decide, don’t neglect your neck this year. It’ll tell on you every time if you do.
Hair: Hair Follicle Care
The reason why I’ve written articles for the platform like “Top To Bottom: 10 Tips To Strengthen Your Hair Follicles & Protect Your Ends” before is because, if you’re on the journey of attaining some serious length retention this year (check out “Let's Gain An Inch A Month Of Hair Growth 'Til December, Shall We?”), there’s no way around the fact that you’re going to have to give your hair follicles (the roots of your hair) and your ends (check out “Your Ends Are How You Get Length. 10 Things They Desperately Need.”) some serious TLC. As far as your follicles go, some signs that they are weaker than they should be include having a dry scalp, experiencing excessive shedding, and having brittle hair.
One thing that can nip all of this in the bud is limiting the amount of heat that you use. Some others include massaging your scalp on a weekly basis (check out “10 Things Your Scalp Has BEEN Waiting For You To Do”), getting more zinc into your system (it helps to strengthen your hair follicles and prevent hair loss, so either take a zinc supplement or eat zinc-enriched foods like beans, pumpkin seeds and whole grains) and being very gentle with your hair when it's wet; that’s when it is its most fragile.
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Skin: Facial Peels
The main reason why I wrote “I've Been Doing At-Home Chemical Peels. Here Are The Pros And Cons.” for the platform last fall is because I know that DIY skincare is steadily on the rise, if for no other reason than the fact that it’s easier on the wallet. Personally, since I’ve been more proactive about my own skin at home, I’ve had no regrets, facial peels included; although it did take a bit of trial and error before I figured out what worked best for me. That said, whether you go to a licensed esthetician, you choose to take care of your skin 100 percent yourself, or you want to implement a combination of both — definitely make facial peels a part of your face’s skincare routine.
They have the ability to do everything from even out your skin tone, and reduce breakouts to minimize pores and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. A line that I am fond of (because I use it) is Perfect Image. I’m a fan because they come in different concentration levels, and the prices are pretty fair. If you follow the instructions to a “T,” you should be fine. Again, though, there are always people who are trained in facial peels if you’re a bit on the fence about applying facial peels yourself. Don’t feel bad if you prefer going that route instead.
Hair: Coating Ends Nightly
As I’m continuing to learn more about my hair, two of my biggest mistakes have been not giving it regular protein treatments (which should happen every 4-6 weeks) and not coating my ends on a consistent basis. Since our ends are the oldest parts of our hair, this means that they’ve received the most wear and tear — and that makes them the most fragile. So yes, if you want to gain some inches, they need to be pampered the most. One way you can do that is by “coating your ends” at night. Basically, what I do is apply a leave-in conditioner that is water-based and then seal that with a carrier oil like sweet almond or grapeseed because they are both light in texture.
Some like to use a grease like Blue Magic instead (I ain’t knockin’ it; I wrote an article shouting it out a few years back entitled, “Looking For Hair Growth? It Might Be Time To Bring 'Blue Magic' Back”) because it’s thicker. It’s totally up to you. Just make sure that you don’t go to bed with your ends being parched. It’s not a good look and will probably lead to breakage more than any type of growth progress.
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Skin: Back Facial
Four times a year, something that I will see a skin professional for is a back facial — and I can immediately tell the difference every time that I do. For one thing, I have about four, what are known as pores of Winer, which is basically a stretched-out pore (that probably resembles a small mole) that contains a blackhead or something that looks like a small black seed once it's removed. Unless you get a healthcare provider to stitch up the pore, it’s going to constantly fill back up over time, so yeah…back facials are one way to prevent them from irritating you or becoming unsightly. Another reason why I am consistent about getting back facials is because I have a tiny eczema patch around where my bra straps connect, and since it’s hell trying to reach back there, I get it “tended to” by a professional.
And finally, until someone comes up with a tool that will help us to thoroughly pamper our backs (and boy, do I live for the day!), I get my back deep-cleansed and exfoliated. It is worth every penny, I tell you. So, whether you can relate to all of these reasons, you workout a lot and you want to keep back acne from getting out of control, or you like to show off your back as much as possible (or all of the reasons above), invest in at least a couple of back facials this year. There is no way that you will regret it.
Hair: Scalp Exfoliation
Something that will have you out here feeling like a whole new woman is exfoliating your scalp. I wish it was something that I had gotten into years ago — hell, decades at this point. What put me on was when I was fully transitioning out of texturizers (which are mild perms; please don’t tell yourself otherwise because it’s simply not true) to full-on natural hair. When I tell you that my scalp was shedding something serious? I didn’t realize how much trauma I had been sending it through with years of damaging it from various chemicals to the point where it literally took a year for my scalp to fully recover. One thing that helped? Exfoliating because, just like the rest of our skin sheds dead skin cells, so does our scalp.
And if you do exfoliate it on every wash day (or at least every other one), it can help to get rid of dead skin cells, remove product build-up, stimulate your hair follicles, remove dandruff flakes and soothe an itchy and/or irritated scalp as well. There are scalp exfoliants that you can purchase (like these here), or you can go the DIY route. One of my favorites consists of white sugar, sea salt, some grapeseed oil, and peppermint oil. Apply the mixture to damp hair, gently massage for about 2-3 minutes, let it penetrate for five more minutes, and then shampoo. Some other effective scalp exfoliant recipes are located here.
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Skin: Using Body Serums That Contain Niacinamide
Has your skin been looking dry and dull lately? Perhaps it appears even a bit tired. Something that you might want to look into is a body serum; preferably one that contains what is known as niacinamide, which is simply a form of vitamin B3; it’s an ingredient that is going to be very popular all this year. Probably one of the best things to say about niacinamide is what makes it different from hyaluronic acid is, while the acid deeply hydrates your skin, niacinamide also reduces the appearance of pores, lightens dark spots, and softens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
My recommendation is to use the serum 2-3 times a week and the acid, especially on your face and neck, twice a day. Your skin will be on-point from head to toe if you do.
Hair: Softening Your Water
Did you know that over 85 percent of the people who live in the United States deal with hard water? When it comes to your skin, hard water can clog up your pores, which can lead to breakouts. When it comes to your scalp, hard water can leave it extremely dry and irritated. And when it comes to your hair, the build-up of the minerals that are in hard water can leave your hair dry and brittle while causing a significant amount of hard-to-manage frizz. Although clarifying shampoos and even apple cider rinses can help to reduce the damage that hard water can cause over time, one of the best ways to prevent it from becoming an issue for your hair at all is to get a solid showerhead filter. Why? Well, they are specifically designed to take impurities out of the water that can cause hard water in the first place.
A list of some highly recommended filters is located here. If you happen to be someone who shampoos your hair in one of your sinks, some cool faucet filters are found here.
Skin: Tea Rinse
I’m a tea fan. I grew up on it. That’s why I try and pitch articles on tea (check out “10 'Uncommon' Teas You Should Add To Your Stash (& Why),” “8 Teas That Are Really Good For Your Vaginal Health” and “So, Here Are Some Teas That Will Make Your Sex Life So Much Better”) as much as possible. It’s also why I thought that a great way to wrap up some things that you should do for your skin and your hair is to mention tea rinses. Bottom line, teas (especially herbal ones) are packed with antioxidants, tannins, and nutrients that will be great for your natural beauty goals because pretty much whatever is in the tea is what will transfer onto you if you “rinse yourself” with them.
Teas that are great for your skin include chamomile (it reduces inflammation), rooibos (it helps to treat acne), blackberry leaf (it gets rid of free radicals), white tea (it helps to prevent wrinkles), and peppermint tea (it kills bacteria and could even help to heal breakouts). Simply steep your favorite tea (or a combination of teas) for 20 minutes. Let it cool completely. Cleanse your skin. Then saturate a cotton ball in the tea solution, apply it to your skin, and let it sit for between 5-10 minutes before rinsing off with cool water and moisturizing. Your skin will feel immediately refreshed.
Hair: Tea Rinse
And finally, just like your skin can benefit from all that comes with a tea rinse, so can your hair. Three Black YouTubers have videos that expound on this very fact: Limitless Bloom (here), Sharon Nwosu (here), and DINMA OKIKE (here). If you want less shedding, a healthier scalp, more moisture in your strands, and faster hair growth, making time to rinse your hair on your wash days will help you achieve all of this. Some teas that are awesome for your hair are nettle leaf (it strengthens your hair), rosemary tea (it soothes your scalp), and jasmine tea (it stimulates hair growth). My two cents would be to steep the tea for about 45 minutes, add some honey (if you want to deep condition your hair via the rinse), apply the rinse, put a shower cap on your head, and let the rinse sit for 30-60 minutes. Then rinse with lukewarm water and apply a deep conditioner. Your hair will feel so much softer afterward.
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There you have it: 12 things that are reasonably priced, easy to apply, and super effective. So, rather than pressuring yourself with resolutions, just start to implement things that are proven to take your beauty goals to new dimensions. It’s less stressful and so much more beneficial to take that approach.
Welcome to a brand-spankin’ new year, y’all!
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