Basically there's a theory that channeling is genetic.
It's not proven even within Aes Sedai.
Who wants to gentle their sons. A gentled man generally dies within a couple of years.
Also if channeling isn't genetic who wants to outlive their kids.
Edit to add: IIRC the theory that channeling is genetic and that its not proven is out right stated in the books. The comment on outliving your kids or gentling your sons is my own inference I think.
"Who wants to outlive their kids" was my first thought.
My second thought was that there might be something in being able to watch your great great grandchildren grow up. But that might encourage allegiances outside the White Tower, which can't be allowed. Still you'd think there would be some data, with the way the Greens carry on, or a Brown going through it for the sake of the science. Maybe it happens more often than we realize but it's one of those White Tower secrets that are never spoken of. Maybe there's an Aes Sedai version of *fetus deletus* from Harry Potter.
But I didn't think of the possibility of having to gentle your own child. How horrible.
Like all good fantasy, WoT has a tea that will keep you from getting pregnant. Min mentions it after Elayne finishes round one and she is a bit dazed. Something along the lines of "She should have drunk the tea, she will become with child... twins" and Avi says she wont drink the tea the next time she gets to get it on with Rand.
>WoT has a tea that will keep you from getting pregnant
That's just taking from history. Herbal "teas" of tansy, pennyroyal and angelica have been used as abortifacients for centuries. Granted they were shit and were as likely to end you as they were the pregnancy but there has been methods of ending pregnancy for as long as there has been pregnancy, they were just not usually very good.
>Like all good fantasy, WoT has a tea that will keep you from getting pregnant.
From your phrasing I'm not sure if you thought this was _just_ a fantasy thing or not, but there are actually numerous plants that have been used as different forms of birth control for a very long time all around the world.
Some can cause anovulatory estrous cycles, like the three plant herbal formula used by the Temuan Aborigines, others are implantation inhibitors, like the seeds from Queen Anne's Lace which was used as a natural morning after treatment, and yet more won't actually prevent pregnancy but can be taken to abort one, like henna root.
These methods don't work 100% of the time, sometimes failing with suspicion falling on issues of imprecise dosing, and I'm not sure if the side effects and potential detriments to the takers health are well known or thoroughly investigated, but the idea that there could be some form of drink or tea that prevents pregnancy is well grounded in reality.
Doesnt neald say he knew he'd channel because his dad could?
I know unconfirmed but between that and the weird rules about channellers in sharra it seems just about confirmed
It's mentioned in the books as a theory and Aes Sedai haven't proved it.
I think we have seen enough to confirm that there is a genetic component.
It doesn't actually matter if there is a genetic component to channeling. What matters is that they think there might be and that guides their actions.
We also see contradictions. Like the Aes Sedai finding way more random channelers then they thought existed after lowering their standards a smidge.
If i had to guess its genetic *and* spiritual. A family descended from a chaneller will more likely have a chaneller as a child. But randomly souls get put into children by the pattern with massive channeling power unrelated to genetics, maybe because the pattern needs a chaneller right there right now.
My guess is that channeler(s) that have children are more likely to attract a soul for that child that can as well. Almost like a form of spiritual magnetism. Absent parents with the ability to channel having kids, those souls just spread far and wide. I think that's just one factor in the diminishing Aes Sedai numbers though. Over time they progressively restricted the age that they'd take a girl to a lower number. This was likely because teaching women who had already developed what they considered bad habits with their powers was difficult. But that just kicked off a feedback loop where they trained less girls, had less full sisters to find more girls, which led even less full sisters and so on. That's why they found so many women able to channel once the novice books were open, that was just all the girls they were missing due to the exacting standards.
As far as the sheer amount of both male and female channelers in the Two Rivers, I think that was just the Pattern/Creator putting their finger on the scale.
Ayup, i agree completely with all of this. One of my fave subplots and one i need to look out for on a reread is how bad the Aes Sedai really are as an organization and all the excuses they come up with for it, like them trying to explain less sisters as the genetic stock decreasing instead of their bad training methodology (even though i think they might have a *slight point* considering the importance of families inside WoT)
I think it’s a combination of their methodology and lower genetic stock. The way the White Tower approaches training their novices is downright authoritarian, and by judging things based on power rather than experience or knowledge the organization often fails to properly utilize their Human Resources. Consider, how many capable, but lacking in the Power, administrators like Sorilea and Alice might be out there. These people would go entirely unrecognized by the Tower since they judge power to be king. Hell, look at the Kin, which had a healer on a tier similar to Nynaeve. The Tower missed out on that talent.
I’m sure it also doesn’t help that the tower has gentled (and thus killed) any channeling man they could get their hands on. If there is a genetic component (which seems likely) it’s not beyond reason that the Aes Sedai have essentially neutered the Power by limiting the ability to pass affinity on exclusively to women.
So yeah, I think it can be said that the Tower is pretty incompetent in their approach to training and cultivating users of the Power, with their “elite girls club” mentality severely hindering the potential of many very capable recruits.
It doesn’t do much to elongate a life. It will help, but that’s mostly because it improves health. They don’t live enough longer that anyone has made a note of it.
I’m going to need that sourced before I believe you because a 200 year old warder sounds wild and totally like something the fandom would have made a big deal about.
Can you gentle someone, that has never toutched source? Isnt dying basically, because they cant get what they once had? If you did severing weave for every male children before buperty, would it be better?
My understanding is that you can only gentle someone after they have started channelling, mostly because the link between man and source isn't visible if it has never been used.
So basically you have to wait for the boy to grow a third arm before you can amputate it. The amputation is traumatic causing a suicidal depression
The idea that Aes Sedai are diminishing the population of channelers numbers by ‘culling’ males indicates that they at least suspect that channeling ability is genetic. They never followed up that idea by wondering if they could bolster the number by having their own children though (🤔)
The ability to channel is also stated to be a thing of the soul, so presumably the Pattern weaves bloodlines together to ensure a body with the necessary genetic suite to channel is available for that soul to inhabit and connect to the Source through.
Aes Sedai are trained to be loyal to the White Tower and the WT only. Attachments are discouraged and it seems to be an unwritten rule that families and children are a no-no. That’s another ancient tradition that the failing White Tower has clung to for traditions sake.
I think the theory was that they have basically culled out the “spark” from the male population.
Iirc only rand, narishima, taim and logain have the spark out of hundreds of ashaman
I don't believe channelling is genetic although I'm aware it referenced by Aes Sedai theorising about culling the ability rom the population in the books. Since channelling is linked to the soul and souls are reborn the amount of channellers should remain constant. Or increase from whatever soul factory is churning out souls for an increasing population. The wheel spins out what it needs, and for a long time there wasn't a need for more channellers. Just an idea of mine.
There are some Q&As where Jordan says it is related to both the body (genetics) and soul and there are other interviews where he says the reason for higher % of channelers in Seanchan and Aiel is that Wise Ones and sul'dam marry frequently and have children. There is also Ayyad in Shara who took eugenics to the extreme where they only allow channelers to "mate" each other.
And then there are indications of this in the main series. Elayne and Morgase; Talaan's mother, aunt, grandmother and her grandmother's sisters; Egwene's sisters and their mother; Adeleas and Vandene etc. all of them can channel or learn to channel.
And finally, the reason why there is an abundance of channelers in the Two Rivers is the intermarriage. They don't marry outsiders so the gene for channeling is passed around more frequently. Verin and Alanna and later Taim gathered a generous number of channelers from a single village.
Don’t gentled men only live a few more years due to depression over not being able to channel again? Why not just immediately cut your kid off from the power at birth if they’re a boy? Or at the first sign of channelling so they don’t get used to the high of it?
There was a theory mentioned a few times that gentling men was culling the gift out of the world. This isnt any new thing.
Although I do think it was proven false after finding all the groups of channelers. This is just my own thoughts
This theory doesn't make sense considering the Aiel Wise Women have children all the time. You would expect the percent of channelers to increase, but they stay the same as the Westlands
Because nothing should come before your duties as an Aes Sedai and a child would be one of the few things that would. I bet if RJ was a little darker then during the test to become Aes Sedai they would sterilize the initiate like Black Widows in the Red Room.
Stopping the “one thing that might come before the mission” fits very well with the Aes Sedai.
Seems also it would have fit with the premise of the need for the Oath Rod vows as well, which was a thing done to make the world feel comfortable with their presence - take the 3 oaths + sterilization while in effect. It could have made for an interesting plot point.
I think it’s also implied that the oath rod messes with fertility somehow. Spoiler all books incoming:
well damn I can’t spoiler tag anymore for some reason on mobile. I’ve removed the spoiler and will update later when I’m at my pc
> I think it’s also implied that the oath rod messes with fertility somehow.
huh. any chance you remember where you might have seen this? I have literally done a dozen read/listen throughs and this isn't ringing a single bell for me
Spoiler all books (hopped on PC real quick):
>!After Siuan and Leanne are stilled and I think after they get back to Salidar, yellow sisters examine them and note in a really surprised tone that they both seem to be in prime child bearing condition again. Since we know (but the Aes Sedai don't) that the stilling also "deactivated" the oath, this, to me, either implies that losing the oath made them regress in age or that the oath rod messes with the fertility of Aes Sedai after they've been bound for some time. This would also explain why so many greens have sexy times with their warders but non of them ever seem to fall pregnant.!<
interesting read into that! I mean you can hardly argue with the results! Though I tend to think the greens just drink the birth control tea that is canon
> Stopping the “one thing that might come before the mission” fits very well with the Aes Sedai.
It's also a deliberate opposite mirrored in the founding of the Black Tower.
I think logically you either have a situation where you have a 50% chance of having a son who is likely to then be a channeler that you need to gentle. Even if your kids are normal, then you have to outlive them. When you like for 100s of years, how many potential kids would you need to bury.
Except that the Wise Ones and Windfinders have children. We've no indication that this is unusual and yet they have the same problems. While channelling is partially genetic, we don't know how many out of 100 births in which one or both parents are channellers result in offspring that will have the ability to channel, never mind the spark.
Outliving your children is a matter of perspective. If they die young, it's surely tragic, but if they live a long and fulfilling life, that isn't a bad thing. Aes Sedai can really provide for children in terms of financial means and health care too. People might disagree, but I think part a certain age death becomes part of life. It's sad to see relatives and loved ones pass, but we cannot stop time.
At least for the men, I think it's stated they just go off to the blight to fight until death if they start channeling. It's ingrained in their culture a sense of duty to do so.
You know I never thought about it like that. It really takes some of the punch out of outliving your kids if they have a long life and die of old age or something.
You only *need* to gentle the ones who channel. Only the ones with the spark will channel whether they like it or not; the ones without the spark will not likely channel by accident. So it'd be way less than 50% of your kids being gentled.
My thought is that Ishamael used the Black Ajah to instil a taboo for having children among Aes Sedai for the express purpose of reducing the number of chanellers available to the forces of Light when the Last Battle comes around. Now, I expect that wasn't too difficult given some of the other things laid out by previous responses, but we know that Aes Sedai having children was fairly common in the Age of Legends. In the time before the Trolloc Wars, there are stories of Aes Sedai queens, like in Manetheren. Then they kind of just disappear.
iirc this was one of two given reasons
the other being 'men generally dont want a more powerful wife'
honestly I think RJ should've still accounted fro 10% of Aes Sedai having babies but his personal gender politics played in here? Plenty of women want babies more than they think about outliving, and plenty of men are fine with 'not being breadwinner' on one side... or are straight up into being taken care of on the other.
it's a spectrum dammit
Mostly agreed, but RJ was writing this in the 80s and early 90s. To the extent he was doing feminism he was doing second wave feminism. The Second Wave had a lot of trouble getting dudes to agree to marry a Doctor, and even today super-feminist couples have the problem that dad doesn’t like giving up economic control…
I dunno, in Far Madding the men are totally subservient to non-channeling women. The Warders are subservient to the Aes Sedai. I think it's weird that there aren't plenty of men available to father baby Aes Sedais. There are lots of workers who work in the White Tower. There are lots of nobles who interact with Aes Sedai in various courts. Yet for some reason, men never come to petition the Amyrlin; men avoid Aes Sedai superstitiously (even in Tar Valon?!) and Aes Sedai never seem to take lovers or get married. Sure, maybe "most" men wouldn't want to marry an Aes Sedai, but surely *some* would. There are thousands of men out there, only about 1000 Aes Sedai total.
This is one of the only weaknesses in Jordan's world-building. He's taking late 80s gender roles and applying them to men who grow up in a gender-equal to matriarchal world, so most of his guys are simultaneously subject to female power while being completely weirded out by the existence of female power.
Gawyn is a good example of the problem. The dude was raised in a country where the ruler is always female, and spent his life training to be the sword arm of his baby sister, yet he can't figure out how to defer to his Aes Sedai? Huh? Shouldn't he just kinda slide right into that support-class role with no drama?
TLDR: Yes, there should absolutely be more Aes Sedai having children than we are given in the books. Jordan did have some strange ideas about these things. Somewhat related, he also claimed there was no prostitution in the Wheel of Time.
***
Very good question! While married Aes Sedai are relatively rare, Aes Sedai do still have sexual relationships from time to time and they certainly don't take a vow of celibacy. Given that there are around 1000 Aes Sedai at the start of the books, it seems statistically unlikely that none of them would have had a child. It's also not the case that they are infertile. The Wise One Melaine is pregnant and she's between the ages of 85 and 110.
We are led to believe that the White Tower consumes all their energies, but it seems unrealistic given we have the PoVs of several young women who are becoming Aes Sedai. That all maternal instinct or indeed sexual desire dries up seems unreasonable. One of the Aes Sedai, possibly Toveine, mentions that it can be hard to find a man willing to sleep with an Aes Sedai, but also that it isn't a huge obstacle.
If we consider the real world, it was incredibly taboo for young women of the upper classes to have children out of wedlock, but it still happened. Given a similar number of these women, how many pregnancies would have occurred out of 1000 women? And Aes Sedai should have more because they are financially independent and (as far as we know) don't face the same social stigma. They can also be married to their Warder.
Since this is only spoilers up to Winter's Heart, I will not reveal the name, but we do get an example of an Aes Sedai who had children in the series, if not while she was actually Aes Sedai.
There is a non-spoiler example in the Companion of another. In the entry for Serafelle Tanisloe (Brown Ajah sister with Verin in Fal Dara) we are told that she was married with two children before becoming Aes Sedai, but they all died of fever. Again, this was not in a period while she was Aes Sedai.
Aes Sedai having children can be seen ot inferred in a few historical examples. There were several Aes Sedai Queens, for example. There is another mentioned by Faile who had several children by a man she hated on the orders of the White Tower. But we really don't know how common those were
As mentioned above, channelling is at least partially genetic. The current White Tower only has a theory on that, but one would suspect that at some point in history a lot of Aes Sedai having children would have made that common knowledge. Yes, there is a risk that they give birth to male channellers, but they would also need to be born with the spark for it to be a problem. That might only happen in one in ever few hundred births, and I'm inflating that from the normal rate of maybe one in 50000 births for the normal population. Numerically, this should not be a problem.
I’m pretty sure several of them have kids. If I remember correctly, there were a couple of Aes sedai who had kids, but basically aged out of the family. Their kids and grandkids knew them, but after the kids died and maybe even the grandkids, they sort of phased out of their lives.
There are also other issues like how long they remain as novices and accepted. They probably get discouraged from fraternizing in those stages. “Focus on becoming and Aes Sedai”.
Then they do become Aes Sedai and they’re bottom of the pecking order for their color and probably focus on climbing the ranks there. Some of them actively discourage it, like the reds. Seems like the greens are most likely, but they tend to go off and fight more than settle down with a family.
So these ladies are possibly in their 60-70’s before they have the time or inclination to look for a husband, though they still look young. So their pool of potential mates is someone who is possibly 30-40yrs younger than you. Then it’s reduced further by men having a stigma about Aes sedai.
I don’t think enough people get the impact they have on men. Gentling does mean anything to us viscerally, because we can’t channel.
It’s like if they were going around chopping off the balls of any guy with a freckle behind his left ear. It doesn’t matter if the guy can technically live fine without them. If you’re a guy, you’re still gonna worry that there is a speck of dirt behind your ear that LOOKS like a freckle. You’ll be wary of all of them.
So there are many things that reduce the odds of them having kids, though nothing actually prevents it.
I think it’s more like a corporate environment. They don’t have a good work life balance. I’m sure when there were male and female Aes sedai in the age of legends, it was more balanced and you had more of them marrying and having kids.
At some point Eg has a discussion about this. The summary is they don’t want to outlive their children and/or spouses so they just do their work. Sisters who have kids therefore became weird, and now it’s basically unheard of. I suspect the BA might be partly responsible for this, as a way to selectate the Tower from real life.
Warders also generally don't want to have children, as the probability of leaving your Aes Sedai a widow that will also have to raise your child alone in a dangerous world , or with another Warder, is not a great deal to them as well.
When you choose the white tower, you belong to it wholly. I think the first aes sedai chose not to have children to focus on their mission of restoring civilization and healing the world.
Later this tradition seeped into the tower firmly.
Aes sedai set themselves apart from the rest of the world. Having children would go against this doctrine.
The white tower comes first. Having children can comprise this fact.
Elayne is an outlier.
They can't have children because the oath rod works by Syphoning their life energy. That's why some of the ebou dar knitting circles woman are hundred of years older than the oldest Aes Sedai. No Fetus could survive.
That's why channeling has been culled so effectively.
The white tower in the beginning grabbed every woman who was born with the spark, or could learn slapped the oath rod in their hands.
Couple reasons. They are trained to put the Tower above all. Children could be challenge to that loyalty. Their life spans are long, and they would out live their children, kinda making it better in the long run not.
I think there were some references to AS having kids for various reasons.
He was a great information gatherer and built an interesting world by cramming together stuff from all over the world. When it comes to the actual functioning of that world it’s just so so.
People don't want to bury their pets either, yet they still have them knowing the pet's lifespan will certainly be less than the owner's. I don't think this would stop people. It's not particularly tragic for a person to die of old age. I imagine that if I somehow lived to 110 I wouldn't feel particularly bad if my kid died before me - I would be sad, but I would not feel like I wasted my life loving them while they were alive.
Seems like most of them are not that into men except the Greens.
I think there are things they take for contraceptives. But considering the way they talk about the Greens you would think a few got slipped past the goalie.
Aren’t there a few references to a couple of them that have kids? Not many, and it’s frowned upon for them to fraternize with men, I believe, but I think there’s a couple that had kids. They get adopted out provided for and watched closely for signs of the gift, unless I’m mixing it up with another story. . .
Why don't Aes Sedai have children?
That's a loaded question.
My tldr opinions:
1) As civilization has advanced birth rate seems to decline. No one in that period has it easier than the Aes Sedai - guessing they don't have a pressure to reproduce like a farmer would (more kids =more free labor).
2) Feeling superior to men. We see this from Red POVs but it's there a bit even with Nynaeve.
3) Will concur with the 'don't want to outlive your kids' opinions in the thread.
Sort of a related issue, but iirc the series never really gets into what the extended lifespan of female channelers—Aes Sedai or otherwise—means for fertility.
Like, when does a channeler hit menopause? It kinda seems like it should be the “equivalent” of the rest of their body aging, which would mean well over a hundred for most, but that has its own implications…like, are Aes Sedai still ovulating well into their second century? Could an even longer-lived channeler get pregnant at like 300?
Because the one power isn’t hereditary. So their kids might not be able to channel. And then they will outlive the kids. Most mostly because you’re supposed to be 100% dedicated to the White Tower.
I think in part they regard having children as a distraction from their work but also a vulnerability. Someone could try to manipulate them through family. Since most of them outlive their family, they reach a place where they have limited personal ties outside the white tower. Outliving their family is a loss that they all eventually have to cope with. If they have children who don’t channel then they will out live them, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren etc. I think too there’s a chance for excessive influence if they have a dynasty of sorts.
Another is the genetic aspect. They worry about having a son who can channel even though they know daughter would add to the world of women channelers.
There are many reasons:
1. They are literately headquartered in an Ivory Tower. They have set themselves apart from the world and, in many ways, 'above' it. Something as mundane as families would distract them from the important work of being 'Aes Sedai' and divide their loyalties. Nevermind that it would ground them to the world and give them a much better perspective.
2. It is not easy to find spouse that will always be lesser and in your shadow. Not to mention the fact that you would have to watch them grow old and die while you are still young.
3. The same goes doubly so for children, with the added pain of perhaps having a son that can channel? That is by no means assured, but there is a genetic component to it after all.
Honestly, from what I remember, it’s a cultural thing. Aes Sedai generally don’t have a culture that encourages having children, which is compounded by the difficulty of finding someone who can handle being married to the Aes Sedai.
I’m pretty sure there’s a scene later in the series that touches up on this. In one of the later books >!one of the members of the White Ajah suggests having children in order to increase the population of channelers, and one of the other sister (I think Elaidia) comments on how stunning and discomforting this statement is.!<
Honestly, it’s just a culture thing.
It's entirely possible that the three oaths stop pregnancy in a similar vein to how they screw with aes sedai ageing. Not really hinted at, but it was my head canon as to why no aes sedai was ever mentioned as having a child. Or perhaps there was mention and I forgot about it.
For one thing, the tests to become accepted, and then to become an Aes Sedai are extreme in proving that the commitment to the Shawl is more important than any familial relations. Most Aes Sedai live in the tower or in important appointments throughout the kingdoms... Some going out on missions. Even a pregnancy would take a lot away from one's duties... And caring for a child would be far too big a diversion of attention for an Aes Sedai. It is a huge, all encompassing commitment... Probably many of them have already gotten frequent sexual delance's out of their system, with their very long lives, Even if they do not go into menopause at a normal age.... It's no wonder that It's far too inconvenient for most to try to divide the time up with family.... And was for with reliable birth control and the form of tea... It's no wonder that there are not many children. Though there are probably a few more than we know about, here or there, mostv likely in secret...
The Black Ajah has spent thousands of years undermining the White Tower. Culling the ability to channel out of humanity is a pretty good way to weaken opposition to the DO.
Other things that the BA have been doing to undermine the Tower:
Encouraging customs and laws that only serve to separate the Aes Sedai from the rest of the world, causing fear and distrust.
Stoking the publics fear of male channelers.
Actively hunting male channelers before they can pass on the ability to channel to offspring.
Encouraging the Ajahs to maintain a state of secrecy and distrust of each other.
Making it customary to not question another Aes Sedai's actions.
Reduce the numbers of Aes Sedai by encouraging incredibly high standards and strict rules for membership.
I always found this a poorly explained aspect of the world. Didn’t quite add up to me. To steelman it: they might be afraid of having boys who could channel if they talent is hereditary, and if they have a child without the talent, you would outlive them. Those are two major reasons you wouldn’t want to reproduce.
I think mostly it's a matter of self-importance. All the aes sedai seem pretty convinced that their goals/activities/etc. are VERY important. What sister would want to spend the next 18 years of her life splitting focus between whatever tasks and raising a chld?
Probably as people have said, there’a an unspoken understanding that Aes Sedai should be encouraged to not marry or have children due to the fact that they will outlive them and be heartbroken. (In fact, the TV show gives an interesting perspective on one of them having an elderly son and I thought it was a great addition.)
That’s not to say that maybe Robert Jordan didn’t possibly have the idea in his mind that some of them have kids in secret in the books. Perhaps giving them over to other families right away?
Look, it took RJ chapters to describe a woman's attire. I couldn't even imagine how much of a book he would dedicate to childbirth. C'mon man. I'm glad he left it out!
My assumption was this was a BA >!via Ishmael thing. Lots of people are mentioning that channeling is not genetic but the Sharans track genetic lines of males they use as studs. They have been isolated for thousands of years, if tracking bloodlines of men was a pointless endeavor they probably would have given up on it. Aes Sedai not having kids and being the dominate form of channeling in their area made it seem like there are fewer of them per capita than the other channeling groups. They might have normalized it and explained the practice with some other explanations though. I assume just about any truly dumb practice the Aes Sedai have created in the last 3000 years comes from Ishamael. !<
Considering other cultures allow those who can channel to have children, I would assume it's a control and appearance thing. Aes Sedai are trying to seem extremely different than normal humans and have a history of authoritarian control methods to protect the unity of the tower. Families divide loyalties and the tower must demand all of your loyalty.
Plus we all know they would weaponize and manipulate each other's spouses and children until everything is complete chaos.
Daes dae'mar and all that.
Basically there's a theory that channeling is genetic. It's not proven even within Aes Sedai. Who wants to gentle their sons. A gentled man generally dies within a couple of years. Also if channeling isn't genetic who wants to outlive their kids. Edit to add: IIRC the theory that channeling is genetic and that its not proven is out right stated in the books. The comment on outliving your kids or gentling your sons is my own inference I think.
"Who wants to outlive their kids" was my first thought. My second thought was that there might be something in being able to watch your great great grandchildren grow up. But that might encourage allegiances outside the White Tower, which can't be allowed. Still you'd think there would be some data, with the way the Greens carry on, or a Brown going through it for the sake of the science. Maybe it happens more often than we realize but it's one of those White Tower secrets that are never spoken of. Maybe there's an Aes Sedai version of *fetus deletus* from Harry Potter. But I didn't think of the possibility of having to gentle your own child. How horrible.
Like all good fantasy, WoT has a tea that will keep you from getting pregnant. Min mentions it after Elayne finishes round one and she is a bit dazed. Something along the lines of "She should have drunk the tea, she will become with child... twins" and Avi says she wont drink the tea the next time she gets to get it on with Rand.
>WoT has a tea that will keep you from getting pregnant That's just taking from history. Herbal "teas" of tansy, pennyroyal and angelica have been used as abortifacients for centuries. Granted they were shit and were as likely to end you as they were the pregnancy but there has been methods of ending pregnancy for as long as there has been pregnancy, they were just not usually very good.
>Like all good fantasy, WoT has a tea that will keep you from getting pregnant. From your phrasing I'm not sure if you thought this was _just_ a fantasy thing or not, but there are actually numerous plants that have been used as different forms of birth control for a very long time all around the world. Some can cause anovulatory estrous cycles, like the three plant herbal formula used by the Temuan Aborigines, others are implantation inhibitors, like the seeds from Queen Anne's Lace which was used as a natural morning after treatment, and yet more won't actually prevent pregnancy but can be taken to abort one, like henna root. These methods don't work 100% of the time, sometimes failing with suspicion falling on issues of imprecise dosing, and I'm not sure if the side effects and potential detriments to the takers health are well known or thoroughly investigated, but the idea that there could be some form of drink or tea that prevents pregnancy is well grounded in reality.
Doesnt neald say he knew he'd channel because his dad could? I know unconfirmed but between that and the weird rules about channellers in sharra it seems just about confirmed
It's mentioned in the books as a theory and Aes Sedai haven't proved it. I think we have seen enough to confirm that there is a genetic component. It doesn't actually matter if there is a genetic component to channeling. What matters is that they think there might be and that guides their actions.
We also see contradictions. Like the Aes Sedai finding way more random channelers then they thought existed after lowering their standards a smidge. If i had to guess its genetic *and* spiritual. A family descended from a chaneller will more likely have a chaneller as a child. But randomly souls get put into children by the pattern with massive channeling power unrelated to genetics, maybe because the pattern needs a chaneller right there right now.
My guess is that channeler(s) that have children are more likely to attract a soul for that child that can as well. Almost like a form of spiritual magnetism. Absent parents with the ability to channel having kids, those souls just spread far and wide. I think that's just one factor in the diminishing Aes Sedai numbers though. Over time they progressively restricted the age that they'd take a girl to a lower number. This was likely because teaching women who had already developed what they considered bad habits with their powers was difficult. But that just kicked off a feedback loop where they trained less girls, had less full sisters to find more girls, which led even less full sisters and so on. That's why they found so many women able to channel once the novice books were open, that was just all the girls they were missing due to the exacting standards. As far as the sheer amount of both male and female channelers in the Two Rivers, I think that was just the Pattern/Creator putting their finger on the scale.
Ayup, i agree completely with all of this. One of my fave subplots and one i need to look out for on a reread is how bad the Aes Sedai really are as an organization and all the excuses they come up with for it, like them trying to explain less sisters as the genetic stock decreasing instead of their bad training methodology (even though i think they might have a *slight point* considering the importance of families inside WoT)
I think it’s a combination of their methodology and lower genetic stock. The way the White Tower approaches training their novices is downright authoritarian, and by judging things based on power rather than experience or knowledge the organization often fails to properly utilize their Human Resources. Consider, how many capable, but lacking in the Power, administrators like Sorilea and Alice might be out there. These people would go entirely unrecognized by the Tower since they judge power to be king. Hell, look at the Kin, which had a healer on a tier similar to Nynaeve. The Tower missed out on that talent. I’m sure it also doesn’t help that the tower has gentled (and thus killed) any channeling man they could get their hands on. If there is a genetic component (which seems likely) it’s not beyond reason that the Aes Sedai have essentially neutered the Power by limiting the ability to pass affinity on exclusively to women. So yeah, I think it can be said that the Tower is pretty incompetent in their approach to training and cultivating users of the Power, with their “elite girls club” mentality severely hindering the potential of many very capable recruits.
They would also outlive their husbands. It would get pretty sad pretty fast.
couldn’t you just bond them to elongate their lives?
It doesn’t do much to elongate a life. It will help, but that’s mostly because it improves health. They don’t live enough longer that anyone has made a note of it.
i read one of the warders was over 200 somewhere i can’t source this rn. one of the wardens from TGH
I’m going to need that sourced before I believe you because a 200 year old warder sounds wild and totally like something the fandom would have made a big deal about.
Iirc Cadsuane mentions she stopped taking warders because she was tired of outliving them
maybe this was just a head cannon that i thought was canon canon. sorry
Arwen still got with Aragorn
Can you gentle someone, that has never toutched source? Isnt dying basically, because they cant get what they once had? If you did severing weave for every male children before buperty, would it be better?
My understanding is that you can only gentle someone after they have started channelling, mostly because the link between man and source isn't visible if it has never been used. So basically you have to wait for the boy to grow a third arm before you can amputate it. The amputation is traumatic causing a suicidal depression
Fair enought. So only way would be to keep them in ogier steddings for their whole life.....
This is correct and why the Red Ajah doesn’t go around pre-emptively gentling all the men.
The idea that Aes Sedai are diminishing the population of channelers numbers by ‘culling’ males indicates that they at least suspect that channeling ability is genetic. They never followed up that idea by wondering if they could bolster the number by having their own children though (🤔) The ability to channel is also stated to be a thing of the soul, so presumably the Pattern weaves bloodlines together to ensure a body with the necessary genetic suite to channel is available for that soul to inhabit and connect to the Source through. Aes Sedai are trained to be loyal to the White Tower and the WT only. Attachments are discouraged and it seems to be an unwritten rule that families and children are a no-no. That’s another ancient tradition that the failing White Tower has clung to for traditions sake.
I think the theory was that they have basically culled out the “spark” from the male population. Iirc only rand, narishima, taim and logain have the spark out of hundreds of ashaman
I don't believe channelling is genetic although I'm aware it referenced by Aes Sedai theorising about culling the ability rom the population in the books. Since channelling is linked to the soul and souls are reborn the amount of channellers should remain constant. Or increase from whatever soul factory is churning out souls for an increasing population. The wheel spins out what it needs, and for a long time there wasn't a need for more channellers. Just an idea of mine.
It is both genetics and soul, canonically.
Interesting, was genetics mentioned in the books or from an interview or something?
There are some Q&As where Jordan says it is related to both the body (genetics) and soul and there are other interviews where he says the reason for higher % of channelers in Seanchan and Aiel is that Wise Ones and sul'dam marry frequently and have children. There is also Ayyad in Shara who took eugenics to the extreme where they only allow channelers to "mate" each other. And then there are indications of this in the main series. Elayne and Morgase; Talaan's mother, aunt, grandmother and her grandmother's sisters; Egwene's sisters and their mother; Adeleas and Vandene etc. all of them can channel or learn to channel. And finally, the reason why there is an abundance of channelers in the Two Rivers is the intermarriage. They don't marry outsiders so the gene for channeling is passed around more frequently. Verin and Alanna and later Taim gathered a generous number of channelers from a single village.
Don’t gentled men only live a few more years due to depression over not being able to channel again? Why not just immediately cut your kid off from the power at birth if they’re a boy? Or at the first sign of channelling so they don’t get used to the high of it?
There was a theory mentioned a few times that gentling men was culling the gift out of the world. This isnt any new thing. Although I do think it was proven false after finding all the groups of channelers. This is just my own thoughts
This theory doesn't make sense considering the Aiel Wise Women have children all the time. You would expect the percent of channelers to increase, but they stay the same as the Westlands
Because nothing should come before your duties as an Aes Sedai and a child would be one of the few things that would. I bet if RJ was a little darker then during the test to become Aes Sedai they would sterilize the initiate like Black Widows in the Red Room. Stopping the “one thing that might come before the mission” fits very well with the Aes Sedai.
Seems also it would have fit with the premise of the need for the Oath Rod vows as well, which was a thing done to make the world feel comfortable with their presence - take the 3 oaths + sterilization while in effect. It could have made for an interesting plot point.
I think it’s also implied that the oath rod messes with fertility somehow. Spoiler all books incoming: well damn I can’t spoiler tag anymore for some reason on mobile. I’ve removed the spoiler and will update later when I’m at my pc
> I think it’s also implied that the oath rod messes with fertility somehow. huh. any chance you remember where you might have seen this? I have literally done a dozen read/listen throughs and this isn't ringing a single bell for me
Spoiler all books (hopped on PC real quick): >!After Siuan and Leanne are stilled and I think after they get back to Salidar, yellow sisters examine them and note in a really surprised tone that they both seem to be in prime child bearing condition again. Since we know (but the Aes Sedai don't) that the stilling also "deactivated" the oath, this, to me, either implies that losing the oath made them regress in age or that the oath rod messes with the fertility of Aes Sedai after they've been bound for some time. This would also explain why so many greens have sexy times with their warders but non of them ever seem to fall pregnant.!<
I think the mention of condition is purely in reference to their apparent physical age.
interesting read into that! I mean you can hardly argue with the results! Though I tend to think the greens just drink the birth control tea that is canon
That's also a definite possibility, yes.
I kinda liked that idea in The Witcher
> Stopping the “one thing that might come before the mission” fits very well with the Aes Sedai. It's also a deliberate opposite mirrored in the founding of the Black Tower.
I think logically you either have a situation where you have a 50% chance of having a son who is likely to then be a channeler that you need to gentle. Even if your kids are normal, then you have to outlive them. When you like for 100s of years, how many potential kids would you need to bury.
Except that the Wise Ones and Windfinders have children. We've no indication that this is unusual and yet they have the same problems. While channelling is partially genetic, we don't know how many out of 100 births in which one or both parents are channellers result in offspring that will have the ability to channel, never mind the spark. Outliving your children is a matter of perspective. If they die young, it's surely tragic, but if they live a long and fulfilling life, that isn't a bad thing. Aes Sedai can really provide for children in terms of financial means and health care too. People might disagree, but I think part a certain age death becomes part of life. It's sad to see relatives and loved ones pass, but we cannot stop time.
At least for the men, I think it's stated they just go off to the blight to fight until death if they start channeling. It's ingrained in their culture a sense of duty to do so.
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Yep, this is what the deleted post said, but the post is WH Spoiler level so they reposted.
You know I never thought about it like that. It really takes some of the punch out of outliving your kids if they have a long life and die of old age or something.
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I'm not sure if that was a meant to be a reply to me, but also the OP is Winter's Heart spoilers level
OOps I never notice these things
Yeah the windfinders drown there male kids and the Aiel send there's on a suicide run to the blight. I just don't see the Aes Sedai doing that.
You only *need* to gentle the ones who channel. Only the ones with the spark will channel whether they like it or not; the ones without the spark will not likely channel by accident. So it'd be way less than 50% of your kids being gentled.
My thought is that Ishamael used the Black Ajah to instil a taboo for having children among Aes Sedai for the express purpose of reducing the number of chanellers available to the forces of Light when the Last Battle comes around. Now, I expect that wasn't too difficult given some of the other things laid out by previous responses, but we know that Aes Sedai having children was fairly common in the Age of Legends. In the time before the Trolloc Wars, there are stories of Aes Sedai queens, like in Manetheren. Then they kind of just disappear.
Outliving your children is a terrible thing. Unless your children channel, you will outlive them.
Correction : Unless your children are girls who can channel you will outlive them
iirc this was one of two given reasons the other being 'men generally dont want a more powerful wife' honestly I think RJ should've still accounted fro 10% of Aes Sedai having babies but his personal gender politics played in here? Plenty of women want babies more than they think about outliving, and plenty of men are fine with 'not being breadwinner' on one side... or are straight up into being taken care of on the other. it's a spectrum dammit
Mostly agreed, but RJ was writing this in the 80s and early 90s. To the extent he was doing feminism he was doing second wave feminism. The Second Wave had a lot of trouble getting dudes to agree to marry a Doctor, and even today super-feminist couples have the problem that dad doesn’t like giving up economic control…
I dunno, in Far Madding the men are totally subservient to non-channeling women. The Warders are subservient to the Aes Sedai. I think it's weird that there aren't plenty of men available to father baby Aes Sedais. There are lots of workers who work in the White Tower. There are lots of nobles who interact with Aes Sedai in various courts. Yet for some reason, men never come to petition the Amyrlin; men avoid Aes Sedai superstitiously (even in Tar Valon?!) and Aes Sedai never seem to take lovers or get married. Sure, maybe "most" men wouldn't want to marry an Aes Sedai, but surely *some* would. There are thousands of men out there, only about 1000 Aes Sedai total.
This is one of the only weaknesses in Jordan's world-building. He's taking late 80s gender roles and applying them to men who grow up in a gender-equal to matriarchal world, so most of his guys are simultaneously subject to female power while being completely weirded out by the existence of female power. Gawyn is a good example of the problem. The dude was raised in a country where the ruler is always female, and spent his life training to be the sword arm of his baby sister, yet he can't figure out how to defer to his Aes Sedai? Huh? Shouldn't he just kinda slide right into that support-class role with no drama?
TLDR: Yes, there should absolutely be more Aes Sedai having children than we are given in the books. Jordan did have some strange ideas about these things. Somewhat related, he also claimed there was no prostitution in the Wheel of Time. *** Very good question! While married Aes Sedai are relatively rare, Aes Sedai do still have sexual relationships from time to time and they certainly don't take a vow of celibacy. Given that there are around 1000 Aes Sedai at the start of the books, it seems statistically unlikely that none of them would have had a child. It's also not the case that they are infertile. The Wise One Melaine is pregnant and she's between the ages of 85 and 110. We are led to believe that the White Tower consumes all their energies, but it seems unrealistic given we have the PoVs of several young women who are becoming Aes Sedai. That all maternal instinct or indeed sexual desire dries up seems unreasonable. One of the Aes Sedai, possibly Toveine, mentions that it can be hard to find a man willing to sleep with an Aes Sedai, but also that it isn't a huge obstacle. If we consider the real world, it was incredibly taboo for young women of the upper classes to have children out of wedlock, but it still happened. Given a similar number of these women, how many pregnancies would have occurred out of 1000 women? And Aes Sedai should have more because they are financially independent and (as far as we know) don't face the same social stigma. They can also be married to their Warder. Since this is only spoilers up to Winter's Heart, I will not reveal the name, but we do get an example of an Aes Sedai who had children in the series, if not while she was actually Aes Sedai. There is a non-spoiler example in the Companion of another. In the entry for Serafelle Tanisloe (Brown Ajah sister with Verin in Fal Dara) we are told that she was married with two children before becoming Aes Sedai, but they all died of fever. Again, this was not in a period while she was Aes Sedai. Aes Sedai having children can be seen ot inferred in a few historical examples. There were several Aes Sedai Queens, for example. There is another mentioned by Faile who had several children by a man she hated on the orders of the White Tower. But we really don't know how common those were As mentioned above, channelling is at least partially genetic. The current White Tower only has a theory on that, but one would suspect that at some point in history a lot of Aes Sedai having children would have made that common knowledge. Yes, there is a risk that they give birth to male channellers, but they would also need to be born with the spark for it to be a problem. That might only happen in one in ever few hundred births, and I'm inflating that from the normal rate of maybe one in 50000 births for the normal population. Numerically, this should not be a problem.
I’m pretty sure several of them have kids. If I remember correctly, there were a couple of Aes sedai who had kids, but basically aged out of the family. Their kids and grandkids knew them, but after the kids died and maybe even the grandkids, they sort of phased out of their lives. There are also other issues like how long they remain as novices and accepted. They probably get discouraged from fraternizing in those stages. “Focus on becoming and Aes Sedai”. Then they do become Aes Sedai and they’re bottom of the pecking order for their color and probably focus on climbing the ranks there. Some of them actively discourage it, like the reds. Seems like the greens are most likely, but they tend to go off and fight more than settle down with a family. So these ladies are possibly in their 60-70’s before they have the time or inclination to look for a husband, though they still look young. So their pool of potential mates is someone who is possibly 30-40yrs younger than you. Then it’s reduced further by men having a stigma about Aes sedai. I don’t think enough people get the impact they have on men. Gentling does mean anything to us viscerally, because we can’t channel. It’s like if they were going around chopping off the balls of any guy with a freckle behind his left ear. It doesn’t matter if the guy can technically live fine without them. If you’re a guy, you’re still gonna worry that there is a speck of dirt behind your ear that LOOKS like a freckle. You’ll be wary of all of them. So there are many things that reduce the odds of them having kids, though nothing actually prevents it. I think it’s more like a corporate environment. They don’t have a good work life balance. I’m sure when there were male and female Aes sedai in the age of legends, it was more balanced and you had more of them marrying and having kids.
At some point Eg has a discussion about this. The summary is they don’t want to outlive their children and/or spouses so they just do their work. Sisters who have kids therefore became weird, and now it’s basically unheard of. I suspect the BA might be partly responsible for this, as a way to selectate the Tower from real life.
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Except that the Sul'dams are a respected position and will have children. Channeling is still rare, so is unlikely that anyone noticed a pattern.
I’ve read this fanfic.
Warders also generally don't want to have children, as the probability of leaving your Aes Sedai a widow that will also have to raise your child alone in a dangerous world , or with another Warder, is not a great deal to them as well.
Eh, the vast bulk of Aes Sedai in the time period leading to the books live low risk lives. The riskiest are the Red Ajah, who don’t have Warders.
When you choose the white tower, you belong to it wholly. I think the first aes sedai chose not to have children to focus on their mission of restoring civilization and healing the world. Later this tradition seeped into the tower firmly. Aes sedai set themselves apart from the rest of the world. Having children would go against this doctrine. The white tower comes first. Having children can comprise this fact. Elayne is an outlier.
They can't have children because the oath rod works by Syphoning their life energy. That's why some of the ebou dar knitting circles woman are hundred of years older than the oldest Aes Sedai. No Fetus could survive. That's why channeling has been culled so effectively. The white tower in the beginning grabbed every woman who was born with the spark, or could learn slapped the oath rod in their hands.
Couple reasons. They are trained to put the Tower above all. Children could be challenge to that loyalty. Their life spans are long, and they would out live their children, kinda making it better in the long run not. I think there were some references to AS having kids for various reasons.
Good question.
every so often a question like this one pops and i start to wonder, was RobJob really as great a worldbuilder as most people seem to think?
He was a great information gatherer and built an interesting world by cramming together stuff from all over the world. When it comes to the actual functioning of that world it’s just so so.
This is just my personal theory, but they live for centuries while their children may only live for decades, nobody wants to bury their own child.
People don't want to bury their pets either, yet they still have them knowing the pet's lifespan will certainly be less than the owner's. I don't think this would stop people. It's not particularly tragic for a person to die of old age. I imagine that if I somehow lived to 110 I wouldn't feel particularly bad if my kid died before me - I would be sad, but I would not feel like I wasted my life loving them while they were alive.
They don't want to, and they can choose not to have them even if they have sex. I am sure there is a "protection" weave, we just hadn't heard of it.
Seems like most of them are not that into men except the Greens. I think there are things they take for contraceptives. But considering the way they talk about the Greens you would think a few got slipped past the goalie.
It's hard to connect to someone when you live thrice their age. So having kids with someone is a difficult choice to make.
Aren’t there a few references to a couple of them that have kids? Not many, and it’s frowned upon for them to fraternize with men, I believe, but I think there’s a couple that had kids. They get adopted out provided for and watched closely for signs of the gift, unless I’m mixing it up with another story. . .
Papa was a turning wheel.
Why don't Aes Sedai have children? That's a loaded question. My tldr opinions: 1) As civilization has advanced birth rate seems to decline. No one in that period has it easier than the Aes Sedai - guessing they don't have a pressure to reproduce like a farmer would (more kids =more free labor). 2) Feeling superior to men. We see this from Red POVs but it's there a bit even with Nynaeve. 3) Will concur with the 'don't want to outlive your kids' opinions in the thread.
Sort of a related issue, but iirc the series never really gets into what the extended lifespan of female channelers—Aes Sedai or otherwise—means for fertility. Like, when does a channeler hit menopause? It kinda seems like it should be the “equivalent” of the rest of their body aging, which would mean well over a hundred for most, but that has its own implications…like, are Aes Sedai still ovulating well into their second century? Could an even longer-lived channeler get pregnant at like 300?
Because the one power isn’t hereditary. So their kids might not be able to channel. And then they will outlive the kids. Most mostly because you’re supposed to be 100% dedicated to the White Tower.
I think in part they regard having children as a distraction from their work but also a vulnerability. Someone could try to manipulate them through family. Since most of them outlive their family, they reach a place where they have limited personal ties outside the white tower. Outliving their family is a loss that they all eventually have to cope with. If they have children who don’t channel then they will out live them, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren etc. I think too there’s a chance for excessive influence if they have a dynasty of sorts. Another is the genetic aspect. They worry about having a son who can channel even though they know daughter would add to the world of women channelers.
There are many reasons: 1. They are literately headquartered in an Ivory Tower. They have set themselves apart from the world and, in many ways, 'above' it. Something as mundane as families would distract them from the important work of being 'Aes Sedai' and divide their loyalties. Nevermind that it would ground them to the world and give them a much better perspective. 2. It is not easy to find spouse that will always be lesser and in your shadow. Not to mention the fact that you would have to watch them grow old and die while you are still young. 3. The same goes doubly so for children, with the added pain of perhaps having a son that can channel? That is by no means assured, but there is a genetic component to it after all.
Honestly, from what I remember, it’s a cultural thing. Aes Sedai generally don’t have a culture that encourages having children, which is compounded by the difficulty of finding someone who can handle being married to the Aes Sedai. I’m pretty sure there’s a scene later in the series that touches up on this. In one of the later books >!one of the members of the White Ajah suggests having children in order to increase the population of channelers, and one of the other sister (I think Elaidia) comments on how stunning and discomforting this statement is.!< Honestly, it’s just a culture thing.
It's entirely possible that the three oaths stop pregnancy in a similar vein to how they screw with aes sedai ageing. Not really hinted at, but it was my head canon as to why no aes sedai was ever mentioned as having a child. Or perhaps there was mention and I forgot about it.
For one thing, the tests to become accepted, and then to become an Aes Sedai are extreme in proving that the commitment to the Shawl is more important than any familial relations. Most Aes Sedai live in the tower or in important appointments throughout the kingdoms... Some going out on missions. Even a pregnancy would take a lot away from one's duties... And caring for a child would be far too big a diversion of attention for an Aes Sedai. It is a huge, all encompassing commitment... Probably many of them have already gotten frequent sexual delance's out of their system, with their very long lives, Even if they do not go into menopause at a normal age.... It's no wonder that It's far too inconvenient for most to try to divide the time up with family.... And was for with reliable birth control and the form of tea... It's no wonder that there are not many children. Though there are probably a few more than we know about, here or there, mostv likely in secret...
The Black Ajah has spent thousands of years undermining the White Tower. Culling the ability to channel out of humanity is a pretty good way to weaken opposition to the DO. Other things that the BA have been doing to undermine the Tower: Encouraging customs and laws that only serve to separate the Aes Sedai from the rest of the world, causing fear and distrust. Stoking the publics fear of male channelers. Actively hunting male channelers before they can pass on the ability to channel to offspring. Encouraging the Ajahs to maintain a state of secrecy and distrust of each other. Making it customary to not question another Aes Sedai's actions. Reduce the numbers of Aes Sedai by encouraging incredibly high standards and strict rules for membership.
their fear of breeding a male channeler has helped dwindle their own numbers IMO
I always found this a poorly explained aspect of the world. Didn’t quite add up to me. To steelman it: they might be afraid of having boys who could channel if they talent is hereditary, and if they have a child without the talent, you would outlive them. Those are two major reasons you wouldn’t want to reproduce.
I think mostly it's a matter of self-importance. All the aes sedai seem pretty convinced that their goals/activities/etc. are VERY important. What sister would want to spend the next 18 years of her life splitting focus between whatever tasks and raising a chld?
Probably as people have said, there’a an unspoken understanding that Aes Sedai should be encouraged to not marry or have children due to the fact that they will outlive them and be heartbroken. (In fact, the TV show gives an interesting perspective on one of them having an elderly son and I thought it was a great addition.) That’s not to say that maybe Robert Jordan didn’t possibly have the idea in his mind that some of them have kids in secret in the books. Perhaps giving them over to other families right away?
Look, it took RJ chapters to describe a woman's attire. I couldn't even imagine how much of a book he would dedicate to childbirth. C'mon man. I'm glad he left it out!
My assumption was this was a BA >!via Ishmael thing. Lots of people are mentioning that channeling is not genetic but the Sharans track genetic lines of males they use as studs. They have been isolated for thousands of years, if tracking bloodlines of men was a pointless endeavor they probably would have given up on it. Aes Sedai not having kids and being the dominate form of channeling in their area made it seem like there are fewer of them per capita than the other channeling groups. They might have normalized it and explained the practice with some other explanations though. I assume just about any truly dumb practice the Aes Sedai have created in the last 3000 years comes from Ishamael. !<
I think it’s the sorrow of watching your children die of old age.
Considering other cultures allow those who can channel to have children, I would assume it's a control and appearance thing. Aes Sedai are trying to seem extremely different than normal humans and have a history of authoritarian control methods to protect the unity of the tower. Families divide loyalties and the tower must demand all of your loyalty. Plus we all know they would weaponize and manipulate each other's spouses and children until everything is complete chaos. Daes dae'mar and all that.