Questions about “cusps” and birth signs
[A portion of this article is taken from earlier posts.] The idea that a person was born on the “cusp” originates from Sun Sign astrology. Your sign as you know it is actually the sign that the Sun was in at the time you were born. If you pick up a book or newspaper horoscope about your Sun sign, or as some publications call it, your star sign (if you see a publication that refers to star signs, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction), it will refer to a range of dates for your sign. This stems from the fact that the Sun doesn’t move from one sign into another on the same date each year and these publications have no way to calculate the exact position of the Sun in your chart.
Approximate dates of Sun Signs
For example, in this diagram Aries is said to begin on March 21st, but this year the Sun entered Aries on March 20th.
A question I was asked: “I am looking to understand the “CUSP” between a Virgo and a Libra? After reading [horoscopes for] both for several months, I am finding myself more inclined to be or leaning towards Libra. Can you give me any insight that might point me towards my true sign?”
This individual was born at 29 degrees 17 minutes Virgo. If you were born in the last four or five degrees of one sign, the qualities of the next sign begin bleeding through. He is moving away from the characteristics of Virgo, the previous sign, and his focus is more on the next which is Libra. Mercury in […]
The signs of the zodiac change every 30 days, and there is a brief period while the Sun passes from one sign to another that is known as the “cusp.” Some people believe that individuals born several days before or after this time possess aspects of both signs, but in actual fact a planet is either one sign or another, there is really no such thing as a literal cusp. The idea of the Sun being on the cusp arose from newspaper so-called “horoscopes” which can’t pinpoint a Sun Sign for every reader because the date of entry of the Sun into a sign varies from year to year. Technically, the Sun is said to enter a sign when the actual center of the Sun is aligned with the zero degree point of that sign. However, in some cases the experience of being “on the cusp” does manifest in a chart. When the Sun is leaving a sign, during the last two degrees or so, it’s focus is moving towards the next sign and we often find an influence from the next sign beginning to make itself known; however, that doesn’t mean that individuals born during this time are hybrids of both signs. If your birthday is on the last few days of Sagittarius, you are definitely a Sagittarian, but aspects of Capricorn are peeking into your personality. You may possess a greater degree of responsibility than those born even just a few days before, you may be more goal oriented and have less