Astrology Lesson: Cusps
The myth of the cusp, as in, “I was born on (date), so I’m a (insert sign here), right?
All depends. All depends on one’s placement here on the planet (Planet Earth).
Alluded to in a recent horoscope, and covered in detail in Bare Foot Astrology, the “cusp” is a term that’s frequently bantered about, and in my understanding, and what I try educate folks about, the “cusp” is a faulty myth.
There is no “cusp.”
“I’m a (insert sign here), born on the last day, so I have some (sign preceding or following) in me; I’m more like (that other sign).”
Actually, no. In the heart of hearts, the sign is what you are. Folks born at the extremes, close to the cut-off dates, like, each sign is 30 degrees, so people born at 1 or 29 degrees embody the very essence of that sign.
Why it’s important to have a real astrologer do a chart? The “inner planets,” Venus, Mercury, those two are always close to the Sun’s position, relatively speaking, so those two can easily be in adjacent signs.
“But I think like a (next sign over), instead of (sun sign).”
That’s because Mercury — the thinking part of a natal chart — is in the (next sign over).
Over the years, as a practicing astrologer, I’ve grown to trust my software, mostly one program — Time Cycles — but I’ve tried a number of other options. I was toying with one chart, without getting up to fact-check, and I couldn’t remember the exact time of birth.
This one chart, it’s a perfect example of the fallacy of the “born on a cusp”situation. Before noon, same Moon Sign, but different Sun Sign. Pisces before noon, Aries after noon.
Exact conversation, several times over:
A: I was born March 20, so I’m a Pisces, right?
Me: Nope, Almost one degree Aries.
A: I was born March 20, so I’m a Pisces, right?
Me: No, shows an Aries Sun.
A: I was born March 20, so I’m a Pisces, right?
Me: Not really, more like an Aries.
A: I was born March 20, so I’m a Pisces, right?
Me: No, see, a Pisces would’ve accepted what I said the first time and moved on, while an Aries would repeat the question four times.
(In that one natal chart? Mercury is in Pisces.)
Education helps and in my readings, that’s what I strive for, education about the myth and meaning, and how to apply that knowledge in current events in a client’s life.
