What is a cusp

What Is a Cusp?

S N Rao

A cusp is the point at which a new astrological sign begins.* Thus, the “cusp of Aries” means the point

at which Aries begins. (The word comes from the Latin word cuspis, meaning “point.”)

When someone speaks of being “born on the cusp,” he or she is referring to a birth time at or near the beginning or the end of an astrological sign. For example, if you were born on July 23, you were born on the cusp of Leo, the sign that begins on July 23. Indeed, depending on what year you were born, your birth time might even be in the last degree of Cancer. The Sun does not move into a new sign at exactly the same moment each year, and the dates for the different Sun signs may vary by a day or so. Even if the Sun were moving into Leo on that day, what time of day did this happen? Were you born while the Sun was still in Cancer or after the Sun entered into Leo? Astrologers differ about when a person is born on the cusp. Some astrologers claim it means only within the first two days or last two days of a sign. Others say it can be as much as within the first ten days or last ten days of a sign. The consensus, however, is that you were born on the cusp if your birthday is within the first five days or last five days of a sign.

With cusp-born people there is always the question, “What sign am I really?” They feel that they straddle the

border of two different countries. To some extent, this is true. If you were cusp-born, you are under the influence of both signs. However, much like being a traveler leaving one country and crossing into another, you must actually be in one country—you can’t be in two countries at the same time. One sign is always a stronger influence, and that sign is almost invariably the sign that the Sun was actually in (in other words, your Sun sign). The reason I say “almost” is that in rare cases a chart may be so heavily weighted with planets in a certain sign that the person more keenly feels the influence of that specific sign. 

For example, I have a friend whose birthday is December 22. On the day of his birth the Sun was leaving

Sagittarius and entering Capricorn. At the moment of his birth the Sun was still in Sagittarius, so technically speaking he is a Sagittarian. However, the Sun was only two hours away from being in Capricorn, and this person has the Moon, Mercury, and Saturn all in Capricorn. He has always felt like a Capricorn and has always behaved as a Capricorn.

This, obviously, is an unusual case. Generally, the Sun is the most powerful planetary influence in a chart. Even if you were born with the Sun on the very tip of the first or last degree of a sign, that sign is your Sun sign, and that is the sign you will most feel like. However, the influence of the approaching sign or of the sign just ending is present, and you will probably sense that mixture in yourself.