On the cusp lives a shaman, a man or woman floating between two worlds. Not fully living in one or the other, but one who has an understanding of both sides and the ability to comprehend the unity of the whole, by perceiving the halves.
When I started doing astrology a long time ago, I learned about cusps, and always thought about them when talking to people concerning their birthdays. Then one day I read Linda Goodman’s most popular book Sun Signs, and in it, it said that you’re either one sign or another, there are no cusps in Sun signs. I believed that for many years. And now after doing five years of research on actors and other above-the-line people in the film business, I must say…rubbish. My work has been graphic in the sense that, like a scientist, I have just allowed my research to go where it will, without trying to determine its outcome. And through it, I’ve discovered that it’s undeniable that cusp energies effect people. Some astrologers might find some other reason for that energy in someone’s chart, but astrologers like most people tend to over-complicate things. They tend to want to perform calculus when addition or subtraction is all that’s required. Most great things in life are simple, or even if they are complex, what makes them resonate with people is there underlying simplicity. And let’s not forget the Hermetic principle “what is above is also below” which reflects the fractal nature of reality. So if something’s in one part of a chart, it’s probably in another. That’s why people gravitate to SUN sign astrology. While admittedly it’s certainly not as comprehensive as a full chart, it does show the essential self.
Whenever I meet someone who is born on the cusp, I make this blanket statement. “Cusp people get along with everyone, but sometimes they have trouble understanding themselves, because they are literally straddling between two energies”. And after saying that to countless people, I get a a resounding “yes, that’s exactly how I feel” almost every time, and I’ve said it to a LOT of people!
And it makes perfect sense. We are all on a cosmic journey. Nothing is static. We’re on our way somewhere moving through the time, and transversing reality. It never ceases. And as we move toward the end of a sign, we start to feel the effects of the energy where we are headed. Just as when we are on on a long journey, the landscape reveals itself in front of us, heralding where we are moving toward. Even when we are approaching something hot or cold we feel the change of temperature before we grasp the object. Movement is another one of the sacred Hermetic principles — “nothing is static” and along with the “what is above, so is below” aspect tells us if there is movement, it’s everywhere and CUSPS are affecting us, because we are moving toward them.
Some have said that people who involve themselves in same-sex relationships have been an opposite sex in a prior life to this one and are having trouble letting go of that energy. And that not until they have done this that a few times will they become used to the rather extreme change.
And when we go from one sign to another, we are always changing sexes, from a MASCULINE sign to FEMININE sign to MASCULINE sign, infinitum. No one really knows for how long, but moving towards that change is a great opportunity to take in some of the new energy to acclimate ourselves to a new viewpoint, but with that sometimes there can be some confusion and adjustment.
Yet, on that journey along with accumulating knowledge from the prior sign, part of it’s motivation is the rejection of the sign before it. And of the traits from that sign. The soul realizes what it hasn’t found useful and seeks to reject or escape it. All cusps are based on this transition. As we start out in ARIES it says “YES, go for it” and in TAURUS learns to say “NO, I have have learned to set boundaries, because YES sometimes got me into trouble”. In GEMINI it seeks to escape the TAURUS FIXEDNESS and says “MAYBE”. It rejects the HOME BOUNDEDNESS and STATIC aspects of TAURUS and yearns for FREEDOM. In CANCER it rejects the pure mentality of GEMINI and learns to FEEL. In LEO, it rejects the SECLUSION of CANCER and seeks the LIMELIGHT. In VIRGO it rejects the ego of LEO and adoration and seeks UNAPPLAUDED SERVICE. In LIBRA it once again wants to be admired and seeks to LEAD while seeking balance, while rejecting VIRGOs monetary insecurity. In SCORPIO, it loses the SUPERFICIALITY of LIBRA and goes into the DEPTHS of EMOTION and spirt. In SAGITTARIUS, it loses the FIXEDNESS of SCORPIO and seeks ADVENTURE and FREEDOM, expanding what it started in the mental side of GEMINI into PHILOSOPHY. CAPRICORN rejects the luck, abundance and expansiveness of SAGITTARIUS and learns LIMITATIONS and HARD LESSONS. In AQUARIUS, the soul is rejecting the BOX of CAPRICORN as it seeks to DANCE TO IT’S OWN TUNE WITHOUT RESTRICTION. And in PISCES the soul completes it’s first lap around the zodiac as it rejects the MENTALITY and COMPETITIVENESS of AQUARIUS and seeks to become ONE with all souls, and LOSES much of the EGO in the process and then it starts all over again.
And as we travel through the signs we reject and carry these incarnations as we move toward completion, temporarily putting traits on hold until we bring them all together in what we call enlightenment. But this is also why SEMI-SEXTILES (relationships with someone who is the sign just before or after yours) can be challenging, because the person in front karmically has rejected the sign it has just been. In other words, a “been there, done that” attitude.
The CUSP person is the bi-astro-sexual of the zodiac, as cusps are in different sexes and those on them are balancing between two different energies and different modalities and placements in the family. But one of the great advantages of CUSPS is that the dynamics of these stories and characters on film are fascinating, because it’s very easy to see their journey as they cross boundaries and move from one energy or experience or place to another, which is what great character archs and stories are all about. They are transitioning, and growing in the process.
CUSP people, who can be very creative and able to draw on both sides of the polarity and are able see things, sometimes in a greater whole. In film as actors, they also can relate to more characters, because they understand both sides of the cusp, as well as getting along with the whole cast and crew, which doesn’t hurt either. In directors, they are able to deal well with more diverse characters and cast members, because of their own multifaceted understanding. This is why we find so many talented directors who are born on the cusp, from Kubrick to Kurosowa, to Capra, Fellini, Milos Foreman, Spielberg, Tim Burton, David Fincher, Robert Rodriguez etc. just to name a few…
We also find many actors born on the cusp, because just as the middle child in a family will often be the one who finds his way to becoming an actor, the cusp person also will do the same. Middle children sometimes have a difficult time finding an identity within the family and turn to acting to give them the adoration that they have been missing because of the lack of one in thier family. So in the same way, cusp actors find many temporary homes playing lots of different characters. We even find many films where basically everyone in the starring roles is on the cusp.
Cusps also tend to work a lot because many films are about being TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS where someone has to make decisions in life or is straddling two lives, two people or two situations. Cusp people understand that, they live with it on a daily basis. Even in the personal lives of cusp people, they will will often marry other cusp people, because they are the only ones who really understand each other, and that in-between experience.
The cusp is there. It can be felt. And It can be seen in the manifest experience of cusp people, especially on film where it makes for great stories about the drama and conflict of characters transitioning
© Ian Boyd 2021 (All Rights Reserved)