How to Determine If You Were Born On a Cusp

Your astrological sun sign isn't always as cut and dried as you might think it is. In fact, if you were born five days before or five days after the change from one sun sign to another, you could be what is known as a cusper in astrology lingo. A cusper is a person who shares influences from two sun signs--the sign they have just departed and the sign they have recently entered. For instance, if you were born on November 22, you are at the beginning of Sagittarius, but close to the end of Scorpio. Therefore, you will be influenced by both sun signs to some extent.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your birth date information
• An astrological natal chart obtained by an astrologer or an astrology Web site
• Piece of note paper

1. Locate your birth date information, including the day, year and time of your birth. You can obtain this information from a birth certificate. If you do not have a birth certificate, consult your birth parents for the information.

2. Consult an astrologer or astrology Web site to obtain an accurate natal chart based on your birth data. This is important because the sun does not move into each sign at exactly the same time every year. Some people born on November 22 of one year may be considered a Scorpio, while in another year they will be considered a Sagittarius. Either way, that person will be a cusper.

3. Use the information gained from your natal chart to mark down how many degrees into the particular sun sign you were born. Some astrologers use a five-day period before or after to determine if a person is a cusper, while other astrologers use the number of degrees as a measure for whether or not a person was born on a cusp.

4. Decide which method you will use to find out if you were born on the cusp. If you are use the degree method, remember each sign has a span of 30 degrees, so 0 degrees is the starting point for a new sun sign. Therefore, if you are born at 2 degrees Sagittarius, you are just barely into that sun sign and you probably have shades of Scorpio traits in your personality.

5. Consult astrology books or Web sites about the traits of people born under a certain cusp. For instance, if you were born on a Capricorn/Aquarius cusp, you will need to read descriptions of both sun signs to get a full picture of the combined traits you most likely possess.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have time to have a full-blown natal chart done at this time, consult an online or print ephemeris to determine your true sun sign at the time of your birth.
• Do not take information on cusp signs as the last word on your astrological personality. Planetary influences and other astrological positions may alter your actual personality in various ways.
• Your natal chart is merely a template of the zodiac signs and planetary positions at the time of your birth. How you live your life and the person you are is determined by a multitude of factors.

Resources

• Check cusp sign birthdates here
• An exploration of cusps at this Web site
• Learn more about cusp personalities with these profiles