How To Interpret Planets On House Cusps

by Robert Wilkinson

Over the years I've had many ask me how a planet works when it's in two different houses depending on which house division system is used. Today we take a look at how a planet in a cusp zone works.

This subject deals with situations where a planet could be in either the second or third house depending on whether we are using Placidus, Porphyry, Koch, Equal, or some other way of dividing the circle into 12 parts. In other words, if our Uranus is in the 5th house using one system and in the 6th using another, what does this mean?

Actually this is a very common occurrence, due to intercepted signs and a wide divergence in the size of houses based in where we were born. Astrologers will note that the sizes of the quadrants skews fairly widely the further we are from the equator. Therefore there are many on Earth who have houses that diverge from the ideal width of 28-32 degrees.

This creates situations where our Sun may be in the 8th according to one house system, but may be in the 9th using another. The question of how a planet functions when it could be in one or another house can be easily resolved by examining what creates the phenomenon so that we can understand possible meanings when we see this in a birth chart.

First, let's examine the different meanings of planets, houses, and cusps. The planets symbolize our inner functions, or "lights," of personality, from the innermost sensitivities and feelings (the Moon) to the outermost transpersonal transformative forces beyond our control (Pluto). The houses are the areas of our experience in the outer world, and cusps (where a house begins and where it ends) are the edges of where the houses touch each other.

So how do we interpret the possible meanings of when a planet falls on the cusp of a house? Furthermore, how do we interpret the planetary influence when the cusps change degrees due to different house systems in use, shifting the planet from one house to the adjacent house?

One of the first things I learned is that only the Ascendant-Descendant axis and the Midheaven-Nadir axis are set by the time of birth. All other house cusps are determined by whether we use a space-based system of dividing quadrants, a time-based system of division, or a space-time system of division. (A complete exploration of all possible house division systems is way outside the scope of this article, and would bore most readers.)

Depending on which system(s) we use, we'll get a variety of points that mark the cusps of the houses. Some are fairly close to each other, while some systems produce different signs on different houses than other systems (though never more than one sign apart except in very high latitudes.) We all have all the signs in our chart somewhere, and if the cusps involve the very early or very late degrees of a sign, at least two houses usually will have two different signs on their cusps. (As noted, it could have three possible signs on its cusp if we're born in extreme North or South latitude.)

To offer an example: I have Leo rising with either late Virgo or early Libra on the 3rd house, late Pisces or early Aries on the 9th, depending on which house division system I use. Many times in charts I've read I've seen cusp spans as wide as 20 degrees involving two signs, even wider in extreme latitudes. You can see how this could set up some dilemmas in how to interpret what rules the house, and how to sort through the various influences of different planets straddling two houses.

Why is knowing what house(s) a planet affects important? Well, besides showing us our areas of self-realization through various experiences associated with those houses, it can also help us understand why we have certain major lessons to learn from one area and not another.

If a planet is solidly in one house, then it shows us our inner "light" lessons associated with events connected with that house. A planet on a cusp area is involved in our lessons in both houses rather than just one, since then it's triggered as either an entry or exit energy.

But if it occupies a degree that puts it in one house in one system and an adjacent house in another system, then that planetary function involves how those adjacent houses affect each other. Rather than being in one or the other, it's actually in both simultaneously.

In my own chart, when I first computed it I found that if I used the Placidus house system, my Saturn is in the 3rd house. But if I use other systems, such as Porphyry or Equal, it is in the 2nd house. That led me to the question, which house is my Saturn actually in?

When I read the texts, it seemed as though I have elements in my life of both positions. I can definitely identify with Saturn in the 2nd, as well as Saturn in the 3rd. So I began to explore the deeper meaning of the houses, and came up with a system that has worked for me for many years, and satisfies most of my clients who wonder why certain things are so apparently contradictory in their lives, or why they have major life experiences that are similar but came about through different arenas in their life activities.

Simply put, when I look at charts, I use two (or at times even three) systems of house division at the same time. This gives me a span of degrees between houses, a zone where the two houses touch each other and overlap to an extent, just as the areas of our lives often overlap somewhat. The span is defined by the gap between the two systems yielding the widest result.

Thus the zone between my 2nd and 3rd houses extends between 28 Virgo (Placidus) to 11 Libra (Equal). Anything that transits that zone exerts an influence in both houses, and blends those two areas of my life. Since that is true for my 2nd and 3rd houses, it is also true that the zone between my 8th and 9th houses covers the area between 28 Pisces and 11 Aries. There are other zones between houses, some wider, some narrower, depending on many variables.

When a planet falls in the zone where two houses overlap, that planetary function learns in both areas and has an impact in both areas. It is no longer simply that we have a part of us that is identified with one area more than others; we have to learn how those areas interrelate through the lessons and qualities of that planet.

To offer a musical analogy, the frets on a guitar neck are unnecessary to play the instrument. A note is a note, However, there are zones where by sliding up or down the string you move into areas showing the subtle differences between the whole notes.

As we move from A through A-sharp into B-flat and B we find both obvious and subtle distinctions, So it is as we move from 2nd house experiences through where the 2nd and 3rd influence each other into our 3rd house experiences.

Taking this approach makes apparent contradictions in the planetary birth positions as well as the progressions and transits more easy to understand. It can also help us understand why, after spending many years in one of our houses, a slow-moving planet begins to affect the neighboring area while still exerting an influence in the old area, and over time seems to link those parts of our lives together in a set of lessons.

(Rewritten from articles originally published in March 2006 and again February 2010)

© Copyright 2011 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Christine]

Hi Robert, thank you for this articles and all your others. I came to here from intercepted signs. I have aquarius on the ascendant and pieces intercepted in the first house (so leo on the descendant and virgo intercepted in the 7th house. Then depending on the system I have capricorn on 11th and 12th house cusps (and about 5 planets in capricorn including my sun) and cancer on 5th and 6th house cusps. Or Aquarius on 12th and 1st house cusps and Leo on 6th and 7th. I was wondering if you have any insights into this?

Thank you so much

[caliban]

Placidus: Venus 8/9 conjunct current full moon sun.

I travel when I am uncomfortable and return to a more comfortable place. No matter how far I travel or how many times I travel I continue to arrive at the same destiny. It must be home.

[Aquarlis Virmoon]

Hi Robert, Can you apply this musical logic to the sabian symbol degree's too?

[Robert]

Hi all - I'm still on the road and will try to compose something when I have time.

[Donna Cunningham]

A very fine article, Robert, and my experience with clients confirms what you're saying about a planet on the cusp affecting both houses. For example, a woman with the Moon on the cusp of the 11th-12th might find that she has many women friends AND that many of these friendships were with women coworkers or colleagues. Regards, Donna Cunningham

[Robert]

Hi Christine - You're most welcome. What you want is beyond my ability to do in any depth in this comment stream. That said, imagine you have an Aquarian self image to express, but with buried Pisces subtones. You would be naturally attracted to Leo, but only those with a strong Virgo subtone. Aquarius always has Capricorn as its 12th sign, regardless of other personal factors. With a stellium crossing the 11/12 sectors, your friends could be a source of sorrow or rewards, and clearly you're here to do some form of group work, both publicly and privately. When you have the same sign on two consecutive houses, they are ruled by the same energies, where the preceding house sets the tone for the subsequent house. When two consecutive houses both have the same sign on the cusp, it also indicates a very narrow span of experience in those houses, with a very wide experience in the houses that have intercepted signs.

Hi caliban - Venus on the cusp of the 8/9 shows your desires will lead you to truths, your losses will show you a greater Venusian adventure, and through valuing what others value, you will be able to harmonize their mind.

Hi Aquarlis Virmoon - Yes, in the sense that each symbol is the preparation for the next, or the result of the previous one. Studying the "formulas" offered by Dr. Jones in the original work will make this clearer. Plus in any five fold sequences, there is 1) the initial pulse, 2) the counter/contrasting pulse, 3) the synthesis of the first two, 4) the technique developed out of the synthesized understanding, and 5) the fulfillment of the sequence. I also feel the musical analogy applies very nicely to the aspects.

Hi Donna Cunningham - Thanks for checking in and confirming what is put forth here. For someone with Moon bridging 11/12, I would say to make their friends their family, and watch out for family members creating sorrow or inner turmoil due to karmic connections. While it could show continuity of Soul connect with family members, it could also show the need to find closure rituals to take care of security needs.