Is a zodiac cusp a real thing?

No, not a real thing.

“On the cusp” is a gimmick to make up for the fact that the dates for your “zodiac sign” vary … depending on the year you were born, the place you were born, and the EXACT hour and minute you were born.

By telling you that you are BOTH Signs, they will be 50% right, and hope that is enough to keep you as a customer.  You could be EITHER Sun sign, and the only way to find out is to do up YOUR birthchart:

Find out those 3 pieces of birthdata (you probably already know the year you were born and your birthplace, but will have to track down the EXACT time you were born). Then go to any website that does up free natal charts. I recommend either alabe.com or caféastrology.com

How about a free mini-astrology lesson?

Your “zodiac sign” is only your SUN sign … only 1 of the 10 “planets” that astrologers focus on.

And everyone has ALL 12 zodiac Signs in their own natal chart .. which is unique to them alone. No two people are astrologically identical.

And the SUN SIGN is only 2% of ALL the factors that describe a person astrologically.

As for Sun signs. They require only the day-month of birth, so they are easy to find. And easy to make money off of the general public.

But the dates are not exact. Sun’s apparent location (within a Sign) depends on where EARTH is in her orbit around Sun. But since our calendar is ¼ of a day shorter than Earth’s actual orbital length of time … the dates for Sun signs will vary, depending on the year of birth. AND on the TIME of birth. And also from the location of birth (since our clocktime is dependent on WHERE we are on Earth .. it is not noon in London England at the same time it is noon in Tokyo Japan).

Now, we have Leap Year every 4 years, to make up for this difference … to ensure that Spring on our calendar matches the season of spring and that our calendar doesn’t get too far off-track.

But this variation is why the dates for Sun signs are only approximate.

No, Sun cannot be in two Signs at the same time. It is ONE Sign and that is how you READ it. Otherwise, why even bother with astrology?

But you have 9 other “planets”, and one or more of them might be in the Sign next to your Sun … in fact, Mercury is never more than one Sign away from Sun, and Venus is never more than 1 & ½ signs away from the Sun. This is why “on the cusp” sometimes SEEMS to be accurate.

So some sources say I’m one sign and others say a different sign. I can’t remember where I heard it was called a “cusp”, not sure if it’s accurate or not. But it’s between Sagittarius or Scorpio, the date is 22nd.

In astrology, we ARE the planets. Each planet is a different inner need, a different facet of our personality.

For instance Sun is only how we try to find inner self-esteem. Moon is our emotional nature. Venus is how we relate to others. Mercury is how we think and communicate. Mars is how we take action, including assertion/aggression. ETC. There are 10 “planets” and that is what we focus on.

HOW we express that planet/need depends on the style of whatever Sign that planet was moving through. BUT all Signs have both positive and negative behaviors, so FIRST we look to see how that particular planet interacts with any of the other needs/planets … connecting lines indicate interaction. Red lines mean those two planets conflict with each other, and so they express the negative behaviors of whatever Signs they are in. Blue or green indicate inner harmony, so the person expresses the positive behaviors of those Signs.

The planets are YOU. How well/poorly they influence your behavior depends on how well/poorly they relate to each other. Only THEN do we consider what Signs the planets are in.

So the Signs come in 3rd Place in your natal chart interpretation. And the Houses the planets are in and the Signs ON each House .. this comes in 4th Place when interpreting your chart.

I hope this helps you understand astrology. Sun sign astrology is NOT astrology, and are next to useless.  Far more misleading by omission, than giving you accurate information that helps understanding.  Only the full natal chart done up for the individual is useful .. and even then all it shows is how the person will likely be IF they do nothing to change or grow.

Astrology doesn't control us .. it is only an influence.