The signs of the zodiac change every 30 days, and there is a brief period while the Sun passes from one sign to another that is known as the “cusp.” Some people believe that individuals born several days before or after this time possess aspects of both signs, but I have not found this to be strictly true.

When the Sun is leaving a sign, during the last two degrees or so, it’s focus is moving towards the next sign and we often find an influence from the next sign beginning to make itself known; however, that doesn’t mean that individuals born during this time are hybrids of both signs. For example, today the Sun is at 28-29 degrees Sagittarius and will move into Capricorn around midnight EST December 22. If your birthday is today, you are definitely a Sagittarian, but aspects of Capricorn are peeking into your personality. You may possess a greater degree of responsibility than those born even just a few days before, you may be more goal oriented and have less of a desire for adventure.

Once the Sun passes into the next sign, however, it fully takes on the quality of that sign and there is no “cusp” effect. Think about a person in a doorway ready to walk from one room to another. Their body may be in the room they are leaving, but their attention is fully in the next room. Consequently, those born with the Sun in the first few degrees of an astrological sign can consider themselves fully members of that clan!