On the Cusp: 11 September 2019

House cusp positions are considered in esoteric astrology as a means of discovering lessons the Soul wishes to learn during its present incarnation. Given that tomorrow is the anniversary of September 11th, the major terrorist attack experienced by the United States in 2001, I wanted to look at where we go from here and the House cusp planets may give us a clue.

I’m using Manhattan as the city instead of my own as well as the time that the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, flew into the North Tower, the first building to be attacked on that morning. It may not be a perfect scenario, but it at least gives us something to consider. And just to note, the Sun is in Virgo and the Moon is in Aquarius.

• 1st House Cusp – Libra (area needing balance reflecting a past life influence)
  • The Ascendant is in Libra and appears on the 1st House cusp.
  • Libra characteristics – balanced, intellectual, artistic, relationship-oriented predicated on love
  • 1st House – self, identity, self-awareness
  • Libra Rules – 7th House of partnership, agreements, marriage, diplomacy
  • Libra Ruled by – Venus (personality/traditional ruler); Uranus (soul/higher level)
  • Element – Air – (reason, justice, and intellect)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Cardinal (initiating) and Masculine/Projective (positive)
  • Rays – 3rd (active intelligence); 7th (ceremonial order/magic)

Libra is ruled on a personality level by Venus but on a soul level by Uranus, and it also rules the 7th House of partnership. In the 1st House of self and how we view life, harmony is favored going forward particularly in our interactions with others as is speaking truth to power.

• 2nd House Cusp – Scorpio (area needing intense focus)
  • Scorpio characteristics – patient, focused, intelligent, resourceful
  • 2nd House – possessions, money, self-worth
  • Scorpio Rules – 8th House of death, rebirth, transition, relationships, transformation
  • Scorpio Ruled by – Mars/Pluto (personality/traditional ruler); Mars (soul/higher level)
  • Element – Water (emotions and intuition)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Fixed (stable) and Feminine/Receptive (negative)
  • Rays – 4th (harmony through conflict)

Scorpio is tasked with the transformation of self. In the 2nd House, we seek to resolve worthiness that may be attached to what we possess, typically dealing with property, possessions, or money. In view of the primary targets of the day involving the financial district in Manhattan, a change in how we view our worth is in order.

• 3rd House Cusp – Sagittarius (area needing expansion of beliefs and knowledge)
  • Sagittarius characteristics – honest, dependable, leader, restless, direct, procrastinating
  • 3rd House – siblings, communication, short journeys
  • Sagittarius Rules – 9th House of higher education, wisdom, long journeys, dreams, science
  • Sagittarius Ruled by – Jupiter (personality level); Earth (soul level)
  • Element – Fire (will, creativity, passion)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Mutable (open, flexible), Masculine/Projective (positive)
  • Rays – 4th (harmony through conflict), 5th (concrete knowledge and science), 6th (devotion and idealism)

Some Sagittarians have difficulty communicating with others and this tendency may reflect the lack of cohesion found amongst our governmental agencies during the morning of 9/11. Although a new agency was created after that horrible tragedy, it’s unclear just how in sync everyone is, particularly given the histrionics of the current administration.

Sagittarius on the 3rd House cusp suggests that communication needs to be revisited as does increasing personnel in the intelligence field. We suffered from a lack of such during 9/11 and instead of increasing our intelligence capabilities, the current administration seems hell-bent on shuttering any information gathering that we need.

• 4th House Cusp – Capricorn (area of personal recognition needing reconsideration)
  • Capricorn characteristics – practical, patient, responsible, focused, reserved
  • 4th House – family, grounding, foundation, end of the matter, inheritance
  • Capricorn Rules – 10th House – career, social status, mother figures
  • Capricorn Ruled by – Saturn (personality level); Saturn (soul level)
  • Element – Earth (practical matters, legacy, family, home, money)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Cardinal (initiating), Feminine/Receptive (negative)
  • Rays – 1st (will/power), 3rd (active intelligence), 7th (ceremonial order and magic)

Rethinking our legacy is in order. Are we more focused on the self, or in the recognition of the greater aspect of self? Since governmental and financial locations were attacked, it could be said that our very foundation was attacked represented by our democratic institutions and our collective wealth. But was it our collective wealth that was attacked, or does our true wealth lie in our ability to move forward in shared purpose?

• 5th House Cusp – Aquarius (area of reformation of belief, ideas)
  • Aquarius Characteristics – intuitive, humanitarian, eccentric, original, persistence
  • 5th House – children, creativity, pleasure, love
  • Aquarius Rules – 11th House – community, friendships, society, hopes
  • Aquarius Ruled by – Saturn/Uranus (personality level); Jupiter (soul level)
  • Element – Air (reason, justice, and intellect)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Fixed (stable), Masculine/Projective (positive)
  • Rays – 5th (concrete knowledge and science)

We never really think of the children, or our legacy, when faced with our toughest challenges. Oh, we give lip service to leaving behind a legacy for our children, but it’s typically left on the wayside by the more greedy among us. However, as humanity moves into the Age of Aquarius, we’re experiencing a reformation of sorts.

We’re beginning to realize that we’re more than the bodies we inhabit and that we’re part of a collective unified consciousness. So, we really have no choice but to consider the legacy we leave behind. It’s part of who we are as the Creator manifested into form. And as such, we’re ready to consider more than the needs and future of a few billionaires.

• 6th House Cusp – Pisces (area to cultivate intuition and faith)
  • Pisces Characteristics – empathic, creative, compassionate, overly-sensitive
  • 6th House – health, employment, pets, routine, service
  • Pisces Rules – 12th House of things hidden…subconscious, fears, strengths, enemies, restriction
  • Pisces Ruled by – Neptune/Jupiter (personality level), Pluto (soul level)
  • Element – Water (emotions, intuition)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Mutable (open, flexible), Feminine/Receptive (negative)
  • Rays – 2nd (love/wisdom), 6th (devotion/idealism)

There always seems to be someone or a group of someones behind the scenes that either interfere with change and progress or destroy it completely. Intuition will be required going forward to discern truth from deception, especially given the current administration’s preference for such. Pluto, Pisces’s esoteric or soul-level ruler influences dramatic transformation and although the future is unknown and deception is everywhere, with our intuition/Higher Self as our guide, we can create a more compassionate world.

• 7th House Cusp – Aries (area requiring independent thought)
  • Aries Characteristics – self-confident, assertive/aggressive, leader, initiating
  • 7th House – partnership, marriage, harmony, contracts
  • Aries Rules – 1st House (self, identity, self-awareness)
  • Aries Ruled by – Mars (personality level), Mercury (soul level)
  • Element – Fire (will, creativity, passion)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Cardinal (initiating), Masculine/Projective (positive)
  • Rays – 1st (will/power), 7th (ceremonial order and magic)

How we initiate a new path involves issues of partnership that Aries on the 7th House cusp seems to resolve. Here, we have the ability to think outside the box and to lead others. Although Mars influences our communication on a personality level (which could be problematic), on a soul level, it’s Mercury’s domain involving reason and balance that shapes our interactions. Together, they may provide the impetus to change the dynamic from us versus them to simply us.

• 8th House Cusp – Taurus (area requiring a realignment of values and material focus)
  • Taurus Characteristics – security-minded, loyal, reliable, compassionate, stubborn, possessive
  • 8th House – death, rebirth, transition, relationships, transformation
  • Taurus Rules – 2nd House (possessions, self-worth)
  • Taurus Ruled by – Venus (personality level), Vulcan (soul level)
  • Element – Earth (practical matters, money, legacy)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Fixed (stable), Feminine/Receptive (negative)
  • Rays – 4th (harmony through conflict)

Although Vulcan isn’t always considered, it’s thought to be a restructuring force and as the soul level ruler of Taurus, it could be the energy required to realign our values creating a more reliable foundation between us. The 8th House involves relationships and all manner of transformation and it’s clear with the polarity and conflict we’re now experiencing that transformation is needed.

• 9th House Cusp – Gemini (area of increased investigation and varied experience)
  • Gemini Characteristics – chatty, personal, superficial, humorous, freedom-oriented, restless
  • 9th House – dreams, science, higher learning, knowledge, long journeys, religion
  • Gemini Rules – 3rd (communication, siblings, short journeys, integrity, education)
  • Gemini Ruled by – Mercury (personality level), Venus (soul level)
  • Element – Air (intellect, reason, justice)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Mutable (open, flexible), Masculine/Projective (positive)
  • Rays – 2nd (love/wisdom)

We’re in it for the long haul if we’re to accomplish transforming how we relate to each other. Instead of fearing the other we should develop a curiosity about each other, embracing and, dare I suggest, cherish our differences allowing them to enrich our lives in the way they were always meant to do.

We were never supposed to be at odds this way. The friction to grow, yes, but not this. It took a tragedy to bring us together but the feeling and commitment to each other and our country didn’t last. People stopped listening to the truth because it didn’t align with their own views. The divisions between us have grown exponentially and distrust of the other is all that many feel now.

Gemini on the cusp of the 9th House, however, suggests a way out. Because the choice to remain clueless is just that, a choice, and one that we can change going forward.

• 10th House Cusp – Cancer (area to cultivate and nurture growth)
  • Cancer Characteristics – compassionate, social, family-oriented, emotional instability, possessive
  • 10th House – career, social status, mother figures
  • Cancer Rules – 4th House of inheritance, father figures, possessions, the end of the matter
  • Cancer Ruled by – Moon (personality level), Neptune (soul level)
  • Element – Water (emotions, intuition)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Cardinal (initiating), Feminine/Receptive (negative)
  • Rays – 3rd (active intelligence), 7th (ceremonial order and magic)

We can say with certainty that the damage to our financial institutions beginning on 9/11 and the nation’s wealth was real. But so was the damage to our relationships. Battle lines were, in effect, drawn and the country hasn’t been the same since.

Whether it’s careers, social status, or mother figures, we can also say with certainty that all three representations of the 10th House have been affected by the tragedy of 9/11. The resulting financial instability alone left many with nothing, their retirement accounts decimated by an unstable market which finally crashed in 2008 brought on by a level of corruption in the mortgage industry that left many homeless.

It will take compassion to nurture the country forward. But we have no choice if we are to survive those who wished our destruction. We must remember that although we’re a diverse group, we are in truth, one family. And it’s time we began acting like it.

• 11th House Cusp – Leo (area to focus Leo’s strongest and most positive characteristics)
  • Leo Characteristics – generous, loyal, courageous, loving, fun, dramatic, demanding, intolerant
  • 11th House – friends, groups, society, hopes, dreams
  • Leo Rules – 5th House of children, love, pleasure, creativity
  • Leo Ruled by – Sun (personality level), Sun (Soul level)
  • Element – Fire (will, creativity, passion)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Fixed (stable), Masculine/Projective (positive)
  • Rays – 1st (will/power), 5th (concrete knowledge and science)

As with the Aries influence, Leo’s strong leadership presence along with 1st Ray energies can provide the impetus for sustainable change. Children factor in again and may be at the heart of our motivation.

The Leo energy may not take no for an answer and with the Sun as its ruler on both the personality and Soul level, so success with Leo involved is practically a given.

• 12th House Cusp – Virgo (area to reconsider past patterns and values)
  • Virgo Characteristics – practical, analytical, ordered, methodical, diligent, critical, skeptical, hyper-vigilant
  • 12th House – fear, punishment, unseen forces, restriction
  • Virgo Rules – 6th House of health, employment, and pets
  • Virgo Ruled by Mercury (personality level), Moon (soul level)
  • Element – Earth (practical matters, money, legacy)
  • Energetic Quality/Mode – Mutable (open, flexible), Feminine/Receptive (negative)
  • Rays – 2nd (love/wisdom), 6th (devotion/idealism)

When considering past patterns and values, we cannot fear to look closely at what we hold dear. Although the 2nd and 6th Rays appear to align, the 6th Ray of devotion and idealism describes a more individual, if not fanatical expression, of the love and wisdom found with the 2nd Ray.

If materialism or fanaticism continues to overshadow our commitment to a shared purpose with others, we remain on the path that we’re currently on. If we’re unable to see the other side of self instead of merely the other we stand little chance of changing the dynamic between us. And if we do that, then we’ve ignored or otherwise turned our backs on the choice we still have to begin a more realistic path.

The difference now is that instead of a tragedy to bring us together, it’s the realization of a better path that will accomplish that feat. If there’s one denominator common to all of the houses is how each one impacts our relationship with self and others. If we don’t rise above our differences and replace our grievances with shared purpose, we will have learned nothing.

And too many of us died for any of us to allow that to happen.

Blessings to all…

References

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3. Oken, Alan. Esoteric Astrology. Destiny Books. 1978.
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6. Erickson, Jan. Witch Notes. Amazon. 2019.