You have a T-Cross (also
called the T-Square) when two planets that make an opposition aspect (180
degrees) are both making a square aspect (90 degrees) to some third
planet. Draw lines connecting all three and you have a T.
Since the square and opposition aspects are supposed to be
搒tressful BAD aspects? beginners usually get terrified whenever they spot a
T-Cross in a horoscope. Guess what? This configuration frequently
appears in the charts of business leaders, corporation presidents, and
other dynamic people. That's because the stress is focused.
Having a T-Cross is like sitting on a 3-legged chair. You know where the problem is, and that makes it easier to fix.
The planet that makes the square aspects with the opposing
planets gets emphasized. We say that it is in Point
Focus. That means it gains in importance when you are interpreting the chart. However, in my experience, being in Point Focus is not as
strong as being singleton. If one of the other planets in the T-Cross happens to be
the only one in a particular element, quality, or house type, it will
have a greater effect than the Point Focus planet.
The way out of the potential problems that all those stress
aspects can cause is indicated by the empty
leg. After all, a T is like a cross with a missing piece. All you
have to do is draw a line completing the cross and see the house and
sign where it lands. That's the area of your life where the solution
can be found.
Let's
take a look at some examples.
Oprah
Winfrey: has a T-Cross in Fixed signs. Mercury
in Aquarius is opposite Pluto
in Leo. Both have square aspects from Mars
in Scorpio. Mars
(energy and action) is in Point
Focus, giving plenty of energy. The empty
leg of the cross is opposite that 11th
house Mars. That means the focus is on
her 5th
house, the house of romance, creativity, and self-expression, as
well as fun and games. She has to be having lots of fun doing that show
(and all those other activities). Basically, her occupation is just being
Oprah and that is a very 5th
house. The T-Cross is in Fixed
signs and they have to do with values.
Through her show (and now the magazine) she affects the opinions and
values of millions. The empty sign in the T-Cross is Taurus, a sign of
money, possessions, and resources. Yes, Oprah has made a lot of money
for herself. And every time she recommends something, it becomes a best
seller.
Reverend
Jim Bakker: has a T-Cross in
Mutable signs. Mars
in Pisces is opposite Neptune
in Virgo. Mercury
in Sagittarius squares both of them. Both the sign of Pisces and its ruling
planet Neptune are associated with religious and spiritual matters. On
the negative side, they also rule illusions, deception, swindles, and
self-undoing. Mercury, which is in Point
Focus, is a planet of communications. That includes lies. The empty
leg of the cross is in the 4th
house (home and private affairs) in the sign of Gemini
(communications and day-to-day specifics) an indication for him to get
his own house in order first. What he actually did was to buy a large
house. Eventually, he wound up in the big house. The T-Cross is in
Mutable signs. Once again, this emphasizes communications.
The situation is complicated by that Mars
in Pisces. It's his only planet in a Water
Sign. This makes it a Singleton so it draws the chart's 揺nergy?in a different
direction, towards his 1st
house (self). That's what got him into trouble.
Winona
Ryder: also has a T-Cross in Mutable
Signs. Her Moon (emotions) is in sensitive, dreamy Pisces and is in Point
Focus. Saturn (both ambition and depression) squares from Gemini
(communications) in her 6th house (work). A wide conjunction of Jupiter
(搇uck? expansion) and Neptune (imagination, illusions) completes
the T-Cross. They are both in Winona's 12th house (self-undoing)
opposite her Saturn and square the Moon.
Those
oppositions are interesting enough all by themselves. Jupiter
(expansion) opposite Saturn (contraction) can give bipolar tendencies.
The old term for this was manic depressive. Saturn opposite Neptune
(illusions) tends to worry about things that aren't there, or about
possible future disasters that never happen. I call Saturn/Neptune
stress aspects 揥oody Allen aspects?after the hysterical hypochondriac
characters he plays. So Winona has a potential problem
here.
Fortunately for
her, both ends of that opposition are making harmonious aspects to her
Mid-Heaven (career). Neptune (film) and Jupiter
make sextiles. Saturn makes a trine. This means she can take any
negative emotions and release them through her characters. The Neptune
illusions become the ability to create an illusion on screen. And as
long as she is busy, Saturn manifests as ambition and discipline instead
of depression.
The empty leg of
Winona's T-Cross lands in her
9th
house (religion, philosophy, the
principles we live by, long journeys, higher education) and in the sign
of Virgo (work, details). One way out of that T-Cross is to develop a
practical, detailed personal philosophy. Another would be to take long
trips that are work related. But that Saturn is Singleton
by chart shape. It stands out all by itself so it can funnel the
chart's 揺nergy?to the other side. Fortunately, is sits in her
6th
house (work) so the interpretation is the same. Keep busy Winona.
Gennifer
Flowers: has a T-Cross in Cardinal
signs. Her Moon in Aries is opposite Neptune in
Libra. Both are squared
by Mercury in
Capricorn. The Moon so close to the Mid-Heaven tends to
bring her or what she does before the public. Mercury, the
communications planet, is, once again, in Point
Focus. A good combination for a reporter. The presence of Neptune,
however, gives a talent for embellishing reality. This gives a talent
for fiction writing (NO, this
is Not a comment on her news stories or her statements about that
affair with President Clinton!). The Mercury/Neptune square is
maddening. People with this one can remember things that seem impossible
to remember, but little, obvious day-to-day things slip right under the
nose. This is particularly difficult for someone with Mercury in
Capricorn, like Gennifer, because Mercury in that sign goes crazy if it
forgets one little thing (guess where my Mercury is).
The T-Cross
itself has that empty leg aiming towards her 12th
house. That's the
house of hidden things and 搒elf-undoing.?No, that does not
mean the problems of the T can be resolved by doing herself in! It could
be a plus though, if one were doing investigative reporting, finding out
hidden things and bringing them to the light of day.
The Cardinal
sign emphasis of her T-Cross makes Gennifer action oriented, going from
crisis to crisis and loving it.
Marilyn
Monroe had a T-Cross in Fixed
signs. Neptune in Leo was opposite both the Moon and Jupiter in
Aquarius. Saturn in Scorpio gets to be in Point
Focus by squaring all
three. With her Moon (emotions) square Saturn and widely conjunct
Jupiter, Marilyn's mood swings must have really been a problem.
Neptune adds fantasy (and drugs, and alcohol). But that T-Cross aims
straight up, towards her 10th
house (career). Saturn is ambition,
Jupiter is 搇uck? the Moon is the public, and Neptune rules film.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The fixed nature
of Marilyn's T-Cross showed that she had to concentrate on values, stability, things that are fixed and stable. Instead, most
of her work was in light comedies, and in her personal life, she got
caught on the crossbar of her T and went from one relationship to
another. That Neptune opposite Jupiter expected every fleeting
relationship to be the real thing. Those squares from Saturn always
brought her crashing down.
Monica
Lewinsky:
has a Cardinal
T-Cross.
Uranus in Libra
is opposite
Mars in
Aries. Both are squared by
Mercury in Cancer, which makes this planet of communications the Point Focus. Ok, so the
square between Mercury and Uranus is a little bit narrow. The rule is
that whenever planets make a special pattern (like a T-Cross) slightly
wider orbs may be used for the aspects.
A Cardinal
T-Cross needs crisis, action, and excitement. I think everyone can agree
that Monica outdid herself in that department. The empty leg of the T
aims towards her 4th
house (home, the foundations of the life). What Ms.
Lewinsky has to concentrate on is making her own personal life solid and
stable. That will make it easier for her to go on to future adventures.
Gandhi:
had a Fixed T-Cross. What a
chart!
Jupiter in Taurus
opposes both
Venus and Mars in
Scorpio. The
Moon is in Point Focus by
squaring all of them. But the Moon is also part of a Grand
Trine in Fire signs. A very rare and powerful combination. The Moon
in the 10th
house is good for getting noticed. That placement can give
an emotional need for attention, especially when in Leo, the show
business sign. But Cancer, the sign ruled by the Moon, is on the cusp
(beginning) of the 9th
house which, among other things, rules religion
and the principles we live by. Gandhi's principles were certainly one
of the most prominent things about him.
The Fixed
nature of his T-Cross literally had to do with principles. And as far as
fixity of purpose, the many decades he spent fighting what was then one
of the world's mightiest nations for Indian independence is well
known.
The empty leg of
his T-Cross lies in his 4th
house. Home and domestic environment? But Gandhi seemed to be in public constantly. The answer is that the
4th
house rules more than domestic environment. It also shows your
foundations, the basis of your life. And it rules homeland
as well. Gandhi did more than anyone else to achieve independence for
his homeland, India. He re-founded an entire country. The Fixed
Sign
nature of his T-Cross gave him enormous persistence (fixed
purpose) and placed his emphasis on his values.
He didn't do it with guns, but with a philosophy of non-violence.
Reverend?
Jim Jones: had a Cardinal
sign T-Cross. Saturn in Capricorn opposed Pluto in
Cancer. Venus squared
both and was in Point Focus.
Venus is, among other things, charm. You need plenty of that to be a
cult leader, of course. But charm alone is not enough. Pluto square
Venus gives the desire for raw power. Saturn squaring on the other side
values control over feeling. The empty
leg of the T-Cross lands in the 9th
house, which rules both religion
and long journeys. A T-Cross in
Cardinal Signs
keeps moving from project to project, from crisis to
crisis. He moved his entire cult from San Francisco to Guyana when the
going got tough. When it looked like he was going to loose some members,
he had the U.S. Congressman who was taking them away killed. He then had
all his followers drink cyanide laced Kool Aid.
Lenny
Bruce: also had a Cardinal
sign T-Cross. Jupiter in Capricorn was opposite Pluto in
Cancer. His Sun
and Mars in Libra squared both of them. An unusual situation. Mars and
the Sun are too far apart to be considered together. What we really have
here are Two T-Crosses. The
one with Mars as Point Focus
aims towards his 3rd
house (communications) and he certainly did plenty
of that. Communications are also emphasized by that singleton Uranus in
his 3rd
house. Uranus is the spout on a funnel chart, and Uranus loves
to shock.
His Sun,
however, is right at the top in his 10th
house (career). Well, that can
get you plenty of attention. But that T-Cross empties out into his 4th
house, home, domestic environment, and the foundations of your life.
That was the area he neglected, and that was what eventually brought him
down.
Clint
Eastwood:
has a rather wide T-Cross in Cardinal
Signs. Saturn in Capricorn has an opposition aspect with
his Venus in
Cancer. Uranus in Aries squares Saturn and makes a narrow
square with Venus. Cardinal signs are certainly the thing you would
expect for all those action roles. But beyond that, Cardinal signs
always look for new worlds to conquer. Clint has done it all: comedy,
drama, action roles, romantic lead (揟he Bridges of Madison
County?, and he has produced and directed as well. And Uranus
(originality, independence, the unexpected) in the sign of Aries
(action, aggression) in his 5th
house (romance and creativity) points in
the same direction.
The empty leg of
his T-Cross lands in his 11th house
(friends, hopes, wishes). Any relief
from the stresses and strains of his T-Cross can be found by spending
time with friends, or by further pursuing his own hopes and wishes. Nice
work if you can get it. And he did.
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