well fear not, help is here. in the form of the ever faithful farmers’ almanac. i’m always running into people that tell me they were born on the cusp. well, that’s highly unlikely as it is a rarity to actually be born in the few hours in which the sun moves from one constellation to the next. and to make matters more confusing, that particular date changes from year to year. some astrologers believe that being born near this period will imbue on the individual, traits from both signs. personally, i’m not a fan of this theory. (by the way, due to the complexity of our natal charts, we each have some of every sign in all of us!) that i’m aware of, there are three ways to find out if you were truly born on the cusp, or just near the cusp.
***keep in mind that you need to know your exact time and location of birth to proceed with any of these. if you do not have this information, call the town hall in the town where you were born and explain that you are looking for a birth certificate that contains your birth time. NOTE: if you simply request one from the state (new york, anyway,) or use an internet service, you will often times be sent a birth certificate that lacks this important information! unbelievably, it will list only your birth date. it is worth your time and energy to make a few phone calls and get the right information. usually you’ll need to write a notarized letter and send a small check… but it’s worth it - after all, it’s all about you!

1. refer to the farmers’ almanac for the year you were born. the page above is straight out of this year’s almanac. it couldn’t be easier to read! there are two ways that i know of to get an old farmers’ almanac. one is to go to your library. not many will archive this information. in new york, only the state capital library contains it. the second way is to buy it online from ebay or a plethora of other sites. just google your birth year + farmers’ almanac. surprisingly, old issues are pretty inexpensive.

2. contact a good astrologer and have your chart professionally done. i recommend molly claiborne; or ask ELSA.

3. lastly, learn to read an ephemeris, which is daily list of planetary movements. this of course, requires a crash course in astrology.

so there we are… once and for all, the cusp baby dilemma… resolved! (special thanks to my niece gia for being a good little gemini. what an oxymoron : )