When Your Ascendant Is Part Of A Grand Cross

zodiac dressHi, Elsa,

May I ask you about the ascendant taking part in a grand cross please? Do three planets in T-square and the ascendant opposition to the one, create a grand cross or is this still just a T-square where the ascendant would play a role of release?

To be as clear as I can, do we need four planets to form a grand cross or three planets and the ascendant, all in the relevant position, also form it.

Excuse me if I am not being very good at introducing this question to you. I am new at this and English is not my first language.

Learning

Hi, Learning. I understand your question and I can see why you’re confused.

I think most astrologers would see a grand cross that involves the ascendant, and call it a “grand cross”.  But the ascendant is not a planet, so technically, there is no grand cross. There are not four planets in relationship!

That said, I would not take issue with someone who called it a grand cross. This is because if the T-square is falling on the angles of a chart, it’s going to be emphasised.

Without seeing the whole chart, I can’t say the T-square would dominate. But it’s certainly going to show itself, prominently, in the person’s life.

Also, I’m not sure I agree with the ascendant being the point of release for the T-square. The ascendant is as much the beginning as it is the end. I don’t think things wind up there, so to speak.

I’d be more inclined to think the person in the world, had command of the energy created by the T-square. But I’m just speculating.

I’ll put it this way – if someone with this situation consulted with me, I would be talking about their planets on the angles of their chart, as if they owned them. The ascendant asserts itself.

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10 thoughts on “When Your Ascendant Is Part Of A Grand Cross”

  1. This is something I’ve been curious about as well. I don’t have three planets on the angles but I do have my sun in the 4th – squaring moon in the 7th opposing my ascendant and always wondered if was an honorary t-square. I knew it wasn’t a true one.

  2. I call it a grand cross…or specifically, “a grand cross, involving the ascendant”. Because planets on the angles are so powerful. They just can’t be denied.

  3. I have this. It basically means when anything by transit or progression tips any one of the points, everything goes off. You are almost always lit up. I think it provides a great opportunity to learn to control your reactivity. But it is a PITA! Thing is, you probably set it up that way before you incarnated so best just learn to deal with it and quit complaining. ?

  4. My gemini ascendent forms a T square with a tight full moon – Sun in the 10th (pisces) and moon in the 4th (virgo). Right now Saturn in Sag is making it a grand cross and is on the sun/moon midpoint. It’s a crossroads. Since I’m at retirement age, it feels like a “summing up” time and turning point – time to consider major changes for these last phases of life.

    1. Me too but a bit different. My rising is Gemini at 18° Pisces moon at 21°, Virgo sun in the fourth at 21° and Neptune at 22° I thought I just had a very tough opposition between my sun and moon.

      I love the “release” answer because heaven knows I need one and it happens to be in Gemini which I think is a good thing.

  5. I’ve been wondering the same thing ! Can the ascendant and the descendant be considered as parts of a Grand Cross or not ? It seems astrologers don’t agree on this matter. Some say yes, some say no. My Sun in Virgo (9th house) squares my Ascendant in Sagittarius and is opposite to Jupiter in Pisces (3rd house). My Descendant is in Gemini but there’s no planet in this sign. So do I have a mutable T-Square ? A mutable Grand Cross ? Nothing at all ?
    Mutable energy is quite strong in my natal chart: Mercury, Venus and North Nord are in Virgo (9th house). South Node is in Pisces (3rd house) and Pluto is in Sagittarius (12th house).
    I’m confused and I feel lost.

    1. The angles are calculated points and are not active like the planets, angles represent in degrees the rising, culminating, setting and anti-culminating points where the planets and stars would be from the Earth’s viewpoint for the time of the chart’s calculation, angles represent sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight. Only planets are considered in any planetary configurations such as a grand cross, t-square, grand trine, etc. Points have no energy, they are mathematically calculated points representing areas and places. Planets placed in angular houses with the angles approaching to conjunct are stronger as these angles are the points where planets are in their strongest positions. There is no planetary grand cross in your natal chart.

  6. I hear you.

    My Ascendant is afflicted with not only a Grand Cross – but dreaded Saturn rising (Saturn Leo, ASC; Uranus Scorpio, 3rd; Moon Aquarius, DSC; Chiron Aries, 9th).

    I often wonder why I’m still around.

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