The T-Cross







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 “stressful 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 “energy” 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 (“luck”, 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 “Woody 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 “energy” 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 “self-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 “luck”, 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 (“The 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.