Cazimi, under the sunbeams & combust: the conjunctions of the Sun

Hello again, and welcome back. After some correspondence with a friend  this week I decided to start publishing my own database on astrology. This database has been built up over the last 13 years using the interpretations editor of my computer software.  It has been systematically added to over that time with all of my observations and discoveries and I use this as my raw material when writing an  astral vision of someones birth chart.  It is now so huge that in places I can no longer add to it, the software having reached a limit to its capacity. It represents every aspect of my personal experience with astrology and so in the time intervening between writing my next entry I will be posting bits and pieces of this database for people to use, ignore or think over.  Today I give you some of my thoughts on the general nature of conjunctions with the Sun.

corona of the sun

The corona of the Sun is so bright that any planet within about 8° of the Sun will not be seen at all. This is called being ‘combust’. Even beyond that point and up to about 17° away the brightness of the Sun is still overpowering and the planet is faint. This is called being ‘under the sunbeams’. If a planet is right at the core of the Sun, within 0° 17′, then it is utterly consumed and this is called being ‘cazimi’.

So there are really three kinds of solar conjunction – cazimi, combust and under sunbeams – each of which has a somewhat different effect. Planets ‘under the sunbeams’ are said to be mildly debilitated, with this weakness increasing the closer they come to the Sun. So conjunctions between 8-17° still count as conjunctions with the Sun.[1] Closer than 8°, the weakness of the planets is said to increase to a higher degree, which is called being combust.[2] This is considered a more serious weakness implying a restriction of power and strength, as the fierceness of the Sun burns away the principle of the planet. Finally, when in the very core of the Sun at 0° 17’ or less, a planet is cazimi and is briefly strengthened by its contact and union with the solar principle, being reborn and re-forged in its own depth of being and these are conjunctions finding a true alignment between the inner self of the individual and the principle of the planet. They are often described as bestowing some kind of brilliance or genius.

This seems rather unfair since it means that there are no strong solar conjunctions except those which are almost exact, until you realise that the mainstream writings on astrology have a political philosophy which evaluates strength and power purely in material terms. A ‘good’ chart is one that makes us rich easily, ensures our perpetual emotional bliss and provides us with all that we want. The view is materialistic. But with the conjunctions to the Sun, the attachment to materialisation itself is dissolving.

Thus, what is being made combust is the detritus and silt of the planet, the outer material crust which interacts with the physical material world in which power and strength are measured very tangibly and crudely. The power of these planets is not destroyed it is simply being transferred to more spiritual and intangible realms which are sourced within. This transference is made by the fusion of our conscious awareness to and with what the planet represents, by the casting of our inner light upon it in a dazzling illumination of its entire realm and a command of that realm in our own being. The dross burns away in the light of awareness and we see the principle of the planet with brilliant illumination, but within ourselves.

Cazimi, then, leads to the most enchanted state wherein the essential meaning of the planet becomes truly inseparable from our spirit. If the planet is in a superior conjunction with the Sun (on its far side) then the effect will be stronger, because superior conjunctions represent a ‘Full Moon’ stage of the planetary cycle.[3] A cazimi Venus, for example, could easily be a nymphomaniac or ‘sex addict’, for example. It could also be a person with near supernatural charm, grace or insight into the world of feelings. Under the sunbeams a planet is warmed and vitalised and somewhat or completely invisible, meaning it is commanding and infused with our inner light but somehow ‘on the fringes’, lacking in conventional status. It becomes ethereal, alluring, unusual and dreamy. Combust planets are unorthodox and often willfully defy external direction because they are confident in their own inner unique grasp of the planets essential meaning. They are either aloof from or disinterested in the material agenda of the planet concerned but will still display its power radiantly and forcefully but somewhat enigmatically and individually.

Short answer: when a planet becomes non-visible because of the Suns light it becomes less physical and more astral in focus.

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[1] Since Mercury is very often within at least range of being under the sunbeams, the vast majority of people live with something similar, whereas with Venus there is frequently more distance and thus objectivity. This is part of the nature of Mercury – thought is more tightly bound to consciousness than emotion and it is thus more difficult to gain objectivity on its operations.

[2] Astrologers have not concluded whether conjunctions which take place at the end and beginning of signs, causing the aspect to be out of sign’, still count as a combustion or even as conjunctions, but my experience is that they do.

[3] Note that all planets except Mercury and Venus always form superior conjunctions with the Sun, as only Mercury and Venus can form inferior conjunctions. The inferior conjunction is therefore connected with the integration of the poles of the personality, thought and feeling, with the light of our being.  If we were living on Mars, then Earth could also form an inferior conjunction with the Sun, and so on.

178 comments on “Cazimi, under the sunbeams & combust: the conjunctions of the Sun

  1. Hello, my Pluto peragrin 19 degrees/31 mins. Sun 19 degrees/56 mins. A difference of 25 mins. Sun conjunct Ascendant 8 degrees.
    I fit the descriptions of cazami and combust.
    How do you explain this…would it be a cazami/combust cusp?


  2. Hi,
    I have Sun at 2 Gemini 28’15” and Mercury at 2 Gemini 51’16″R in the 9th house square. What is your interpretation of this? Is my Mercury Combust or Cazimi?

  3. I have 5 planets in Libra – Sun 16° 52′ Jupiter 16°31′ combust –
    Uranus 5°12′ Moon 4°17 Mercury 0°11′ under the sun beams – all in 10 house
    Now it’s make sense that by the age 47 I got nothing tangible and getting nowhere in my career

  4. I have Sun in Capricorn 10° 18′ in 9th house, Mercury in Capricorn (R) 13 ° 30′ in 9th house and Sun conjunction with Mercury 3° 11′ as the only aspect of Mercury. Can this combination result in reduced intellectual ability?
    Thank you if you can respond.

    • No, all this really opens up in general is the fact that it becomes hard for you to seperate your own thoughts and opinions from your own identity. Some people are able to seperate those (naturally, they will have a bigger distance between Mercury and the Sun). They would be able to say “I have this thought”, whereas people like you and I tend to go with “I am this thought”.

  5. I have read that my Aries sun forms a very wide conjunction with my Pisces Mercury (12* 50′ orb). I have also just found out that my sun also forms a very wide conjunction with my Pisces MC (9*31′ orb). I have always known that my mercury forms a fairly tight conjunction with my MC.
    What does it mean if my sun is placed within intercepted Aries, ie: there are no house cusps in Aries. Pisces is duplicated with two house cusps. I also have a stallium in intercepted libra with mars, Saturn and pluto.


    • Intercepted signs are like hidden rooms in the houses/temples that you find much greater access to once the sign on the house/temple cusp is sufficiently mastered. Before that time only natal objects in the intercepted sign and temporary transits or progressions through it provide us with what would be an average level of connection. Yet after we have made our connection to that sign it comes through much stronger.

  6. Great Post! I was wondering if Cazimi also pertains to asteroids? I have my Psyche exactly 17′ from my Sun in Leo in the 8th house.

    • By the definition I use, asteroids cannot be cazimi, since they are always non-visible:
      More specifically, this statement refers to objects in a solar conjunction, not just in the sky (so a planet in the sky during daylight hours is not counted unless it is also close to the Sun). However in practice you can see a cazimi like effect on any close conjunction with the Sun even with non-visible objects, however I would argue that this is an effect of the Suns conjunction aspect rather than the condition known as cazimi.
      Other astrologers have other ideas here, and thats fine. Take what works for you. This article is for people who want to know my personal opinion.

  7. Hi David,

    Great article on cazimi.

    Would progressed Uranus cazimi the Sun also denote a period of brilliance and genius?

    Secondly, regarding a planet cazimi Sun seeking an astral not a materialistic expression… what if you’ve been living your life astrally, ‘in the clouds’ or in the land of fantasy… might progressed Uranus cazimi Sun (in the 2nd House) be associated with a materialistic phase in your life, where you literally have to act out your earlier fantasies?

    • Great question about progressions. I honestly have not looked too deep into that, but I can see no reason why it would not apply for a time.
      Your second question I have to unpack a little so its clear what I am addressing. Astral focus for a planet does not automatically make that dimension of awareness fantasy prone and out of touch with reality. That’s a poorly handled astral focus, just as there is a poorly handled physical one. It would be more likely, in this case, that you would get an acceleration and empowerment of the fantasy prone qualities, not an inversion, although with any Uranian infuence there is always the possibilitiy of contrary and contradictory things occuring.

      • I get your point that a fantasy is a poorly handled astral focus. What a wonderful way of putting into words that someone might be losing the plot.

        But just to be clear… say you have a Jekyll and Hyde fantasy about transforming yourself into a monster of a human being, and your progressed Uranus in Gemini is exactly conjunct your Sun in Gemini. What you’re suggesting is that such a person is more likely to experience an acceleration and empowerment of that fantasy in their lives at that particular time in their life.
        Is that right?
        Might they not realise their inversion proper around that time too?

        • Yes, they might. Put it this way – Uranus is a very magical planet, and part of that magic is that it controls the event horizon at which what was previously impossible becomes not just possible but suddenly real. It has to build up a significant quantity and quality of astral significance in order to make that quantum leap, and it often uses new technology as a bridge to make those leaps.

          • Thanks for your insights. One last question. What do you mean by ‘quantity and quality of astral significance’? Do you mean how they’ve lived out their charts in the past and where they’re at now. And how this all influences their future?

          • Just as matter is the substance of the physical universe, significance is the substance of the astral universe and meaning the substance of the mental universe. Astral significance is the bond and transeiver between mental and physical reality. When enough astral significance accumulates, waves collapse into particles, and things happen, notions become physically incarnate.

  8. Do you think Its a general sense to expand the orb of the Sun for more than the old 7 degrees to the astrologers community now?

    • I think its helpful (and accurate) to think of two objects being in the same sign as having something like a conjunction going on, which I and others call co-presence , which means they are operating under the same or similar agendas. When the Lights are involved, I think this co-presence is stronger, especially when it is the Sun or a Full Moon. Yet its not a conjunction – that is much more of a pronounced effect. In my practice I will use an entire sign for co-presence of the Sun, 17° for a loose conjunction, and 7° or less for a regular conjunction.

  9. Thank you for your excellent article. Would you be able to comment on a Sun Libra at 29.18’ combust Neptune Libra at 28.1’? Neptune seems already pretty ethereal and oriented to the spiritual, to me, so how would the combust condition show up here, would you think?

    • Check the temple position. That area of life will be overflowing with imagination and a Libran desire to co-operate, bring peace, pacify and balance. A cazimi Neptune is like living in a dream world or being continually attractive to muses. Life (Sun) starts to feel like breathing in music (Neptune).

  10. Hi, I have my Venus at 28 Leo and Sun 13 Virgo. Although my Venus is visible on the date of birth , it becomes invisible later in life (like now) . Thats what I have been told by an astrologer and its kind of depressing. Does it mean its an end to LOVE relationships and career? Venus rules my 7th house cusp and my MC+11 house cusp.

    • I don’t know where you have that idea from, it’s clearly NOT that it means that 🙂 I am guessing your astrologer was talking about a progressed Venus, probably Secondary Progressed. Thats a psychological shift, it may or may not manifest externally in your life circumstances, but it does NOT mean love and career are finished!

  11. Hi, I have both Sun and Venus at 5.51 Virgo at an exact Cazimi, but my Venus happens to be also in Retrograde Motion. I would like to know the meaning of Cazimi and in Retrograde? Still strong?

    • Hi 🙂 thank you for this question. Yes it’s still a very strong cazimi. The retrograde only changes the nature of Venus to a more internal state and causes the emotional body to be more reflective and cautious in moving forward.
      Could you say something about how you experience this Virgo cazimi Venus?

      • Well, I have certain magnetic appeal even do, the retrograde motion had made me cautious, shy, uncertain and bit cynical also. My true love was born on the year when my venus moved forward from retrograde motion in my secondary progression and her birthday date sits on the midpoints of with many planets like Venus, Mars, Neptune, Sun both mine and hers…

  12. like your article had not encountered the cazimi / combust / under the beams before. I too have a venus 7 and a half degrees from the sun , and then jupiter a further 9 on so Venus is combust and Jove, under the beams. Never interested in money yet have always had enough and a good inheritance t boot.. i could not reasonably consider them ‘burnt out’. Thanks again for your article.

  13. My inner guidance told me to pay special attention to the date November 11, 2018, so I did a little research. The first thing I realized is that 2+0+1+8=11, so that makes November 11th an 11-11-11 portal. When I researched the asteroids for this date, I found that at 11:11 AM on 11-11-2018 in the Alaskan Time Zone, asteroid Deucalion (53311) will be at 19 Scorpio 22 minutes 50 seconds Rx cazimi the Sun at 19 Scorpio 22 minutes 55 seconds. That’s a pretty precise conjunction! I live in Nashville, Tennessee, in Central Time Zone, three hours away from the Alaskan time zone so where I live the Sun will be 7 minutes away from an exact conjunction at 11:11 AM. In mythology, Deucalion’s father warned him about a coming flood, so Deucalion built an ark. He and his wife were the only ones who survived and they repopulated the Earth. At 11:11 AM on the 11th, I am planning to say a prayer for the survival of humanity and for guidance and faith in the coming years.

    • thank you for this sharing Jean. I have never been a believer in the ‘freaky numbers/time’ synchronicities like 11:11. Its like ‘ascension day’ there have been too many times when it was supposed to happen. Prayers are always good though – everyone should know by now that sea levels are rising fast and getting warmer. Warm oceans hold less oyxgen, which means ocean life will die off as we get hit by global coastal flooding.
      About astrology and modern objects (asteroids, new planets etc) – I am very cautious about reading too much into the mythology of the names we give them. The classical planets gained their mythic meanings in a time when myth meant something in the world. It doesnt any more, our myths are all movie franchises now. I have serious doubts that we attribute any meaning to a thing by naming it something that has to be explained to 99% of living people. Deucalion for example. Who is that? is what most people will think on first hearing. I think thats a significant change and we should as astrologers take note and be careful about assigning such meanings in our interpretations. Better instead to do the hard work of research on Deucalion in hundreds of charts and share our findings that way.

      • This ties in with the overzealousness of appropriating Eastern archetypes and ideals into Western astrology. We barely comprehend Graeco-Roman or Teutonic/European symbology, and yet profess a deeply shamanic insight according to soporific, superficial interpretations.

        I do recommend Raven Kaldera’s ‘MythAstrology’ as a respectful and insightful–albeit broad–cross-cultural astro-symbologic synthesis.

        • Thank you, I will check it out if I find it.
          Appropriation of concepts from eastern into western and western into eastern is a tangled topic that has long been a debate everyweher but in astrology in particular. The main issue is transmission between India and Hellenistic Europe. This transmission is also important in magic. The truth is we dont know the full picture, but we can identify some things that differ in these traditions as originating in scribal errors.
          The main point being though that the transmission and cross cultural pollinaton of west and east has been ongoing for centuries, and isn’t really helpful to my mind any more (at least in terms of astrology and magic, – certainly not as a historian).

  14. Pingback: Nov 11 2019 Scorpio TRANSIT of MERCURY Eclipse Retrograde! | Cerena Childress, Astrologer!

    My SAG Mars is combust my late SCO Sun in my Ist house [“GET ‘DA FI-YAR-HOUSE–WOO-WOO!” -KISS], and my ASC-Venus-Mercury are under pressure beams. Neptune is 30’ from my ASC in officially my 12th house. Sur-PRISE…I’m a voodoo GlamGoth singer.

  16. Hello,
    you write “A cazimi Venus, for example, could easily be a nymphomaniac or ‘sex addict’, for example.”
    And what about a cazimi Neptune? how would that be manifesting?

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