The Grand Cross
Think of someone who is always holding four things together at once: work, family, a cause, a relationship, each pulling a different way. They never get to drop any of them, and somehow they never do. That is a grand cross: pressure from every direction, and the strength that grows from carrying it.
A grand cross is four planets roughly 90 degrees apart, forming two oppositions and four squares. Drawn on the wheel, it is a square, or a cross, through the middle of the chart.
Grand Cross. Two oppositions locked by four squares, usually in one modality. Pressure from every side, and great staying power once it is met.
How to spot it
Look for two long red lines (oppositions) crossing each other at right angles, with their ends linked by squares. Check the four signs: a classic grand cross has all four in the same modality.
The cross of the four seasons
Here is a less-known image. The four cardinal signs mark the four turning points of the year: the two equinoxes and the two solstices. A cardinal grand cross touches all four. The fixed signs, meanwhile, are traditionally linked with the four creatures, the bull, lion, eagle and human figure, and the four Royal Stars. A grand cross gathers all four directions of its modality into one life.
- Planets
- 4
- Built from
- 4 squares, 2 oppositions
- Usually in
- One modality
Is there a pattern in your chart?
Grand trines, T-squares, stelliums: see which shapes your planets make.
