What exists beyond the declination of 23.27 degrees is out of bounds.

This is a term in astrology which directly correlates with the latitude lines of both the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Because of the tilt in the Earth’s axis, the Sun’s effect on Earth varies in declination along these Tropics lines. Anything above 23.27 degrees in latitude, north or south of the Equator, registers as out of bounds.

In a natal chart, the degrees of the planets are listed in longitude. You won’t know if you have out of bounds planets until you see their declination.

This is a very pared down description but I’ll try to sum it up better: When a planet goes beyond the maximum 23.27 declination, north or south, it is outside the boundary limits of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This is considered out of bounds.

Think of out of bounds as free space. Almost like another dimension. It’s difficult to really articulate how it can affect a human being, other than that it encourages some form of eccentricity. This is different than Uranian weirdness. What exists between the margins of what is tangible is a kind of liminal space – where ideas and expressions are waiting to emerge from the dream. It is a feeling of being on a precipice, accompanied by the uncomfortable feeling that the liminal has no threshold.

People with out of bounds planets (particularly personal planets) will be extremely unusual in some way.  Bjork has both Venus and Mars out of bounds. Her uniqueness need not be explained. Albert Einstein had his moon out of bounds. This can indicate genius but also an ability to disregard the rules for the sake of discovery.

I’ll come back to out of bounds aspects in the natal chart. Right now I want to explore a broader brush stroke.

Because declination represents the degree of distance of a celestial sphere to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, latitude represents an actual position on Earth. The connection between these two seems difficult to ignore. The regions of the world that fall just above 23.27 degrees of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn have produced the most extraordinary cultures.

Mexico begins this journey in North America at 23.63 degrees latitude, just slightly above the Tropic of Cancer. If we consider anything above 23.27 all the way to 29 degrees, then we should include these countries/cities/regions: New Orleans, the Bahamas, the Burmuda Triangle, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Eqypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Northern India, Nepal, Southern China and Taiwan.

Countries above or along the Tropic of Capricorn: Easter Island, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Australia and French Polynesia.

Mexico, Eqypt, India, China, Jordan and Brazil contain the majority of the world’s seven wonders.

There is a different rhythm – maybe a strong frequency – in these regions. There might be more solar radiation, or maybe just a pronounced feeling of liminal space. Whichever the case, these out of bounds regions have produced and destroyed some of the world’s most fascinating civilizations.

The Mayans, The Babylonians, The Sumerians, The Aztecs, The Egyptians, The Minoans (especially if they did occupy the mysterious land mass called Atlantis), The Carthaginians, The Akkadians, The Phoenicians….all were part of advanced civilizations that no longer exist. These regions have the most fertile land and of course that was what drew so many people to them, but their understanding of the Cosmos was so advanced I wouldn’t hesitate to call it genius.

The Dogon Tribe of Mali, which still exists, has such a brilliant understanding of astronomy and mathematics that very few scholars believed they came up with this knowledge on their own. These scholars, of course, have not spent any significant amount of time in these regions. The Dogon are in tune with a kind of cosmic intelligence that is indicative of that out of bounds trademark.

If Einstein could develop an equation to explain mass-energy equivalence by intuiting that as an object approached the speed of light, the mass of the object increased, then he was arguably just providing a language for what he could already visualize in his mind. Not by rational scientific analysis – but by stepping beyond the boundary of discovery. His famous quote that he so beautifully articulated:

“We are slowed down sound and light waves, a walking bundle of frequencies tuned into the Cosmos. We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music.”

To elaborate further on those with natal out of bounds planets: there is more to unpack than just genius level intuition. If out of bounds constitutes free space, then the likelihood of any rules at all would not apply. Out of bounds natives can sometimes lack a moral compass. These are outsider types, after all. Not fitting into society can manifest in different ways.

Psychological pathologies can be one manifestation. Disregarding the values of others, or even criminal behavior can be part of an out of bounds personality. Especially those with an out of bounds moon.

Out of bounds moon outcasts like Kurt Cobain and Henry David Thoreau chose different ways out of society. One couldn’t imagine anywhere on earth he wanted to be, the other chose to live in the woods.

Cat Stevens, Tom Waits, Billy Holliday, Freddy Mercury, John Cage, Yoko Ono – as a musician, these are out of bounds folks that immediately leap to my mind. Of course there are many more.

Roman Polanski has an out of bounds moon. While he is certainly a genius as a filmmaker, he definitely established himself as someone who flouts the rules and gets in trouble for it.

Sharpshooter Annie Oakley had an out of bounds moon, as did the spiritual guru Ram Dass.

Judy Garland had an out of bounds Venus and Mars. She struggled deeply with so much pressure in Hollywood, but arguably, there are few entertainers who made a bigger impact than she did.

I wonder if a group of out of bounds natives formed a settlement along one of these out of bounds regions of the world what would happen? If they could find any sort of agreement on anything, something miraculous might be created. Or maybe the energy would be so elusive that they all just disappear.