Out-of-Bounds Planets

Out of Bounds

Astronomy

Planets are out-of-bounds when their declination is more than the obliquity of the ecliptic (23°27'5" in 1900, 23°26'16" in 2000, 23°25'43 in 2100) either north or south of the equator. The degree bounds, in this case, are the maximum northward and southward migration of the sun at the solstices, from an earth-based perspective. Cartographers often draw lines called the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn on maps and globes, showing this maximum migration of the sun as degrees of north and south latitude, respectively.

Because planets orbiting around the sun on the ecliptic sometimes are north or south of the ecliptic, they can have a greater declination than the current obliquity, by several degrees.

History

Katherine Boehrer (1994) is credited with the original research and coining of the term.
Some ideas to this concept were inspired by American astrologer Steven Forrest.

How often OOB

• The most common bodies to be out-of-bounds in a horoscope are Mars, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Uranus.

Also some of the Asteroids.

Jupiter is very rarely oob.

• Never out-of-bounds are the Sun, the Lunar nodes, Neptune, Chiron. Saturn has not gone out of bounds since a long time. It was most recently the case in September 253 CE, before that in the years 18, 47, 106, 165, and 194 CE.

Planet	Oob
Sun	-
Moon	15%
Mercury	13%
Venus	12%
Mars	17%
Jupiter	1%
Saturn	-
Uranus	8%
Neptune	-
Pluto	10%
Chiron	-
Lunar nodes	-

• In the Astrodienst ephemerides (picture below; variant with latitude and declination) the declination is displayed in red if it is 'out of bounds'. The out-of-bonds declination also appears in red in our data tables (PDF) for horoscope drawings

Interpretation

Out-of-bounds planets supposedly act independently, and in an unsocialized but potentially creative manner.
They can function very well in a horoscope, though. For example, an out-of-bounds moon might appear in its own sign of Cancer and be well-aspected. However, it has a reputation for behaving in original, unusual or eccentric ways.

See also

• Declination

December 2023: OOB colored in red

Weblinks

• Swiss Ephemeris for 6000 years (Astrodienst)
• Interpretation of Out of Bounds Planets (Video David Cochrane, 2014; 20 min)
• The Out of Bounds Moon (Steven Forrest, 2010)
• Those Wild Out-of-Bounds Planets (Pamela Welch, 2001)
• Out of Bounds Ephemeris – Dates (dates for Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter 1920-2030; Cafe Astrology)
• Moon Swings - The Lunar Standstill Cycle (Infinity Astrological Magazine/Astrodienst; Linea Van Horn, 2017)