Cazimi

Cazimi is a traditional term for a planet within 17 arc-minutes (about 0.28 degrees) of exact conjunction with the Sun. While planets near the Sun are generally weakened by combustion, a cazimi planet is considered "in the heart of the king" -- sitting on the throne and receiving the Sun's full power. The distinction is dramatic: just a fraction of a degree separates total debilitation from total empowerment. Cazimi moments are rare and extremely potent, marking brief windows of extraordinary clarity related to that planet's significations. Mercury cazimi, for instance, happens a few times a year and is prized for important communications, contracts, or decisions. In natal charts, a cazimi planet is one of the most powerful placements possible -- that planet's themes are fused with your core identity in a way that's hard to ignore. Medieval astrologers treated cazimi as the ultimate exception to the combustion rule: the planet isn't burned by the Sun, it's crowned by it.