Venus has been mighty close to the Sun lately as they travel through Libra.  And on the 24th, she becomes what was known to ancient astrologers as cazimi. 

So, in honor of this, I’m writing a fast and dirty about what that and similar terms mean.

Alright.

These terms are uniquely for planets near the Sun. He is the center of it all and this applies to him and those in his ‘court,’ only.

When a planet is:

• 8 1/2  – 17 degrees from the Sun, it is known as under the beams
• within 8 degrees—combust 
• 17 minutes or under, this planet is cazimi or sitting in the lap of the king or in the heart of the king

The above states are considered weak or strong depending on proximity to the Sun.  Cazimi is strong, combust is weak, under the beams is weakened but not to the degree of combust.

Mercury, Venus and the Moon move the fastest around the zodiac (the former two are never far from the Sun to begin with), therefore they are the 3 we see this applied to the most.

Also, Mercury and Venus are the only planets to form superior AND  inferior conjunctions to the Sun (all others form only superior). This is due to the fact the orbit’s of Venus and Mercury are inside the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. More info here.

Researching this I noticed there is NO set standard of orb, so they will vary from source to source, albeit slightly. Above is the general consensus.

Another thing I noticed is that most astrologers require the Sun and other planet to be in the same sign to be combust, cazimi, etc. Again no definitive answer on what happens when a tight conjunction occurs out of sign.

Ok, I compiled some links to further illustrate these definitions and their interpretations. More here and still more here.

You will find that there are many, many sites about the use of these terms in Vedic astrology, but not many for Western astrology.

As for the current heavens, I will consider Venus combust the Sun until she ingresses into Sagittarius—yes, her whole journey through Scorpio!!

Lona