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Astrology with Alisa
Astrology is more than just signs and symbols—it’s a tool for navigating real life. In Astrology with Alisa, I break astrology down in a way that’s easy to understand and, more importantly, easy to use. I don’t just talk about astrology—I live it. From checking transits before big meetings to understanding why my kids react differently to the same situations, astrology helps me make sense of my moods, relationships, and decision-making. Whether you’re new to astrology or already obsessed, this podcast will help you see how astrology works in real life—so you can start using it, too. Because astrology shouldn’t feel overwhelming—it should feel fun.
Astrology with Alisa
Out-of-Bounds Planets Explained ~ What It Really Means in Your Astrology Chart ✨
Out-of-bounds planets are one of astrology’s most fascinating — and most misunderstood — concepts. You may have heard astrologers casually say “The Moon is out of bounds today,” or “Mars just went out of bounds,” but what does that actually mean? And does it matter for your chart?
In this episode, we break down out-of-bounds planets in the simplest, clearest way possible.
You’ll learn what declination is (without any math), how the Sun sets the natural boundaries for every planet, and what it means when a planet travels beyond those limits.
We’ll talk about:
🔹 What “out of bounds” means and why planets behave differently there
🔹 How out-of-bounds energy shows up in personality, instincts, and reactions
🔹 Why some people naturally “color outside the lines” in life
🔹 Natal out-of-bounds planets vs. transiting out-of-bounds planets
🔹 Why the Moon goes out of bounds so frequently — and how it affects everyone
🔹 How progressions can send planets out of bounds later in life (including my own!)
🔹 Why checking OOB planets is one of the first things I do in a chart reading
And yes — I share the wild story of discovering that my progressed Mercury went out of bounds within ten days of launching this podcast. Divine timing at its finest.
By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly what it means when someone says “the Moon is out of bounds” — and how to spot the hidden brilliance an out-of-bounds planet can bring into your life.
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Astrology isn't just about signs and symbols, it's a tool for navigating real life. Hello and welcome to Astrology with Alisa. I'm your host Alisa Dixon, and I'm so glad you're here. Let's dive in.
When I first started studying astrology, I kept hearing people say things like, “The Moon is out of bounds,” “Mars is out of bounds,” or “Pluto is out of bounds right now.” And honestly, I had no idea what that meant. So today, we’re breaking this down in the simplest way possible, because once you understand it, it becomes one of the coolest tools in astrology.
A planet being “out of bounds” has to do with something called declination. Declination is just a fancy word for how far north or south a planet travels from the Earth’s equator. Most of the time when we talk about planets and where they are, we think about them moving around the zodiac wheel. That’s the longitude—the sign they’re in and the degree number we look at from 0 to 30 degrees in each sign. That’s the measurement we all recognize. Declination is different. Declination is the height of a planet—how far up or down it is above or below the equator.
And here’s where it gets interesting. When you track planets by height instead of by sign, you suddenly see that the Sun has a very specific range north and south of the equator that it never crosses. Those limits become the natural boundaries of the Sun. Every year, the Sun travels as far as 23 degrees and 26 minutes north of the equator and 23 degrees and 26 minutes south, and it never goes beyond that. That’s why we have the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. That’s why we have summer and winter solstices. Those lines mark the Sun’s outer edges. In astrology, anything within those edges is considered “in bounds”—inside the Sun’s limits. And honestly, if a planet is in bounds, it’s not a big deal. It just behaves the way you’d expect it to based on the sign it’s in.
But if a planet goes beyond where the Sun can go—even a tiny bit—that planet is officially “out of bounds.” And it becomes a little more unpredictable. It’s like the planet colors outside the lines. And this is where it gets fascinating, because when someone has a planet out of bounds in their natal chart, they usually don’t follow the usual energetic rules either. You’ve probably noticed this in people even if you didn’t have the astrology language for it. Some people naturally think outside the box. Some push past limits without even realizing it. Some don’t follow the expected social rhythm. Someone who reacts way stronger than you’d expect? Possibly out-of-bounds Mars. A close talker who ignores personal space? Possibly out-of-bounds Mercury. People with out-of-bounds planets don’t always recognize the same boundaries the rest of us live within, so their energy can show up as unconventional or just a little different.
But there’s a gift in this. These are often the people who push through things that might stop everyone else. They can go farther with that energy simply because they don’t feel the Sun’s limits. And the farther a planet goes out of bounds—north or south—the stronger the effect becomes. It’s like the energy gets amplified the farther it wanders from the Sun’s edge.
This is one of the first things I check when I read a natal chart—sometimes even before the Sun, Moon, or Rising—because out-of-bounds planets carry their own intensity, their own rhythm, and their own way of expressing themselves. And I want to know where someone’s energy might be stronger, brighter, more extreme, or more innovative than their chart suggests at first glance.
Of course, the first thing I did when I learned about out-of-bounds planets was check my own chart. I didn’t have any of the major planets out of bounds, but I did have Ceres out of bounds—a dwarf planet bigger than Pluto—and we’ll definitely talk about her in a future episode. Then I checked the charts of the people closest to me, and sure enough, I found Mercury out of bounds, Mars out of bounds, Uranus out of bounds… and suddenly a lot of the quirks I’d always noticed made perfect sense. How they think. How they act. How they react. Out-of-bounds energy just expresses differently.
And here’s the fun part—even if you don’t have natal out-of-bounds planets, your progressed chart might. We are always evolving. And this year, my progressed Mercury went out of bounds—the same year I started podcasting about astrology, which is pretty “out of bounds” for the corporate banking sales identity I had for most of my adult life. When I looked ahead, I saw that my progressed Mercury stays out of bounds for the next fifteen years. And in a few years, my progressed Venus will go out of bounds too.
I didn’t even notice this right away. I saw it by accident while preparing this episode. And when I traced it back, I realized my progressed Mercury went out of bounds within ten days of my podcast launch. Isn’t that wild? So check your progressions—you might be living an out-of-bounds chapter without even knowing it.
Now let’s talk about out-of-bounds planets in real time, because this energy isn’t just personal—it moves through the collective too. And when planets go out of bounds in real time, we all feel it. The Moon is the perfect example. The Moon goes out of bounds all the time—every month for a few days. And when it does, our emotions can feel a little extra, a little more raw, a little more reactive, a little more dramatic. And everyone feels that. So now when someone says, “The Moon is out of bounds,” I don’t treat it like breaking news—but I do make a mental note that the emotional weather of the day might feel a little heightened. It’s not unusual, but it is helpful.
So why do out-of-bounds planets matter? Because they highlight your originality, your creative brilliance, your rule-breaking genius. But they can also show the places where life feels a little more intense, a little harder to manage, or a little unpredictable. Understanding this helps you work with the energy instead of being blindsided by it. It helps you see your natural wiring, your hidden strengths, and your gifts.
So now, when someone says, “The Moon is out of bounds,” or “Mars is out of bounds this week,” you know exactly what it means. It’s just a planet moving higher or lower than the Sun ever goes and showing up a little differently than usual—sometimes extra, sometimes intense, sometimes brilliant, but always interesting.
Check your natal chart. Check your progressed chart. You might discover an out-of-bounds genius living inside you. And if you’d like my help finding it, understanding it, or making sense of what it means in your life right now, you can always book a reading with me—the link is in the show notes.
Don’t forget to grab your Free Moon Sign Self-Care Guide on my website—a personalized way to support yourself and the people you love based on your Moon signs. Listeners are loving it, and it’s completely free, my gift to you. Just head to www.astrologywithalisa.com pop in your email address, and I’ll send it right to you.
And one more thing—I now offer digital gift cards on my website. If you’d love to receive an astrology reading from me as a gift, tell your family and friends. They can easily go online and gift you a reading—or you can gift one to someone you love.
As always, I love and appreciate you all. Thank you so much for listening. Take care, and I’ll see you next time.
