What makes a cusp?
A cusp is on the edge.
“Mathematics A point at which a curve crosses itself and at which the two tangents to the curve coincide.”¹
“A transitional point or time, as between two astrological signs [or houses as in a house cusp].”¹
A cusp is the overlapping area between one zodiac star sign and another. Every year the start and end day of a sign can change. The day a sign starts is often as early as the 18th and ends as late as the 24th of one month to another depending upon the month. I consider the area on or near the day to be the cusp; however, some astrologers would say the cusp is only the first or last day of a sign, not days near it.
The cusp effect
I believe a cusp has an effect; however, some astrologers believe a cusp has no effect. Librarising.com is one such astrologer that says a cusp has no effect and rather it’s the Mercury, Venus, or some other planet that causes one to sense that. Sound thought, for sure!
However I am not often into looking at things in a black and white way since there’s no room for anything else. I see a lot of Grey all over the place. Therefore, I don’t believe much in the you are either one way or another. I believe human beings are far too complex and generally freedom seeking to be forced to stay put in a cubby hole; we like to spread!
Natives who are born on a cusp, often demonstrate strong traits of the sign on the cusp of their zodiac sign.
So say you are a Capricorn and the first day of Capricorn the year you were born was December 19th, you would also demonstrate qualities of a Sagittarius and be considered born on the cusp. If you were born on January 20 (the last day of Capricorn that year) and January 21 was considered the first day of Aquarius, you would be a Capricorn on the Aquarius cusp displaying more Aquarius traits as Capricorn is almost phased out. Having said that, your traits will still be distinctly Capricorn as suits your needs.
There will also be a dual masculine / feminine nature to the native’s self-identification.
Difficulty guessing sign
When I have a hard time guessing someone’s sun sign it’s either because of a powerful Ascendant, Moon or they are on the cusp and therefore exhibiting a confused presence. And perhaps that’s a good thing, especially for the Scorpio cusps. 
I believe in cusps not only for the sun sign but for every luminary, planet sign and house in a chart.
So 0 degree Venus in Leo would actually have a Cancer-Leo love nature with behaviours and traits fluctuating and changing depending upon mood and circumstance. Therefore a 29 degree Venus in Leo would be close in temperament to a Virgo, exhibiting both Leo AND Virgo qualities. The degrees (which are determined based on the day the sign moved into the planetary influence) is the reason for out-of-sign planetary aspect contacts by orb. And this is why a 2 degree Aries Sun will not trine (by orb) a 25 degree Leo Sun in synastry. Another example: 27 degree Aries Sun and a 1 degree Gemini Sun actually become Sun Conjunct Sun even though it’s out-of-sign.
Choosing one sign over the other
Some Sun cuspies have made a decision to be one sign or the other and then play up that sign. As with anything, the more one affirms something, the more likely it is to become true. And this is one way to better ourselves such as channeling another sign’s attributes.
¹ The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company Added words in brackets are my words!
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