Interceptions


Interceptions are an oddity that go unnoticed if using an equal house system. It is my belief that all houses aren’t equal. Perhaps all areas of life were originally created and intended to be equal but through our learning and growing process inequalities occur temporarily. I use Placidus house system most of the time. But others work just as well, some resonating better than others to each person. The unequal house systems  show me where more and less room and emphasis is given. Interceptions occur for longer periods of time at greater latitude.  I notice that at the equator a sign will be intercepted for 1 minute or 8 minutes (I never saw another  amount of time interval at that location), then there will be a couple hour period with no interception in between. As we near 45 degrees north, there are periods of about an hour and a half with 3 signs taking their turn being intercepted then maybe 30 minutes to an hour with no sign intercepted.

The earth bulges at the equator. The equatorial bulge occurs because  of the rate of speed the earth is spinning on it’s axis or it‘s daily orbital motion. Apparently, in the beginning the bulge was much greater and as we are gradually spinning slower the bulge is decreasing. The earth is attempting to become more round. Gravity is slightly less at the poles than at the equator. A clock using a pendulum runs about 2 ½ minutes slower at the equator than when placed 45 degrees north. This was one of the first examples used to prove the earth bulged. If there were no bulge at the equator, the waters would flood everything. The current accepted ratio of this bulge is 1:297. If you were to divide the earth into 12 segments you’d see the segments covering the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn include more space than the other segments. I see the cardinal signs intercepted the most, mutable 2nd most and the fixed signs intercepted the least in the charts I’ve worked with. The fixed signs are also intercepted for the least amount of time, often only 1 or two minutes. But, as we all know, the fixed signs are about what is fixed and cannot be changed. This doesn’t cover as much area as what is changeable. But, the fixed areas are also harder to change if we’ve gotten into the habit of attempting to violate the universal laws.

My understanding of interceptions came from a synthesis of two different astrologer’s ideas. The first is Barbara Hand Clow in her book of Chiron. The second is Mary Devlin in her book Astrology & Past Lives. Referring to Chiron intercepted along the Virgo/Pisces axis on pages 191-192 Ms. Clow states,

“…Many find retrograde planets and interceptions hard to understand, but great progress is made as soon as it is clear that retrogrades are a time dynamic altering perception, and interceptions are a place dynamic altering perception. With an interception, the houses intercepted indicate a past and present life karmic dynamic; I.e., they show a past-life-karmic failure which will be dealt with in this lifetime no matter what.

Interceptions are very Chirotic because they are always a sign that the soul has set up the dynamic to force the issue in this lifetime. It is as if Uranus is going to electrify and push consciousness until Saturn takes control of the past-life failure and disciplines the soul into manifesting the issue. Be prepared for a strong statement: I have never yet had a client with an interception who wasn’t mastering their karmic failure and giving the gift indicated by the interception. I have puzzled over this for years and I didn’t understand what might be happening until I really experienced the teaching which says that we have the same rising sign degree with each incarnation in a cycle; that the Sabian symbol is a reading of the soul throughout all lifetimes. So when there is an interception the client has created an alteration in the dynamic in order to accomplish something very karmic.”

“…The intercepted house polarity is the part of consciousness that the native feels like a complete failure about, when it is in fact the part of themselves that is developing the most.”

So it stands to reason that the soul will probably not have opportunity or desire to move very far away until their purpose for this interception is resolved. It is interesting to go through a day, minute by minute to see the interceptions changing or disappearing. Fixed signs are intercepted the least and a fixed sign intercepted with fixed signs ruling 2 houses is even more rare, at least where I live. On a given day I checked,  this only happened during 4 periods lasting 14, 20, 20 and 14 minutes.

The second half of my understanding came from Mary Devlin who covers all the karmic configurations shown in the chart explaining the balancing of each axis around the chart. In summary, the 6 themes are: 

The synthesis of these two women’s work led me to the following conclusion that has been proven true over and over:

The intercepted signs show a karmic imbalance that has occurred, now to be finally resolved and brought into balance. The lack of balance may be within the person’s own development or is suited to assist other’s with balancing this axis. The interception acts as a magnet to draw into the life opportunities and events which will guarantee success during this lifetime. Because of this imbalance another axis has gained authority and dominance in two different areas of life. This is shown by the signs ruling 2 houses instead of their allotted one. The first pair shows the deficiency the intercepted imbalance resulted in. Or, it could also show what caused the imbalance shown by the interception. The second pair of houses shows where the deficiency is projected or which area of life may manifest the imbalance. If there is also a karmic configuration of planets found in the chart, more information can be found as to the specifics of how this imbalance occurred and can be balanced. 

The most important thing for a person with an interception to know is that there is no need for feeling like a failure or feeling guilty, which is often the case. The nature of the interception causes feelings of frustration.  When looked at objectively, it will be clear that the axis is well on its way toward balance, especially by mid life.

I have also seen that interceptions in temporary charts such as the Solar Return or Progressions can act as a magnet to force something that has gone wrong, into the light to be rectified. I see the potential here for spotting a commercial opportunity if the need can be recognized and filled. For example, an interception of Cancer/Capricorn in 3/9 in the Progressed chart of a home builder for a number of years could show an opportunity to fill the need for student housing. Currently, in my home town there is a promise to pay college tuition for anyone graduating from the public high school. This opens the opportunity to buy and upgrade homes that are in need of repair, making neighborhoods inviting to those who would want to take advantage of the Kalamazoo Promise.

Another interesting article on the interception can be found at: http://rosicrucian.com/sia/siaeng38.htm

I’ll share an example. Male born February 9, 1950, 7:24 am EST, Kalamazoo, MI, USA, Asc: 10Leo05, Placidus house system. 

Interception Chart

The blue marks the areas involved in the interception while the red shows a karmic configuration. To learn about  karmic configurations see Karmic Clues. 

Aries/Libra is intercepted across the values axis with Gemini/Sagittarius ruling both 3/9 and 4/10. The theme that is out of balance is Liberty vs. Law or Me vs. We or You. Putting in into the 2/8 axis gives Me and mine vs. you, yours, we and ours. It is clear the problem is with the Aries side since Mars is in the sign of his detriment and Venus doesn’t know what is going on since she’s peregrine and tucked away in the 12th house. This is confirmed with the south node being in Libra. Mars has accidental dignity by being in the 8th where he naturally rules. Venus has accidental dignity also, being in the house that exalts her. The 2/8 axis is about skills and value. Gemini/Sagittarius having double power ruling 4/10 and 5/11 show that there is a lack of communication and/or education in the family and/or field of career that is projected onto the children and love axis. There was no communication to speak of between the parents and formal education wasn’t highly valued. If there was any kind of higher learning in the spiritual realm, it wasn’t shared. There was one attempt to attend a church but it was a negative experience. The first dating experience came to an abrupt ending because the parent didn’t approve of his not being affiliated with a church.  The native attempted to attend college but quit after 6 months, partly because of the work load and partly because of money. Primary education was highly successful without any effort so perhaps the self discipline wasn’t there to stick to something more of a challenge. The parents helped the younger siblings financially with college, but not him.

Mercury, ruler of 4 and 5 is in mutual reception with Saturn in the house of the partner in signs of traditional manual labor and service. The 7th is the house of grandparents and shows the family tradition more in line with blue collar rather than white collar work. The wife spent much time providing manual labor building two homes with him, caring for the family and his needs. Although she didn’t have the skills to initiate building a home on her own, she was a good partner in carrying it to completion when the resources were made available. Jupiter, ruling 10 and 11, is placed in the 1st, very close to the Sun. The difference in degrees, very interestingly, shows the number of years age difference between him and his wife of 28 years. Jupiter is peregrine also.

That main problem in the marriage was placing value on what the partner contributed to the marriage and family that didn’t generate income and looking at it as an equal contribution to his. The hardest lesson to learn with Aries/Libra is that we have no rights that take away another person’s rights. That doesn’t leave much. You would think our choice of clothing might be one area that we should have complete freedom but if the person we choose to live with is allergic to wool, then we would have to forfeit that right. Anything we want to claim as our right also carries responsibilities. If we want our partner to care for our home and children then the responsibility that follows is providing for their needs financially. If we want the privilege of  pursuing a career and hobby then the partner has to be allowed and supported equally in their pursuits.

This native, while a good provider with all the skills necessary, withheld those resources when they didn’t suit his wants or needs. He refused things that would benefit the rest of the members of the family for his own selfish goals. When his wife took the resources and sent their oldest son at 14 to compete in the adult world at the community college he withheld even an acknowledgment of his successfully completing Biology with over 100%, making the Dean’s list for high achievement. He never valued what the wife contributed to the family, resenting if she ever contributed to the outside world. There was no discussion as a couple to compromise or find solutions. He often said, “If you don’t like it, divorce me,” which eventually did happen. During the divorce he publicly attacked his wife, accusing her of neglect of their children’s education, having home schooled their children for the previous 20 years. It was one last power play to try and force her to conform to his wants. When they separated he left her with the previous months bills and withheld income, even shut off the garbage service. (Notice the Scorpio Moon as the focal point of the fixed t-square.) His attorney advised him he should start sending support before the judge orders it but he sent less than he knew it should have been.

The educational deficiency projected onto the children is clearly the home school issue, along with the withholding support and acknowledgment for his children’s educational successes, both in primary and higher education. The deficiency in communication that was projected onto his children could very well be a lie he told to them when he went to his adult son’s home saying he needed a place to stay. He told his adult children that their mom made up a lie, saying he attacked her, called the police and got a restraining order against him. He said that they would need to come with him if he goes to visit their younger brothers, as a witness. The truth is, he tried to choke her a couple of years earlier and drag her down the basement stairs, as witnessed by the younger children. She never called the police and never shared any of this with the older children, not wanting to involve them in her marital problems. He also threatened to take sex by force on one occasion but she locked herself in the bathroom and called her dad. All of this is clearly represented by the interception, especially with Mars conjunct Neptune in the 2nd of the wife.

Since the divorce he has been forced to provide more properly for his children, both with his income and his time. It’s interesting he has been able to provide such things as a garage, riding lawn mower, fishing boat for himself when he could never provide those things for his family. How much value or quality the time has, I don’t know, but it is on purpose time with the visitation schedule set. One area he always showed encouragement toward his sons involves hunting, a Martial activity, because it is his hobby. Interesting that his teenage son got 100% on his Hunter’s Safety course last fall but he didn’t even get a license to take him hunting for the first time. So his son’s effort and success has laid dormant, repressed an denied. He is learning to do for himself and value what other people contribute, I’m sure. While he hasn’t yet learned to pay his debts properly, that is coming when the time is right, through the law. He has attracted several occasions during his life where a set amount for his service was agreed upon, only to have the other party withhold in the end. This is a reflection of his interception. His son borrowed a sum of money from him and filed bankruptcy, another example of values and money intercepted. These things will end when he finally balances the Liberty vs. Law axis, guaranteed, he will.