The Vertex and Anti-Vertex in Synastry

When your Vertex is contacted by another person’s planet or point, a fated relationship is indicated. In my article which looked at common Synastry Aspects in the charts of married couples, I noticed the Vertex and/or Anti-Vertex of at least one of the partners was often activated. Strong Vertex and Anti-Vertex aspects in the Composite chart also indicate a fated union. Indeed, Composite Charts featuring a Vertex/Descendant conjunction are common among married, fated, “meant-to-be” relationships.

What is the difference between the Vertex and Anti-Vertex? The Vertex is considered a “second Ascendant,” while the Anti-Vertex is considered a “second Descendant.” As such, Vertex connections in synastry signify a highly personal connection. Some astrologers have said that the Anti-Vertex is less significant than the Vertex, but based on personal experience, as well as my observations of other synastry charts, I disagree. Perhaps these astrologers the Vertex is stronger in synastry because it is always found in someone’s 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, or 9^th houses, which are the houses that represent our relationships with “others.” Having someone else’s planets in these houses (especially the 5^th, 7^th, and 8^th houses), conjunct the Vertex or not, indicate a high level of compatibility and intimacy. The Anti-Vertex, on the other hand, is located in the opposite house of the Vertex (the 11^th, 12^th, 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd houses), which relate to personal concerns and our private worlds. As such, if conjunctions to the Anti-Vertex occur in synastry, this person may become a significant part of your “inner world.” As someone who has had conjunctions to both my Vertex and Anti-Vertex in synastry, I can tell you the “pull” is equally strong in both cases.

The Vertex and anti-Vertex show us who we are unconsciously attracted to. When Vertex and Anti-Vertex aspects show up in synastry or composite, the two people are irresistibly attracted to one another. The Vertex owner feels the planet/point person is the “man/woman of their dreams.” You usually meet each other unexpectedly and ‘out of the blue.” It is fate that brings the two of you together, and you immediately feel a strong connection when you first meet. The feeling that the other person will change your life can be quite strong. You feel for this person in a way you’ve never felt before.

You will meet this person when your Vertex/Anti-Vertex is contacted by a transiting planet. I’ve also found that strong Vertex/Anti-Vertex connections in the Solar Return indicate the year in which you will meet that special someone.

For example, the year I met a man with whom I have a Vertex-Venus aspect in synastry, my Solar Return chart showed a Vertex-North Node conjunction in the 5^th house of love and romance. In addition, the day I met him, transiting Mars was conjunct my natal Venus exactly.

Synastry Aspects with the Vertex

Sun- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: The Sun person’s ego expression and core-being encapsulates the Vertex person’s idea of the perfect mate. An instant friendship is indicated. There is a feeling of destiny between the two of you, and you feel that you can go the distance together.

Moon- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: This is an indication of an emotional, supportive, and nurturing connection. The Vertex person is unconsciously attracted to the Moon person’s emotional nature. There is a natural attraction to one another; you feel instantly safe and comfortable with one another. In fact, it can be so comfortable and wonderful, that it is difficult to be without one another!

Mercury- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: A strong intellectual and mental link exists when someone’s Mercury is conjunct or opposite another person’s Vertex. The two of you feel instinctively comfortable talking with one another. Unless there are strong romantic links in the rest of the synastry, this combination can feel like a brotherly-sisterly connection. I have this with a close friend of mine. I love talking to him, and I’m so attracted to his mind.

Venus- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: This is a prime indicator of a fated, romantic link that will change your life forever. The feelings of love and romance are incredibly strong. The Vertex person finds the Venus person beautiful, charming, and the “man/woman of their dreams.” The love is so strong that separating from one another is incredibly difficult.

Mars- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: This indicates a highly sexual link. The sexual charisma and assertiveness of the Mars person is highly attractive to the Vertex person. Sex is transformative and intense; you can’t get enough of one another!

Jupiter- Vertex/Anti-Vertex:  This connection indicates a benevolent union, full of generosity, good will, and indulgence! The two of you (especially the Vertex person) feel good about yourselves when you are together. The Jupiter can improve your career life and help you achieve your ambitions.

Saturn- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: The Saturn person acts as a stabilizing force in the Vertex person’s life. The Saturn person may be somewhat of a “fatherly” type to the Vertex person, offering practical advice and guidance. Saturn represents “karma,” while the Vertex represents “fate,” so the relationship is likely to have a highly significant effect on the both of them. The feeling of responsibility and commitment to the Saturn person is high, and it will be hard for the couple to separate because of this.

Uranus- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: The Uranus person acts as a revolutionizing, destabilizing force in the Vertex person’s life. The attraction is high, as is the sense of excitement when the two of them get together. Uranus opens the Vertex person’s mind to a variety of possibilities. The area in which the Uranus person revolutionalizes the Vertex person is represented by the house in which the conjunction resides.

Neptune- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: The Vertex person is magically drawn to the Neptune person. The Vertex person easily “loses” herself in the Neptune person, and feels as though the Neptune person fulfills their innermost dreams and fantasies of the perfect mate. This is a highly spiritual, magnetic, and dreamy relationship.

Pluto- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: The Pluto person has a transformative effect on the Vertex person. The two of you were destined to meet, indeed. This is an opportunity for the Vertex person’s personal growth, which will be achieved by a highly intense and sexual relationship with the Pluto person. Check which house the conjunction is in to get more details as to what kind of transformation will take place.

Node- Vertex/Anti-Vertex: This is one of the prime indicators of marriage in synastry. The Vertex person has a powerful effect on the Node person’s personality, helping them develop the qualities they need to develop in this life. The two of you were fated to meet, and were destined to learn a lot from one another. An instant sense of familiarity is indicated, since the South Node is being aspected by the other person’s Vertex or Anti-Vertex, as well. The two of you have certainly met before, and have unfinished business to take care of. The attraction is magnetic, powerful, and will transform the both of you forever. Check the house position the conjunction resides in order to get a better idea of how these energies will manifest in each person’s life.

For example, the love of my life’s North Node is conjunct my Vertex in the 8^th house in Cancer. Our relationship was highly intimate, transformative, and sexually intense (8^th house), as well as nurturing, loving, and caring. I greatly helped him develop sexually, as well as emotionally, and he had a similar effect on me. I will never, ever forget him, and he is still hanging on to our relationship, even though we broke up a long time ago.

Ascendant-Vertex: When someone’s Vertex is conjunct your Ascendant, your Vertex is conjunct their Ascendant. This is an indicator of an intense attraction. The two of you may easily stay together for the rest of your lives because of the intense attachment you feel for one another. The physical attraction is off the charts, and the feeling of attraction is instant. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have this aspect.

Descendant-Vertex: The two of you are inexplicably drawn to one another. A feeling of fatedness permeates your relationship. This is an excellent indicator of marriage or, at least, a very significant relationship, which will transform both person’s concepts of love and relationships forever.

Source: http://starscopestoday.wordpress.com/tag/venus-anti-vertex-synastry/

Astrology and your Soul’s Purpose

by Astrology Express

Life is fleeting and once that realization fully dawns one’s quest for meaning becomes very intense. Anything can trigger that bone deep realization: being close to death, falling in love, having a child or even wanting to realize a dream.

But it’s not just life-changing events that lead us to ask searching questions and explore our hearts; a life turned dull will do it. When I am with 20 somethings who have so many desires and limited means, I always tell them, “The money will come.” It does, too. Look at people in their 30s. Hard work, expertise and persistence pays off and they have the affluent and well organized lives they wanted. But with this comes curtailed freedom, ever growing responsibilities, stress and a dearth of time. The song that sings in younger hearts gets muted and as we age, we are perpetually running on the proverbial hamster wheel: making more materialistically and yet feeling a growing sense of dissatisfaction.

Assuredly it doesn’t happen to everyone because there are those people who seem to have a perpetual glow, an unlimited fund of energy and enthusiasm for their work and their lives whether they are 30, 40, 50 or 60. And there are others whose lives are criss-crossed by boredom and stress followed by binges or anything that perpetuates a peak experience. But the peak experiences are rare and most of life just seems mundane, dull, without luster. A meaningless exercise in fact.

So what’s going on? Losing touch with the soul purpose. When you’re in touch with your soul purpose and keep it in the forefront of your consciousness, your life becomes magical, meaningful, delightful. And you can experience it anywhere, anytime, no matter what you do or who you are.

Although there are sets of activities (or occupations) that are associated with different signs, what is even more important is our stance towards life. The signs that are predominant in your chart hold the key. You can read the below for your sun, moon and ascendant. And if you’re familiar with astrology or your chart and know the key astrological themes that operate for you, read for those.

These are small reminders or mantras that’ll reconnect you with your soul purpose. They’ll align you with the reason for your incarnated and once that alignment happens, life becomes enchanting.

Aries: I am the new, the birth. I am spring. I am vigor and courage. And everywhere I go I bring courage. I am the pioneer. I am here to overcome obstacles and this is my gift to every situation and to the people I meet.

Taurus: I am stability and safety and comfort. I am endurance and persistence. I am of the earth and I am here to participate in its bounty. I remind others by my presence of these things and I stabilize everything I touch, everyone I meet. This is my gift to the world at every moment of my life.

Gemini: I am curiosity and mental engagement. I am a love for language and words. I am the eye that notices every shine and sheen and follows it. I am the spirit seeking to learn and explore the world around it. In every moment, with every one I meet, I give the gift of my verbal dexterity and the unending charm of a mind that never loses its yearning for more and that stays forever young.

Cancer: I am the realm of feelings and moods and tears and laughter. I am the seeker and creator of warm cocoons of domesticity, of home. In every moment and in every interaction, I bring my sensitivity and infuse the world with the magical element of emotion. This is my gift and the world is enriched because of it.

Leo: I am joy and spontaneity and the sense of play tinged with drama and splashes of glamour. Wherever I go my vividness makes colors brighter for others and people feel more alive. I am the theater of life; courage and inspiration flow from my heart and this is the gift I give to the world around me and to myself.

Virgo: I am the seeker and keeper of details. I am the furrowed brow of intense focus on tasks. I radiate a quiet purity of purpose and my planet needs this to keep things spinning and functioning efficiently and effectively. I am the micro details that make all the difference. This is my joy and this is my gift to everyone whose lives I touch through my work.

Libra: I am tact and diplomacy, the twin pillars of peace and civilization. I need beauty and everything I do or am wears a mantle of loveliness. Colors, tones, hues, symmetry, harmony these are my areas of focus and I make the lives of everyone better when I pursue these. I give beauty and peace and harmony as gifts to everyone who’s around me.

Scorpio: I am intensity and a penetrating gaze that always seeks the truth below the surface of things. I am the unflinching gaze that can look at death, decay, deception and corruption and then shine a healing light on them by bringing them out of the darkness and into consciousness where they can be purged. Healer, detective, truth teller, there are the gifts of my soul to the world around me.

Sagittarius: I am the explorer, the wanderer. I am an unbound quest for distant horizons. I am the spirit of hope every gamble. The world is my home, I belong to no country but the country of truth. I am the clear and honest gaze that questions everything so that belief systems are in a constant state of renewal. This is my gift of the spirit for my world and its people.

Capricorn: I am the elder and I wear the mantle of my responsibility with a serious gravity. I am hard work and ambition and the builder of structure and empires. My contributions are solid and lasting and practical. I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders with an innate gravity and willingness; and I bring this to the world as my gift.

Aquarius: I can be quirky and eccentric because I am here to blast through what is no longer working. I seek to clear what has become ossified and replace it with something that will serve the future better. I am the change of Time. And this is my gift to my brothers and sisters of the planet.

Pisces: I am endless compassion. I am forgiving understanding of every shade of feeling in the human heart. Other realms reveal themselves to me and I am the mystic of mankind. I bring the light of divinity to everything I do: this is my service, this is my offering to our realm.

Source: http://astrologyexpressed.wordpress.com/2013/06/15/astrology-and-your-souls-purpose/

Marriage indicators in synastry

Determining marriage from a synastry chart can be challenging. Sometimes, “obvious” marriage indicators (i.e. planets in each other’s 7^th house) fail to predict a couple’s future. After studying several synastry charts of married/long-lasting couples, there were a few aspects which stood out to me.

Squares to the North Node: These aspects are said to be indicators of star-crossed lovers. The nodal axis represents our life’s path: the South Node represents “where we’ve been,” while the North Node represents “where we’re going.” Squares to this axis in synastry indicate an instant feeling of familiarity and attraction to one another. It may be difficult for each person to resist the pull of the relationship. The planet person may be part of an unresolved issue the North Node is carrying from the past, and must resolve in this life.

Some examples:

• Angelina Jolie’s Moon and Mars square Brad Pitt’s North Node
• Paul Newman’s Sun squares Joanne Woodward’s North Node, and Joanne’s MC squares Paul’s North Node
• Victoria Beckham’s Moon squares David’s North Node, Victoria’s North Node squares David’s vertex
• Linda McCartney’s North Node squares Paul McCartney’s Sun, Mercury, and Jupiter
• Cash Warren’s ascendant is square Jessica Alba’s North Node
• Prince William’s Pluto squares Kate Middleton’s North Node, Kate’s Mars squares Will’s North Node
• Julia Roberts’ Mars squares Danny Morder’s North Node
• Oprah’s North Node squares Stedman’s Jupiter
• Bill Clinton’s Sun squares Hillary’s North Node
• Frank Sinatra’s North Node squares Nancy Sinatra’s Moon and Jupiter
• Ava Gardner’s North Node squares Frank Sinatra’s Sun, Frank’s Jupiter squares Ava’s North Node

Planets in conjunction or opposition to another’s Vertex: The Vertex acts like a second Ascendant, while the anti-Vertex is like a second Descendant. The Vertex is often referred to as our “point of fate.” As a result, when someone’s planet or point conjuncts your Vertex or anti-Vertex, you feel drawn towards this person. The relationship feels fated, and can indeed change your life. You feel destined to be together, and this feeling can easily last a lifetime. One person’s North Node conjunct or opposite another person’s Vertex are apparently very common aspects to find among married partners.

Some examples:

• Angelina’s Venus/Ascendant conjunct Brad’s Vertex, Brad’s Ascendant conjuncts Angelina’s Vertex
• Frank Sinatra’s Vertex opposes Nancy Sinatra’s Venus, Nancy’s Vertex opposes Frank’s Part of Fortune
• Paul Newman’s Moon conjuncts Joanne Woodward’s anti-Vertex; Joanne’s Moon and Mars conjunct Paul’s Vertex. Their Vertexes are conjunct.
• Victoria Beckham’s anti-Vertex is conjunct David Beckham’s Mercury and opposite North Node.
• Paul McCartney’s Vertex is conjunct Linda’s South Node
• Prince William’s Vertex opposite Kate’s Venus
• Julia Roberts’ North Node is conjunct Danny Morder’s anti-Vertex; Julia’s anti-Vertex is conjunct Danny’s Sun and Mercury. In addition, Danny’s North Node is conjunct Julia’s anti-Vertex
• Oprah’s Mars conjuncts Stedman’s Vertex, Stedman’s Neptune is conjunct Oprah’s Vertex
• Hillary Clinton’s Vertex is opposite Bill Clinton’s Moon

Part of Fortune: I was surprised to see how often conjunctions and oppositions of one person’s planets or points to another person’s Part of Fortune occurred in the charts of married couples!  The Part of Fortune (POF) is the synthesis of a person’s Ascendant, Sun, and Moon, so perhaps it should not be so surprising. The POF is a point that indicates good fortune. When another person’s planets or points conjunct or oppose your POF, they will likely help you increase your wealth and happiness, and achieve your goals. According to Robert Hand, the POF is also an indicator of the physical body and its relationships with the social world. Thus, it makes sense that POF aspects in synastry are often found in the synastry charts of married couples.

• Joanne Woodwards’s POF is conjunct Paul Newman’s Sun
• David Beckham’s Sun is conjunct Victoria’s POF, and David’s POF is conjunct Victoria’s Mars and Saturn
• Paul McCartney’s POF is conjunct Linda’s Moon and Venus
• Cash Warren’s POF is conjunct Jessica Alba’s Jupiter/Saturn conjunction
• Prince William’s POF is opposite Kate Middleton’s POF, Kate’s POF is conjunct Wills’ North Node
• Danny Morder’s POF is conjunct Julia Roberts’ Mercury, Danny’s Vertex is conjunct Julia’s POF
• Stedman’s POF is conjunct Oprah’s Jupiter, Oprah’s POF is conjunct Stedman’s Sun, Mercury, and North Node
• John Lennon’s POF is conjunct Yoko Ono’s POF
• Hillary Clinton’s POF is opposite Bill’s Mercury and Saturn
• Frank Sinatra’s POF is conjunct Nancy’s Anti-Vertex
• Ava Gardner’s POF is opposite Frank Sinatra’s Sun and Mercury

Sun-Venus or Venus-Venus synastry aspects: Sun-Venus contacts in synastry are highly touted by astrologers, and for good reason! When this aspect appears in synastry, the couple feels affection and love for one another. If these contacts do not show up in synastry, Venus-Venus contacts can be substituted. When one person’s Venus contacts another person’s Venus, your love styles are similar. You easily get along, and instinctively know how the other person wants to be loved. The conjunction and opposition are most potent, and the trine and sextile are powerful, as well. These aspects indicate instant love and affection for one another, as well as a feeling of joy when you are together. These aspects can indicate a love that lasts forever. When this aspect is mutual, the love is even stronger.

• Angelina’s Venus opposes Brad’s Venus
• Paul Newman’s Venus sextiles Joanne’s Venus
• David Beckham and Victoria Beckham have a Venus/Sun sextile double whammy
• Paul McCartney’s Venus is opposite Linda’s Venus
• Prince William’s Venus trines Kate’s sun, Kate’s Venus biquitiles Wills’ Sun
• Danny Morder and Julia Roberts have a Sun/Venus bi-quintile double whammy
• Stedman’s Venus is sextile Oprah’s Sun
• John Lennon’s Venus is opposite Yoko’s Sun, Yoko’s Venus trines John’s Sun
• Frank Sinatra’s Venus squares Nancy Sinatra’s Sun, Frank’s Sun squares Nancy’s Venus

Venus/Saturn Aspects : Saturn aspects in synastry are described as « relationship glue ». Saturn is the planet of commitment, while Venus is the planet of Love. As such, couples who have strong Venus-Saturn aspects (especially double-whammies!) in their Synastry charts have little problem committing to each other. These relationships are usually long-lasting.

• Joanne Woodward’s Saturn conjuncts Paul Newman’s Venus, Paul’s Saturn trines Joanne’s Venus
• Victoria Beckham’s Saturn is conjunct David’s Venus, David’s Saturn is trine Victoria’s Venus
• Cash Warren’s Saturn trines Jessica Alba’s Venus, and her Saturn sextiles Cash’s Venus
• Julia Roberts’s Saturn conjuncts Danny Morder’s Venus, Danny’s Saturn quincunxes Julia’s Venus
• Oprah’s Saturn quincunxes Stedman’s Venus, Stedman’s Saturn trines Oprah’s Venus
• John Lennon’s Saturn squares Yoko Ono’s Venus
• Ava Gardner’s Saturn squares Frank’s Venus

Source:http://starscopestoday.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/marriage-indicators-in-synastry/

Interception: What can be found in the secret drawers of the chart?

by Laetitia Kanafani, 2012

"Don't take for granted the power of(retrograde planets) or intercepted signs.

They make the chart unique. They make life complex.

They describe powers and potentials waiting to be unleashed. "

                                                                                                      Joanne Wickenburg

Interception is defined as follows: one (or two? rarely three) pair of signs in the chart does not appear on any house cusp, but instead is contained within houses that are larger than 30 degrees. Of course, this can only occur when one uses unequal house systems, since equal house systems have houses of 30 degrees.

Wickenburg presents the initial idea that whatever house system we use, the ascendant and the MC will remain constant. It is only when calculating the intermediate house cusps according to the table of Houses, that we will have differences, in the case of unequal house systems. And it is the latitude, in the table of Houses, which determines the result. So Wickenburg proposes that somehow this is an illustration of the effects of Destiny vs. Environment (symbolized by the latitude). The MC does not change , so your final "destiny" ("calling", "destination") does not change, but the environment's influence will appear, in that it may or may not support you along the way.

If we look at the chart, we see 12 houses, 12 signs, a perfect circle of symmetry. This circle is based on the fact that everything works in polarity. For every point there is an opposite and equidistant point. And our 12 houses and 12 signs work in pairs opposing and complementing each other. This polarity is so very important because it brings on objectivity. For everything , there is an equal and opposite thing. And so the scales are balanced. If we think about the polarities of the 6 pairs of signs in our chart, we are constantly trying to balance them. And when an interception occurs, it is as if the balancing of the scales must be done in the dark. Instead of being able to see at a glance, whether or not your scales are balanced, between Aries and Libra, for example, you are in total darkness (no objectivity) and you must feel your way slowly and tediously, to figure out whether the scales are tipping this way or that way, and what needs to be added or removed on either side to bring them to a balance. Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to be able to switch the light on, and see clearly. This is what can occur, when the interception is unlocked.

Alice Miller "describes an interception as a hole in the chart. Psychologically, it describes an area missing from the childhood developmental environment. With an intercepted chart, during the formative years, there are neither mirrors nor ego instructions involving the signs and planets within the interception. This leaves us with a psychological, or social, disability. (…) by the current description of optimal family interaction, it signifies a dysfunctional birth family."

Chris McRae sheds light on the way interception functions. She describes the psychological process involved as an "intensification due to internalization".  She explains that "when we internalize a basic need it gains a great deal of intensity. It becomes a need we struggle to fulfill in our outer experience. (…) The internal expression may create certain frustrations for a period of life and should not be considered an impairment or a personality flaw but an opportunity of internal growth and understanding in those sign urges".

If we think about the 6 polarities in terms of our needs and dilemmas, we can try to define the 12 signs as follows:

Aries and Libra: the need to initiate action, bravely discover and assert our desire versus the need to share with others and maintain harmony.  If Pisces is on the cusp of Aries, it is necessary to translate idealism into action. And with Virgo on the cusp of Libra, analytical work must be put at the service of others; the results of your efforts must be shared.

Taurus and Scorpio: the need to get tangible results and produce something of value versus the need to combine resources and transform (accumulate vs let go). If Aries is on the cusp of Taurus, you may be seen as a leader, but you also need to acquire the endurance to create something lasting. And with Libra on the cusp of Scorpio, "diplomacy" may overshadow your inner power and intensity, robbing you of the chance to transform, and regenerate.

Gemini and Sagittarius: the need to think about a variety of ideas/ information, and to communicate efficiently versus the need to broaden your understanding and find meaning (your own philosophy). If Taurus is on the cusp of Gemini, stability and attachment to material results may stifle intellectual curiosity and mental stimulation, and fixed ideas may close the channels of communication. And with Scorpio on the cusp of Sagittarius, a deep, powerful and intense approach gets in the way of expanding the mind to future possibilities, to optimism.

Cancer and Capricorn: the need for emotional growth and security versus the need for goal achievement and social status. If Gemini is on the cusp of Cancer, you may have a mental approach to a variety of experiences but you may have difficulty confronting and dealing with emotions. And with Sagittarius on the cusp of Capricorn, it may be challenging to figuring out how and when to stop expanding (over-extending) and define appropriate limits which would allow you to build something solid out of your philosophy.

Leo and Aquarius: the need for creative self-expression and for recognition versus the need for this creativity to serve social concerns (beyond ego concerns). If Cancer is on the cusp of Leo, it is not enough for you to care for and nurture others, your will and creative strength need an outlet. And with Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius, it is not enough for you to be a respected part of social structure, your individuality and difference must be given a chance to shine.

Virgo and Pisces: the need to analyze and perfect the self and put it to service versus the need to accept things the way they are, let go, and experience faith. If Leo is on the cusp of Virgo, you may be seen as stable, fixed, reliable, but inside, you doubt yourself and cannot find ways to correct yourself and become useful. And if Aquarius in on the cusp of Pisces, your difference and uniqueness leave your vulnerability misunderstood, and you cannot reach faith from behind the "glass" of Aquarius.

McRae points out to the fact we should not minimize the influence of an interception: even a single pair of interception can actually affect 50% of the chart. She explains that if one pair of signs is intercepted and therefore somehow blocked and delayed in its expression, this will affect how the native will express the pair of signs preceding the interception and the pair of signs following it. In total 6 signs are affected, that is, half the chart.

How to unlock the intercepted polarity? The first door is actually the house cusp, and its key is its ruler. One must become very good at the process described by the sign on the cusp, and an expert at using its ruler in whatever sign and house it finds itself. Then, you bump into something you didn't even know was there: the interception. Now you must look for a second key, somewhere else: the intercepted sign's ruler. By placement, this ruler can give hints about how and where the intercepted sign's needs went unanswered and unmet by your environment. This may have happened either by a lack of something, or on the contrary, by an over-emphasis. The house it is in will point out the area where a new and personalized approach will be necessary.

Here are some keywords associated with each house placement, to represent the themes needing to be addressed differently from the way one's environment addressed them, either by under or by over emphasis.

If the ruler is in the 1st house: self-image, appearance, personality.

If the ruler is in the 2nd house: self-worth, personal resources, talents, values, economic stability.

If the ruler is in the 3rd house: educational requirements, academic skills, speech function, community participation, relations with siblings.

If the ruler is in the 4th house: personal foundation, sense of belonging, security, family background, roots.

If the ruler is in the 5th house: creative and recreational interests, procreation, entertainment, risk taking.

If the ruler is in the 6th house: daily routine, work, body and health, daily management, co-workers.

If the ruler is in  the 7th house: interpersonal relationships, marriage, partnerships.

If the ruler is in the 8th house: intimacy, sex, deeper meaning of life, death, separation, shared resources.

If the ruler is in the 9th house: religion, higher education, principles, morals, ethics, philosophical ideals, prejudice, fanaticism.

If the ruler is in the 10th house: success, recognition, fame, authority, your "place" in terms of "standing".

If the ruler is in the 11th house: larger community within which you interact socially, friends, social causes, dreams, hopes, aspirations.

If the ruler is in the 12th house: spirituality, karma, mysteries of life, social service, sacrifice, secrets, privacy, suffering.

The ruler shows where something must and can be done to help unlock the interception. If it is also intercepted, it is twice as hard, and it is twice as important to find your answers within.

The chart has a mechanism of symmetry as we mentioned, and therefore interception happens in two parts: if one pair of signs is locked in two houses, then one pair of houses is locked in two signs: these are the intercepted houses, or duplicated signs. In other words, one pair of signs is repeated on 2 consecutive house cusps and "intercepts" a pair of houses. Is this nature's way to compensate for the frustration of interception, Wickenburg asks? Because, here, in the intercepted houses,  there is a chance for the native to make an impact on the environment, rather than the other way round. Here you are seen, and so here, you have a responsibility. The planets ruling the duplicated signs work overtime, and the duty, here, is to transfer the energy from the first house to the second house with the same sign. Because you are already very well versed and developed in matters concerning the first house, dwelling on it will not promote growth and development. Things are too easy, and so you need a new outlet: the area described by the following house with the same sign. In the same way that we first have to master a positive expression of the sign on the cusp of the intercepted sign in order to access the interception, again we need to transfer our expertise of the 1st house in duplicated signs to the following house, in order to grow into our very best potential. Once the activities of the 2 houses are somehow integrated, then the interception begins to unlock.

Wickenburg defines the duplicated signs/intercepted houses in terms of powers:

-Intercepted 1st house (same sign on 1st and 2nd house cusps) gives us  the power of personality: make your personality an asset, use your personal power to produce value.

-Intercepted 2nd house (same sign on 2nd and 3rd house cusps) gives us the power of productivity: acquire new skills, new information, new associations and communicate your values.

-Intercepted 3rd house (same sign on 3rd and 4th house cusps) gives us the power of knowledge: use information in emotionally gratifying ways, not just collecting info for the sake of it, but finding what info allows you to make your base secure.

-Intercepted 4th house (same sign on 4th and 5th house cusps) gives us emotional power: use your past experiences, your inheritance, and emotional strength, to be creative. Express your emotional power.

-Intercepted 5th house (same sign on 5th and 6th house cusps) gives us the power of creativity: use your creativity in a productive enterprise, use your talents in your work. Have fun and express yourself at work.

-Intercepted 6th house (same sign on 6th and 7th house cusps) gives us the power of daily management: work in partnership.

-Intercepted 7th house (same sign on 7th and 8th house cusps) gives us people power: use your ability to attract relationships in order to find opportunity to regenerate. Learn to do the work involved in actually maintaining the relationship.

-Intercepted 8th house (same sign on 8th and 9th house cusps) gives us the power of regeneration: use your experience of the process of death and rebirth to develop a philosophy embracing the meaning of that experience.

-Intercepted 9th house (same sign on 9th and 10th house cusps) gives us the power of convictions: act on your convictions, stand for them in the public eye. Build your career on your principles.

-Intercepted 10th house (same sign on 10th and 11th house cusps) gives us the power of influence: use your earned social position for a social cause which can benefit from your professional skills.

-Intercepted 11th house (same sign on 11th and 12th house cusps) gives us group power: become aware that group work for social change can bring about healing on a larger scale. Move on from involvement to compassion.

-Intercepted 12th house (same sign on 12th and 1st house cusps) gives us power of the past? of inner life? of karma?: perhaps some karmic mission was left unfinished. Unconscious energy is projected outwards. Bring it out and show others how to live in accordance to one's inner life.

The mechanism behind the interception in a chart works like the system of a japanese safe-chest with secret drawers. If you open the drawers in a specific sequence you can access a secret compartment hidden under one of the regular drawers. If you do not follow that sequence, you are not able to access the secret compartment which is where the valuables are usually hidden…. It is the same for the intercepted signs. If you find the first key, ruler of the house cusp, and then the second key, ruler of the intercepted sign, you are then able to access whatever is contained in the interception: the intercepted planet. This planet also rules other areas of the chart where fulfillment will depend on your unlocking the interception. Again, this is why they commonly assign delays, hard work and frustration to intercepted planets.

-Intercepted Sun (and the house of Leo): a particularly challenging situation, because the sun is meant to integrate all other planetary energies with full consciousness. The sense of ego, purpose, importance, needs to be built alone. The power of the will, and the essence of the personality remains elusive until you find the voice inside of you.

-Intercepted Moon (and the house of Cancer): this may point to the past, to the relation with mother. It is the protective function which may be hindering growth because of obsolete past emotional reactions. Confronting and addressing intense emotions will be necessary.

-Intercepted Mercury (and the houses of Gemini and Virgo): the messenger, the mediator between the different parts is not accessible. You have no access to the necessary information, you are unable to communicate. You need to gather information from hidden, unusual sources, and find the freedom to communicate and learn in your own way.

-Intercepted Venus (and the houses of Taurus and Libra): your capacity to value and appreciate, and to form valuable relationships is not available. Venus functions as a magnet, but here it is not able to attract what you want and the types of people you would like to interact with. Your environment does not help you to establish your worth or your personal needs.

-Intercepted Mars (and the houses of Aries and Scorpio): the initiator: how to act upon your desire? Again, you have had no help, no training, from your environment. You end up doing too much or too little, until you find your own style.

-Intercepted Jupiter (and the houses of Sagittarius and Pisces): the "great benefic" , the "guardian angel" , needs freedom to explore, experience, and discover the meaning behind the experience. Here the environment does not offer access to those experiences .

-Intercepted Saturn (and the houses of Capricorn and Aquarius): the great teacher, training you in discipline, responsibility, limits, boundaries, structure, order, self respect. Here you cannot access that inner teacher easily, and have trouble finding your place. You must come up with your own structure, carve out your own place, with little input from your environment.

The last 3 planets operate on an unconscious, impersonal and indiscriminate level. They may be more complex to access, or understand.

-Intercepted Uranus (and the house of Aquarius): the rebel, the maverick, who is able to be an independent individual, original and unique, detached but also connected to the rest of humanity. The environment doesn't offer opportunities for exciting experience, for expressing that rebel in you. Again, you may end up doing too much or too little about it.

-Intercepted Neptune (and the house of Pisces): the believer. Here the environment does not offer positive concepts of faith, inspiration, spirituality. Even when you do finally access the source of your inner faith, chances are that, again, the environment is not attuned to it.

-Intercepted Pluto (and the house of Scorpio): the phoenix, the creature in us who is able to die and be reborn from its ashes. Your ability to transform and hence contribute to evolution is not supported by an environment which offers no chances for regeneration. It is not able to recognize your ability to make a difference in the big picture.

When we study the progressions and the transits for a chart, we are able to see the timing for the unlocking of intercepted signs and planets.

A slow planet transiting an intercepted sign, making aspect to an intercepted planet, is very noteworthy. A progression which brings an intercepted sign onto a house cusp, or a planet out of an intercepted sign, etc…

According to De Faria, because interception is of Saturnian nature (restrictive), the Saturn cycle is also key to understanding the unfolding of interception. He believes that nothing is likely to occur in terms of unlocking, before the first Saturn return. He also calls the phase after an interception has been unlocked a rebirth. It is an interesting idea because it points out to the fact that nothing will be the same again after you have managed to access the energy trapped in the intercepted signs and planets.

From his book, some examples of celebrities who have intercepted planets in their charts:

Picasso, intercepted Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune.

Woody Allen, intercepted Sun, Mercury, Jupiter.

John Lennon, intercepted Venus, Neptune.

Miles Davis, intercepted Moon, Mercury, Saturn.

Madonna, intercepted Mars, Neptune.

Source: http://www.ncgr-turkey.com/interception.htm

More reading:

http://www.bobmarksastrologer.com/Intercepted_signs.htm

http://www.bobmarksastrologer.com/duplicated_signs.htm