Intercepted
Intercepted
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)With the exception of the equal house system, most systems of house division utilize houses of varied sizes. One result of this variability is that sometimes a wide house will begin in the latter part of one sign, encompass the next sign, and end in a third sign. The middle sign is said to be intercepted. Because houses that are directly opposite each other are the same size, the sign opposite the intercepted sign will also be intercepted. For example, in a given natal chart, the second house begins at 25° Gemini and ends at 3° Leo. The intervening sign, which is Cancer, is thus intercepted in the second house. Correspondingly, the opposite house, which is the eighth house, will begin at 25° Sagittarius and end at 3° Aquarius. Cancer’s opposite sign, Capricorn, will be intercepted in the eighth house. Astrologers are divided as to the influence of interception, some asserting that there is a weakening effect on planets placed in an intercepted sign, others asserting just the opposite. At the very least, it is safe to say that the affairs of an intercepted house are usually more complex than those of other houses. When giving a general, introductory interpretation of a natal chart, the majority of astrologers ignore interceptions.
In charts where signs are intercepted, there are other, narrower houses that begin and end in the same sign. This results in two successive houses with the same sign on their cusps (the same sign at the beginning of both houses), which are thus both ruled by the same planet. Some contemporary astrologers interpret this situation as indicating that the affairs of these two houses are linked. Thus, for example, in a natal chart in which the second and third houses are so linked, the native might earn her or his living (second house) through communication, publishing, or travel (third house).