After the previous post on Virgo archetype, someone emailed me to ask about her natal configuration:"I'd be interested to see what you thought of my Virgo 'set up'. I have Leo rising at 23 degrees, Virgo intercepted in the first house. Mars at 7 degrees Virgo, Pluto at 19 degrees Virgo and Uranus at 22 degrees Virgo. Pluto and Uranus are opposed by Moon, Chiron, Saturn in Pisces in the 7th."
I will use the answer to discuss the interception of signs.
1) Intercepted Virgo: [For beginners, interception means the entire sign is contained within a single house. In this case Leo is on the 1st house cusp, and probably Libra is on the 2nd house cusp, thus containing the whole sign of Virgo within the 1st house.]
Whenever a sign is intercepted, often there is a difficulty accessing its energy directly. Consider the sign on the cusp (in this case, Leo) as the gatekeeper, and the intercepted sign (Virgo) as someone living deep within the house, in a room with no windows. Before you can let the Virgin out of the house, you need to be on friendly terms with the gatekeeper.
So in the above example, this lady needs to be comfortable with expressing the Leo energy (i.e. self love, enthusiasm, creativity & generous expression of emotions) before the Virgo attributes can shine.
2) Gatekeeper (i.e. sign on the cusp) can pose a challenge: Often the challenge with interception is to successfully find a blend of two incompatible energies (in this case, Leo & Virgo.) One or the other won't do - both signs need to be successfully expressed. This calls for some time to adjust & refine the approach throughout your life, before you can find what works for you.
In the example given, the Pisces Moon is under quite a bit of stress (from Saturn, Uranus, Pluto & Chiron) which suggests interruption in the nurturing bond with the caretaker.
Depending on how deep the wound is, there will be a varying degree of challenge in self-acceptance and self love. This in turn will affect how comfortable one is to express the child-like enthusiasm associated with Leo (which in turn will affect how one behaves in intimate relationships, etc.)
3) If you skip the gatekeeper, the power diminishes: if the growth path of Leo is skipped (i.e. no effort is made to boldly express one's passion), you may express the Virgo energy in its lower form - i.e. utilizing your analytical skills for unsatisfying careers, or being lost in criticizing and analyzing yourself.
Summary & Further Thoughts
Here the ideal blend of two energies results in a bold expression of one's analytical intelligence, used to gain personal significance in one's field. The ego is grounded in reality and service, but is free from paralyzing self doubt. You express yourself through the quality of your work.
We can do this exercise with any intercepted signs - because the two consecutive signs are often incompatible in nature, it calls for a more creative expression to successfully blend together. In my case I have Pisces rising with Aries intercepted, and self assertion must blend with a degree of compassion - otherwise it just doesn't work...So Pisces is the gatekeeper for me.
If you have intercepted signs in your horoscope and would like to try the exercise, please feel free to share comments or send me an email.
6 comments:
This is interesting. Of course, with any intercepted sign, there will always be an interception of it's opposite sign. My intercepted signs are Scorpio in the 4th house and Taurus in the 10th house. So my 10th house gatekeeper is Aries and 4th house gatekeeper is Libra. I'm not really sure how to interpret. I would say that I identified with those cardinal signs very early on in those houses (maybe because my MC/IC axis is heavily aspected). I was (and can still be) extremely impulsive and impatient when it came to getting what I wanted in life or reaching goals (Aries MC). I had no staying power (Taurus intercepted) if I was not absolutely passionate about it. And Libra on the IC led me to be so diplomatic and equivocal growing up, it was very hard for me to settle to even choose my goals. It was also difficult develop much depth with my family (Scorpio intercepted). I always felt disconnected in a way...at least until I got toward my teenage years. I've definitely balanced those out and accessed my intercepted signs.
Well said - thank you for corroborating!
This is really interesting, thanks. I have Pisces and Virgo intercepted in the first and 7th, respectively. What about the planets that are contained within the intercepted houses? Does interception affect their energy and expression in any way?
I think so - in much the same way as the intercepted sign, an adjustment is called for before a fully authentic expression.
My intercepted Mercury in Libra, for example, didn't function all that well by my being just a nice guy - but it became a strong asset once I incorporated it with practical discernment about people.
Thanks for asking.
Hiroki
Cool. So I guess you could say your Mercury talents came through when you opened your door/sign on the cusp. My Mercury is intercepted in Taurus, and looking back it seems like I can only access that mental steadiness and stamina when I've approached a goal or situation with my Aries MC characteristics. So is the gatekeeper forever going to be the lead-in to access those traits, or will it eventually be integrated?
That's a great question. Integration occurs after much conscious practice, and I think that would be the goal.
In my case the natural impulse was to be sensitive about what others thought, but I couldn't be helpful if I didn't voice the truth of the situation (e.g. the person might be making a mistake, etc.)
So I'm helpfully honest but not brutally so, and that's a kind of integration of Virgo/Libra energies.
Thanks.
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