#duplications

What are they?

In the Placidus house system (alternatively, Koch, amongst others) it happens when a house cusp skips a sign (and therefore the opposing house also misses the opposing sign) you have an intercepted sign.

So basically, a specific axis of your chart (in this case, the cancer-capricorn axis) finds itself “engulfed” by another axis: the one right before the “swallowed” sign (in this case, the gemini-sagittarius axis).  Furthermore, the house cusp that should be in the intercepted axis, instead targets the axis after the “swallowed” axis).

And what does that mean?

It is crucial to mention the closer you are to the poles (north and south), the more likely you are to find interceptions in a chart. If you understand astronomy, it might be easier to understand why. Always remember that astrology looks at the planets and asteroids from a geocentric model perspective.

Because of this, *i personally believe*, meaning YOU DON’T HAVE TO AGREE, that if you were born way up north or south, interceptions are probably not that meaningful in your chart. Simultaneously, i am not an expert and i’m open to different opinions and perspectives if anyone has anything to say or question.

How do they translate?

Let’s take the case of this chart: cancer is “swallowed” by the 10th house and the following house “hits” leo instead. Similarly, capricorn is “swallowed” by the 4th house and the 5th house is in aquarius.

The 10th house (or MC, midheaven or medium coeli) represents generally speaking, your personal power, authority, your calling in life, your legacy, how people see you at your best, the energy you embody in your career (not necessarily work), etc.

The 11th house represents what drives you, your dreams, friendships, wealth, your sense of community, amongst other things.

According the this chart:

The 10th house is in gemini, so this area of life should be associated with communication, curiosity, traveling, multi-tasking, inquisitive and exciting mental challenges. 

But… cancer is included in this house (because of the interception) so what does that do? Imagine gemini is the leader of the pack and cancer is the child menace that comes in and turns things upside down because they want things done their own way. In summary, there’s a clash of wants and needs. So this gemini MC is accompanied by their little annoying sibling that wants to be chosen and get to do things even though they kinda ruin it. 

And then we got a “piece“ of leo in the 10th house. I like to call the 3rd sign in the intercepted house the “mediator”. It’s basically the “voice of reason”. Leo reminds cancer (the intercepted sign) to chill and let gemini do its thing. In other words, because gemini is the 10th house and leo is the 11th house, leo gets cancer to not overpower gemini, if that makes sense. 

This sounds kind of confusing, right? 

In this case, the 10th house holds influence over 3 signs, and the sign that’s intercepted is trying to “come out” and express itself. This is done in a way that, at first, may be difficult or chaotic, but it is possible. 

In the beginning, the person with an interception usually compensates in some other area of their lives in order to find some sort of balance. In the birth chart, this can manifest as having a duplication. 

What about duplications?

Typically, when there’s an interception somewhere in the chart, there’s also a duplication. This is not a rule and not always the case though. A duplication represents an axis that holds the entirety of a house, in this case, the 12th house. 

The virgo-pisces axis is, metaphor-wise, overworking, showing up in both the 11 and 12th areas of life. So these 2 houses show us where the cancer-capricorn “lack” went to instead. A little tiny interpretation *could be* (doesn’t necessarily have to be the case) that this person overgives and doesn’t establish boundaries very well, etc, so as to compensate for the lack of healthy emotional expression and self-love.

Are interceptions “real”?

I think yes and no. 

If you study astrology following for e.g a whole signs system, then no, interceptions don’t even exist; the interpretation made possible by systems like this will be accurate and make sense.

But if you study with the placidus system (or others) they do exist and they can show up in a chart. They provide more details and nuance to your reading and information you’re able to obtain. 

Since this is my chart, i can tell you that both whole signs and placidus, i.e considering no interceptions and considering interceptions respectively, are accurate. What i’ve come to realize from my chart and other people’s charts is that interceptions kind of work like a square aspect, the struggle is more internal than external. It’s about doing inner work to restore the balance and learn how to constructively express and access your interception axis. 

For e.g my cancer stellium in one system is in the 11th house, which make sense according to what i know about the events that have happened in my life, but the 10th house cancer placements (according to placidus) also make sense, especially when i consider the way i think and feel, like recurring thought patterns, insecurities, emotions i repress.

I tend to overwork myself (virgo-pisces axis) to prove my worth and value, because i think that equals love (cancer-capricorn axis). I am learning that that is wrong, nonetheless when i was younger that was definitely all that i knew and followed. 

I think over time people will “fix” their interceptions and find something better and healthier. Overall an interception *in my opinion* kind of works like a square aspect and it shows an internal struggle. 

Whole signs will still tell you all you need to know about the events in your life and some tiny details, but non-equal house systems, like placidus, they give you other tiny details and interceptions are one of those. 

if you want my advice and if you have an interception, read and learn about your placements according to whole signs and complement it with placidus, since it might give you clues as to what you should work on, especially within yourself.

2nd house cancer and chart should go on like that right ?

But I have 2nd house also Gemini then 3rd house Cancer 7th & 8th house Sagittarius... is that normal or did I print the wrong chart?

I won't sat that I am new to astrology I know how each sign acts in each planet but this is really confusing me 🥲

Oh this is an amazing question actually and a pretty common thing I see!! I'm so so happy to have a chance to explain! This answer has a lot of different answers within it, hopefully this all makes sense, but let me know if you need any other clarification!!!

First, you didn’t do/calculate anything wrong! This is something called a duplication/interception (I will explain these below), which happens pretty often when charts are drawn using the Placidus house system (the default house system most websites use to draw up your chart for you). It will be more helpful for me to quickly touch on house systems before going into interceptions/duplications!

HOUSE SYSTEMS:

If you aren’t super familiar, the house systems are the different ways of dividing up the houses. There’s SO many different house systems, but the three most popular/common tend to be Placidus, Equal & Whole (Whole Sign house system is especially common among traditional astrologers). I’ve seen the Koch system used a lot as well but I honestly don’t have immense experience testing it out, and it’s not as popular as the other three from what I’ve seen.

There’s not an agreed upon best house system! Everyone has different opinions. My biggest recommendation is to look at your chart in Placidus, Equal and Whole (more info below on how to do this). Your whole chart will probably stay almost the same, except you’ll notice some planets likely change houses. Make note of the differences between the three charts, Google the meanings, and stick with the house system that has placements you resonate more with! Ie: If your Placidus chart has Venus in 4th, but your Equal & Whole have it in 3rd, but you relate way more to a 4th house Venus, you might prefer the Placidus system.

Personally, I nearly always use Placidus. I relate most to my Placidus chart, almost everyone I’ve read for relates more to theirs. I also find value in interceptions/duplications (among Placidus/Equal/Whole, interceptions are only possible in Placidus). But this is just my opinion! Lots of astrologers would entirely disagree with me, so it’s really up to you which to use ☺️

Here’s an example of a chart in the three different systems. You’ll notice Placidus is the only one with interceptions/duplications:

In Placidus, houses can be of any size. In Equal house system, houses are always exactly thirty degrees, and start from the degree of the Ascendant (in this chart, the first house starts at the Ascendant of 24 degrees Libra, so the second house starts in 24 degrees Scorpio, third house in 24 degree Sagittarius, and so forth). In Whole Signs house system, the houses always span the exact thirty degrees of every sign, right from beginning to end.

HOW TO TRY USING DIFFERENT HOUSE SYSTEMS:

Go to astro.com, make an account and enter your birth information 

Hover over free horoscopes, click extended chart selection

Click “options for zodiac and houses”, select the different house system you want from the drop down menu (Placidus/default are the same thing, for Whole Signs don’t click the one that says Aries & for Equal don’t select the one that says Midheaven, just choose the regular Equal)

Hit click here to show chart, and you’re all done!

DUPLICATIONS/INTERCEPTIONS:

So, you decide to stick with Placidus, which leads us to what the hell duplications & interceptions are! Every time you have duplications, you’ll have interceptions; and vice versa. You’ll always have two signs & four houses duplicated, and then two houses + two signs intercepted. Let’s take a look at a chart I made up above with interceptions & duplications:

So, the pink highlights are duplications whereas the purple highlight is showing the interceptions (sorry it might be difficult to see/you may need to open in new tab - just right click image open in new tab). Duplications are when two houses are in the same sign. Interceptions are when a sign is “swallowed” by houses aka no houses are in that sign. Normally, a chart should have one house in each of the twelve signs, no more and no less.

In short, duplicated signs hold more power in the chart as they govern two areas of life instead of one. Intercepted signs are blocked as they govern “no area of life” (in theory). Any planets in intercepted signs/houses are considered intercepted planets. In this chart, we can see Capricorn, Cancer, Mercury, Sun, 3rd house & 9th house are intercepted. Opposite signs & houses are ALWAYS intercepted and duplicated together, never alone. On the other hand, Libra, Aries, 1st, 6th, 7th, & 12th houses, and Moon, Pluto are duplicated.

As I said before, interceptions are blockages. We have issues accessing and expressing these energies. According to an astrologer whose site I enjoy (bobmarkastrologer), interceptions also break the balanced link between opposite signs. Normally opposite signs work together to balance one another in your chart, but with interceptions, they’re unable too. He gives a Pisces/Virgo example in the link I attached that’s super helpful (especially for you, since you should have Pisces/Virgo intercepted)! He also explains interception and duplication pairs. For this person, having 3rd/9th/Mercury intercepted; all communication houses/planets, they’re likely going to have huge issues with clear, concise communication. They may often feel like they can’t properly express their emotions and ideas, or people frequently misunderstand them and take what they say the wrong way. Additionally, they may have a lot of travel troubles (ie: whenever they take the bus it’s late, when they go overseas their flight is always delayed/they miss their flights, etc), as well as issues in school (teachers don’t like them, they feel unfairly graded, they struggle with typical school structures, etc).

Duplications on the other hand, give us that excess energy; these are our strengths. These energies come naturally to us and can be used to our advantage. A common theory is that duplications help us balance out and work through our interceptions. They kind of makeup for that blocked energy interceptions have. So they key to working through your intercepted signs would be looking at your duplicated signs. In the chart I showed above, for example, Moon/Pluto are duplicated. Specifically in the 12th house. This could mean that person’s strengths lie in their emotions and creativity; through artistic outlets they can express themselves better and convey their thoughts and feelings more clearly (solution to their interception). This is just one example!

For your case, you have Gemini/Sagittarius duplicated in 1st/2nd and 7th/8th, therefore Pisces/Virgo should be intercepted in 4th/10th (unless I am doing my math wrong..sorry fried brain today). You can read more about those here and here! If anyone’s interested, I can make a full post on these with my personal interpretations later!

You have an interception and duplication in your chart! With your 1st house intercepted (because it included Pisces) and capricorn being duplicated (if I understood your ask correctly here) in the 11th and 12th house, meaning Capricorn rules two houses in your chart.

Hi! ✨

I'm happy you guys like my replies to these asks but it's essentially always the same things to tackle: shape, patterns, interceptions of there are any, retrogrades and anything else that plays a major role (maybe an unaspected planet,...)

So if you want me to make a masterpost about those things, let me know!

For you personally though, the first thing that came to my mind was the shape. Your chart has a bowl shape, so only one hemisphere has celestial bodies in it. Also, your Libra stellium in the 2nd (Venusian energy is big here lol) with almost all your personal planets + the unaspected (at least when it comes to major aspects) Uranus. You also have a Scorpio Taurus interception in the 3rd and 9th houses while your Mercury (your chart ruler) and Jupiter are intercepted in the 3rd house (I can see a bunch of communication and learning issues as you surpress things in you that have to do with education that as a child, perhaps, you weren't allowed to express). Along with interceptions always go duplications. In your case those are the 5th and 9th in Aries and the 2nd and 3rd in Libra.

Hey there!! 💕💕 Oohh these are ‘duplicate’ signs-- basically, they’re ruling 2 houses of yours, on the opposite side of the charts (and you have two ‘intercepted’ signs that are ‘swallowed’ between your houses-- the largest piece of the pie --the ones that aren’t ruling any houses or as you said ‘missing’) 💕

Duplicate Signs Expansion - What to do with it?  ⬇️

If you don’t know what interceptions are or how to find out if you have one, please read this post: Interceptions FAQ.

*These are arranged according to the position of the axes in the houses of your natal chart, so pay attention to the order of your interception. If you have Aries & Libra intercepted, for example, and Libra is in the 4th while Aries is in the 10th, read the “Libra-Aries” interpretation before “Aries-Libra” (because the sign earlier in the houses is the foundation of the issue). Both interpretations may still apply.

Aries-Libra intercepted: you weren’t allowed to be fully independent, so now you can’t cooperate or share. You weren’t taught how to be raw in expression, so now you don’t know how to be harmonious in expression. Libra-Aries intercepted: you weren’t allowed to stand with others, so now you can’t stand on your own. You weren’t taught how to assert justice for the sake of others, so now you don’t know how to assert justice for the sake of yourself.

Taurus-Scorpio intercepted: you weren’t allowed to resist change, so now you can’t create it or find fulfillment in it. You weren’t taught how to protect or treasure what you value, so now you don’t know how to purify or purge it. Scorpio-Taurus intercepted: You weren’t allowed to transform yourself, so now you can’t remain invincibly secure within yourself. You weren’t taught how to let go of (and share) what you value, so now you don’t know how to hold onto it.

Gemini-Sagittarius intercepted: you weren’t allowed to openly share your thoughts, so now you can’t openly share your truths. You weren’t taught how to seek definition, so now you don’t know how to find deeper meaning. Sagittarius-Gemini intercepted: you weren’t allowed to focus on the bigger picture, so now you can’t focus on the details. You weren’t taught how to develop a vision, so now you don’t know how to be satisfied with / interested in the view.

Cancer-Capricorn intercepted: you weren’t allowed to be emotionally open or active, so now you can’t be open/active with ambitions. You weren’t taught about personal productivity, so you don’t know about professional productivity. Capricorn-Cancer intercepted: you weren’t allowed to express your goals & desires, so now you can’t express your fears & needs. You weren’t taught about self-discipline, so now you don’t know about self-nurturance.

Leo-Aquarius intercepted: you weren’t allowed to be the center of the show, so now you can’t be a member of the audience. You weren’t taught your singular value, so now you don’t know your value in context to the collective. Aquarius-Leo intercepted: you weren’t allowed to find yourself in a community, so now you can’t find yourself alone. You weren’t taught how to fill your role in humanity/family, so now you don’t know what your role is in your own life.

Virgo-Pisces intercepted: you weren’t allowed to improve your physical reality, so now you can’t improve your spiritual reality. You weren’t taught how to extend a helping hand, so now you don’t know how to offer the healing touch. Pisces-Virgo intercepted: you weren’t allowed to escape to your inner world, so now you can’t invest in the outer world. You weren’t taught how to ease or grow from pain, so now you don’t know how to prevent or persevere through it.

You compensate for suppression & blockage of (intercepted axis) with excessive expression of & concern with (duplicated axis).

Aries & Libra: identity and connection

Taurus & Scorpio: possession and purgation

Gemini & Sagittarius: exploration and expansion

Cancer & Capricorn: emotion and ambition

Leo & Aquarius: individuality and integration

From NCGR-Türkiye 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.