nature vs. nurture in astrology
just a quick post with some thoughts on the topic, prompted by a reply to my recent post on interceptions and duplications. i was talking about interceptions, and the early experiences they can represent. i think, when writing that post, i missed an opportunity to talk about how nuanced astrology is, especially when it comes to the more psychoanalysis-y side of things, which is the angle i'm usually coming from.
i was asked if you could cause interceptions in your childrens' birth charts. interceptions are, at their core, an imbalance somewhere in the chart. from my own experience and study of other astrologers' work and reading charts, this usually translates to negative childhood experiences that start to form destructive patterns. so this question makes perfect sense, since it's a placement that is often activated in childhood. but i think that's the key word here, activated. we are all born with all of our placements, and some belief systems actually argue that we choose our placements, and therefore the trials that come with them, before coming into the world. whatever your own beliefs around this concept, it's important to remember that the natal chart is a blueprint, not a finished house.
having intercepted signs shows a predisposition to disharmony in the affected signs and houses. i think, even with the most attuned and loving parents, we will all go through negative and damaging experiences in our early years. for me personally, i can see clear links between my interceptions and my home life, and there are a lot of details within the interceptions of my chart that i didn't list in the original post that ‘back up’ those links. i think, in hindsight, i should have added more of a disclaimer about this, because i'm obviously biased by my own perceptions and study. i think another point worth looking at here is that where there are interceptions, there are duplications. they show where we have an abundance of the more helpful qualities of a sign, and these qualities are the way forward when it comes to rebalancing intercepted signs.
in a nutshell, i believe that we are born with interceptions, and therefore we are predisposed to the issues they represent, but not fated to suffer them, forever or even at all necessarily. even the most loving, stable and healthy environment isn’t without painful experiences, and none of us reach adulthood without a few scars, but with the right support we learn to heal our wounds and build new connections and internal pathways. it’s very natural to worry about the impact we may have on our loved ones, especially so with children, but all we can do is our best, and guilting ourselves over what we may be doing wrong is likely not much help in the grand scheme of things. what matters the most is that we show up, try our best, and seek out support where we need it.
