IC
Imum Coeli
|
The lowest
point in the sky (nadir) that a
planet can
travel relative to the horizon. If you are born at midnight, the
Sun would be found around the
IC of the chart. "IC" stands
for the Latin Imum
Coeli which means "bottom of the
heavens." The IC also forms the
cusp (starting point) of
the 4th House of ancestral roots, family
(especially your family-of-origin), home and the foundation of
your life. Associated with one of the parents, often the father.
The sign on the IC
of the chart, and planets found in the 4th
House, indicate the experiences of your childhood home,
family, ancestry and what is important to you in the home you make
in adulthood. Pronounced: Eye-SEE. Compare
Midheaven. |
 I.C. or Imum Coeli (Lower Heaven) |
Intercepted Planet
|
When a planet is positioned in a
sign that is intercepted in a
natal chart,
that planet is said to be intercepted. The energy of this planet
tends to be more difficult to bring out directly in the person's life.
Since the intercepted sign requires the
mastery of the preceding sign (on the cusp
of its house), this usually takes time. Therefore, it is
common that this planet's energy doesn't "bloom" until later in life.
There tends to be a "deeper issue" about that planet's energy in the
person's life. See: Intercepted Sign.
|
Intercepted Planet (shown in white house) |
Intercepted Sign
|
This is a characteristic of how a zodiac
sign is sometimes positioned in a
natal chart.
Each natal house cusp
(the beginning of that house) is
positioned within a sign, and usually each house cusp lands in a
different sign – 12 signs, 12 house cusps.
But sometimes a house
is so large that it completely encompasses a sign. The encompassed sign is
said to be intercepted in that house.
This tends to happen more often in very northern or southern latitudes, and
is a distortion effect of the extreme
latitudes, although it can occur near the equator too.
This interception effect also only happens with certain house
systems, which have variable sized houses. Equal house system does not
have this distortion, since the houses are always 30 degrees in length.
Intercepted signs always happen in pairs. Opposite houses always form
an axis, as do opposite signs. So when a sign is intercepted, its
opposite sign is also intercepted in the opposite house.
An intercepted
sign can be thought of like "a room within a room," where the
surrounding house is the outside room and the intercepted sign is
contained within it. (I believe I first heard this analogy in Joanne Wickenburg's
wonderful book,
Journey Through the Birth Chart , which is still available.)
In order to access the inner sign, the person must
"go through" the sign on the cusp of that house (usually the preceding
sign). The person first needs to master the qualities and circumstances of the sign
on that cusp, and only then can the person begin to fully
access the inner sign within that house and any planets contained within
that sign. See: Intercepted Planet.
|
 Intercepted Sign Axis (shown in white
houses) |
