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THE 12 HOUSES OF ASTROLOGY
The first house, also known as the ascendant, is the focal point of the chart; it is symbolic of the moment life began for each of us as individuals. This house indicates a person’s reference point towards life and shows how they present themselves to the outside world and react to external surroundings. An individual’s self-esteem, self-development, ego and even physical appearance can be indicated by this house placement. There is a distinct impression of beginnings or initiations as this house defines how a person views themselves and how they are viewed by the world.
The sign on the cusp of the first house is also known as the ascendant or rising and shows the façade a person wears when they walk into a room or meet someone for the first time. The first house is also associated with early environment, individuality and personality make-up
The sign on the cusp of this house is called the rising sign. The cusp of this house is called the Ascendant.
The presentation of the self: the physical body type and appearance; childhood. The first house manifests the power of any planets and indicates the personality as well as the appearance. It can enable us to shield any weaknesses in our sun sign. The sun sign is what we are meant to be, and while we are developing this ability, we can shield ourselves with the sign on the first house cusp and any planets in this house.
The first house tells how we begin things, particularly how we present ourselves. With Leo on the cusp, we present ourselves in a grand manner. With Virgo, we do so in a detailed and critical manner, in the service of others. With Aquarius, we do so in an indifferent and intellectual manner.
The first house tells how we approach life, and also general health.
Uranus(Aquarius) in the first house, self-knowing, the individual will have to deal with their own eccentricities and thoughts.
Neptune(Pisces) in the first house, self-perceptive, the individual will deal with developing intuition for themselves. Probably will have some troubles understanding themselves.
Pluto(Scorpio) in the first house, self-transformative, the individual will have to deal with personal transformations throughout his/her life.
The second house is concerned with resources which we have developed as a result of our presenting ourselves in the world. It is concerned with possessions, including money. It shows how we value things through whatever sign is on the cusp. And it also indicates our talents, the five senses and our self-worth. It indicates our attitude to what we own, how we get these things, how we treat or manage them. And whether we retain them.
The second house indicates how we can aquire the wherewithal in order to survive, and can refer to liquid assets (that is what we can quickly sell to produce cash, or to trade). We can own land, houses (fixed assets), etc, yet not have the ready cash to pay for our living expenses, and the second house is concerned with this. Naturally, this also means the second house is concerned with survival, because our money is used here to buy food, shelter, etc. In a more primitive life, we might need hunting or farming skills in order to survive, so it is obvious that the second house deals also with talents and skills that we can use to enhance our survival.
The third House is the House of Thought. There is a big emphasis on communication, including language skills and literary work. It can indicate cleverness, meaning dextrous and also cagey and shrewd. It refers to education, particularly school education. It concerns writing, recording and lecturing.
It is concerned with the learning we do, such as learning the ABC, how to read and how to write. It concerns an awareness of ignorance and awareness of ability, which mean knowing you don't know something and being able to do something if you keep your mind on it. Unawareness of ability flowers in the sixth house, and means you can do it without thinking, as in driving a car.
The third House tells of the communication style, siblings (especially the first brother or sister) and short journeys or minor changes. It involves the environment, including neighbours.
This house cusp is formed in most types of chart by the IC, the Imum Coeli. This is the lowest point of the chart, the nadir, being that which was beneath the earth at the time of birth. This is why it is described as being our roots, our foundation of life. This point is directly opposite the Midheaven
The fourth house is concerned with matters such as: the home, roots, family history and origins, life, self development, memories, the past, upbringing, end of life, inner life and foundations. Behaviour at home. The parent with the lesser influence on the person's life (Father). The final stage of life and what we become. Matters to do with growth and creation (domestication): houses, land, gardens.
The Fourth House represents the home environment, family life, and the father, or perhaps the same sex parent. As the base of operations of the personality this house is quite important, because without a place to stand emotionally, the personality cannot function. Planets in the Fourth House reflect your family orientation, an ability to dig into the past in order to discover the roots of your being, and how your father (or perhaps your mother) was experienced by you.
This is the house of creativity and pleasure. It is associated with the heart, or source of emotions, love and passion. It tells what things are dear to you. It is the house of children, creative self expression, and romance. It can refer to ideas, ideals, inventions (depending on the planets and the signs), or anything, really, which you love. It is about anything that we make and do, in a creative manner from the heart. Of course, hobbies, parties and all forms of entertainment, sports and games. It is concerned with drama, acting and writing as forms of creative expression and with education. It also includes parties, holidays and recreation. It is the house of fun. However, it is not necessarily pointless fun. You might enjoy serious subjects and find your fun there. In addition to fun, this house is concerned with taking risks, which might mean gambling or investing. It refers to love and relationships prior to marriage (the seventh house refers to the marriage partner). It refers to the first child and second sibling
Sixth House
This house can be thought of as being concerned with (daily) routines and necessities, such as work, health, diet, clothes and jobs. These are the details of life, and this house tells how you deal with the details and practicalities of living. It is concerned with people who work for you. And with how you provide a service (work) for others. It is also concerned with tools, expenses, overheads, landlords, and pets. It also indicates your attitude to cleanliness and order. This house refers to things that you willingly do, but only because you have to do them in order to attain comfort, or some other goal. For example, cleaning the house is done for the sake of having a comfortable place in which to live, rather than because it is interesting! This house also concerns your taste in clothes. It is a house of mind and thinking and is associated with education, teaching and schools.
This is the place where the tyres meet the road. Where you have to get down to the nitty gritty in order to achieve anything.
Ability begins with ignorance of inability, when we think something is easy because we have never done it before. This is typically Aries, charging in, full of confidence, and oblivious to any difficulties.
When we try, we realise it is harder than we thought and we become aware of our inability in that area. We become more cautious and reserved. This is a bit like Taurus: being reluctant to do things it doesn't know about, and avoiding the unfamiliar.
As we learn, we find we can do it, but only when we think what we are doing. We have awareness of ability. This is like Gemini, but the process continues through to Virgo.
By practice and by following routines, our skills become automatic and we can do things without thinking about them. We have attained an unawareness of ability, the ability to do things in our sleep! This is the Sixth House, or Virgo where we have learned our theories and practiced enough to be, well perfect!
The first house deals with the self, and the seventh house deals with the opposite, that is, those who you meet on a one-to-one basis, and includes marriage and business partners. It also includes open enemies. When we meet others we have to give and take and agree ground rules, and in the process we get into conflict, hopefully friendly conflict, until we find a solution. This house is also concerned with competition. In this house are close friends, live-in-lovers and other people in general. And also contracts, law-suits and divorce. Balance is a keyword for this house. More specifically, it indicates the first marriage partner, the third sibling and second child.
The sign on the cusp of the seventh house, also known as the descendant, will show how a person projects or mirrors their wants and needs on to other people and the type of people who are drawn to them. The seventh house is associated with contractual agreements, business exchanges, legal matters, public relations and open enemies
The Eighth House symbolizes issues of death and rebirth, sexuality, and transformation. As this house follows the house of relationship, it refers to the fruits of relationship, and these include the power to change based on new understanding made possible when one is no longer acting solely as an individual. Planets in this house are difficult to interpret, but may refer to how sexuality is manifested or to lessons you need to learn in order to grow and change.
Vesta in the Eighth House Their service might even be of a sexual nature, but they remained untouched by any sexual intimacy with another person. In accordance with its mythology, the asteroid Vesta is involved with both the signs Virgo and Scorpio. In the astrology of Vesta in an individual chart, these issues of sexuality and completeness unto oneself predominate. Possible associations are the woman (or man) who chooses not to mate, but as a nun or monk takes on a higher purpose than normal family life, also issues of sexuality and who is ultimately served in the process, self or other. Thus when Vesta is prominent in the chart, there may be issues with purity, singleness and sexuality either by abstinence or by one involving oneself with multiple partners which yet leave the individual untouched by relationship. The placement of Vesta by house and sign also indicate the area of life where these issues may manifest.
Community resources, sex, ultimate issues and financial institutions are part of this house. It concerns birth, death and rebirth, reincarnation, healing, the occult, other people's resources (money) including credit cards, taxes, partner's resources, wills, inheritance, insurance, taxes, unearned money, recycling, garbage, pollution, losses, renunciation, letting go. It is said to indicate the manner of death. It is concerned with power, power over others and self control. That it rules the sex organs and the anus shows how some of the items above fit in. The second house indicates your resources, and the eighth indicates other people's resources, particularly those of the first partner.
Moon - early death of mother or one's children
Sun - fame or heroism at time of death
Mars - quick death
Jupiter/Venus - peaceful death
Uranus - sudden and/or peculiar death
Neptune - death may occur through water or poisons/drugs.
While the third house is the house of mind, this house is the house of the higher mind. It is more dependent on other things and people, or it is more open to them, than the third house, but it is an active house and is ultimately independent. Here you can entertain and examine beliefs, without necessarily believing them. Higher education, foreign travel, ethics and legal principles are part of this house, as are philosophy and religion. While these may refer to university education, they do not have to.
For instance, higher education refers to considering many different viewpoints and being able to come down on the side of one of them, while knowing that it isn't absolutely true, but it is the best one for the current situation. That is, wisdom in addition to knowledge, whether gained at the university or at the university of life. Similarly, philosophy can mean enjoying discussions about fundamental things, and also your philosophy of life, whether you can put it in words or or follow it instinctively.
The third house gives us knowledge of a basic kind that we can use if we think about what we are doing. In the sixth house, our knowledge can become automatic, so we achieve unawareness of ability. Our knowledge has become part of us. In this house we can think deeper and to higher levels because our basic knowledge is done unconsciously, so we can see the big picture and try out various ideas in our minds. This is less self-based in that other viewpoints can be considered. The heart of higher education is the ability to consider various theories, viewpoints, etc, from an objective viewpoint. In the twelfth house, there is, the striving to view all things without an awareness of self, with a kind of unknowingness, where there is an automatic scanning of all viewpoints, and an automatic knowing.
The ethics and legal principles can be simply what you think is right and what you think is wrong. Religion normally refers to conventional organised religion. Long journeys can be journeys in the world or in the mind (deep study), and they also refer to major changes. Freedom, independence and justice are important attitudes suggested by this house. Dreams and visions are applicable in this house as are the fourth sibling, third child, and second partner. Languages, foreigners, and success are also relevant to this house. The word "foreigners" refers to people from far away and also to local people with different backgrounds and beliefs. This house also refers to brothers and sisters in law.
The tenth house shows what you are aiming for, it shows your career, reputation and what you become known for. Personal image, authority, honour, prestige, career, ambition, organisations, rulers and employers are involved in this house. If the fourth house refers to the base, roots, where you come from, then the tenth shows where you are going. It also involves: goals and aspirations, social standing, person with power over you, and the government. It indicates the parent of greatest influence.
This is a house of friends, hopes and wishes. It is concerned with the future. In the third house, you have friends who are brothers or sisters, or neighbours. In the seventh house, you have close friends and partners. In this house the friends are ones who relate to your public image. For instance, if at work you are Beryl the accountant, then your friends are your workmates. On a more grand scale, the leader of a political party would have the people in this house as their friends, or supporters.
This house is also concerned with plans, ideals, groups, contacts, clubs, political parities, unions, social groups, humanitarian activities, and altruism.
Well-wishers, high hopes and aspirations also belong here. It is generally materialistic and can indicate money earned from a career. Also stepchildren, fifth sibling, fourth child, third partner.
The twelfth and last house has a distinctive “behind the scenes” feel to it, highlighting the subconscious or that which is unseen. This house indicates how a person is vulnerable or oblivious to their surroundings; where they subconsciously are unaware of the reality of a situation. The twelfth house has an ethereal or veiled feel and highlights escapism or where a person withdraws from the world. It is the house of self-undoing and can show tendencies of self-destructive behaviour, including turning to mind altering substances or spiritual martyrdom. The twelfth house can indicate what a person longs for but is just out of reach
This house shows how we think about our lives and how we think about the hereafter, or about spiritual things (cadent house).
It can refer to karma and spiritual matters. This is a house of non-self, which means it is concerned with large, impersonal, institutions, such as hospitals, prisons, large bureaucracies, the civil service, etc. That is areas where they claim to serve rather than seek a profit, and where the workers and managers are somewhat anonymous. Here we think of unselfish service.
This also adds up to hidden matters. Sometimes this is because the good is not published (selfless service, modesty), and sometimes it is because the bad is concealed. But it also refers to hidden matters which are being uncovered, or research in science, or something else. It refers to activities behind the scenes, for good or bad.
Anyone who reviews their life, is likely to think of things that they did not do, which they wished they had done, and things they did do, and wished they hadn't. This can result in some sorrow, and can also result in guilt or shame. It can also result in pride and satisfaction when we think of the good things we did (or even the temptations we resisted).
In the third house, we learn basic things. In the sixth we make this knowledge automatic. And in the ninth we can range far and wide in thought because we have the knowledge which is unconscious within us. In the twelfth house, we can range even further through an unawareness of ability and an unawareness of self. In some ways we transcend ourselves and think not of our own selfish needs and viewpoints, but the viewpoint of humanity, or of all life. We can in a similar way transcend knowledge so we can understand it in what appears to be a mystic way, to those who have not attained this level of development. There is a no-mind unknowing where all knowledge is "routine" as are all viewpoints, so there is intuition.
The twelfth house is also concerned with health, either as a profession, or how we deal with illness. It is also concerned with meditation (impersonal), self-sacrifice (selflessness) and charity (selfless giving).
The twelfth house also indicates areas where we have secret enemies, which could be those aspects of ourselves which lead to our undoing. |
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