The Houses of the Horoscope

What follows is a short explanation of the Houses of the horoscope. Flexibility in thinking, and the understanding that there will be many overlaps among subjects, is key to interpreting House meanings. It’s very effective to think of the Houses of a chart as six pairs of opposing sets of subjects/ values; what falls in one House will be of opposite composition to what falls in the House it is literally across from in the chart. For example, with the 1st we have the viewpoint of the Self, and with the 7th we have ‘all others.’ There is also the idea that opposing houses hold the ‘next step’ of the concept expressed in its opposite–with the 1st and 7th this plays out as ‘I am me’ (in the 1st) and then I gain a mate (the ‘next step’ aspect of the 7th). We have another example of this in the 5th and its opposite, the 11th. In this instance the personal creativity of the 5th expands to become the creativity of the group, manifesting as an organization. This is, of course, not the only meaning for either House, and this is where the astrologer’s personal discretion plays a big part. We must look at an entire pattern before we declare the possible meanings; in an example with a 6th House Sun quincunx a 1st House Uranus, we see two ‘first person’ points of view: with the 1st House and its ‘identification’ with the energies of Uranus, and through the 6th House Sun, as the Sun also carries the ‘I am’ viewpoint of the Soul. This commonality will influence our interpretation, as we must acknowledge that this individual will sometimes see and identify with the Sun viewpoint, that expresses its essence through 6th House activities of work, daily routine, service, and interaction with employees and those who serve him or her, and that they will at other times embody (perhaps quite literally, via nervous system involvement) Uranian energies through the personality–they may be erratic in behavior, innovative, unique, unusual, in the avant garde, intelligent, and/ or pursuing expression through the higher mind, technology, academia, or group involvement, perhaps as a leader or as a rebel leader. And because the aspect is a quincunx, we may see these two facets of the Self expression chafing against each other; this could be someone who is a teacher, physician or nurse, office or data worker, or in a purely service-oriented profession (without a Sun sign we are somewhat adrift here!) by day, who becomes a revolutionary, a hacker, or who develops a radical philosophy, at night. These are just some possibilities, and without a full horoscope we are limited in what we can conclude, but it does show the range possible, and that many influences must be taken into account.

Across the 1st/ 7th axis we have the Self vs. All Others. The 1st is where the personality enters the reality experience–it’s like the Soul ‘looks out’ from this vantage point upon initial entry, and never entirely loses that way of seeing. Because we are so ‘close’ to 1st House energies these can give clues to physical ailments and psychological ones, as well.The 1st House is essentially a viewpoint adopted in response to the environment one enters at birth, and thus represents behaviors and attitudes that were keyed to acceptance and survival; because of this, we often find regressive behaviors, or ones that have outlived their appropriateness or usefulness, linked to 1st House energies. It is also what others (the 7th) first see on meeting us. The 7th holds everything that is ‘not I,’ and this can make it seem very broad, though its definition can be narrowed when we see this house as containing those things which we view as personally complementary to oneself (as in the spouse) or adversarial (as when we place competitors here). The 7th, perhaps inevitably, also includes ‘open enemies,’ i.e., those we recognize as against us–it’s just unfortunate that the mate shares the same designation!

The 2nd/ 8th is all about what we have vs. what others have, and so can hint at what we may long for, and speak of our insecurities (along with the Moon and Saturn). The 2nd encompasses not just what we are personally capable of earning/ producing, but of how we see ourselves (and therefore of how we measure, count, assess our Self-worth). One mistake we tend to make is to think of the 2nd as defining income; while this can be included (though I find more information following 2nd House ‘leads’), it may be more useful to think of this as both what we innately possess (talents, assets) and what energies we can exploit for profit (these we must trace through the chart). For instance, if Neptune rules your 2nd, we must look to all the connections Neptune makes: where it’s posited, its sign, its aspects, and we must follow the meanings behind these, such as if it squares Mercury, we must then assess Mercury, its aspects, and the houses it rules as well as where it’s posited, and link those meanings to their 2nd House manifestation. I didn’t say this was easy! The 8th shows us what others are willing to share, and we must take a broad view when defining this, as it applies as much to attitudes and psychological support as it does to the sharing of material goods. Both Houses point to areas where we may feel especially insecure, as they are so much about worthiness, in all its variations.

The 3rd/ 9th moves us into a realm that is largely mental, in terms of how we receive its experiences and information. The 3rd is communication in all forms, the local arena including short-distance travel, neighbors, siblings, and the environment of childhood, specifically that on which you ‘cut your perceptive teeth.’ The 9th covers a variety of subjects that all have in common a theme of reaching out and sharing with others in terms of mental, cultural, and religious experiences, as well as in discovery of ‘new frontiers’ and dissemination of information about these (education, foreign cultures/ travel, organized religion–though not spirituality, exploration, publication). Particularly with the 9th, we must keep in mind that the experiences go both ways–we can both teach and learn with this house, for example–and I do give special attention to those placements that fall within 5 degrees of the 10th cusp (one of the so-called ‘Gauquelin sectors’)–anything here does tend to be enormously important in the life and often figures into the ultimate career choice (though it is often markedly missing from the career expression early on), and seems to be something everyone ’sees’ when they look at the individual.

The axis of the 4th/ 10th is the essence of public (10th of career, reputation, business, image as interpreted by those who do not know you personally) vs. private (4th of family of origin, family we create–and notice there is an assumption by designating this House as representing both that we will significantly replicate our original family scenario in our chosen one–’home,’ deepest Self–this latter can be explained as the way we think of ourselves at the core level, an image of ourselves we largely keep to ourselves). The 4th/ IC can be thought of as a kind of fountainhead, a source attitude that stands at the root of our Beingness as it pushes out into the world. Emphasis across this axis, particularly the Nodes placed here, promises a lifelong challenge of balancing the role in the world and the role of the private life; we can also find clues to genetic or psychic inheritance here, though the latter can also be found in the 8th. I locate the father in the 4th, and the parents as a unit and the mother in single in the 10th, though astrologers disagree over this.

In the 5th/ 11th we find a strong impetus toward creativity, in our personal world (via children, creative issue, personal expression, and gambling–this last in its capacity to take something and make it multiply/ grow, thus capturing the essential fertility of this House), and in what we have to offer the world at large (through groups and group involvement, friendships, and the creation/ manifestation of our dreams–this House is especially open to the Higher Mind results of Uranian, and thus creative in the sense of modern and innovative, thought). This is where we can reach out and touch the world and we will see precisely how effective we are being at ‘making our mark.’ Transits through these two Houses can be some of the most ’stirring,’ and also often the most life-changing–especially watch transits to the rulers of these two Houses for subject activity. The 11th is also business/ career income–an important point to remember when delineating financial possibilities.

Finally, the axis of the 6th/ 12th pits the mundane (6th of everyday activity, work and the colleagues met there, forms of service, health) vs. the mystical (the 12th of ‘All that is Larger than We’ in the form of institutions and massive organizations, especially those that purport to serve humanity in some way, spirituality, the literal world of dreams, such as that enjoyed by the advanced use and involvement of the Aboriginals of Australia in their ‘Dream Time,’ and one’s relationship with the very Cosmos itself). We also find in the 12th those enemies of whom we’re not consciously aware, and we also find the things within ourselves that may lead to Self-sabotage. Excavating the 12th, at least to some degree, is necessary, as otherwise we are likely to become our own worst enemy.

This material first appeared at my blog at Yahoo360