The Twelve Houses (2007 Edition): Exploring the Houses of the Horoscope

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It’s drawn from the point of view of someone standing in the northern hemisphere facing south toward the Sun. Where the Sun rises in the East is on the left, and where it sets in the West is on the right. North is behind you. In medical astrology especially, both the Zodiac signs and the houses have been used for diagnosis, placing the head at the top (Aries, or the First House) and the feet at the bottom (Pisces, or the 12 th house). Under this system, which Zipporah Dobyns called the “12-letter alphabet,” the 12 Zodiac Signs are aligned with the 12 Houses and the planets. So the sign Aries is linked to the First House and Mars, Taurus to the Second House and Venus, Gemini to the Third House and Mercury, so on around the wheel of houses. That way, new students only had to remember the 12 letters (based on the 12 Zodiac signs), rather than a lot of different pieces. The 1st House is potentially the most important house of the natal chart. The planets within this house, as well as its planetary ruler by sign and house, give invaluable insight to one's inherent, intuitive way of being, in addition to how we are most commonly perceived. This is the only house of the chart about just us - this is the space of me, myself, and I. For those who believe, the 12th house is also considered to refer to the collective unconscious of all humanity.

The first six zodiac houses are called the personal houses. They rule our private and immediate lives: individuality, our daily environments, our siblings and peers, parents, and our attempts to define and express who we are. A person whose chart has lots of planets in the first six houses may have trouble leaving the nest, or may remain nostalgically loyal to childhood friends. Houses 7-12 are the interpersonal houses Although no planets have their joy here, strongly placed planets can bring career success or social standing, while afflicted planets can deny the same.The House of Jupiter contains all things which uplift and support us. Which, in a perfect world, are your friends. In medieval times this would be your guild. Now we think in terms of trade associations, support groups, even spiritual communities. Charities and philanthropy too. In astrology, this is the Eleventh House. The 12 Houses of astrology are symbolic of the all the departments that make up human life. The planets and zodiac signs will manifest themselves most strongly in the sphere of life represented by the House in which they fall on your chart (and also in the House which they rule; more on House Rulerships below).

Sixth House: This house, the house of service, represents your diet, health habits, daily actions, and day-to-day work. It’s synonymous with routine, including seeing your medical professionals as needed and engaging in a movement practice that’s appropriate for your constitution. The sixth house is one of the most critical houses when it comes to health. Your behaviours, lifestyle choices, and mindset contribute greatly to how your health manifests. Each of the 12 zodiac houses is associated with a set of traits, beginning from the self, and expanding outward into society and beyond. Do you have all 12 houses in your birth chart? But it wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that modern astrologers popularized the “natural chart” as the primary basis for interpreting house meanings. Considering that so much of astrology’s foundational theory had been lost, it made sense. The 11th is a very hopeful house: through the study of its ruler and the planets within it, we may understand our approach to friends, groups, and clubs, as well as our relationship to hope itself. And while the 11th House is ultimately a pleasant part of the chart, afflicted planets found here can deny lasting friendships, create painful experiences within group settings, or generate hopelessness. A sports metaphor is really useful here. You can imagine these great circles marking about a playing field – only the field is your life! Or, at least the stuff you encounter in it.As you trace your birth chart, you may find that you have many planets in certain houses (in fact, four or more planets in a single house is called a stellium), while others may be completely empty. That's absolutely normal. The birth chart is simply a snapshot of the sky at your moment of birth, and since most celestial bodies travel in clusters, they often stay close together. While the empty areas don't signify deficiencies, the locations of the planets do reveal important information. Interpreting the Houses in Your Own Birth Chart Otherwise, the 3rd House is really about one's daily environs. This part of the chart embodies the coffee shop you visit every morning and the park you pass every evening on your way home from work. 3rd House places and spaces are ones where we feel comfortably acclimated and familiar. With that safety in hand, we can be expressive, communicative, and easily engage with parts of our community.

Many modern Astrologers relate the 8th House as a point of evolution or transformation, perhaps pulling on from the association with death and expanding it to include a subsequent rebirth. While this may be philosophically accurate on some level, given that soul expansions often follow traumatic contractions, there is no way around it: this is not a happy house and rebirth does not always follow death. House themes: career (vs. everyday work), our desire for career success, reputation, honors, awards, prizes, power, leaders and kings, judges and the law, authority, employers, public appreciation, recognition, being in the public eye, social standing, fame/infamy, distinction, the mother, what we inherit from the mother. The 11th House - Good Spirits If you are interested in astrology, you may have already looked into your natal chart – your astrological blueprint at birth. Your natal chart, which represents a snapshot of the sky, shows the position of the planets at the moment of your birth relative to where you were born. It illuminates your specific symbiotic relationship with the cosmos, your disposition and proclivities, and, ultimately, your strengths as well as the challenges that ripple through your life. Knowing this, you can make behaviour choices that affect your mind, body, and spirit in positive ways. When you run your chart, your personal astrology is presented as a circle, or ‘pie’, so to speak. That pie is divided into twelve slices, or houses. What follows is a general description of each house. Like the signs and planets, this list is by no means exhaustive. Consider it a jumping off point. There are numerous house systems; the one referred to in this article is Placidus, one of the most popular house systems. Planets in the 1st House are strongly felt and expressed, for good or for bad. Sometimes, these planets help describe our manner or appearance: Venus in the 1st folks may be particularly appealing in a Venusian way, while Saturn in the 1st may create a Saturnine, buttoned-up demeanor. The 1st House sign and ruler are also connected with one's sense of health and vitality. The 8th house is a house that rules over both life and death, sex, change, mystery and the occult The eighth house likewise rules other individuals' property and holdings, such as inheritance.

In Astrology, there are 12 Houses, all of which are organized on a wheel. It may be confusing at first, but these houses are not the same as what we know more commonly as the wheel of the zodiac. Instead these two circles within astrology are rather unique. Understanding The Two Wheels of Astrology: The 12 Houses and the 12 Zodiac Signs For example, two people may both have a Libra Sun sign, but one may have the Libra Sun in his 12th House, while the other may have his Libra Sun in his 1st house. This could make for two very different types of people.