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

Product Information

The chart launches at the ascendant, or rising sign, and then it’s off to the races. The first house represents the primal hatching of the egg, the intrinsic self ready to face the world. Any planets in the first house will be embodied and projected in your immediate character. If you’re born with Jupiter in the first, there’s a gregarious and possibly-precarious lust for life at play. With Saturn here, you may have taken on a role of adult responsibility at too young an age — or forged for yourself a rebel-punk identity to spite your parents. Get to know this as the house of the core you. Without the first, there can be no self-discovery or cultivation, no declaration of who you are and what you’re here to do. THE SECOND HOUSE Now, if you read our article on astrology charts, you already know, an astrological chart is a map of the sky. House of the Moon is the Third House. It contains everything familiar to you. Brothers and sisters of course, but also the people you see around the neighborhood, or the coworkers you see every day. It’s also your habits and routines, and the places you visit on a regular basis – short trips to school or work or the grocery store. Basically it’s your comfort zone. The Moon was also associated with writing, and bringing the messages of the other planets down to earth, so the Third House contained those things too. The houses, alongside the planets, zodiacal signs, and aspects, are one of the integral components in Astrological study and practice. It's commonly said that the planets tell us 'what' we're talking about and the zodiac signs describe 'how' it feels, with the aspects deftly explaining how certain planet-sign combinations interact, for good or for bad. The houses, however, have a singularly important purpose: they tell us 'where' it happens. WHAT ARE THE HOUSES Career and social status, public recognition, all matters which affect one's status in society (e.g. fame, notoriety, divorces - in combination with the seventh house), public scandals, social environment.

The first house of astrology represents first impressions - how we are perceived, how we dress and how we appear to others. It includes not just how others perceive us, but also how one perceives the self. Everything that is related to your self identity, and even how we begin things and start taking initiative is ruled by the first house. 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.When we begin to study the houses, we bring the planets down to Earth and into our lives. What was once out of reach - the planets, twinkling in the sky so very far away - can now be seen at play in our lives. House Conundrums The ninth House refers to philosophy, religion, law, learning, higher education (as opposed to early education by the 3 rd House), ethics, morals, long journeys, travel, foreign countries and interests, spiritual urges, dreams, visions, higher mind, ideas, understanding and wisdom, books, publishing, ceremonies, and rituals. This is the House of big thoughts and big ideas.

The fifth House refers to children, creativity, and the pursuit of pleasure. This includes personal interests, love affairs, sports, hobbies, speculation, risk-taking, teaching, drama, creative self-expression, love given, gambling. The 5th house is all about you being yourself and enjoying it. Like the 6th and 8th Houses, the 12th House has been refashioned in modern times to incorporate softer topics like dreams and mysticism, but even the most cursory reading of the 12th House throughout history will lead one to understand the true nature of this house, which is that of trial and tribulation.Secondly, there is an ever-widening gap between traditional and modern Astrologers and their understanding of the houses and their meanings. While I'm considerably democratic about house divisions and most applications of Astrological knowledge, I must admit it’s my opinion that the sanitizing hand of modernity has been not only inaccurate but also unkind to the Astrological houses. In example, while the 8th House may very well be transformational, it also involves physical death; the 12th House may certainly be a place of spiritual accomplishment, but it's likely to be wisdom won through abject pain and not pleasure. The more we remove 'uncomfortable' topics from the Astrological chart, the more we may inadvertently bypass the reality of life, which is at times painful or traumatic. Following is a brief summary of the areas represented by the twelve houses and the type of questions that you can find the answer for:

Do you prefer the default Placidus House system? If so, you can find the default free natal chart report with Placidus houses here. If you prefer the Koch house system, you can use this Natal Chart Report Generator with Koch Houses, or if Equal is your preferred house system, use the Natal Chart Report with Equal Houses calculator. Bonus: Saturn in this part of the natal chart may help you compartmentalize and overcome pains produced by the 12th House, as this is Chronos' traditional 'House of Joy.'

The 12th House of Astrology: The House of Secrets

If you’ve been doing astrology, you’re actually using some derived house meanings and don’t even realize it. In fact some of the derived house meanings are so ingrained, we don’t even realize they are actually derived. For example, children are located in the Fifth House, because the Fifth House is the second house from the Fourth House or the things that belong to the family. By looking at a natal birth chart, we begin to understand the inner workings, personality traits, and desires of a given individual. This type of astrology chart is a mathematical analysis that determines the location of the ten planets, at the exact moment of your birth. Each of the planets represents ten instinctual urges we have as human beings here on Earth. Get to know more about the 12 houses in birth chart. Remember, the houses are not “energies” like the elements or planets, nor do they color the expression of energies like the zodiac signs do. The houses are WHERE these energies are most likely to manifest. The houses are the fields of experience, not the experience themselves. Taken as a whole, the 12 houses successfully describe life as it truly is, full of rich experiences that are bleak, bountiful, and everything in between. While many will have certain houses of their natal chart more or less active, over time we experience the entire chart as we move through a cascade of Astrological transits and progressions. Beyond its most common association with career, the 10th House is how we present in public: are we dynamic, admired, resented, scandalized? Whether for good or for bad, this house is a place of high visibility, and with visibility comes admiration - or condemnation. The business of this house is to take the pre-existing 4th House foundations and build towards an independent public profile, cobbled together through our actions and interactions.

Even more so, it’s about how we can bring the heavens (aka the divine) into the matter, and help matter become more divine-like. Nowadays, it's common to marry for love. To avoid confusion, remember: affairs of the heart are in the 5th house, but cooperative partnerships are in the domain of the 7th house. The Greek term for the 8th House, Epicataphora, meaning 'falling down into the Underworld' represents the Sun's path in the sky as it sinks towards the horizon, which many ancient cultures feared was the death of their solar God; death is still the primary meaning of the 8th House.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. Eleventh House: This house represents your desires and ability to manifest them. Traditionally known as the house of friendship, it also rules groups, organizations, and acquaintances. Describing your personal and sometimes even professional goals, this house is essential to making your dreams a reality. It’s about your aspirations, affiliations, and social connections — an important part of life that motivates your desire for well-being and high-performance living. Romance, dating, love affairs, and sexual relationships are ruled by this 5th house, yet marriage is assigned to the 7th. Why? Because, until very recently, marriage was not entered into for pleasure, for love, nor for personal fulfillment. Marriage was hardly even entered into by choice, but rather for the purpose of raising kids to preserve the values of a particular culture or religion. And these marriages were most often arranged according to class and financial status, a partnership befitting the 7th house.