Greetings:

In my last post on the Houses, I tried to introduce the concept of the Houses. Next I would like to begin exploring the nature of the influence of the Houses themselves. When we look at the chart wheel the Houses are ordered counter clockwise on the wheel. In a properly drawn chart, the Houses will always begin on the left hand side of the chart at the point referred as the ascendant or rising point on the horizon. The Ascendant is also the cusp of the First House.

The First House is the House of Self. It is the most personal and most powerful House in the chart. The First House symbolizes you - your mannerisms, your style, your disposition and temperament. This is the House of your outward behavior, your likes and dislikes. It reveals both the way you present yourself to others and the way the outside world sees you. It is sometimes called the House of self-interest for it can reveal what you want in life and how you might go about achieving it.

The Second House is the House of money and possessions. Ultimately the Second House deals with what we value and the things we hold as dear. This House tells us about how we are likely to feel about money, and the making of it. About the “Things” that we are likely to covet and about the strength of those needs.

The Third House is the House of communication and learning. The Third House deals with what interests us and what we are likely to find mentally stimulating. It also governs how we are likely to express ourselves. This House reveals details about our ability to interact with others, both in the way we incorporate knowledge an in the way we share it.

The Fourth House is the House of home. The Fourth House cusp corresponds to the Nadar which is the bottom most point of the chart wheel. This House deals with our home, both in the physical sense and well as the emotional sense. The home is not only a place, but a state of mind as well as
that need we have for an emotionally secure place we call our own. With the Fourth House we are dealing with that part of ourselves that represents our base for both physical and emotional security.

The Fifth House is the House of creativity and it’s expression. This house also deals with the things in which we find pleasure. This House deals with a broad range of aspects of our lives from sex and children to artistic talent and the games we play. At it’s most fundamental, the Fifth House is the House of the heart and the things that give us satisfaction.

The Sixth House is the House of service, duty and personal responsibilities. In this house we see the things that represent personal honor and obligations. This my be expressed in our relationships with our bosses, co-workers or subordinates. It also deals with our sense of family responsibilities. The Sixth House is also said to be the house of health. This should be seen more in terms of those ailments brought on by worry and emotional distress.

The Seventh House is the House of relationships. This is the opposite House from the First House and where the First House deals with our sense of self, the Seventh House deals with our relationships with others. This includes the whole range of such relationships from marriage and the kinds of people we are likely to be attached to, to business partnerships and the kind of people we are likely to feel comfortable associating with, to our open enemies, those people who we choose to maintain adversarial relations with. The Seventh House represents those interactions with others that we maintain over long periods of time.

The Eighth House is perhaps one of the most difficult Houses to explain. Often referred to as the house of death and regeneration or the House of spiritual transformation, the Eighth House deal with those values that are expressed in terms of the society we live in. Just as the Second House deals with the things we value at a personal level, it’s opposite, the Seventh House deals with those values that we take and give to the world around us. It often is expressed as spiritual or mystical, this house represents something higher values we hold.

The Ninth House is the House of social mind, of higher education and collective thinking. As the Third House governs individual expression, the Ninth House governs that part of our thinking that deals with our society at large. Here we deal with those forms of thought we find to be profound, from philosophy to religion to politics. The Ninth House deals with academic thought, cultural interaction and social norms. Here we often find much of our collective sense of right and wrong, as well as our sense of patriotic honor.

The Tenth House is the House of career and public standings. This is the House of our aspirations. Here we find what we need to achieve, to be satisfied with ourselves. The Tenth House governs our professions, our status in the community and or public reputation. This House shows ambition and our need for recognition. The Tenth House being the opposite House of the Fourth House, represents the outside world and our place in it.

The Eleventh House is the House of friends. It deals with our hopes, dreams and wishes and the people we share them with. Where the Fifth House deals with our personal pleasures, the Eleventh House deals with that part of ourselves that we share with others. Both in the give and take, this is the House that governs with those who give us pleasure, who make us feel welcome, who bring us satisfaction in simply being with. The Eleventh House also represents our idealism and sense of vision.

The Twelfth House is another House that is often difficult to explain. Often called the House of secrets, the Twelfth House deals with much of our unconscious minds. Though many have a negative view of this house, it must be viewed in terms of that which we often don’t want others to see of ourselves. Here can be seen the habitual behavior, our escapist tendency, the sense of shame, the debts we feel to others, our secret desires. The Twelfth House is viewed by many as the House of karma, the House of our mystical perspective and of our spiritual obligations. The Twelfth House closes the circle of the Houses and as such it is the House of unfinished business. In this House we are likely to be our own harshest judges.

The more planets you have in any given House the more important that house is in your individual chart and thus your life. Because there are only 10 planets and 12 houses, as well as the likelihood of having multiple planets in a given House, there will be empty Houses with no planets. This does not mean the influences of these houses will be completely absent. While these areas will certainly be less influential, details about these areas can often be found elsewhere in the chart.
An understanding of the Houses should begin to broaden your scope of the chart.

Ben

hello Ben,
that made great reading. always wanted to know about Houses... but didnt know where to start. a very basic question....y r there only 12 houses? mayb i am missing out some basic stuff...
swetha

Greetings Sweta:

Just as the signs have 12 natures, so to do the houses.

Ben