Houses

The houses are governing the influences of you in certain areas of your life. The planets govern aspects of your self, rather than the areas- meaning manifestation of relationships is governed by the House VII- but how you love them is governed by Venus, etc.

The chart is divided up into the twelve houses (30 degrees each). Some people will have all twelve signs represented (one in each) but, you can have up to three signs appearing here. Sometimes you will have groups of signs in conjunct houses.

House I- (The Ascendant or ‘Rising’ sign) Identity
Element: Fire, Quality: Cardinal, Polarity: Masculine.

This is the mask you wear, your appearance or persona that you present to others (intentionally or not). This can lead to people believing or thinking you are something or somebody that you are not.

On the upside, it can also be a true reflection of who you are- from a certain point of view. House I also impacts the early life and how the personality develops.

It is called the rising sign (or ascendant) as it marks the eastern horizon at the time you were born.

Fire Ascendant (Aries/Leo/Sagittarius) – likely lively and outgoing
Earth Ascendant (Taurus/Virgo/Capricorn) – likely to be practical and well-organised
Air Ascendant (Gemini/Libra/Aquarius) – likely to have a curious nature and talk lots(!)
Water Ascendant (Cancer/Scorpio/Pisces) – Seemingly more reserved and sensitive.

House II- Values and Resources
Element: Earth, Quality: Fixed, Polarity: Feminine.

The second house provides the material backup to the first, it rules money and personal finances, sense of self-worth and basic values, personal possessions. This house also governs the mind and how you perceive the world and environment.

House III- Expression of the Self
Element: Air, Quality: Mutable, Polarity: Masculine.

The third house governs our communication skill set and abilities. Powering the left-sided brain processes (rational thought and intellect), the third house is linked to the manner of speech and ability to adapt to surroundings.

The third house also links family and siblings.

House IV – (Imum Coeli) The Home
Element: Water, Quality: Cardinal, Polarity: Feminine.

The Imum Coeli, or IC, is the inner or secret self- the home within. The fourth house governs the house of emotional being and your close environment. It also relates to your upbringing and family life and inherited life patterns.

The fourth house governs your stomach and the womb, for it is also the mother house.-the maternal self and connection with mother.

House V – Recreational Self 
Element: Fire, Quality: Fixed, Polarity: Masculine.

Governing the heart, the fifth house is all about matters of the heart- what you love. Creating, expressing yourself- whether that is in the form of a painting or a poem, or how you enjoy spending your time. Also, how how you look after the inner-child. The fifth house is the home of young Leo- the lion, who has love affairs and plays. This is the house of pleasure- for example, enjoyment of food, or games (non-sexual, for sexual, see VII!).

House VI- Service to others & Health
Element: Earth, Quality: Mutable, Polarity: Feminine.

House 6 is for work, co-operating with others, working as a team- or part of a team even when separated. It is the inter-connection of the sixth house (in connection with the twelfth) that helps or hinders whether you are suited to work for someone else, or on your own.

Health-wise, this house can also indicate tendency for illness, stress, etc. Check which planet(s) sit in this house.

House VII- (The Descendant) Relationships
Element: Air, Quality: Cardinal, Polarity: Masculine.

Relationships, marriage et al covered here. By the seventh house you are reaching out to others for intimacy. It is also a measuring stick for how we relate intimately, our commitment to others and what we seek in another partner- be it friends or partner.

The Descendant also indicates how we look for feedback form others within the relationships- from projecting fears and expectations of others and how we react to those expectation on us by others.

House VIII -The House of Sex
Element: Water, Quality: Fixed, Polarity: Feminine.

Erm, no, not *that* type of house of sex, although as the home house of Scorpio and Pluto- you might think of it as not quite vanilla 😉

So moving on from relationships, the eighth house governs sex. The planet and/or sign can give a clue to tendency to sexual preference- a highly-spiritual soul union- or a lusty animalistic rush.

The house of the reproductive organs, birth, death and re-birth… this is a house that will explain how you give yourself to others.

House VIII also governs our attitude to sex, money and ideas.

House IX – Intellect
Element: Fire, Quality: Mutable, Polarity: Masculine.

The ninth house, like Sagittarius (home sign) is the search, the quest for finding the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Why are we here? What’s the point? The ninth house is how you instinctively crave your answers.

Do you want to travel to learn? A passion for books or learning on the go are defined here.

On the spiritual side, House IX also looks at the spiritual  quest for this lifetime. Mystical planets will look for the god/gods/goddess and oneness within, whilst logic and reasoned planets will be looking for an organised, perhaps dogmatic, religion. And then one planet in particular, says it will make a new one, or have none at all- the current one’s do nothing for me!

House X – (The Midheaven) Ambition/Aspirational Self
Element: Earth, Quality: Cardinal, Polarity: Feminine.

Do you *really* want to succeed? What are your goals and ambitions for this lifetime. Do you really care or happy to go along as you are?

The Midheaven, tenth house, home of logical and reasoning Capricorn/Saturn, is your motivational self. Your potential career path is mapped here, suitability and how acceptant you are of this.  This, along with the fourth house is a parental house. This is the paternal part- the hunter gatherer side that protects and nurtures by providing from the outer world.

House XI- Community
Element: Air, Quality: Fixed, Polarity: Masculine.

The eleventh house governs you relationships with others as a community (as opposed to friendship in the seventh house). How do you fit in with society- are you prone to periods of isolation?

This is the house that looks at co-operation with projects in a communal sense- particually away from the close friendships and more acquaintances and lesser-know neighbours.

House XII – House of Secrets, Healing
Element: Water, Quality: Mutable, Polarity: Feminine.

The house of secrets is where your soul is safe (or thinks it is). How do you integrate on the higher levels, the spiritual connection with source, the things you can let go of? These are all mapped out here.

How to heal is often also found here, along with where the comet Chiron sits.

The secrets of family, karmic and institutional are kept here. The deceptions and illusions of the past and present are waiting to be discovered. How well you guard your secrets (even from your self) are also covered in the twelfth house.

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