FOOTNOTE
*A planet is “afflicted” when the negative side of its power is stressed.
Part Three
UNDERSTANDING ASTROLOGY
FIRST HOUSE This is the House of Self. It is the most personal and most powerful House in your chart, for it symbolizes you—your mannerisms, your style, your disposition and temperament. This is the House of your outward behavior, your likes and dislikes. The First House reveals both the way you present yourself to others and the way the outside world sees you. It often indicates your physical characteristics, especially your head and facial features. Sometimes called the House of self-interest, it denotes what you want in life and how you go about achieving it. The place in your chart at which this House begins is the most important point in a horoscope, for it determines where all the other Houses will follow. In astrology the First House is thought of as a giant lens through which the rest of your chart is seen and interpreted.
SECOND HOUSE This is the House of Money and Possessions. It relates to what you own in life and what you will acquire, your income, and your financial prospects. This is the House of movable possessions, the things you physically take with you as you move through life. The Second House also tells how you feel about money and possessions, and gives a clue to the kinds of objects with which you like to surround yourself. To a certain extent it gives a picture of your earning power and ability to handle money. The Second House often shows what activities and projects may be a lucrative source of income for you.
THIRD HOUSE This is the House of Communication. The Third House relates to your immediate environment in three major areas: self-expression, your family ties, and day-to-day travel. This House governs the way you think, speak, and write. Logic, memory, and manual skill are in its domain. The Third House often indicates what kind of early education you received, and your ability to study and learn. Your relationships with brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors are part of this House’s influence. Short trips and the vehicles for this type of travel are governed by the Third House—especially the travel you do for work or education.
FOURTH HOUSE This is the House of Home. The Fourth House governs your home life in the past, the present, and the future. It indicates the kind of home you had in childhood and your relationship with parents. What you have brought into this life from your ancestors is in its domain. In the present, the Fourth House relates to the kind of home you make for yourself. Your current domestic affairs are under its influence, as are real estate holdings and the ownership of land. This House also rules over the closing years of your life, the kind of security you seek for old age. The Fourth House is one of the more mystical houses in your chart, for it represents what you keep protected and secluded from the rest of the world—the place you call home in both a physical and an emotional sense.
FIFTH HOUSE This is the House of Creativity and Sex. The Fifth House rules over everything you do for pleasure and to express yourself creatively. Your sexual nature (the most basic creative urge in your psyche) is a large part of its domain. Children and the joy you receive from them are governed by this House. The Fifth House also relates to entertainment, holidays, amusements, and the arts. It rules love affairs, new undertakings in life, speculation and gambles, and games of chance. It is the House that expresses your artistic talents as well as your ability to enjoy yourself in life. In childhood, pets and playmates are part of this House, for it holds sway over all the things to which you instinctively give affection. This is the House of your heart.
SIXTH HOUSE This is the House of Service and of Health. Often called the House of service to others, it indicates your need to help others and to be useful in the world. In the old days it governed a person’s attitude toward servants and those of inferior standing. In the modern day, this House rules your relationship with the people you work with, with those who are subordinates, and with your employers. The Sixth House also relates to your state of health and especially applies to illness brought on by worry or emotional upsets. This House often signifies whether you have a robust or delicate constitution, and what kinds of diseases you may be subject to.
SEVENTH HOUSE This is the House of Partnership and Marriage. On a personal level, it relates to your husband or wife, the mate you choose in life. It often indicates what kind of marriage you will have and whether you might divorce or remarry. This is your House of partnerships, not only in marriage but also in work, business, legal affairs, and sometimes in politics. It covers legal unions or contracts you enter into, and both sides of a question or dispute. The Seventh House concerns your ability to work harmoniously with others. Paradoxically, it also governs what astrologers call your open enemies, those who are usually your adversaries in the business or professional world. The Seventh House is the opposite of the First House of Self; here you blend your personality with others in order to pursue shared goals.
EIGHTH HOUSE This is the House of Death and Regeneration. The Eighth House is one of the three mystical houses in your chart (the others are the Fourth and the Twelfth), and one of the most difficult to understand. Sometimes called the House of spiritual transformation, it rules the life forces that surround sex, birth, death, and the afterlife. 1t concerns legacies and what you inherit from the dead—both materially and spiritually. Money that belongs to your partner, and taxes and debt are also in this House’s domain. The Eighth House may give some indication of the conditions surrounding your death, although the precise time always remains a mystery. Surgery is governed by this House, since it relates to regeneration. This is the House of psychic powers and occult studies and knowledge.
NINTH HOUSE This is the House of Mental Exploration and Long Distance Travel. The Ninth House can be thought of as a widening of the Third House; study, travel, and mental pursuits are expanded in the Ninth House onto a much wider plane. This is the House of the higher mind. Under its domain are higher education, philosophy, and the study in depth of profound subjects. Long journeys of both the mind and the physical body are controlled by this House. It concerns actual travel to foreign lands and business interests in other countries. It governs the meeting of foreigners who expand your way of thinking, and also the study of languages. The Ninth House rules your public expression of ideas and is therefore the House of publishing and literary effort.
TENTH HOUSE This is the House of Career and Public Standing. Its opposite house (the Fourth House) rules the home; the Tenth House rules all matters outside the home—your profession, your status in the community, and your public reputation. It has been called the House of ambition, aspiration, and attainment. This House also reveals in what esteem you are held by others. The Tenth House reflects your image, as shown in the power, position, and honors that you may achieve. It is an outward expression of your talents, the way you accept responsibility, the place you arrive at through your own efforts. This House has a great influence on your material success in life.
ELEVENTH HOUSE This is the House of Friends and of Hopes and Wishes. Unlike its opposite house (the Fifth House) with its concern for immediate pleasures, the Eleventh House has to do with long-term dreams and goals and with intellectual pleasures. This House governs your involvement with groups and organizations that have to do with your work, profession, or family. The clubs, societies, or political associations you belong to are under its domain. This House often indicates the kinds of friends and acquaintances who can best further your interests and objectives in life. The Eleventh House reflects your ability to enjoy other people. On its highest level this House represents the harmonious working together of all people, each one doing what best expresses his or her individual personality. It is the House of idealism and vision.
TWELFTH HOUSE This is the House of Secrets, Sorrows and Self-Undoing. It is the most mystical of all the Houses, the final House, the end of the circle. This is not necessarily a negative and gloomy place, but it does define the limitations placed on your life, including by yourself through self-undoing
behavior. This House governs disappointments, accidents, trouble, and self-defeat. It rules unseen forces, secret enemies, escapism, asylums, hospitals, and prisons. The Twelfth House has been called the House of Karma, the House of spiritual debt, for it contains the rewards and punishments for the deeds one commits in the world. It is associated with psychic powers and the ability to discover at last the meaning of life.
Rulers of the Houses
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YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED that the twelve Houses bear a relationshipresemblance to the twelve Signs of the zodiac. The First House shares certain qualities with the first sign of Aries; the Second House has qualities in common with the second sign of Taurus, and so on through the zodiac. The zodiacal sign that corresponds to a House is called the natural ruler of that House.
Kinds of Houses
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In astrology, the Houses are categorized in groups of three and in groups of four. These groups have special meanings that help us to see the overall picture of how Houses relate to life.
Houses Divided into Three Groups
1. ANGULAR HOUSES (called Angular because they mark the four “Angles” of a chart. See pages 343 ff.) These are the First, Fourth, Seventh, and Tenth Houses. Planets in these Houses indicate that you will achieve some kind of prominence in the world.
First House of self and personality.
Fourth House of home and the latter part of life.
Seventh House of fortune in partnership or marriage.
Tenth House of honor and position in career.
2. SUCCEDENT HOUSES (called Succedent because they “succeed” or follow the Angular Houses.) These are the Second, Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Houses. Planets in these Houses indicate that you have stability, willpower, and fixity of purpose.
Second House of finances.
Fifth House of creativity.
Eighth House of regeneration.
Eleventh House of hopes.
3. CADENT HOUSES (called Cadent because they “fall away” from the Angular and Succedent Houses. The word cadent comes from the Latin cadere, meaning “to fall.”) These are the Third, Sixth, Ninth, and Twelfth Houses. Planets in these Houses indicate that you are mentally active and communicate your ideas.
Third House of day-to-day communication.
Sixth House of employment.
Ninth House of mental exploration.
Twelfth House of the subconscious.
Houses Divided into Four Groups
1. HOUSES OF LIFE These are the First House of energy and vitality, the Fifth House of creativity and offspring, and the Ninth House of learning and conviction.
2. HOUSES OF WEALTH These are the Second House of personal property, the Sixth House of employment and work, and the Tenth House of career and public status.
3. HOUSES OF RELATIONSHIPS These are the Third House of relatives and neighbors, the Seventh House of partnership and marriage, and the Eleventh House of friends and organizations.
4. HOUSES OF ENDINGS These are the Fourth House of the latter years of life, the Eighth House of death and regeneration, and the Twelfth House of spiritual reward and debt.
Planets in the Houses
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ONE OF THE GUIDEPOSTS an astrologer looks at when interpreting your birth chart is which Houses in your horoscope are occupied by planets. Any House in your chart that has one or more planets in it is emphasized and strengthened by their presence in specific ways. For example, Jupiter (planet of luck) in your Second House of Possessions indicates ease in making money, whereas Jupiter in your Seventh House of Partnership means you tend to make gains through your partnerships or marriage. Mars (planet of assertiveness) in your Third House of Communication designates intellectual sharpness and a powerful talent to communicate effectively, whereas Mars in your Eighth House of Regeneration indicates strong willpower, volcanic passions, and an interest in the occult. Venus (planet of love and beauty) in your First House of Self accentuates social ease, a refined esthetic nature, and a goodlooking physical appearance, whereas Venus in your Fourth House of Home indicates that you are likely to have a comfortable, beautiful domicile and to have enjoyed a happy childhood.
Each planet in each House has a special meaning, and the following rundown will serve as a useful guide. In order to apply these descriptions to yourself, however, you must first set up your birth chart. Instructions for doing that are outlined in the next chapter, “How to Cast Your Own Horoscope.” Once you set down your Houses and discover which planets occupy which Houses, the following descriptions will help you to interpret your horoscope.
FIRST HOUSE (House of Self)
SUN in (Planet of vitality and individuality): You have a strong will and sense of self, and you like lots of attention. You are an independent person with leadership ability. Good points: healthy constitution, generous, confident, dignified. Bad points: authoritative, egotistical, dictatorial.
MOON in (Planet of emotions and instincts): You are imaginative in the way you express yourself and intuitive about other people. Home and family mean a great deal to you, and you remember your childhood with nostalgia. You want to be appreciated and admired, and would like to be famous. Good points: receptive, romantic, curious. Bad points: oversensitive, moody, a tendency to dissipate energies.
MERCURY in (Planet of the mind): You are mentally alert, inquisitive, and humorous, and you need intellectual challenge. You like to travel and enjoy talking to people. You may be known as an idea person and are probably a good mimic. Good points: adaptable, active, good at writing and speaking. Bad points: restless, indecisive, think too much about yourself.
VENUS in (Planet of love and pleasure): You are affectionate, flirtatious, and usually quite good-looking. You have charming social manners and like to have companionship. Your appearance is important to you and you tend to spend too much money on yourself. Good points: sympathetic, artistic, a cheerful personality. Bad points: lazy, narcissistic, too fond of pleasure and luxury.
MARS in (Planet of energy and assertiveness): You are impulsive and independent, and dislike taking advice from others. You approach new projects with energy and confidence, and are capable of hard work. You have strong sex desires and are passionate in lovemaking. Good points: strong body, self-assertive, courageous. Bad points: inconsiderate, pushy, domineering, accident-prone.
JUPITER in (Planet of luck and expansion): You have a buoyant, cheerful disposition, and are a success socially. You inspire confidence, are optimistic, and tend to be generous with your time and energy. You are blessed with luck, and things usually turn out for the best in life. Good points: jovial, broad-minded, expansive, kind. Bad points: self-indulgent, gullible, with a marked tendency to gain weight. You are sometimes faithless in love.
SATURN in (Planet of discipline and limitation): You are persistent, have organizing ability, and are capable of self-discipline. You are patient and a bit shy, feel nervous underneath (which you keep under tight self-control), and you want your talents and work to be recognized. Good points: industrious, good powers of endurance, a keen sense of responsibility. Bad points: stubborn and set in ways, afraid of new beginnings, secretive.
URANUS in (Planet of change and originality): You have an inventive mind and may take up unusual interests or hobbies. Your life is often marked by sudden and unexpected beginnings. You have a high-strung personality and an independent way of looking at things. You can be strong-willed about getting your own way. Good points: original, creative, intuitive. Bad points: inconsiderate, stubborn, eccentric.
NEPTUNE in (Planet of spirituality and illusion): You are imaginative and impressionable and can use this in artistic work. You tend to be absentminded because you like to daydream. You are fond of luxury and are sometimes lazy. A lot of your time is spent on or near the sea. Good points: visionary, idealistic, sensitive to other people. Bad points: procrastinating, changeable, weak-willed, never satisfied.
PLUTO in (Planet of transformation): You have an intense and magn
etic personality, and you seek adventure. You learned to be self-sufficient when you were young and are inclined to be a loner. Good points: great strength, relentless in pursuing a goal, potential for self-transformation. Bad points: inscrutable, vindictive, ruthless.
SECOND HOUSE (House of Possessions)
SUN in (Planet of vitality and individuality): You need security and tend to attract money, but it comes into and goes out of your life rather quickly. You like to spend on luxuries, and many of your possessions increase in value over time. You often gain through influential people. Good points: generous, great reserves of strength, persistent, creative in financial affairs. Bad points: possessive, greedy, ostentatious, money and possessions become status symbols.
MOON in (Planet of emotions and instincts): You are able to earn money creatively, by using your imagination, and through the public—selling to the public, appearing in public, etc. Your financial affairs fluctuate and tend to be unsettled. You are sometimes thrifty and careful, at other times wasteful and careless. Good points: tenacious with a keen sense for what is lucrative, security-minded with an ability to plan for the future. Bad points: greedy, extravagant, you spend money emotionally and often unwisely.
The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need Page 35