Astrology basics 04
The houses
Twelve parts of life, and the rising sign that decides where they begin.
The houses divide a birth chart into twelve parts, and each part is one area of your life. Where they begin is set by the Ascendant, the most easterly point at the moment you were born.
The Ascendant
is where the houses begin
The Ascendant (ASC for short) is basically the axis of the 1st house, and one of the three most important points of a personal horoscope. It represents the most easterly point at the moment of our birth, and the sign in which it appears is called “the rising sign”. If somebody, for example, is born exactly at sunrise, it means that the Sun and the Ascendant are in the same sign.
The Ascendant is a very precise point of a personal horoscope, and its position strongly influences all the other elements of the horoscope. It is precise because it stays in one sign for only about two hours and makes the entire circle through the zodiac in one day. Therefore even twins, despite being born a short time apart, can have different Ascendants.
The Ascendant represents your looks, your personality, your presence, the beginnings of your achievements, your individuality and your way of expression — the way you dress, talk, walk, etc. It indicates the way you let or want others to see and perceive you. It also indicates your birth, and represents your body, your health, the way you start acting and tackle challenges, and what your basic outlook and approach to life are. It shows your basic essence.
It is similar to the Sun, but the Ascendant represents your karmic mission, the cohesive thread, the test you need to solve in this life.
The first house starts in the sign where your Ascendant is; all the next houses then follow in the other signs (each house spans approximately 30 degrees). Each personal horoscope has all 12 houses, but not all houses are occupied — there are 12 houses but only 10 planets, so several houses can be completely empty.
What makes a house important
Planets in houses
The planets in the houses are actually more important than the houses in signs. If a planet appears in a house, it means that the area that this house represents is important for you. The more planets you have in one house, the more important this house is for you.
The rulers of the houses
Every house carries the basic nature of its natural ruler: Mars for the first house, Venus for the second, and so on round the circle. Each house also belongs to one of the twelve signs, and carries that sign’s nature too.
The first and the tenth
Of all the houses, the first and the tenth count most. The first begins at the Ascendant, and shows how you begin things, how you come across, your body, your looks and your health. The tenth begins at the top of the sky — the Midheaven, medium coeli in Latin, MC for short — and stands for your career and your profession: what you aim for in life, and how and where you will reach it.
The twelve houses
The first house
how you come across, and how you begin
Aries’ house, ruled by Mars. It begins at the Ascendant, so it says what the Ascendant says: how you look and come across, how you dress, speak and walk, how you want to be seen, and how you go into action. It also stands for your birth, your body and your health, and for your basic approach to life.
The second house
what you value, and what you own
Taurus’ house, ruled by Venus. It represents self-awareness, the feeling of one’s own worth and a feeling of value in general. It indicates your natural talents, basic values and the need for fulfilment. This is also the material, financial house, which represents your financial commerce, your investments, your property, chances for income and the way you do business. It also shows profits and losses in the financial (material) area.
The third house
the people close by, and how you learn
Gemini’s house, ruled by Mercury. It represents your direct environment, relatives, sisters, brothers, neighbourly relations, schooling, education, your ways of communication and ways of making acquaintances. It also indicates your early childhood, what ways of communication and what systems of learning and improving you have been taught and have gained. It indicates how you experience traffic and act in it, and (mostly short) travel.
The fourth house
home, family and roots
Cancer’s house, ruled by the Moon. Its axis, the IC (in Latin Imum Coeli), is exactly opposite the MC and also a very important point: the lowest point of one’s horoscope. The fourth house represents your home, your roots (also psychological) and your beginnings. It indicates your parents, ancestors and family ties; what kind of family you originate from, what your perception of family life is; it also shows what experiences and values you have gained in this area. It represents property, your personal life. It basically represents everything that is private; the foundations on which you build your character. It also indicates inheritance.
The fifth house
love, play and creativity
Leo’s house, ruled by the Sun. It represents the love that you give, the home and family that you create. It indicates feats, sport, hobbies, your creativity, artistic tendencies and abilities, your social life, clubs and organisations which you join. It indicates children, satisfaction, parties, holidays, games and speculation.
The sixth house
work, habits and health
Virgo’s house, ruled by Mercury. It indicates the ability to adapt, the services that you offer, the way you accept things and the way you handle your work and business obligations. It represents your habits, your looks, your attitude towards health and personal hygiene and all circumstances connected to health. It also indicates your pets.
The seventh house
partners, in love and in business
Libra’s house, ruled by Venus. It begins at the Descendant (DSC), exactly opposite the Ascendant (ASC), and indicates your partnerships. Rather than on the sign in which the DSC appears, the emphasis is on the type of person with such basic characteristics.
In many older astrology books, we find information saying that the DSC indicates the astrological sign of your partner, but this is not completely true — it is often the case that we are attracted to a person who is born in the sign of our ASC, not our DSC (NOTE: we should never strictly follow the astrological principles of matching partners. As we have seen, perhaps your partner, even though (s)he is not a good match by Sun sign, can have a well-matched Moon or ASC, or even have the ASC in the same sign as your Sun sign).
The seventh house mostly indicates the quality of your partnerships, both intimate as well as business ones. It indicates agreements, contracts, public affairs, cooperation and also the way you communicate in partnership.
The eighth house
intimacy, inner strength and renewal
Scorpio’s house, ruled by Pluto. It represents your inner spiritual life, your deepest contemplations and explorations, also your sexuality and your perception of sex and your participation in intimate relationships. It represents your inner strength, the ability of your physical and mental regeneration. It is often explained as the house of death. And it really represents inheritance, property you get, for example, through your partner. It indicates types of illnesses and potential surgical procedures, also anaesthesia and similar states.
The ninth house
ideals, far places and the search for meaning
Sagittarius’ house, ruled by Jupiter. It represents your super-ego: your ideals and visions, the upgrading of the knowledge that you gained in life, travel, and also spiritual exploration. It indicates in which area or in what way you focus on the ideas and fulfilment you want to achieve in life. It represents an interest in science, philosophy, psychology, foreign (distant) countries and their cultures, dealing with ethics, aesthetics, morals and law.
The tenth house
career, standing and what you achieve
Capricorn’s house, ruled by Saturn. It represents your career, business, accomplishment in life, fulfilment, and the area and the way in which you achieve success. It indicates profession, status, position, reputation, position in society. It indicates the impression you make, the way you actually want to be perceived and valued. More important than the sign in which the axis of the 10th house (MC) appears is the planet found near it, because it is the highest in the sky — at the zenith — in a personal horoscope. It is called the culminating planet and it is very important — it rounds off the entire image of you and is essential or at least very important for horoscope analysis.
The eleventh house
friends, groups and shared aims
Aquarius’ house, ruled by Uranus. It represents your perception of and viewpoint on friendship, your friends and acquaintances, social life; relationships that are not only of emotional nature. It represents your goals, your cooperation in (mostly humanitarian and similar) organisations, the way you integrate into groups, your humanitarian interests, and the clubs, institutions and organisations that you belong to.
The twelfth house
the inner world, and what is hidden
Pisces’ house, ruled by Neptune. It is the last house, which, like the sign of Pisces, carries in it all the characteristics of the previous houses. It represents your inner world, your dreams, extrasensory abilities, your creativity, imagination and ability to visualise; also your inner exploration, the subconscious and all the things that you hide from others. It also represents and indicates your secret activities, secret love affairs or unusual cosmic relationships. It is often called the house of karmic debt. It is the last house, right before sunrise, and therefore similar to the Moon card in the tarot: it denotes the darkest time before dawn. It therefore also indicates all your fears, hidden worries, anxieties and premonitions.
The houses in a few words
- 1st how you come across, and how you begin
- 2nd what you value, and what you own
- 3rd the people close by, and how you learn
- 4th home, family and roots
- 5th love, play and creativity
- 6th work, habits and health
- 7th partners, in love and in business
- 8th intimacy, inner strength and renewal
- 9th ideals, far places and the search for meaning
- 10th career, standing and what you achieve
- 11th friends, groups and shared aims
- 12th the inner world, and what is hidden
Your birth chart reading
Your whole chart, read in one book
The book goes through every planet, every house and every aspect in one birth chart, the way these pages explain them, but about you.
Marsa wrote every word. Your chart decides which of them you get.
See the books →See it in your own birth chart
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