Astrological Houses: The Eleventh House in Brief

The Ninth House was concerned with the authority of concepts and ideas already respected by the world, but the Eleventh House is purely concerned with the authority of concepts and ideas that are proposed by you and/or by the people with whom you identify. You are most likely to identify with your friends, so friends fall under the influence of the Eleventh astrological House. You probably socialize and even party with your friends, so both of these ideas are controlled by this house. And socializing with your friends generally makes you feel good about who you are. Associating with people who accept us for who we are right now is another aspect of the Eleventh House.

Many times (though certainly not all the time) our friends are made up of people who either share goals with us or have similar careers or areas of study. Sometimes these friends aren't exactly close friends, but we can gain a lot just from our associations. Because of this, the concepts of clubs, groups, and unions of people with common goals come under the roof of the Eleventh House. From the idea of goals we come to hopes and wishes, both individually and as a group.

The Eleventh House in astrology symbolizes individuals with ideas of their own (by themselves or in groups) trying to perfect their independent viewpoints so they may one day become authorities themselves. It is here we see the connection to both the Ninth and Tenth Houses through the idea of the strong authority figure. In reality, those with independent viewpoints are generally considered eccentrics or geniuses (or both). The Eleventh House contains the same creative spirit as the Fifth House (which is its opposite on the house wheel), but there is an important difference. The creativity expressed by the Eleventh astrological House is not expressed for its own sake. Instead, it is the spirits of invention harnessed for the good of the group. So art may fall under the control of the Fifth House, but invention, especially if that invention benefits a large group of people, is connected to the Eleventh House.

Independent viewpoints lead us to the idea of abstract thought, which becomes a necessary tool to be used when we have the desire to invent something. We must be able to envision that which has never existed before. This process naturally evolves into creative mutations that are only possible if we dare to dream of a future that has not yet come to pass. This, of course, is science in its purest form, so science is linked to this astrological house.

A consideration of science will eventually bring us back to astrology. We come full circle and acknowledge that the Eleventh House rules astrology and its associated ideas. Through our knowledge of what energies are at work inside us and inside those people who are members of the groups we belong to, we may best accomplish our own goals.

The Eleventh House is ruled by the planet Uranus and the sign Aquarius.

Astrological Houses: The Ninth House in Brief

The Ninth House in astrology represents the authority of concepts and ideas that are respected by the world. This is not like the Tenth House (though the two are sometimes confused) since the Tenth House is connected to the idea of power through the personal interaction. When an authority figure from the Tenth astrological House tries to influence us, there are usually several other factors involved which encourage us to take this influence seriously. With the Ninth House, however, authority is only important because we know it can make an impression on others. This causes us to seek out authority for ourselves.

Many things fall under the control of the Ninth House. With concepts and ideas being so strongly connected to this house, it comes as no surprise that the widespread dissemination of knowledge also falls under this heading. This naturally leads us to the ideas of both publishing and broadcasting (in their many forms). You might look at this from a different angle and determine that propaganda and truth are connected to the Ninth House as well. What we know to be true and the concept of propaganda may seem unrelated, but they are really just different ways of spreading information. Of course, information leads us to the ideas of education and teaching.

Consider the idea of authority for a moment and you may find yourself considering the concepts of justice and law. These two things must exist within the framework of the culture that gives rise to their existence. And so we arrive at customs, which have to be considered when creating laws if you want to maintain any semblance of order. Customs leads to the concepts of philosophy and religion, which brings us directly to spiritual values, all of which are under the control of the Ninth House.

But there are even more aspects to the Ninth House. Travel is one of the many ways to expand your knowledge and is basically the opposite of broadcasting. You go and see the world instead of bringing the world to you. While traveling, you will encounter new customs, religions, and philosophies. This could change your perspective, adding another dimension to the Ninth astrological House. Altering your perspective is one way of gaining appreciation and tolerance for those things that make us different from each other. This is the final phase of the Ninth House.

The Ninth House is ruled by the planet Jupiter and is associated with the sign Sagittarius.

Astrological Houses: The Fifth House in Brief

The Fifth House is connected with the creativity that enables you to have an impact on the world around you. But this house is highly influenced by both the Third and Fourth Houses. The knowledge of existing facts and techniques (which was learned from the Third House) is combined with the security of the Fourth House. This enables you to take a chance and bring your own ideas of what should exist in your reality into being. The Fifth House rules imagination, and imagination can result in creations of all kinds. Since creation is associated with the Fifth House, children also become connected to this particular astrological house.

Think about both children and artistic creations for a moment. Both of these things are (or should be) created for their own sake. You create them to satisfy yourself, not for monetary gain or status (in a perfect world, anyway). After you have brought these things into being, you put them out into the world, letting them go. You raise children to be independent enough to exist without you. You put an artistic work out there for the world to see and just let it go. This leads us to the concepts of growing up and performing, which then leads us to the notion of entertainment. All these things ares ruled by the Fifth House of astrology.

But it doesn't stop there. The Fifth House is the house of sports, fun, games, and even romantic love, for all these things are a type of performing in one sense. Of course, these things also contain an element of risk, bringing risk under the umbrella of this far-reaching house. The idea of taking a chance brings us naturally to gambling. And because investing is a more socially respectable form of gambling, it also belongs here.

The Fifth House is ruled by the Sun and the astrological sign of Leo.

Astrological Houses: The Third House in Brief

The Third House is connected to the Fourth House by more than just proximity. The Fourth House represented your home, but the Third House is associated with all the ways that you and your home are connected to the outside world. You could say that the Third House in astrology represents your neighborhood.

The Fourth house is nurturing, but doesn't reflect the reality of the outside world. The Third House, on the other hand, prepares us for experiences that occur outside the home and without a safety net. On occasion, the Third House may represent neighbors, but only if you interact with these neighbors regularly. Most of the time, this house is considered to be the house of relatives because you interact with these people on a regular basis.

Actions ruled by the Third House include short trips to visit relatives, neighbors, and local businesses. The communication of information and techniques that are a result of these trips are also connected to this astrological house. Conversations, reading, and writing are also Third House matters as they reinforce the principle of making connections with the world around you. So the Third House is also considered to be the house of connections.

The Third House rules reading and writing, which leads naturally to the idea of basic education. Teaching and learning are ruled by this house, and the planets and signs in our Third House will reveal how we feel about both education and communication in general.

The Third House is ruled by the planet Mercury and the sign Gemini.

Astrological Houses: The Eighth House in Brief

The Eighth House in astrology is strongly connected to the Second House. While the Second House is associated with the resources and values that are under your control, the Eighth House is associated with resources and values that are under the control of both you and others. The Eighth House has also come to symbolize power and power struggles. Power struggles are almost inevitable when two or more people combine their resources, but when these people come together in harmony, the power they can gain is considerable.

Sex is also connected to the Eighth House. This comes naturally when you consider that sex is the union of two people and the Eighth House represents unions. Sex is also the celebration of life, but life must end, and so death is connected to this house. Sex and death, two sides of one coin, are also associated with mysteries and investigation. This leads us almost directly to the concept of magick. Why? Because magick is mysterious and, in some forms, can be defined as an attempt to exert power over yourself or others. So the Eighth House concerns power, power struggles, sex, death, and magick. Therefore the plants and signs sitting in your Eighth House can provide insights into how you feel about these particular subjects.

Because of its connection to power struggles, this astrological house is connected to the concept of change (again, we see death here, since it's the single largest change in our lives). Change is an important part of this house, but whether we succeed or fail in our attempts to affect change is dependent upon our ability to use our personal power to alter the thinking of others, at least where the Eighth House in concerned. The resources of others are at play in this house, bringing up the concepts of loans or inheritances. It's important to note, however, that these terms are not limited to tangible things. You can inherit wisdom or power just as easily as you can money.

In general, the sign and planets associated with the Eighth House can give you insights into how you relate to and handle resource that are either jointly owned (with you) or resources that belong exclusively to other people. The Eighth House is ruled by the planet Pluto and the sign Scorpio.

Astrological Houses: The Sixth House in Brief

Since the Twelfth House is associated with your hidden life and other things that can work for or against the you symbolized by the First House, the Sixth House in astrology is associated with your hidden life in relationships and how you connect to others, and therefore also represents things that can work for or against your relationships with others.

This may sound a little complicated, but it's not if you think about it. The most obvious thing that can work for or against your relationships with others (who are symbolized by your Seventh House) is you, so the Sixth House immediately becomes related to work and services performed for others, either you working for others or others working for you. A century ago, this house may have been seen as the house of the servant, but with so few people employed as servants in today's world, this connection no longer makes any sense.

The sign and planets associated with your Sixth House symbolize how you feel about working for others and how you feel about others working for you, while the signs and planets associated with your Seventh House symbolize how you feel about working with others as equals. The Tenth House is related to your career while your Sixth House is related to your job. This is an important distinction. As is the one between the Sixth House and the Twelfth. The Twelfth House in astrology focuses on charity and philanthropy practice by you, but the Sixth House is instead focused on charity and volunteer work performed by you. The physical body is usually the center of the message of the Sixth House.

Because of the Sixth House's associated with the use of the body while performing work, it has also become associated with the ideas of bodily health and hygiene. This leads directly to an association with food, including the growing, cultivating, preparing, and eating of it. This is why the practice of healing is ruled by the Sixth House. The signs and planets associated with your Sixth house can symbolize not only the kind of work you might do, but can also explain your general attitude toward food and health.

The Sixth House is ruled by the planet Mercury and the sign Virgo.

Astrological Houses: The Twelfth House in Brief

While the First House represents the outer you and how you project yourself into the world, the Twelfth House is the opposite. The Twelfth House in astrology represents the inner you and how you don't project yourself into the world. You could say that the First House is what you want to be known as while the Twelfth House is what you don't want to be known as.

We all have an aspect of self-doubt, a face that we would rather stay hidden. Any person who denies this, or who dwells too much on it, is going through life in a weakened and self-defeating manner that only invites enemies. This type of action is characteristic of the Twelfth House.

But don't take this to mean that everyone with a planet in the Twelfth House acts in such a way. Instead, it indicates that there is a hidden dimension to the personality. It is the planet in the Twelfth House that will indicate what qualities this hidden dimension possesses.

Associations change over time, and the Twelfth House has come to mean all things that tend to negate our ego. Some religions and other institutions in which individuals are only a small part (including corporations, hospitals, prisons, the military, and most branches of the government) are governed by the Twelfth House. It rules the need for privacy and the solace found inside ourselves.

Since the horizon line divides the First House and the Twelfth House, a person born with the Sun in the Twelfth House would be born just after sunrise, which is a quiet and gentle time of day. This is the perfect time for solitary pursuits and meditation. It is a time when all things are united as the world transitions from darkness into light. Dawn is the time of mist and dew and nothing seems truly real. The Twelfth House is associated with mysticism and faith, the kind of faith born out of the magick of a new day. This innocent faith makes us more willing to both forgive and sacrifice, so philanthropy and charity are also associated with the Twelfth House.

This house also symbolizes the early years of life, usually to age seven. These years are usually hidden inside our own subconscious, so the subconscious is also ruled by this house. The signs and planets ruled by the Twelfth House can indicate the major themes of those formative years and provide us with insights into the nature of their effect on our later years.

The Twelfth House is ruled by the planet Neptune and the sign Pisces.

Astrological Houses: The Second House in Brief

While the First House is related to you and how you project yourself, the Second House is connected to everything valuable to you, those things that help you project yourself into the world. This means money and all tangible and physical. But it's also more than that. it's your sense of values and what you hold dear. It's what you want, what you need, and your beliefs about what you want and need.

Your beliefs about what you have, want, and need are important because they have a strong influence on how you feel and act in every situation you encounter. Changing these core beliefs can have a profound impact on your circumstances, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

We all create our own reality through our perceptions and beliefs. And these perceptions and beliefs help shape our physical reality. If you doubt this, reflect on the many ways in which your beliefs about what is valuable to you have had an influence on your behavior and the circumstances that have resulted from this behavior. With a little reflection, you'll see that it's all connected, and this is what the Second House represents in western astrology.

The signs that sits on the cups of your Second House, as well as any planets that occupy this house, can tell you a lot about your sense of values and your capacity for making money. If this connection seems a little odd, remember that your capacity for making money is a result of your sense of values. The planets and sign can also symbolize how you feel about possessions, both your own and just possessions in general.

Whether you have a lot of money or simply want to have a lot, you should look to the Second House for a fresh view on how you feel about possessions. You may find that what has been stopping you from truly accomplishing your financial goals doesn't really have anything to do with how much you have. Instead, it's how you feel about what you own, and owning in general, that control what you can and cannot accomplish in this life. Realizing that you may feel negatively about people who have more than you do might explain why you won't allow yourself to create a reality in which you are successful. You can change your physical life by changing your beliefs, and this is the message of the Second House.

The Second House is ruled by the planet Venus and the sign Taurus.

Astrological Houses: The Tenth House in Brief

The Tenth House is at the top of the horoscope. Since the Tenth House is opposite the Fourth House, the basic meaning of the Tenth House could be summed up as Where you are going. The Tenth House rules the career. The opposite of the Fourth House’s security of the home and hearth, the Tenth House indicates Fame and honor within the general public. The two houses are not exactly opposite in meaning. Instead, with their concern for the external part of our lives, they’re rather like two sides of the same coin.

 

The Fourth House is like the mother, encouraging security and nurturing. The Tenth House, however, is more the father, stern and insisting that you make your way in the world. You are encouraged to take the security of the Fourth House and go out into the world, taking chances and putting yourself out there. These two connected houses are really like two parents, each encouraging you towards a single goal — preparing the child for an independent and fulfilling life. Please note that these mother and father archetypes are just that — archetypes. Not all women fit the role of nurturer and not all men are stern. They’re archetypes, not stereotypes.

 

The Tenth House is ruled by the planet Saturn and the sign of Capricorn.

Astrological Houses: The Fourth House in Brief

The Fourth House is at the bottom of the horoscope. The sign and planets associated with the Fourth House tend to be concerned with our experience of the concept of our basic foundation, our support structure on earth, and how we feel about security in general.

 

Farming and real estate are usually connected to this idea and with good reason. But by applying the concepts of the foundation and support structure to other areas of our lives, we quickly come to realize that our home, our close family, and especially our mothers contribute significantly to our experience of support. We should also make an effort to understand that our past is our foundation. If these factors are disturbed or are completely unreliable or even absent during childhood, most psychologists would agree that it is difficult and sometimes impossible to compensate for the feeling of insecurity that might result.

 

So, taking all this into account, the basic meaning of the Fourth House could be described as “Where you are coming from.” Its importance is so great and so universal that it requires very little explanation. It should be noted that the Fourth House is ruled by the Moon and by the astrological sign of Cancer.

Astrological Houses: The Seventh House in Brief

The Seventh House is defined by the First House. The degree of the First House/Ascendant is in direct opposition to the Seventh House. Therefore, one is defined by the other. The Seventh House is also referred to as the Descendant because it is the point at which the planets descend below the horizon.

Since the basic meaning of the First House is you, the basic meaning of the Seventh House is others. In general, this refers to the public. It can also refer to your business partners and especially to your committed lover or marriage partner.

In a horoscope, the sign and planets in your Seventh House will say a lot about how you experience the people in your life in general. Specifically, this refers to how you experience the energies of the partnerships that might enter your life.

The Seventh House is ruled by the planet Venus and the sign Libra.

Astrological Houses: The First House in Brief

The First House is defined by the rising sign or Ascendant. The First House of an astrological horoscope is you. Every twenty-four hours, all 360° of the zodiac (divided into twelve signs of 30° each) rise on the same point in the east where the Sun rises. At the moment of birth, the degree and sign of the zodiac which is rising in the east defines the eastern point of the horizontal line of the horoscope. This is known as the rising sign, referred to as the ascendant because it is ascending into the sky. This is also known as the 'cusp' or your First House, but let's not complicate things at the moment. We'll simply refer to it as the Aacendant.

When we look at a map, we typically place north on the top, leaving east on the right. In astrology, this isn't necessarily so. In ancient times, our ancestors would lay under the stars to study them. Often, the best position to do this would be with the feet pointing south. This places the east on the left. So, to our ancestors, the sun rose on the left (east) and set on the right (west). So, when drawing a modern horoscope, we place east at the left, which places north at the bottom. It may seem a little strange, but it's important for understanding horoscopes and birth charts.

The degree of your ascendant is very important in the understanding of your horoscope. Its importance is only slightly less than that of the sun and the moon. The ascendant symbolizes how we project ourselves into this world. While our sun sign describes how we look out at the world and our moon sign describes our emotional patterns and habits, the ascendant describes how we appear to ourselves.

It is as if we are each a movie projector. The sun is the source of light, but the glass of the bulb is colored by the sign of the zodiac that the sun was in at the moment of birth. The moon acts as a mirror that concentrates the light, colors it again with the sign that the moon was in at birth, and then reflects the concentrated light through the projector's colored lens, the ascendant.

A person looking casually at this projector will see only the picture colored by the ascendant. A deeper look will reveal intricacies that are not readily apparent to most people. Just knowing the characteristics of your ascendant can help you better understand how you interact with the people around you. If your ascendant is very different from your sun sign, it would explain why people seem to think you act so differently from the way you think you're acting.

If you're born close to the time of sunrise, then your ascendant will be the same as your sun sign, leading to a 'double'. You'll be a double Aries, double Pisces, double Capricorn, or whatever. These people are not misunderstood as much, with the exception of Scorpio, who almost always seems to be misunderstood. A 'double' may find that the horoscope in the newspaper will be eerily accurate, since most of these are written for 'doubles'.

The First House of an astrological horoscope is very clearly all about you. Only you were born at the exact moment and place of your birth. Even twins are not born at the same moment and will have slightly different birth charts. So, the sign of your First House is associated with your appearance, especially your head and face. It is also connected to your personality, your outlook on the world, your abilities, and your actions.

In astrology, every house is ruled by a planet and a sign. The house will share many of the qualities of both the planet and the sign. The First House is ruled by the planet Mars and the sign Aries.

Western Astrology: The Astrological Houses in Brief

Everybody needs a place to live, and the planets, wanderers though they may be, are no exception.  when an astrological horoscope is drawn up for the moment of birth, the map of the planets' positions around each personal horoscope is usually depicted in such a way that it resembles a pizza pie divided into twelve slices with ten anchovies on it.  The ten anchovies are the planets and each of the twelve slices of the pizza is a house of the horoscope.

Each planet represents a different energy operating in our lives. This energy is operating in a way that is qualified by the sign it occupies, but the houses can pinpoint the area of everyday life in which these energies will have their main focus.

The signs of the zodiac are the universal backdrop against which we perceive the planets and the energies operating in our lives. But it is the houses which make these energies unique and personal.  The degree of the zodiac that determines both the horizontal and vertical lines that make up the skeleton of any horoscope, which in turn determine which house of the horoscope each planet lives and, are determined from the exact place and time of each birth.

The horizontal and vertical lines make up the cross of matter often discussed when talking about the planets.  The cross represents the earth and the chart represents the energies of the planets in signs operating in the areas of mundane experience that are symbolized by the houses.

It also looks like a telescopic gun sight, and in a way it works very much like one.  Remember, the word horoscope means 'to look at the hour' and a birth chart is a personal scope through which we can focus on our unique existence.  It can work like a telescope and provide some distance from ourselves, or like a microscope to examine strengths and weaknesses in minute detail.

Understanding the houses of astrology is best done by discussing the houses out of order.  Instead of studying the houses of the horoscope in numerical order, you should start with the four houses that are defined by the cross of matter of the chart.  This order will make it easier to explain, and easier to understand, the remaining houses, all of which derive their meaning from the first four houses.  For this reason, you should begin your study of the astrological houses with the first, seventh, fourth, and tenth houses.