Friday, November 23, 2012

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.

Friday, November 9, 2012

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.

Friday, November 2, 2012

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.

Friday, October 26, 2012

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.