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.