House
The horoscope is divided into twelve segments called the astrological houses and - depending on which house system is used - can be of equal or unequal size. The twelve houses could be thought of as a disk which is superimposed on the twelve signs of the zodiac in various combinations. The houses are, like the signs of the zodiac, numbered from one to twelve in an anti- clockwise direction.
There is an analogous relationship between the houses and the signs of the zodiac: The first house is analogous with the sign of Aries, the second with Taurus and so on. Likewise, the ruler of the analogous sign of the zodiac is also the natural ruler of the house, for example Mars is the ruler of the first house, Venus of the second and so on. (House Ruler).
The planets describe innate forces and the signs characteristics, whereas the houses represent the particular areas of life where these find expression. The houses are "earthly" as opposed to the "celestial" signs of the zodiac and planets. They are concerned with acting on and expressing the "celestial" forces within. For this reason, the themes of the houses are relatively insignificant in the horoscopes of children and instead are revealed over time.
The first, fourth, seventh and tenth houses are referred to as the cardinal houses (Quality). Planets in cardinal houses, at least when they are situated in the first half, are often considered to be dominant. Each house is associated with a particular area of life (more detailed information can be found under the headings First House, Second House and so on). The following classification remains essentially the same, irrespective of which house system is used:
- First house: appearance, beginnings
- Second house: values, substance, talents
- Third house: immediate surroundings, communication, learning
- Fourth house: family, roots, emotional inheritance
- Fifth house: creative self-expression, children, fun
- Sixth house: health, work
- Seventh house: contacts, relationships
- Eighth house: transformation, letting go, partaking in the whole
- Ninth house: search for meaning, longer journeys, world-view
- Tenth house: vocation, aims in life
- Eleventh house: friends, groups
- Twelfth house: withdrawal, transcendence, spirituality
The house cusp marks the beginning of a house. The sign of the zodiac in which this falls, and any sign that is completely enclosed within the house (i.e. is not cut by any house cusp) (Intercepted Sign), indicate how an individual approaches this particular area of life. Planets in the house indicate which forces are expressed there.
The division into houses is connected to the Earth's rotation. It depends on the location at which an event occurs (birth) and the time. At any particular place the Ascendant (and therefore all the houses) moves through the whole zodiac. The division into houses is the most individual factor in the horoscope - even more so than the Moon which moves roughly one degree every two hours. When two people are born within half an hour of each other at the same place, the Ascendant has already moved 7 1/2 degrees (on average 1 degree every 4 minutes) and could easily have moved on to the next sign of the zodiac. This means that certain planets may also have changed house position during this time. Because the planets Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto spend years in one sign of the zodiac, their house positions are actually far more significant than the signs they are in.
