Horoscope Houses

The First House

Sign of Aries Ruling Planet Mars It is the FRONT DOOR through which all daily experience enters the life of the native. It has to do with the native's personal appearance and especially the casual impression he creates on superficial contact. In every sense this should be called the native's personality, since this is what shows on the surface. The nature of the first house shows how the native APPEARS TO OTHERS.

To ARIES as the sign of spring, the beginning of a new cycle of growth, is the natural sign of the first house. The elemental makeup of Aries is FIRE, describing its spirit, and its position is CARDINAL, referring to leadership. Aries is very strong on individuality and a "me first" attitude. Aries is courageous, nervy, pushy, determined, aggressive, resourceful and competitive. Aries is also vain, conceited, opinionated, domineering, impulsive and defensive.

MARS, the natural ruler of Aries, is the planet of INITIATING FORCE. It is the natural energizer in the horoscope. It takes the spirit of Mars to put all the Aries qualities into action. Like Aries, Mars flares up but fizzles out. It does not sustain a constant output of high-voltage energy but generally acts as a trigger or impulser. It is the planet most associated with sex as a physical and biological passion. It is both creative and destructive.

The Second House

Sign of Taurus Ruling Planet Venus The second house of the horoscope is concerned with the nature of supply and resources. This is the money house in terms of earnings and what the native acquires through his own labors. It also includes possessions and so-called portable property.

TAURUS is the natural accountant of the zodiac, and it is fitting that Taurus should preside over resources and possessions. Taurus is steady and dependable and enjoys looking after all the comforts that make life easier, more pleasurable and satisfying.

VENUS is the natural ruler of Taurus. Venus is the SENTIMENT OF LOVE AND AFFECTION, conservation and comfort. It is known as the lesser benefic. Jupiter of abundance is the greater benefic. Venus is a force that beautifies and makes life attractive and comfortable and smooths over the rough spots. It has a certain fixation and earthy attachment which adjusts or covers over anything that is displeasing or unattractive.

The Third House

Sign of Gemini Ruling Planet Mercury The third house is the house of communication. It rules the instrumentalities of thought such as the native's tools for thinking and his thought patterns in general.

The sign of GEMINI, the messenger, is the natural ruler of the third house. The element of Gemini is AIR and its disposition is MUTABLE (changeable, flexible, and adaptable). Gemini is a mental sign and exhibits a certain surface brilliance. It is said to be alert, suggestive of intellect; to grasp things quickly; to be able to communicate on all levels and switch from one subject to another with ease; to seem to know something about everything; to have a fondness for talking and exchange of news and views.

The planet Mercury is the natural ruler of Gemini, and mental Mercury suits it perfectly. Mercury is said to be the quality of the "mind." Mind in this sense is considered the reflector of the inner man, so Mercury is a mirror or messenger for another (the self). Natives with a fortunate Mercury are very persuasive and easily draw attention to themselves for their apparent brilliance and ease of expression. They may not be saying anything very profound, but it sounds good.

The Fourth House

Sign of Cancer Ruling Planet Moon The fourth house is one of the four angles of the horoscope. These cardinal points, as they are called, are considered leading and prominent. Natives with heavy concentrations of planets in any of the four angular houses are destined to influence their fellow men in some way. The fourth house is a subjective area. It is concerned with the home, basic security, the parental influence (the mother or the parent most motherly), early upbringing, background, heritage, and it describes the general conditions at the end of life.

CANCER is the symbol of protection, the natural ruler of the fourth house. Its element is WATER (emotionally fluid) and its position is CARDINAL (a leading influence). Cancer is the maternal sign and its dominant characteristic is motherly (even in men). Cancer possesses great sensitivity, intuition and a native talent for timing, rhythm and harmony.

The mysterious and feminine Moon is the ruler of Cancer. It gives sensitivity, intuition and understanding, but it also gives moods, cycles and unstable attitudes. It is perhaps somewhat odd that the most unstable and changeable planetary force is the natural ruler of our holiest of holies the fundamentals of our security. Perhaps there is a good reason for this. Perhaps we associate too much fixed security thinking with matters of the fourth house.

The Fifth House

Sign of Leo Ruling Planet Sun The fifth house is the house of creative self-expression. It also has to do with pleasures, speculation, taking a chance and making romantic love.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO GAMBLE AND WIN, YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A GOOD FIFTH HOUSE: OTHERWISE YOU ARE GAMBLING TO LOSE.If the house is occupied with one or more planets, then the native has a natural interest and/or problems connected with all fifth-house matters. One cannot have a poor fifth-house condition and enjoy some fifth-house matters and not others. All these matters are related in some way and a poor fifth house is reflected in all related matters.

LEO the king of beasts is the natural ruler of the fifth house. His element is FIRE (in spirit), and his position is FIXED (unyielding and determined). Leo is the symbol of the king, and it takes all the self-assurance in the world to feel really creative, grand and noble.

The Sun as the supreme ego is the natural ruler of the fifth house. It feels most at home in this freedom-and pleasure-seeking area, where speculations and gamble are the order of the day. The ego Sun can really shine when all its children look up to it as a respected father image, and at the same time it is unlimited in its generosity to indulge and delight all those who flatter its vanity and support its ego.

The Sixth House

Sign of Virgo Ruling Planet Mercury The sixth house is the house of responsibility. It represents duty, service, obligations and a sense of indebtedness that either the native owes to others or others owe to him. Thus it is the house of servants and employees and also the native's own role as servant or employee.

The sign of VIRGO, the virgin, is the natural ruler of the sixth house. Her element is EARTH (and physical ties) and her position is MUTABLE (supports another or exists only to lend herself to others). Virgo natives are very exacting, precise and detailed. They take great pains with all their undertakings and expect others to do the same. While Virgos are keyed to serving others in some way, they are also very demanding in the quality of service that is due to them.

Mercury, at the moment, is considered the natural ruler of Virgo. However, it is felt that an undiscovered planet is probably more closely related to the exacting nature of Virgo than the mercurial Mercury. Mercury as a mental reflection of a more forceful guiding principle fits Virgo (and the sixth house) well.

The Seventh House

Sign of Libra Ruling Planet Venus The seventh house is the house of other people in the way they relate to the native. Or, more exactly, in the way in which the native sees others. While the first house represents HOW THE NATIVE APPEARS TO OTHERS and the fourth house HOW THE NATIVE SEES HIMSELF, the seventh house represents HOW OTHERS APPEAR TO THE NATIVE. The seventh house represents the general nature of the native's outlook on the world. It represents partnerships of all kinds marriage, business, etc.

The sign of LIBRA, the balance, is the natural sign of the seventh house. Its element is AIR (based on ideas, ideals and concepts) and its position is cardinal (dominating). Libra is always concerned with other people. It is the most social sign of the zodiac. While usually friendly, gracious and hospitable, Libra can also be argumentive, threatening and revengeful.

VENUS, the social planet, is said to be the natural ruler of Libra and the seventh house. All the general qualities of Venus (beauty, comforts, feelings of satisfaction, general inducements toward goodwill and emotional rapport) fit well with most of Libra's qualities.

The Eighth House

Sign of Scorpio Ruling Planet Pluto Here we come to one of the mystery areas of the horoscope, which is generally misunderstood by most people, including astrologers. This is probably because of an unpleasant side to all three factors (the eighth house, Scorpio and Pluto), which frightens some people.

First, the eighth house represents a point in time or space where some significant transition or mutation takes place. It therefore represents some crisis or catastrophic event or happening, where one form of something stops or dies and another takes over. This can be a form of rebirth or a devastating revelation to the native. It can be triggered by an event or it can come from within. The eighth house is known as the house of death, and it generally describes the nature of the native's death. But it also describes important changes in the native's life and his reaction to them.

SCORPIO is the natural ruler of the eighth house. Its element is emotional and its position FIXED (rigidly concentrated). Almost everything about Scorpio is hidden and secretive, and Scorpio wants everything to remain that way as far as his own affairs are concerned. On the other hand, Scorpio has a naive curiosity about the intimate affairs of everyone else. There is a strong sexual character to most of Scorpios' motivations, although they would be the last to admit it to themselves.

PLUTO, a planet discovery of only recent times, is now considered the real ruler of Scorpio. Pluto's inner nature fits perfectly the dual aspect of Scorpio (before and after change). Before the discovery of Pluto in 1930, Mars the warmaker was considered the ruler of Scorpio. The Mars quality fits perfectly the simple directness of Aries but does not begin to describe fully the limitless depths of the Scorpio nature, half of which is always hidden under the surface.

The Ninth House

Sign of Sagittarius Ruling Planet Jupiter The ninth house is the house of higher learning. It represents the point at which many thoughts are gathered together and codified into one cause or principle. Thus laws and religions and philosophies are created, as well as all sorts of principles, which in essence represent the thinking of many minds. If the third house is the individual mind, the ninth house is the collective mind after it has been organized.

SAGITTARIUS, the archer, is the natural sign of the ninth house. His element is MENTAL and his position is MUTABLE and yielding. He symbolizes the spirit of the law rather than the law itself. Sagittarians are naturally optimistic, enthusiastic, positive, self-ordained for their mission, dedicated to their cause, generally unselfish in their ambition, pure in heart, devotedly loyal, and sustained by faith in the desirability of their cause. They are useful in all expressions of higher learning, law, religion, philosophy and politics.

JUPITER, the symbol of abundance, is the natural ruler of Sagittarius and the ninth house. Its force is expansion, favors, rewards, honors and a "green light" for more of the same. It generally bestows a feeling of good fortune. As abundance, however, it also leads to overconsumption, overflow and contents that outgrow their form or container. You can have too much of a good thing. The presence of Jupiter anywhere in the horoscope is benevolent, comforting and proof both material and spiritual of the essential right-ness of things.

The Tenth House

Sign of Capricorn Ruling Planet Saturn The tenth house shows the native's conscious ambitions and the material and physical judgment generally imposed on him by the world. It is not the final answer, but it does indicate how the native's life will generally turn out in the eyes of the world. As the conscious goal of the native, the tenth house gathers, solidifies and channels the native's best efforts or the real substance of his inner convictions.

CAPRICORN, the disciplinarian, is the natural ruler of the tenth house. The element is MATERIAL and physical, and the position is CARDINAL and leading. Capricorns always have their eye on the big chance, which they pursue to the bitter end. Thus Capricorns tend to win ultimately, not through superior talents, but by their persistence. This attitude undoubtedly accounts for more material success in life than any other combination of talents.

SATURN, the taskmaster, is the natural ruler of Capricorn and the tenth house. The power of Saturn is to boil things down to their bare essentials and then build slowly up from there. Saturn stresses facts, figures, measurements, care, order, discipline, economy, thrift, logic, common sense and TRUTH. People generally dislike the transit passage of Saturn in their horoscope because it brings them down to earth and exposes the truth about what they are doing.

The Eleventh House

Sign of Aquarius Ruling Planet Uranus The eleventh house is the area of honors usually attendant on, or resulting from, tenth-house prominence or judgment. The eleventh is also the house of friendships and hopes and wishes (as opposed to conscious personal goals). The hopes and wishes of the eleventh house are more in the nature of fond desires that are shared and enjoyed in the company of others.

AQUARIUS, the freedom seeker, is the natural ruler of the eleventh house. Its element is IDEALISTIC and its position is FIXED and concentrated. Actually Aquarians always seem to stand out from the crowd, even though they consider themselves closely involved with group interests. They seem to have some sort of communication (mental or emotional sympathy) that transcends usual ties and therefore gives them a special application of brotherly love.

URANUS, the unpredictable, is the natural ruler of Aquarius and the eleventh house. Uranus is the only planetary force that can dislodge the death grip of Saturn. The essence of Uranus is its erratic behavior. Its virtue and its vice is its talent for sudden and unexpected deviations from any system of regularity. This deviation is upsetting to those who are unprepared for it. But it is only through such "breaks in pattern" that new angles of insight are created, which eventually make possible changes and improvements.

The Twelfth House

Sign of Pisces Ruling Planet Neptune The twelfth house is the key to everything that has gone before. It is the accumulated (subconscious, which abstracts meaning from the past and builds a foundation into the future. It is the residuum of ultimate values. The twelfth house is the end of the road where we find ourselves after having passed through all the other phases of living. As the end of everything (prior to suggesting a new beginning in another cycle) it holds the secrets of life and the hidden or subconscious motivations of any life that may follow. It also holds the secrets of past lives that may have preceded this one. Obviously, it is the least-understood area of the horoscope and, understandably, the area most frightening to ordinary mortals.

PISCES, the symbol of universal understanding, is the natural sign of the twelfth house. Its element is EMOTIONAL, and its position is MUTABLE and forgiving. Its character gathers from the past and blends with the future. The quality is spiritual and immaterial. The form is vague and extended. The strength of Pisces is based on spiritual faith, while the Sagittarian faith is more of an emotional conviction. Pisces resists rational applications as such. Pisceans are often able to carry on in spite of all material obstacles. They always see beyond, behind and underneath what others are pointing at.

NEPTUNE is the natural ruler of Pisces and the twelfth house. Because Neptune is completely immaterial, its presence or effect can be deceiving. This leaves open the opportunity for people to attribute to Neptune what they want to see. There is no guarantee who is right and who is wrong. The effect of Neptune is to suggest and then fade away. It is up to the one who has received the "revelation" to fit the pieces together and supply his own interpretation.