You might
as well know up front that if you don’t know the exact time (i.e. 11:38
pm) of your birth, then you won’t be able to calculate your Ascendant
(which in turn sets the stage for determining the 12 Houses).
Dr
Z and The Astrological Houses
If
nothing else about the basics of astrology really manages to throw you
a curve, then attempting to understand the 12 Houses should do the trick
quite nicely.
And I truthfully
don’t know what to do about that. Hey! Give me break... I'm good, but
even I’m not a miracle worker.
Well Worth
Learning, Though
But as difficult as it is to initially get a good grip on how the Houses
work.... the Houses are also quite interesting and more than worth your
time and effort to understand.
Why?
Well one reason is that the Houses are when
you first start to discover you’ve
got all 12 of the Zodiac signs contained in your birth chart.
Simply
put: the Houses are the 12 places where stuff happens. And
so the 12 Houses map out the “general areas of life” where you’re
naturally the most attracted to and focused on during this lifetime.
One way to
think of the Houses is as the 12 different rooms of a mansion. There are
certain places in your 12 room mansion that you'd naturally end up spending
more time in than you would the others.
Some
folks might prefer spending most of their time in the living room,
some in the
dining room, and some would prefer hanging out in the den. (Of course,
Elvis Presley preferred hanging out in the Jungle Room.)
Celestial
Holding Station
In her book Adventures of a Psychic, clairvoyant Sylvia Browne
relates this concept regarding her particular "road map of reality":
According
to Sylvia, prior to being born on planet Earth, we're sent to a
celestial "holding station" where we sit down and decide on 7 general
areas of our soon to be life on Earth. These 7 areas are: Love,
Social Life,
Family, Career, Health, Finance, and Spirituality.
The
12 houses of the astrological chart are similar in concept to Sylvia's
7 areas of
life. The main difference being that astrology's "road map of
reality"
is saddled with 12 rather complex and fluid areas as opposed to Sylvia's
simplistic road map that has only 7 areas. (By the way, astrology may
have originally
had
only 8 houses, and then through the passage of time the number of
houses was eventually expanded to the 12 houses we have today.)
The Shortcut
As mentioned previously, there’s a shortcut to understanding the themes
of the 12 different Houses... and the shortcut is that the themes
of the 12
Houses
are very
similar to
the
energies of the 12 Zodiac signs.
Of
course, to benefit from this shortcut, you first have to become
familiar with the
energies of the 12 Zodiac signs. So
get familiar with the energies of the 12 Zodiac signs, and then
learning
the themes of the 12 Houses will be a cinch. Like any other shortcut,
it's not exactly perfect... however, for our purposes, it's close
enough.
The themes
of 1st house are very similar to the energies of Aries.
The themes
of the 2nd house are very similar to the energies of Taurus.
And so on
and so on…. So if you get familiar with the energies of the 12 Zodiac
signs, then the themes of the 12 Houses will make a whole lot more sense.
| Aries |
1st
house |
| Taurus |
2nd
house |
| Gemini |
3rd
house |
| Cancer |
4th
house |
| Leo |
5th
house |
| Virgo |
6th
house |
| Libra |
7th
house |
| Scorpio |
8th
house |
| Sagittarius |
9th
house |
| Capricorn |
10th
house |
| Aquarius |
11th
house |
| Pisces |
12th
house |
(I’ll
have a list of actual house characteristics a little further down below.)
Problem
Unfortunately, my little shortcut for learning the themes of the 12 Houses,
can also cause confusion for some folks. The
confusion sets in when trying to factor in another main concept about
the Houses.
This concept
is: that each house of the 12 Houses is colored by the Zodiac Sign
located on the cusp of the house.
I Need
to Repeat That
Each house of the 12 Houses is colored by the Zodiac Sign located on
the cusp of the house.
How all
this works?
Take for example someone with “Gemini on the Ascendant” or "Gemini Rising."
This (generally) means that the Zodiac Sign of Gemini is on the cusp of
the person’s 1st house. (Relax.... “cusp” is just a fancy word for the
exact beginning of the house.)
1st House
Remember the shortcut.... and that the themes of the 1st house are very
similar to Aries’ energy? Aries is the “I am” sign. Aries is the first
rush of spring! The new birth! Energetic, bold, fiery, and impulsive.
So the 1st house is the place where “I am” stuff happens. It’s the house
of your outer identity that you display to the world.
But with
Gemini on the Ascendant, the 1st house of outer identity is colored by
the sign of Gemini. And Gemini says “I communicate.” Gemini says, "I’m
curious, youthful, flighty, mentally active, and often a wee bit mischievous."
So the "I am" energies that you display to the world are that
of Gemini.
2nd House:
Now let’s continue on to the 2nd house. The 2nd house themes are very
similar to the energies of Taurus. Taurus is the “I possess” sign. Taurus
is very concerned with matters of practicality, "I only believe in (and
thus) value those things that I can actually touch." Taurus says I love
comfort, physical security, and possessions. So the 2nd house is related
to personal values and physical security. It’s generally associated with
your money and personal possessions.
Remember
though, in our example you have Gemini on the Ascendant? So (most of the
time) you’ll have Cancer on the cusp (the beginning) of the 2nd house.
With
Cancer on the cusp of the 2nd house, this Taurean-like house of
money and possessions
is where you’ll be the most Cancerian-like. Your 2nd house of money
and possessions is where you’ll experience the Zodiac sign of Cancer.
Cancer is the “I feel” or “I nurture” sign. So you may choose to
earn and/or spend your money in ways that makes you feel good about
yourself and that nurtures people.
3rd House:
The 3rd house is the house naturally associated with Gemini. As
already mentioned just above, Gemini is about communication, mental
concepts,
curiosity - as well as - short trips, siblings and the neighbors ….
Most often
with Gemini on the Ascendant, the Zodiac sign of Leo will be on the cusp
of the 3rd house of communication. Leo is the "I rule" or "I shine" sign.
This means you’ll experience your personal creativity in the arena of
communication and ideas. It also means you’re probably quite proud of
your ideas, and much of your sense of self worth is tied up in your ideas
and in your ability to communicate with all your neighbors. And so, chances
are that you probably don’t deal real well with criticism about your ideas.
Well, that's
enough of that. Hopefully, you've got the idea....
Common
Questions
Question: Dang it! I ain't got no birth planets in the __
House?
Answer:
This just means that during this lifetime you won't be focusing
as much
energy in these Houses. You've still got the house, and you've still
got a Zodiac sign on the cusp of the house. You just won't likely
be focusing on
those places (or areas) as much as you will in a house where you
have planets.
Question:
Are some Houses inherently more spiritual or better than others?
Answer:
No... The 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th house are often thought of as being
spiritual or universal Houses.
However...
in my definition of the word "spiritual," spirituality is being
is the best you that you can be. Spirituality is being fully
who you are.
So in the
astrological "road map of reality" - your birth chart house
placements assist you in mapping out the places (or areas) where you can
potentially learn how to be the best you that you can be during
this lifetime.
Not
everyone is supposed to be another Gandhi. Not everyone is supposed
to be another
Martin Luther King Jr. Not everyone is supposed to be another Mother
Teresa.
We each have
different, distinctive, and unique road maps.
For
example, in your unique road map, you may have several planets
located in the earthy,
practical 2nd Taurean house associated with money, values, and personal
possessions. Your mission in this lifetime (should you choose to
accept
it) might be to build up a strong sense of inner-values, and then
spend your hard earned money on these inner-values.
List
of Themes
Here's that list of house themes I mentioned before...
I
was feeling a bit lazy when writing this final tutorial...
so I borrowed (with permission) something
a cyberpal named Chazz wrote regarding the Houses... The following
house descriptions are generally word associations:
1st-
Aries house, ruled by Mars... "I am"...
personality, physical appearance, competition, how others see us.
2nd- Taurus
house, ruled by Venus... "I possess"...
personal possessions, sense of self worth, values and inner creativity.
3rd- Gemini
house, ruled by Mercury... "I communicate" ...
mental activity, need for knowledge, short trips, community involvement,
relationship to siblings, primary education.
4th-
Cancer house, ruled by Moon... "I feel" ....
opposite sex parent *,
country, roots, home and family, history, memories-nostalgia,
dependence and
dependency, real-estate.
5th- Leo
house, ruled by Sun.... "I rule" ....
Creative expression, romance and love affairs, gambling and speculation,
fun and games (partying), children, giving love.
6th- Virgo
house, ruled by Mercury... "I analyze" ...
service, commerce, physical health, diet, self-service, interaction
with coworkers, attention to detail and perfection.
7th- Libra
house, ruled by Venus... "I balance" ...
one on one partnerships (i.e., marriage or business), commitment to
others, appreciation for the arts, what we look for in others, fair
play and harmony.
8th - Scorpio
house, ruled by Pluto... "I desire" (this is the Jungle Room that Elvis
spent a lot of time in) ...
Death, rebirth and transformation, other peoples resources, hidden mysteries,
secrets, sex, mysticism, intuitive understandings.
9th- Sagittarius
house, ruled by Jupiter... "I teach"
Higher education, philosophy, religion, travel, optimism, expansion
and good fortune.
10th-
Capricorn house, ruled by Saturn... "I build"
Same sex parent *,
career, physical reality (i.e., the world), how we make our way, how
we are perceived in society.
11th- Aquarius
house, ruled by Uranus... "I plan"
Humanitarianism, friendship, receiving love, sudden happenings, rebellion,
and outrageousness.
12th- Pisces
house, ruled by Neptune... "I care"
self illumination, enlightenment, the collective unconscious, fantasy,
karma, self-deception, hidden enemies, hospitals and institutions, serving
others through compassion, psychic ability and sensitivity.
I
warned you in advance that the house themes are complex and fluid...
| *The
4th and 10th house meridian axis has historically experienced
some serious "difficulties." The ancient Greeks associated
the 4th house with both "parents." Medieval astrologers
replaced "parents" with the Father in the 4th house
and shifted Mother to the 10th house. Many modern astrologers
have now placed Mother into the 4th and Father into the 10th.
If you noticed, I placed the different sex parent in the 4th house
and the same sex parent in 10th house. To make matters even more
confusing, Vedic astrology places Mother in the 4th house and
Father in the 9th house. When I get really cornered, I simply
call the 4th and 10th house meridian axis the "parental axis."
back
to 4th house on this page.
back
to 10th house on this page.
back
to finish the Crash Course
Home > Astrology > Basics > Crash 
|
