First House (House of Self)
This is the house of self. It is the most personal and most powerful House in your
chart, for it symbolizes you -- your mannerisms, your style, your
disposition, and temperament. This is the house of your outward behavior, your likes and
dis likes. The First House reveals both the way you present yourself to others and the way
the outside world sees you. It often indicates your physical characteristics, especially
your head and facial features. Sometimes called the house of self-interest, it denotes
what you want in life and how you go about achieving it. The place in your chart at which
this house begins is the most important point in a horoscope (called the Ascendant or
Aries Point), for it determines where all the other houses will follow. In astrology the
First House is thought of as a giant lens through which the rest of your chart is seen and
interpreted.
SECOND HOUSE (House of Possessions)
This is the House of Money and Possessions. It relates to what you own in life and what
you will acquire, your income, and your financial prospects. This is the house of movable
possessions, the things that you physically take with you as you move through life. The
Second House also tells how you feel about money and possessions, and gives a clue to the
kinds of objects with which you like to surround yourself. To a certain extent it gives a
picture of your earning power and ability to handle money. The Second House often shows
what activities and projects may be a lucrative source of income for you.
THIRD HOUSE (House of Communication)
This is the House of Communication. The third house relates to your immediate
environment in three major areas: self-expression, your family ties, and day to day
travel. This house governs the way you think, speak and write. Logic, memory, and manual
skill are its domain. The Third House often indicates what kind of early education you
received, and your ability to study and learn. Your relationship with brothers and
sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors are part of this House's influence. Short
trips and the vehicles for this type of travel are governed by the Third House --
especially the travel you do for work and education.
FOURTH HOUSE (House of Home; also early and latter parts of life )
This is the House of Home. The Fourth House governs your home life -- in the past, the
present, and the future. It indicates the kind of home you had in childhood and your
relationship with parents. Whatever you have brought into this life from your ancestors is
in its domain. In the present, the Fourth House relates to the kind of home you make for
yourself. Your current domestic affairs are under its influence, as are real estate
holdings and the ownership of land. This House also rules over the closing years of your
life, the kind of security you seek for old age. The Fourth House is one of the more
mystical houses in your chart, for it represents what you keep protected and secluded from
the rest of the world -- the place you call home in both a physical and emotional sense.
FIFTH HOUSE (House of creativity and sex )
This is the House of Creativity and Sex. The Fifth House rules over everything you do
for pleasure and to express yourself creatively. Your sexual nature (the most basic
creative urge in your psyche) is a large part of its domain. Children and the joy you
receive from them are governed by this House. The Fifth House also relates to
entertainment and holidays, amusements and the arts. It rules love affairs, new
undertakings in life, speculation and gambles, games of chance. It is the House that
expresses your artistic talents as well as your ability to enjoy yourself in life. In
childhood, pets and playmates are part of this House, for it holds sway over all the
things to which you instinctively give affection. This is the House of your heart.
SIXTH HOUSE (House of Service and Health)
This is the House of Service and Health. Often called the House of service to others,
it indicates your need to help others and to be useful in the world. In the old days it
governed a person's attitude toward servants and those of inferior standing. In the modern
day, this House rules your relationship with the people you work with, those who are
subordinates, and your employers. The Sixth House also relates to your state of health and
especially applies to illness brought on by worry or emotional upsets. This House often
signifies whether you have a robust or delicate condition, and what kinds of diseases you
may be subject to.
SEVENTH HOUSE (House of Partnership and Marriage)
This is the House of Partnership and marriage. On a personal level, it relates to your
husband or wife, the mate you choose in life. It often indicates what kind of marriage you
will have, and whether you might divorce or remarry. This is your House of Partnerships,
not only in marriage but in work, business, legal affairs, and sometimes in politics. It
covers legal unions or contracts you enter into, and both sides of a question or dispute.
The Seventh House concerns your ability to work harmoniously with others. Paradoxically,
it also governs what astrologers call your open enemies, those who are usually your
adversaries in the business or professional world. The Seventh House is the opposite of
the First, House of Self; here you blend your personality with others in order to pursue
shared goals.
EIGHTH HOUSE (House of Death and Regeneration; also Legacies)
This is the House of Death and Regeneration. The Eighth House is one of the three
mystical houses in your chart (the others are the fourth and the twelfth), and one of the
most difficult to understand. Sometimes called the House of spiritual transformation, it
rules the life forces that surround sex, birth, death, and the afterlife. It concerns
legacies and what you inherit from the dead - both materially and spiritually. Money that
belongs to your partner, and taxes and debt are also in this House's domain. The Eighth
House may give some indication of the conditions surrounding your death, although precise
time always remains a mystery. Surgery is governed by this House, since it relates to
regeneration. This is the House of psychic powers and occult studies and knowledge.
NINTH HOUSE (House of Mental Exploration)
This is the House of Mental Exploration and Long Distance Travel. The Ninth House can
be thought of as a widening of the Third House; study, travel, and mental pursuits are
expanded in the Ninth House onto a much wider plane. This is the House of the higher mind.
Under its domain are higher education, philosophy and the study in depth of profound
subjects. Long journeys of both the mind and the physical body are controlled by this
House. It concerns actual travel to foreign lands and business interests in other
countries. It governs the meeting of foreigners who expand your way of thinking, and also
the study of languages. The Ninth House rules your public expression of ideas, and is
therefore the House of publishing and literary effort.
TENTH HOUSE (House of Career)
This is the House of Career and Public Standing. Its opposite house (the Fourth House)
rules the home; the Tenth House rules all matters outside the home - your profession, your
status in the community, and your public reputation. It has been called the House of
ambition, aspiration and attainment. This House also reveals in what esteem you are held
by others. The Tenth House reflects your image, as shown in the power, position, and
honors that you may achieve. It is an outward expression of your talents, the way you
accept responsibility, the place you arrive at through your own efforts. This House has a
great influence on your material success in life.
ELEVENTH HOUSE (House of Hopes and Wishes; also Friends )
This is the House of Friends and of Hopes and Wishes. Unlike its opposite house (the
Fifth House) with its concern for immediate pleasures, the Eleventh House has to do with
long-term dreams and goals and with intellectual pleasures. This House governs your
involvement with groups and organizations that have to do with your work, profession or
family. The clubs, societies, or political associations you belong to are under its
domain. This House often indicates the kinds of friends and acquaintances who can best
further your interests and objectives in life. The Eleventh House reflects your ability to
enjoy other people. On its highest level this House represents the harmonious working
together of all people, each one doing what best expresses his or her individual
personality. It is the House of idealism and vision.
TWELFTH HOUSE (House of Secrets, Sorrows and Self-Undoing)
This is the House of Secrets, Sorrows and Self-Undoing. It is the most mystical of all
the Houses, the final House, the end of the circle. This is not necessarily a negative and
gloomy place, but it does define the limitations placed on your life. It governs
disappointments, accidents, trouble and self-defeat. It rules unseen forces, secret
enemies, escapism, asylums, hospitals, and prisons. The twelfth House has been called the
House of Karma, the House of Spiritual debt, for it contains the rewards and punishments
for the deeds one commits in the world. It is associated with psychic powers and the
ability to discover at last the meaning of life.
Astrologer's Wand
