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The Houses
An Astrology Chart is divided like a pizza into twelve sections called Houses. They're calculated using the highest point the sun reaches in the sky that day, wherever you are. Each house represents, or rules, different areas of life. A natal astrology chart places the zodiac position of the sun, moon, planets, and other significant points at their correct location in the twelve houses of the chart. Simply stated, the houses are the realms of life within which your personality traits play out.
To calculate the Houses, start by noting the Ascendant, the horizon at dawn, 6am. Then, find the Midheaven by seeing how high in the sky the Sun gets that day (in the summer the sun reaches overhead; in the winter the sun doesn't go as high in the sky). Once you know those two points, divide the distance between them into 3 sections, and you've got your Houses! Houses are counted in a counterclockwise manner around the circle from 1 to 12, starting with the Ascendant. The opposite Houses have the same degrees.
To understand the houses, begin counting with the Ascendant, or the Zodiac sign on the cusp of the first house, the constellation that was in the East at the time of your birth. Astrologers say that you will project yourself into your life based upon the sign that was Ascending.
Just as the houses are counted in a counterclockwise fashion, so too are the signs of the zodiac. If your Ascendant, also called a Rising Sign, is (for example) in Virgo in the first house, the next sign in a counterclockwise direction will be Libra in the second house, followed by Scorpio, and so on around the chart circle.
You'll notice that when the sun, moon, and planets are placed in your chart, some houses will be loaded and others empty. Houses containing planets require greater attention during your life. Empty houses do not mean that you can ignore them; and, they do not indicate that nothing happens in the area of life represented by the house. For example, an empty seventh house (represents marriage, partnerships) does not mean that you will never get married. It may mean that your primary life emphasis is not focused on partnership issues, or that it is only emphasized during specific life cycles called transits and progressions. So don’t worry if you have an empty part of your chart. It is common. Keep in mind that you must look at the entire chart before making any determination.
Houses one through six are located in the bottom half of your astrology chart. They represent subjective matters. In other words, you view life in a highly personal way when you have an abundance of planets in houses one through six. If you work for a living (sixth house), you want to get paid. You want personal feedback for you efforts.
The top half of the circle is the objective part of your astrology chart. Planets located in houses seven through twelve were above the horizon when you were born. If you were born around lunchtime, the sun in your natal chart will be located near the “high noon” tenth house cusp. Planets in the upper hemisphere represent the larger world. For example, the eleventh house represents your life goals and ambitions in the world, whereas the opposite fifth house represents personal fun, creativity, and romance.
First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth | Eleventh | Twelfth | Intercepted and Transcepted Houses
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The Fourth House, Home Life |
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 The Fourth House represents home, family, parenting, traditions, and your general attitude about where & how you live. Because the fourth house is Cardinal or "angular," its emotional
undercurrents can become quite complicated. The 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th
houses are action-oriented and add to the complex dynamics of your
chart.
Ruled by Cancer, it is the place of seeking emotional security.
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The Fifth House, Pleasure |
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The Fifth House, governed by Leo, represents children, romance, creativity, vacations, and pleasure. It includes the love you instinctively show the world. With the fifth house, it is time to have fun.
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The Sixth House, Service and Health |
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The Sixth House, naturally ruled by Virgo, is the home of work, health, humble service in the world, and domestic pets. It also relates to military service, domestic help, health-related professions, and service businesses.
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The Seventh House, Relationships |
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The Seventh House, ruled by Libra, relates to relationships of both a business and personal nature. The Seventh House determines your experiences with marriage and partnership. Ironically, this area that represents your marriage also holds your open enemies.
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The Eighth House, Life, Death & Money |
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 The Eighth House, ruled by Scorpio, represents birth, death, deep emotional connection, fears, and inheritances. The astrology joke is that the eighth house rules sex, taxes, and death - a fertile ground for fears and obsessions!
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Intercepted Houses and Intercepted Zodiac Signs |
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The Zodiac signs are equally spaced around the horoscope, at 30 degrees each. Houses are calculated using the system on the left; some are narrow and some are wide. If the location of your birth is close to the equator, the houses will be close to 30 degrees each, and relatively equal in size. But the further you go towards the North or South pole, the more extreme they'll be in size.
For this reason, most of the time the house and sign cusps alternate, but if you live far from the equator you'll have zodiac signs and houses that are intercepted in your chart. An intercepted sign is when a big house contains the entire sign. An intercepted house is when the same zodiac sign falls on two narrow house cusps. In a chart like this, you will always have two opposite intercepted signs and two opposite intercepted houses.
Intercepted signs take on increased importance because they cover extra territory, and affect more areas of your life. Intercepted houses show us some of the ways we can get around the difficulties caused by our intercepted signs.
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About |
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Mark Dodich has been providing astrology and intuitive consultations since 1980. He holds a certificate as a Certified Astrological Professional (CAP). Mark provides consultations internationally from his office in Portland, Oregon. Mark is past president of the Oregon Astrological Association, is viewed regularly in the media, and publishes his own newsletter, ASTROMARK. He can be reached at
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or check out his website at http://www.astromark.us/ .
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The First House describes your outward behavior. It involves your disposition, appearance, manners, and sense of self.
The first house indicates your outlook on life and helps you to project your unique talents into the world. It is governed by Aries.
The Second House deals with material possessions and your attitude towards the physical world; it is ruled by Taurus. The second house relates to your throat and voice. It has to do with
speaking your truth. The second house helps you manifest beauty and
your highest values into the world.
The Third House, ruled by Gemini, contains your siblings, education, communication, transportation, and self-expression. It helps you to open your mind to a variety of new ideas, then to mold those thoughts into a form that can be expressed in the world. The third house represents ideas and metal acuity. It provides hints about how you speak and how you learn.
The Ninth House represents the higher mind. It is associated with foreign travel, religion, higher education, certain areas of the legal system, and the social mores of society. More than anything, the ninth house calls you to open your mind to your highest spiritual truth to learn who you are, beyond society's labels.
The Tenth House represents your public image and career.
The world sees you according to the sign on the tenth house cusp (also called the Midheaven). Capricorn's rulership ensures that you will find big business, government, and other administratively heavy organizations in this area of the chart.
The Eleventh House, ruled by Aquarius, influences friends, intellectual pleasures, socializing, and attitude towards society. It shows your goals and ambitions as they relate to your external relationships. The 11th house represents group consciousness.
The Twelfth House relates to that which is hidden from view. Ruled by Pisces, spiritual practices like meditation, shamanic vision quests, past life regression, dream therapy, psychic development, and hypnotherapy fit into the twelfth house.
