Astrology 101: The Houses - A simple approach to the astrological map

ASTROLOGY 101 - The Houses

A simple approach to the Astrological Map

This is the second in a series on Astrology written by queer Vancouver content creator, Jude Goodwin (she/her).

To begin with, I'd like to state that I will be teaching primarily Western Astrology. There are many other forms (Hindu, Chinese and East Asian, etc) but I have studied mostly Western.

In Western Astrology, basic divination is achieved through a study of the astrological signs, the astrological houses, 10 heavenly bodies (loosely referred to as the planets), and the geometric aspects and angles between them.

There's so much more, of course, but a practicing astrologer can get by quite well through good study of these basic components and their relationships to each other. So let's begin!

Rulerships and Correspondences

In our Introduction to Astrology we talked a bit about how Astrology works, and why. We talked about how for some unknown reason, the patterns we see in the night sky reflect affairs on earth. Astrologers often refer to the relationship of these patterns as correspondences or rulerships. For example, the planet Mars being in a certain place in the heavens when you are born might correspond to certain possibilities, because Mars 'rules' certain possibilities.

In Astrology 101 - We'll be talking about the map itself, and the segments or 'Houses' it is divided into.

Astrology is a map

In my earlier article, titled What is Astrology? I made the point that Astrology is a map. Another word for map is 'chart' - and most astrologers use this word.

You are the center of the map of the heavens, as it was drawn the moment of your birth. Gridded around you is a chart (map) made up of a circle divided into 12 segments, each with 30 degrees. The line that dissects the circle represents the horizon with East on the left and West on the right.

These 12 segments of your chart are called houses. A good understanding of the correspondences and rulerships of the houses is step one in learning to interpret a chart.

Each house corresponds with an area of your life, including stages, and relationships.

Learning the houses

The houses have number names from one to twelve (see figure above). Six houses (1-6) are situated below the horizon and correspond with matters of your inner self and self-actualization. I think of them as the 'Me' houses. The six houses above the horizon (7 -12) represent matters of your outer self - I think of them as the 'Us' houses. Each house has a house opposite. In each case, the 'Me' house is opposite the 'Us' house and so balance is achieved.

As a bonus, understanding the houses, and learning their rulers, will be a huge help in remembering the meanings of signs and planets, which we will be discussing in later articles..

When looking at the whole circle of a chart, I like to use the metaphor of a growing and blossoming psyche. It's born in the first house, and then moves around the circle as it matures.

Let's go around the chart, in brief.

First House / Seventh House

The first house is the primary 'Me' house and represents our baby psyche's first existential thought: "I AM" The first house is ruled by Aries and the planet Mars. Opposite the First House is the 7th House. It's above the horizon and where the first house below is IAM, the 7th house is WE ARE. The seventh house is ruled by the sign Libra and and the planet Venus. It corresponds with partnerships and marriage and matters to do with shared lives.

Second House / Eight House

The second house is the I HAVE house. It is ruled by the sign Taurus and the planet Venus. The second house corresponds with matters of personal possession including property, money, and land. Opposite the 2nd house is the 8th house. Where the 2nd is I HAVE, the 8th house is WE HAVE. It is ruled by the sign Scorpio and the planet Pluto. The 8th house rules partnership property, a partner's money, and inheritances. And it rules sex.

Third House / Ninth House

The third house is the I THINK / I COMMUNICATE house. It is ruled by the sign Gemini and the planet Mercury. This is the house of communication, and means of communication including letters, talk, and even the hands. The ninth house is the WE THINK / WE COMMUNICATE house. It is ruled by the sign Sagitarius and the planet Jupiter. This is the house of education, travel, and intellectual expansion of all kinds. Where the 3rd house rules chit-chat, the 9th house rules deep philosophical discussion and learning.

Fourth House / 10th House

The fourth house key words are I NEED / I FEEL / I NURTURE. It is ruled by the sign Cancer and the planet Moon. Its opposite is the 10th house with the keywords WE SUPPORT. The 4th house corresponds with the home and mother. The 10th house corresponds with the outside world and father. It is ruled by the sign Capricorn and the planet Saturn.

Fifth House / Eleventh House

The fifth house keywords are I CREATE. It is ruled by the sign Leo and the ‘planet’ Sun. Our metaphoric baby psyche has come a long way and is now ready to be creative and even show off a little bit. This is the house of personal creativity, of children (being your creation) and of strutting your stuff. The opposite house, the 11th, has the keywords WE CREATE. It is ruled by Aquarius and the planet Uranus. It corresponds to matters of community, social movements, group activities, friends and fellowship.

Sixth House / Twelfth House

The six house keywords are I SERVE. It's ruled by the sign Virgo and the planet Mercury (notice how some planets rule more than one house). The 6th house corresponds to matters of service, work, labour, and caregivers such as maids and nurses. The 12th house keywords, using this metaphor, are WE SERVE. It's ruled by Pisces and the planet Neptune. The house rules institutions, hospitals, asylums, prisons. Where the 6th house rules physical health, the 12th house rules mental health. Addiction, alcoholism, and escapism.

And there you have it. With this outline in hand, you can probably place any matter into its corresponding house. Let's give it a try.

Quiz

See if you can determine what house each of these events or matters corresponds to. Answers at end of article.

1. Milk
2. Income from a business
3. Seniors homes
4. Face and head
5. Travel
6. Government
7. Siblings
8. Love Affairs
9. Bookkeeping
10. Real Estate

I hope you have written down each house and it's sign and planet. You can learn a lot about a sign by the house it rules and vice versa. Aries rules the first house, Aries is all about I am - it's the existential Me. And what energy! The energy of birth itself. And don't get me started on Mars.

But those are rulers by definition. When you are born and the map is drawn, there might be other signs 'ruling' your houses. For example, what if Aries is not located at the 0-30 degrees of your map (1st house). Instead it's ruling your 7th house. What is that going to say about your partnerships and marriages? Tempestuous me-first Aries ruling the house of marriage and cooperation. Hmmm.

And that's the fun of Astrology. We look at the signs that rule your houses, and then the planets that are located within your houses and we get quite a good picture of how things are going for you and how they could go if you had a better understanding of yourself.

In our next article, we're going to look at the 10 basic heavenly bodies - Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. There are more that astrologers look at including stars and nodes and parts, but we're only going to talk about the big ten. And we'll see what it looks like when they are in your different houses.

Answers to quiz:

1. Milk - the 4th House - the house of nurturing and motherhood.
2. Income from a business - the 11th house. The 10th house is Business, and the 11th house is its 2nd house. Yes this was tricky.
3. Seniors homes - the 12th house
4. Face and head - the 1st house - birth, out comes the head first!
5. Travel - the 9th house - expansion of the mind
6. Government - the 10th house - the father, the governor, and public life
7. Siblings - the 3rd house. Your first conversational buddies
8. Love Affairs. If you picked 8th, you're not too wrong although the 8th rules sex with a partner. Love affairs might be more frivolous, more about showing off and strutting your stuff than commitment or anything deep. Love affairs are ruled by the 5th house..
9. Bookkeeping - the 3rd house rules numbers and math - at a lower level.
10. Real Estate. Part of me might choose the 2nd, as it rules land, but real estate and realtors are ruled by the 4th house - home.

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Astrology 101 - The Houses
Astrology 101 - The Planets
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