The twelve houses

The twelve houses can be considered as six polarities or opposing pairs of houses having a complementary action. The six houses below the horizon (1-6), or personal houses, show how the individual is inclined to demand or act, and thus to affect his or her life and environment. The six houses above the horizon (7-12), or social houses, represent the external means, permitting and moderating people and circumstances, on which the manifestation of personal will depends.

Most people confuse the 12 houses of the horoscope with the 12 signs of the zodiac. Although they are interrelated, the two are both quite different.

The houses deal with the material/physical interests, and conditions of a person, while the signs represent more of the internal and spiritual nature of that person.

On a chart, the 12 houses remain as permanent divisions and do not change or shift. The Signs however, are sections in the Zodiac chart that revolve around the chart from east to west, in relation to the Earth's motion on its axis.

Like the Zodiac Signs, each house has a different significance and represents different qualities. In order to fully understand the nature of horoscopes, it is necessary to know the different houses and their relationships with everything else.

This second part of the article considers each house polarity in turn, then for each house separately discusses its traditionally attributed significations in one paragraph, and some additional (occasionally conflicting) modern attributions in the next.

1st House ; 7th House

The First House produces effects caused by the ego of the individual, whereas the Seventh produces effects caused by that of the partner.

The First House has signification over the individual's physical characteristics, including stature, color, complexion, form and gait; vitality and length of life; character, spirit and soul; the station into which one is born; the native land; formative years and education; the fortunes of children; profession and enterprises; white and pale colors; and the head and face.

The First also signifies action by the individual, and its results in the world; self-expression; projected persona; self-guided destiny; one's interests and habits; the moral viewpoint; opinion of self and others; attitude towards one's possessions and anything else that impacts on the ego; outlook on the world; the quality and direction of one's motivation, desires, cravings and will to manifest; awareness of the self and the future; mental and emotional qualities and attitudes; personal power over self and others; health as a consequence of personal habits; and grandparents of the opposite sex.

The Seventh House has signification over marriage; anyone enquired after; women, wives, concubines and sweethearts; partnerships; all love questions; the consummation of affairs; the last years of life; death; quarrels, contentions, lawsuits and duels; public enemies; victory and defeat; the defendant in a legal case; the opposition in war; worship of gods; thieves and thefts; physicians; fugitives, outlaws and runaways; social events; leisure; banquets, and marriage feasts; and the navel, womb and bottom.

The Seventh also signifies one's relation to the public in general; court trials; the outcome of pleas and disputes; the interchange of ideas; formalities; contracts, and co-operative arrangements; personal agents and representatives; business partnerships; peace and war; marriages and divorces; cohabitation; and the same sex grandparents.

2nd House; 8th House

The Second House impacts on the individual's earning capacity as a result of his or her own activities, whereas the Eighth impacts on it via the disposition of others towards him or her. The Second is more concerned with assets, the Eighth with liabilities.

The Second House has signification over material possessions, including property, estate, and movable goods; physical substance; nutrition; livelihood; business; wealth, fortune, and inheritance, or the expectation thereof; poverty; profit and gain; loss and damage; personal hopes; assistants; allies in lawsuits and duels; interaction with women; the profession of one's children; the color green; and the throat and neck and area above the shoulders.

The Second also signifies one's strongest desires for the quality of life; social background; secret thoughts and wishes; money; income derived from possessions and property; earned income; capacity for earning and spending; personal debts; and the fulfillment of obligations.

The Eighth House has signification over death; murder; poisoning; gall-stones; hemorrhoids; piles; mental fear and anguish; weakness; being on trial; the wills, legacies, testaments, and estate of those deceased, and the inheritance there from; heirs; dowries; losses and penalties; expenditure; poverty; allies of opponents in duels; the property of the partner; the colors green and black; and the reproductive organs.

The Eighth also signifies birth and rebirth; evolution through suffering and involuntary experiences; elimination; fateful losses which force changes; regeneration through the broadening of one's mental and spiritual perspective and the subjugation of the ego; release from personal limitations through interaction with others; psychoanalysis; transmutation of emotional stress into spiritual strength; other people's possessions; insurance; trust funds; business corporations; taxes; the stock market; liabilities involved in one's monetary relationship to and responsibilities in the world; research; restoration; and sex.

3rd House; 9th House

The Third House involves changes caused by the individual's chosen actions, whereas the Ninth produces changes caused by outside forces.

The Third House has signification over siblings, cousins, and other relatives and relatives-in-law; neighbors; friends; travelers; messengers; slaves; writers; letters, messages, and rumors; short or inland journeys; frequent changes of place; royalty; goddesses; mitigation; jewels; the colors red and yellow; and the shoulders, arms, hands and fingers.

The Third House also signifies the faculties of mental synthesis and reason; education; intellectual interests; the local environment; perception, and the formation of sense impressions within one's environment; memory; speech; daily movement; changes; dexterity, restlessness, and accidents; cleverness; news, and all communications; magazines and books; and personal publicity.

The Ninth House has signification over voyages and long journeys overseas; foreign countries; religious people, and especially clergy; church livings; religion; God or gods; divine decree; destiny and fate; books and learning; philosophy; dreams and their interpretation; visions, and revelations; divination, astrology, and soothsaying; the family of one's marital partner; social class; friendship with and benefit from kings; and the bottom, hips and thighs.

The Ninth also signifies the abstract mind, intuition, and inspiration; a sense of purpose; deeper mental interests; higher education; the search for new horizons; one's sense of responsibility towards relatives, and towards collective needs; imports and exports; residence abroad; grandchildren of oneself and siblings; far-reaching advertising and publicity; worldwide contacts; racial ideas and ideals; publication of one's own writings; and organized sport.

4th House; 10th House

The Fourth House represents the environment and foundation for reputation and career development brought by the individual's own choices, whereas the Tenth involves forces outside his or her control (others' attitude towards him or her) affecting his or her career.

The Fourth House has signification over parents and grandparents, but especially fathers, and foremost the father of the individual whose nativity is being studied; children and descendants; old age, and what follows death; family property; lands; grounds; fields; pasture; agriculture; orchards; vineyards; gardens; the water supply; hidden treasures, and hidden wealth, and the mining of metal; gain from hidden sources; houses; castles, and all ancient dwellings; temples; towns and cities; possessions, and household goods; repute; wealth; the color red; and the breast and lungs. The Lord of the Fourth House indicates the governor of the town where the individual lives.

The Fourth also signifies the birthplace; the nature of the early life, upbringing, subconscious conditioning, and home environment; one's psychological roots; family and racial traditions; the place of residence; the home and domestic affairs, conditions and concerns throughout life; the first child (if a woman's geniture); the manner in which every concern ends; the concretization of the ego as the seat of the emotions, desires and passions; the mergence and draining away of everything requiring elimination; the final illness and demise; private matters and personal secrets; the imagination; emotional receptivity; treasured memories; whatever surrounds, protects and nourishes one; anything accumulated or in storage; whichever parent has more of a nurturing role; and rentals, leases, and purchase or sale of real estate.

The Tenth House has signification over people in high public office and position, including royalty (kings, princes, dukes and earls), top military officers and town officers, and judges and majesty; lawyers; government by nobles; preferment; popular favor; alliances with foreign states; reputation; honor, distinction, glory, dignity; fame in relation to one's station; power, and authority; accomplishment; the consummation of success; success in business; one's career, profession or trade; commerce; the state of being married; kingdoms, empires, dukedoms and counties; law and justice; mother(s); liberality; mental infirmities; the colors red and white; medicinal remedies and cures; and the knees and upper legs.

The Tenth also signifies relations with those in authority generally; whichever parent is more authoritarian; large-scale organizations; consciousness of one's own nation; and relationship to society as expressed through occupational activities.

5th House; 11th House

The Fifth House allows the individual to profit from chance through investments and emotional leanings, whereas the Eleventh determines through the influence of or intervention by others whether or not his or her desires will be met.

The Fifth House has signification over pregnancy; children, and their health; friendship; joy and pleasure; clothing; ambassadors, messengers or agents for the state; accomplishments; banquets; ale-houses and taverns; the wealth of the father; the ammunition of a besieged town; the colors black, white and honey-color; and the heart, stomach, liver, sides, shoulders and back.

The Fifth also signifies the externalization of ego through creative and procreative desires, activities and products, including artistic and literary output; talents; holidays; hobbies, recreational impulses, games, and amusements; emotional and romantic inclinations and desires; strong impulses projected into the world in a dramatic manner that contribute to fame or notoriety; displays; and financial speculation and gambling.

The Eleventh House has signification over friends and friendship; the fidelity or falseness of friends; friendship with women; children; freed prisoners; praise or dispraise from others; love; hope, trust and confidence; good fortune; happiness; longevity; ambition; triumph; the attainment of desires; gifts; ornaments; commerce; the councilors, allies, associates, servants, favorites, money, treasure, and war-time ammunition and soldiers of kings; the colors yellow and saffron; and the lower legs (down to the ankles).

The Eleventh also signifies general social interaction; acquaintances; detached or impersonal relationships; groups, clubs, and associates; business connections; scheming flatterers; ideals concerning relationships; those who share one's ideals; the imagination; hopes, wishes and ambitions; altruism; reforming visions and efforts; humanitarian and philanthropic enterprises; projects; the rewards brought by ambitions; and sons, and daughters-in-law.

6th House; 12th House

The Sixth House affects the individual's health, service to others and work through choices under his or her own control; whereas the twelfth inhibits and represses as a result of others' reactions to him or her.

The Sixth House has signification over employees, servants and slaves; tenants; agricultural laborers, farmers, and shepherds ; farmed animals such as sheep, goats, hogs and cattle (except oxen), and the profit or loss that they bring; rabbits and hares; health, and especially illness, disease, and physical infirmity and defects; uncles and aunts (especially on one's father's side); overwork and toil; ill-fortune; loss of property; misery and bane; enmity; the color black; and the lower part of the abdomen, including the intestines and kidneys.

The Sixth also signifies clothing; food and diet; hygiene and sanitation; domestic pets; other small animals; comforts; the capacity to serve personally, in routine and unobtrusive ways; the nature of those in one's own service; duties, practical responsibilities, mundane chores and tasks; daily work; employment in general; and mental conflicts resulting from the externalization of the ego, leading often to mental illness or physical disease.

The Twelfth House has signification over large cattle such as oxen; horses, elephants, and other exceptionally large animals; (private) enemies; witches; tribulation, affliction and misfortune; prison, and imprisonment; bail; servants and slaves; fines, and debt; fear and anxieties; self-undoing; toil; sorrow, misery, bane and adversity; danger; illnesses, disease, infirmities and defects; death; foreign countries; exile; those who maliciously undermine or secretly inform on their neighbors; harbors; the color green; and the feet.

The Twelfth also signifies secret feelings and aspirations; sins, and negligence, that haunt one's conscience; karmic liabilities; atonement for errors through compassionate self-sacrifice and charity; character defects seeming to necessitate a spiritual rebirth; repressions; deceptions and treachery; neuroses, and psychogenic illnesses; hidden and underhanded opposition, and behind-the-scenes maneuverings; hospitals and hospitalization; asylums; institutions; work in seclusion or behind the scenes; the inclination to think at variance with or change society and national consciousness; the attainment of ultimate understanding; occultism; meditation; inner self-development; uncles and aunts on one's mother's side; and position in the afterlife.

Zodiac Signs | Ascendant