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Here’s another post in response to a reader request; a quick and easy guide to what the 12 Houses represent. This is not an exhaustive list, but I’ve tried to cover the major areas. Note that when I mention influences on these houses, the possible effects are entirely dependent on the planets involved (natal and transiting/progressed/solar arc).
1st House: The “you” that people first meet, but also your identity. Influences on this house can impact your energy level/vitality/mood. Your physical appearance, how you interact with the general public.
2nd House: What makes you feel secure and what you do to maintain that security. Personal values, earned money, resources you own (material and emotional). Your personal sexual energy. Influences on this house can impact your wealth, self-esteem.
3rd House: How you exchange information with others. Communication, thoughts, messages, speech, short journeys, your neighbourhood. Influences on this house can impact your mental health. Also represents siblings and cousins,
4th House: Your roots and childhood. Associated with the family in general, but with the father specifically. Wherever you are currently living; your physical residence. Influences on this house can indicate relocation, purchase of a house, home repairs/decorating, retirement, career change (opposite from the 10th House), additions to the family or death in the family.
5th House: This house is associated with children; your children, children in general and the child inside of you. It describes how you express your ego and what makes you special. It also rules performance, artists and creativity. This is the house of romance, but new/uncommitted romance only (committed relationships are ruled by the 7th House). Games, parties, gambling, fun, flirting. Influences on this house can impact your potential for conceiving/giving birth.
6th House: The house of “what needs to be done”. Daily routine, your health, service to others, service people, anyone in the medical profession, pets. Influences on this house can impact your physical health/energy level, duties you perform for others and services people perform for you. Because this house represents your daily environment, influences can sometimes indicate a job change.
7th House: The house of formal partnerships (romantic and business) but not relationships with blood relatives. Because this house is opposite from the 1st, it also describes your qualities that you project onto others. Influences on this house indicate what kind of partner you are, what energy dominates your partnerships and upcoming serious relationships.
8th House: This house covers what you don’t have control over; it’s the house of personal vulnerability. Also associated with psychology. Shared resources, debts, taxes, loans, your partner’s finances, inheritances, emotional intimacy, death. Opposite from the 2nd House, it represents the esteem your partner holds for you (as opposed to your self-esteem), and the sexual energy you share with another.
9th House: The house of broadening your horizons. Long distance travel, anything foreign, legal matters, higher education, guidance from others (lawyer, priest, teacher, guru), philosophy. Teaching/mentoring ability can be shown here. Influences on this house can indicate relocation to another country.
10th House: Your future goals (professional), fame, career, your boss, status, your mother. Influences on this house can indicate major career change and (sometimes) important changes in a parent’s life.
11th House: Opposite from the 5th House, it shows how you run with your personal goals/wishes/hopes. Note that the 10th is professional goals and the 11th is personal goals. Also represents friends, groups. Influences on this house can impact the number of friends you have and how you handle yourself in group situations.
12th House: What’s hidden, held back, unacknowledged, yet to be revealed. Spirituality, dreams, the unconscious, transcendence of the physical. Also associated with isolation and convalescence. Influences on this house can indicate major endings, lifestyle changes, secret love affairs, psychological issues.
Hmm, I thought I knew the houses pretty well but always learning something new, thank you. Always believed that mental health was the 12th domain alone, but that makes sense… The 3rd = Mercury.
This explains major, major mental shifts now that Pluto is going through my 3rd.
You’re welcome. People sometimes overlook the 3rd when it comes to mental health issues because the 12th is so much more “mysterious”. But start with the basics…the 3rd.
Thank you Nadia for quick post after my request!! greatly done!
but how does one manage house energy that are out of our control like 8th or misty like 12th? is there any aproach to take with these?
You’re welcome. Good question about the 8th and 12th. First step is to accept that you will never have complete control over these houses, and to be ok with that. Then, if you have any planets in them, use those energies as an entry point to work with the houses. For example, if you had Mercury in the 12th, you could explore Mercury ruled activities in a 12th House context…meditating, reading/writing about spirituality, studying about monasteries, chanting…it depends on what sign the planet is in and what catches your interest, of course. If you have no planets in those houses, check if they are being activated by transits or progressions and use those energies. Transiting Saturn in the 8th House could be a good time to get disciplined about joint finances or start seeing a counsellor.
i didnt reply before as still not sure what to think of this ‘coincidence’: i have natal mercury in 12th and natal saturn in 8th, and at the time you wrote mercury just went out of cap my 12th, and saturn is sadly still in scorpio (saturn return, 1st one). did yo took those examples from the top of your head or…? i was thinking maybe i posted it somewhere and it displays all my comments.. i know it is probably just coincidence but it is pretty amazing one.
Nope, not a coincidence.
You posted those examples earlier, so I used them because they would have meaning to you.
oh, thank you so much. it makes sense.
Hi Nadia, great topic. I find your posts interesting and informative. I have a question with your description of the 4th and 10th houses. From my studies, I’ve learned that the 4th is the domain of the “mother” (ruled by the moon and related to the inner sphere of house and home), whereas the 10th is the domain of the “father” (ruled by the sun and related to our outer lives, including career and status). This always made sense to me given the yin/yang relationship of the moon/sun and the traditional gender roles of mothers and fathers. That being said, I’m not a professional astrologer, like you. Would you mind clarifying this for me? Thanks so much. Big fan here.
For my part, I use the IV for the most mothering parent and the X for the most authoritarian one.
This works as well.
Thank you.
It does seem like common sense to have the 4th represent the mother and 10th represent the father. But I use the traditional associations for houses, which switches the two. I’ve found the traditional associations to be very accurate. As for why…the 4th is considered your inheritance, which traditionally came from the father. The 10th represents the results or “fruits” of what you’ve been working towards. Hence, the mother (who produces children as the fruits of her womb). Mind you, these are very traditional associations and France’s comment about using the most authoritarian parent for the 10th will also work.
Thanks for the explanation. Not only do I appreciate the guidance and growth I get from astrology, I also love the philosophical aspect. Constant learning.
Hello Nadia,
I see that you use the VI for pets (which is the standard), but would you agree to use the V, since some of us really consider their pets as “kids” ? Thanks!
But as Nadia points out, the fifth house has a significant dose of ego in it. No matter how hard I strive to be an enlightened parent (Venus in Aquarius in the fifth), I know my kids and I are going to have ego clashes all through life.
My beloved pets, however, accept the considerable care and service that I give to them, and continue on happily in their animal way.
Interesting debate. I will have to do more research on this (5th vs 6th house for pets as children) and write a post about it.
Tricky question. My first answer would be “no”, since the 5th is about what you have created; your children as your creation (which is why this house is also associated with creativity). But if you have no human children and your pets are that significant (I know my cat certainly is) then I would say look at transits/progressions hitting your 5th House. If your pet is impacted during the influence to the 5th, then there’s your answer.
I think it depends on the person and the pet. Two things to consider: Medievally, pets were primarily work animals, for hunting or guarding the home. Even lap dogs and house cats were expected to keep the vermin down and help keep you warm. At best they were more like servants than family, thus the 6th. Secondly pets are never going to grow up and be self-supporting and leave the home. They will always require care. so 6th in that sense as well. I suppose you would use 5th if you were asking a question that had more to do with your emotional tie to your pet than anything else.
I very much agree with you Catrenn. But I am also wondering if, like us, houses in astrology might evolve and develop some new meanings eventualy.since society and lifestyle changes with time.