Houses

House (astrology)

Most Western astrological systems divide the horoscope into a number of (usually twelve) houses whose position depend on the time and location of the initiation rather than on the date.

Description

The houses are divisions of the sky (including that part of it hidden beneath the ground) and are usually numbered from the position of the eastern horizon at the time of the observation. The first house would be the division just about to rise, the sixth house would have just set and houses 7 to 12 would be visible in the sky at the time of the horoscope. There are a range of approaches to calculating these divisions and a wide variety of opinion among astrologers over which house system to use.
To calculate the houses it is necessary to know the exact time of the moment. In natal astrology, if the time of birth is unknown some astrologers will use a birth time set for noon or sunrise, but a meaningful interpretation of such a chart cannot be expected.
The houses are departments of life, described in terms of physical surroundings as well as personal life experiences, and many modern astrologers assume that they have some correspondence with their natural sign, i.e. the first house has a natural affinity with the first sign, Aries, and so on.
In quadrant systems houses are classified as angular (1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th), succedent (2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th), and cadent (3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th). Angular houses represent the potential for action, succedent houses give stability and purpose, cadent houses are communicative and enable change or adaptation.
In old astrological writings (e.g. William Lilly), house could also be used as a synonym for domicile or rulership, as in the sentence "The Moon has its house in Cancer" meaning that Cancer is ruled by the Moon.

Significance of the houses

Each house signifies how the effects of the heavenly bodies positioned in it will be felt in the moment for which the horoscope has been drawn.

• First house

Identity, self-image, movement and expression, physical appearance, and the impact of the personality on the environment. This is the way one presents himself and how he start things. Planets located here also indicate the manner of one's birth. In horary astrology, the first house signifies the querent. In medical astrology, it rules the face and head. This house's qualities are cardinal, masculine, and diurnal.

• Second house

Values, substance, money, possessions, security, stability, the here and now, sense of self-worth, emotional resources, rewards, comfort, inner talents and resources. In horary astrology, this house rules personal possessions and financial matters. It rules the throat and neck. Its qualities are succeedent, feminine, and nocturnal.

• Third house

Awareness, mental expression, early education, travel over short distances, siblings, attitudes, daily life, companions, all forms of communication and short journeys, adaptability to new ideas, ability to relate to one's surroundings and environment. It rules the shoulders, arms, and hands. Its qualities are cadent, masculine, and nocturnal.

• Fourth house

Home, foundations, parents, domestic matters, heritage, roots, sources of nourishment. In horary astrology, this house represents the father, leasing contracts, and buildings. It rules the breasts and lungs. Its qualities are angular, feminine, and nocturnal.

• Fifth house

Anything added or taken away from the fourth house, children, romance and love affairs, ego, creative expression, play and gambling, attitude to change. In horary, it rules children of the querent and the sex of the potential child. It rules the stomach, heart, back, sides, and liver. Its qualities are succeedent, masculine, and diurnal.

• Sixth house

Housework, disease, employment and employees, attitude to work, general health, purification, ritual, habits, hobbies. It rules the guts and kidneys. Its qualities are cadent, feminine, and nocturnal.

• Seventh house

All kinds of partnerships, marriage, awareness of others, how one relates to people. In horary, it represents the astrologer. In medical astrology, it represents the doctor and the navel to the beginning of the legs. Its qualities are angular, masculine, and diurnal.

• Eighth house

Joint or shared resources, sex, inheritance, death and regeneration, emotional union, taxes. In horary, it represents death, loss, fear, and the financial affairs of spouses. It rules the genitals, bladder, and groin. Its qualities are succeedent, feminine, and nocturnal.

• Ninth house

Travel over long distances, religion, search for meaning, higher education, goals and aspirations, seeking and finding. In horary, it rules grandchildren and the siblings of the spouse. It rules the buttocks, hips, and thighs. Its qualities are cadent, masculine, and diurnal.

• Tenth house

Public image, profession, persona, reputation, values and standards, ideals, how one would like to project himself. In horary, it rules property owned by the spouse and wealth of grandchildren. In medical astrology, it represents the cure, the knees, calves, and shins. Its qualities are angular, feminine, and nocturnal.

• Eleventh house

Friends, social values and concerns, groups and group awareness, hopes and dreams, attitude to humanity. In horary, it rules friends of the querent, step-children, wealth of mother, wishes and hopes. It rules the legs to the ankles. Its qualities are succeedent, masculine, and diurnal.

• Twelfth house

Hidden motives, confinement, retreat, self-transcendence, service and sacrifice, escapism, charity. It rules the feet. Its qualities are cadent, feminine, and nocturnal.

House systems

There are many systems of dividing the ecliptic into houses. In most systems, the ascendant (eastern horizon) marks the cusp, or beginning, of the first house, and the descendant (western horizon) marks the cusp of the seventh house. In addition, quadrant systems (i.e. most systems except equal) use the midheaven (medium coeli) as the cusp of the tenth house and the nadir (imum coeli) as the cusp of the fourth house.
Equal house system (born with astrology in subtropical regions) breaks up in extreme latitudes completely, which was the reason, the farther north the astrology moved, for lookup of new house systems. When astrology moved to southern Europe, Porphyry house system was developed and replaced Equal, and later was replaced by Alcabitius developed by Arabs. In northern Europe Regiomontanus was developed and overtook, but later was replaced by Placidus. As no better house system than Placidus was proposed so far, it is the most popular house system in use, although it is bad enough to make a lot of resistance against its use.
The problem with existing house systems is that most quadrant systems deliver wrong house cusps when a horoscope is drawn for a location in extreme northern or southern latitudes (Campanus, Placidus) or in some places beyond polar circles their definitions provide no cusps at all (Alcabitius, Placidus, Koch), so search for new house systems is still sustained and vivid among astrologers.

Placidus

The most commonly used house system in modern Western astrology. There seems to be no particular reason for its popularity except that calculation tables have always been easily available. The system is based on a division of time rather than space as in most other systems. The times taken for each degree of the ecliptic to rise from the IC to the ascendant, and from the ascendant to the MC, are trisected to determine the cusps of houses 2, 3, 11, and 12. The cusps of houses 8, 9, 5 and 6 are opposite these.
The Placidus system is defined only for latitudes between 66°N and 66°S.

Equal

The ecliptic is divided into twelve divisions of 30 degrees each. As long as there is an ascendant, twelve equal houses can be measured from it, so this system works for all locations although there will be anomalies in charts for locations within the polar circles.

Whole sign

In the whole sign house system, the houses are also 30° each, but instead of beginning at the ascendant, the first house begins at zero degrees of the zodiac sign in which the ascendant falls. In other words, each house is wholly filled by one sign. This is the system used in Jyotish (vedic astrology), and Hellenistic astrology. It is believed to be the oldest system of house division.

Regiomontanus

The celestial equator is divided into twelve, and these divisions are projected on to the ecliptic along great circles that take in the north and south points on the horizon. Named after the German astronomer and astrologer Johann Müller of Königsberg.

Meridian

Similar to the above, except that the east point is taken as the ascendant.

Campanus

The prime vertical (the great circle taking in the zenith and east point on the horizon) is divided into twelve, and these divisions are projected on to the ecliptic along great circles that take in the north and south points on the horizon. It is named after Johannes Campanus.

Porphyry

Each quadrant of the ecliptic is divided into three equal parts between the four angles. This is the oldest system of quadrant style house division. Although it is attributed to Porphyry of Tyros, it appears that this system was actually first described by the astrologer Vettius Valens in his 2nd century work The Anthology.

Koch

A rather more complicated version of the Placidean system, but built on equal increments of Right Ascension for each quadrant. Like it, the Koch system is defined only for latitudes between 66°N and 66°S.

Topocentric

View 1: This is a recent system, invented in Argentina, that its creators claim to have been determined empirically, i.e. by observing events in people's lives and assessing the geometry of a house system that would fit. The house cusps are always within a degree of those given in the Placidus system, which would seem to corroborate that system. The geometry is somewhat complicated and the reader is referred to this site for an explanation.
View 2: Placidus house system computed by approximate 'quick and dirty' algorthitm. Instead of solving spherical triangle, 1/3 or 2/3 of tangens of geographical latitude is taken and converted back into new latitude of under the pole intermediate house circle. Thus Topocentric house cusps positions are wrong by up to 1 degree from Placidus.
Also: Topocentricity mentioned in above linked article applies to objects like Sun, Moon and planets and their house positions. For house cusps positions there's no difference between topocentric or geocentric ones.

Krusinski

Recently published (1995) house system, based on great circle passing through ascendant and zenith (Medium Coeli). This circle is divided into 12 equal parts (1st cusp is ascendent, 10th cusp is zenith), then resulting points are projected to ecliptic through meridian circles (circles passing through equatorial north and south poles, perpendicular to equator, see: meridian (geography)).

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