Astrology for Magicians and Metaphysicists
- Lesson 4
The Houses
As you have seen previously,
it is the planets that reveal a person's inclinations and motivations
and the signs of the zodiac that reveal the manners in which these inclinations
and motivations operate. Now, you will see that it is the houses of the
birth chart that point toward affairs of life upon which these efforts,
functioning in a specified manner, will be concentrated. First
of all, the houses are traditionally referred to as mundane houses because
they point toward worldly activities. Actually, the houses are divisions
of the planet Earth; hence, Earth is the third art of the three part
relationship that is the foundation for basic astrological conclusions:
planets, signs, and earth. the fourth factor, aspects, depends upon
this three part relationship, as you will see later.
In chart casting
procedures, the houses always remain in the same position; Thus, the
first house is the first house in all charts. It is the planets in signs
that will move among the various houses, as determined by the birth
date, the birth hour, and the birth place. Note, then, the following
chart with the numbers of the houses in their proper places. This numbering
will NEVER change.
The spokes, or dividing
lines between houses, are called CUSPS: and it is on these cusps that
the signs of the zodiac are recorded in the twelve equal wedges chart,
as you will see later. Note that the cusps of the houses are numbered.
They correspond to the houses that they in effect open, following a
counter clockwise motion.
Further, the first
cusp is called the ASCENDANT. This is so because it is the exact point
on the eastern horizon that indicates the demarcation line between the
end of the night and the beginning of day. Next, the tenth cusp is called
MEDIUM COELI, or the MIDHEAVEN, because it marks the exact overhead
point that separates morning from afternoon; then, the seventh house
cusp is called DESCENDANT, because it is the exact point in the West
that indicates the demarcation line between the end of the day and the
beginning of the night. Finally, the fourth cusp is called the IMMUM
COELI or MIDNIGHT, because it is the exact point that marks the end
of one day and the beginning of the next one.
With these points
in mind, study the following chart to see how, for purposes of chart
casting, the motions of the signs and the planets are treated, remembering
that the houses never move.
Now, begin to gain
insights into the affairs of each house by studying carefully the key
words that are listed below.
House |
Affairs
and Activities |
First |
Personal
and self-related concerns |
Second |
Personal
possessions and security |
Third |
Relationship
to the immediate environment |
Fourth |
Personal
home and private life |
Fifth |
Instinctive
affections and re-creation |
Sixth |
Services
given and received and health |
Seventh |
Partnership
relationships at a personal level |
Eighth |
Material
relationships involving shared resources |
Ninth |
Mental
and physical explorations |
Tenth |
Place
in society and standing in the world |
Eleventh |
Hopes
and wishes and impermanent attachments |
Twelfth |
Freedom
from restrictions |
At this point, you
should readily see that you can make another step in interpreting the
Sun in a chart, providing you know the house in which the Sun falls.
For example, if a person's Sun is in Libra and in the seventh house,
you should construct this basic sentence: "The person's inclinations
and motivations to integrate, to express, and to project will operate
unitedly, harmoniously, vigorously, pensively, and enterprisingly, concentrating
upon partnership relationships at a personal level." These key words,
of course, are taken from the previous lessons for the Sun and for Libra,
and from this lesson for the seventh house.
This basic sentence
may still seem to be artificially formal or pompous. Nevertheless, if
you will study it closely, you will see that after some experience with
charts you would come to interpret it as follows: "This person will
be very pleasant and cooperative, but at the same time actively watchful
and clever, as he seeks to become a significant part of the environment
and the society in which he finds himself. Of great importance to him
in these efforts will be the formation of lasting partnerships, whether
this be in a business, a profession, or a marriage. He will function
best when he is not alone."
Reasonably, the
planetary aspects to the Sun would modify this interpretation with either
ease or difficulty. You would, however, have to complete the foregoing
procedure and then revise it accordingly to accommodate the impact of
the aspects.
Proceed now to make
a close study of the houses, giving careful attention to the key word
extensions, the planet and sign affiliations, and the concomitant relations.
First
House
Key Word Extensions
Personal and self related
concerns -- Matters pertinent to one's establishing oneself as a distinct
personality and being Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The first house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets
Mars and Pluto and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Aries.
Concomitant Relations
The first house affairs
are related to the physical body, the temperament, and the general disposition.
Second
House
Key Word Extensions
Personal possessions
and security -- Matters pertinent to one's accumulating material resources
in order to establish security Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The second house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet
Venus and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Taurus.
Concomitant Relations
The second house affairs
are related to resourcefulness in acquisition, appreciation of luxury,
and satisfaction with the material. Third
House
Key Word Extensions
Relationships to the
immediate environment -- Matters pertinent to one's adjusting to those
close because of circumstances and to the beginning of the process of
education. Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The third house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet
Mercury and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Gemini.
Concomitant Relations
The third house affairs
are related to neighbors, brothers and sisters, short travel, and direct
communication. Fourth
House
Key Word Extensions
Personal home and private
life -- Matters pertinent to one's establishing a place within which to
protect oneself and one's possessions Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The fourth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet
Moon and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Cancer.
Concomitant Relations
The fourth house affairs
are related to the family unit and the property occupied.
Fifth
House
Key Word Extensions
Instinctive affections
and re-creation -- Matters pertinent to one's creating his own image through
both the body and the mind. Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The fifth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet
Sun and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Leo. Concomitant
Relations
The fifth house affairs
are related to sporting activities, speculation, love making, children,
and personal creations. Sixth
House
Key Word Extensions
Services given and
received and health -- Matters pertinent to one's serving others and being
served in order to maintain good health through reciprocity
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The sixth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet
Mercury and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Virgo.
Concomitant Relations
The sixth house affairs
are related to detailed work, health, hygiene, and interdependence.
Seventh
House
Key Word Extensions
Partnership relations
at a personal level -- Matters pertinent to one's attaching oneself to
others in order to compensate for one's own sense of lack
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The seventh house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet
Venus and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Libra.
Concomitant Relations
The seventh house affairs
are related to marriage partners and business and professional associates.
Eighth
House
Key Word Extensions
Material relationships
involving shared resources -- Matters pertinent to one's sharing his possessions
with others and to his sharing the possessions of others Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The eighth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets
Pluto and Mars and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Scorpio.
Concomitant Relations
The eighth house affairs
are related to material dependence, inheritances, and self sacrifice.
Ninth
House
Key Word Extensions
Mental and physical
explorations -- Matters pertinent to one's furthering the process of education
through in-depth study and extensive travel Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The ninth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets
Jupiter and Neptune and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Sagittarius
Concomitant Relations
The house affairs are
related to foreign travel, extensive research, philosophy, religion, publishing,
and higher education. Tenth
House
Key Word Extensions
Place in society and
standing in the world -- Matters pertinent to one's going outside his
home to establish himself properly in the social, business, and professional
circles through entering into a career Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The tenth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets
Saturn and Uranus and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Capricorn.
Concomitant Relations
The house affairs are
related to ambition, special talent, and practicality. Eleventh
House
Key Word Extensions
Hopes and wishes and
impermanent attachments -- Matters pertinent to one's relating successfully
to group activity in order to participate in creative concerns that are
communal in nature. Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The eleventh house
has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the
planets Uranus and Saturn and to the attitudes and manners of the sign
Aquarius. Concomitant
Relations
The eleventh house
affairs are related to friendships, societies, clubs, connections, objectives,
and concerns. Twelfth
House
Key Word Extensions
Freedom from restrictions
-- Matters pertinent to one's resisting impediments to his efforts to
be a totally integrated part of the process of living Planet
and Sign Affiliations
The twelfth house has
a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets
Neptune and Jupiter and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Pisces.
Concomitant Relations
The twelfth house affairs
are related to limitations, barriers, isolation, solitude, confinement,
the unconscious, and the hidden. Review
regularly the key words for the houses. Then, you should conduct yourself,
using the chart below, a cumulative review of the planets, the signs,
and the houses. Note that a planet may fall into any of the twelve signs
as well as into any of the twelve houses. Thus, there are a possible
1440 combinations for the key words of these three factors of a chart.
Large though this
number of combinations may seem, you need only to grasp ten concepts
for planets, twelve concepts for signs, and twelve concepts for houses.
You will then be able to make 1440 combinations as any one of the combinations
is needed when you are reading a chart.
Practice, now, making
the combinations, using this basic pattern for constructing a sentence:
The inclinations
and motivation (inset the key words for the planet) will operate (insert
the key words for the sign), concentrating upon (insert the key words
for the house).
Planet |
Keywords |
Sun |
to
integrate, to express, to project |
Moon |
to
respond, to react, to regulate |
Mercury |
to
communicate, to concentrate, to transmit |
Venus |
to
relate, to unite, to connect |
Mars |
to
initiate, to activate, to move |
Jupiter |
to
expand, to mature, to experience |
Saturn |
to
limit, to control, to discipline |
Uranus |
to
deviate, to invent, to reform |
Neptune |
to
refine, to detect, to transcend |
Pluto |
to
eliminate, to transform, to regenerate |
Sign |
Keywords |
Aries |
assertively,
urgently |
Taurus |
possessively,
enduringly |
Gemini |
versatilely,
varably |
Cancer |
sensitively,
protectively |
Leo |
impressively,
creatively |
Virgo |
analytically,
critically |
Libra |
unitedly,
harmoniously |
Scorpio |
intensely,
secretively |
Sagittarius |
freely,
widely |
Capricorn |
prudently,
reservedly |
Aquarius |
indifferently,
unconventionally |
Pisces |
impressionably,
intuitively |
House |
Keywords |
1st |
personal
and self-related concerns |
2nd |
personal
possessions and security |
3rd |
relationship
to the immediate environment |
4th |
personal
home and private life |
5th |
instinctive
affections and re-creation |
6th |
services
given and received and health |
7th |
partnership
relations at a personal level |
8th |
material
relationships involving shared resources |
9th |
mental
and physical explorations |
10th |
place
in society and standing in the world |
11th |
hopes
and wishes and impermanent attachments |
12th |
freedom
from restrictions |
Aspects
You find the aspects
in a computer printout of the astrological chart, usually in tables below
the chart. Charts where planets and houses are inscribed in the circle
of 360 degrees representing the zodiac (not the primitive twelve-equal
wedges chart that is commonly used in the Anglo Saxon countries!) show
the aspects as lines between planets and other important points of the
chart. The
computer printout is sufficient for you to know the aspects. Usually
the printout also indicates the orb of an aspect, i.e., how close the
distance of the two planets is to the exact aspect. The larger the orb,
the weaker the influence of the aspect will be.
Aspects are angular
distances between planets in the zodiac, and between planets and the
cusps of the first and tenth houses.
Distances between
planets which are considered to be major aspects are the following:
0 degrees apart,
or conjunction
60 degrees apart, or sextile
90 degrees apart, or square
120 degrees apart, or trine
180 degrees apart, or opposition.
In our present work
we use the major aspects only. When
we say that two planets are in mutual aspect, we mean that the distance
between these two planets is within a specific range. The distance is
measured in degrees. This is so because the planets are inscribed in
the periphery of a circle that represents the ecliptic, or the path
on which the planets make their way through the zodiac.
To figure out the
aspects is easy when you draw the planets and houses into the astrological
signs. Each sign has 30 degrees, proceeding counter clockwise.
Aspects are strongest
when they are correct. For instance when they are conjoint in the same
degree, or exactly 60, 90, 120, or 180 degrees apart. When an aspect
is exact, then its impact is strongest. The further planets are away
from the point of the exact aspect, the weaker is the influence of the
aspect. The range within which planets are effective is called the maximum
orb of the aspect. Two planets that are 54 degrees or 66 degrees apart
are still considered to be in the sextile aspect which would be exact
at the distance of 60 degrees. However the influence of a sextile that
measures 54or 66 degrees is much less than the influence of an exact
sextile of 60 degrees.
As far as the orb
of an aspect is concerned, opinions differ and so do computer programs.
As a good rule you may consider 8 degrees maximum orb for the opposition
and conjunction, 7 degrees for the square and trine, and 6 degrees for
the sextile.
Besides the major
aspects, astrologers work with many minor aspects such as aspects of
30, 45, 135, and 150 degrees. We will not consider these aspects at
the beginning of our work.
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