Houses 101

First House (Ascendant) – IDENTITY

Sign – AIRES – Spring
Planet – MARS
Phase of Development: Beginnings; Establishing Identity – Who am I?
Themes/Areas of life: Physical appearance; personality; image projected to the world; disposition/manner; outlook on life; window through which you view the world; your optimal armor; how you take action; conditions of birth; self-image; “lens” in which you view the world; physical health and vitality
Part of the Body: The skin, the outer self. The body as a whole.
Person/People: self

Second House – POSSESSIONS

Sign – TAURUS
Planet – VENUS
Phase of Development: Values; Grounding in material reality – What do I need?
Themes/Areas of life: Your resources, possessions and property; material assets, income, money; (generally) positive attitudes about money; earning and spending capacity; values; the legacy you leave behind; ownership, net worth; self-worth; self-exertion; sensuality and the capacity for pleasure, enjoyment; beautification
Person/People: financial adviser, accountant

Third House – COMMUNICATION

Sign – GEMINI
Planet – MERCURY
Phase of Development: Local Environment
Themes/Areas of life: Communication, languages; writing and speech; the concrete and rational mind; early education and environment; gossip; symbols, maps, inquiry, ability to relate to your environment; short journeys, trips, and commutes; memory; perception, physical mail, post office
Person/People: neighbors, siblings, peers, students, relatives

Fourth House (Nadir/IC) – HOME : PAST LIVES

Sign – CANCER – The Summer Solstice
Planet – MOON
Phase of Development: “Base of operations”, Establishing a solid emotional structure and sense of home
Themes/Areas of life: Home; relationship between you and your country, history, past, love/respect of nostalgia, past lives, security, emotional foundation; emotional depths; real estate/property; establishing roots; imagination and intuition; personal mythology; core self, your family
Person/People: mother (or nurturing parent), family/tribe, ancestors

Fifth House – CREATION : PLEASURE

Sign – LEO
Planet – SUN
Phase of Development: Romance, fun, love affairs, & children
Themes/Areas of life: Creative self-expression; entertainment; shows; enjoyment, theatre, recreation, fun, games, hobbies, acting, parties, sports. Holidays, vacations and celebration. What you produce that’s uniquely yours; romance/love affairs. Your will; speculation, risk and gambling; drama; joy and playfulness; being in the present moment; Artistic or creative outlets and talent.
Person/People: children, romances and lovers

Sixth House – BE HERE NOW : WORK

Sign – VIRGO
Planet – CERES & MERCURY
Phase of Development: Service and industry
Themes/Areas of life: Work, service and everyday duties; health and healing; companion animals; working conditions; crafts and artisans, the healing arts, the fashion/design arts, fabric, textures, diet/food; competence and skills; apprenticeship; routines and rituals; personal growth
Person/People: employees, co-workers, mentors and apprentices, doctors/health-care professionals

Seventh House (Descendant) – THE OTHER

Sign – LIBRA – The Autumnal Equinox
Planet – VENUS
Phase of Development: “We” “Others” ; Establishing long term relationships
Themes/Areas of life: Relationships; partnership, marriage and divorce; legal matters; lawsuits; formal contracts; negotiations; lawyers, counselors, agents; how you experience “the other;” cooperation (or lack thereof); open adversaries; projection; compromise and negotiation; contracts and commitments
Person/People: long term partners/lovers/consorts, husband/wife, business partner, close friends

Eighth House – SEXUALITY

Sign – SCORPIO
Planet – PLUTO
Phase of Development: Other people’s/shared resources, Inheritance, Insurance, Sexuality, Power
Themes/Areas of life: The subconscious; sex, mating and intimacy; death; alimony, taxes, surgery; instincts; forces beyond the ego’s control; other people’s money and shared assets (the opposite of the 2nd House, not your direct income, but rather gaining money from “others'” sources); taxes and debts; the occult; transformation and regeneration; mysteries, totems, taboos, disillusions, letting go; power
Person/People: therapist, shaman, mate

Ninth House – BELIEFS

Sign – SAGITTARIUS
Planet – JUPITER
Phase of Development: The “quest” ; Connecting with Spirit, Intuition and your own integrity
Themes/Areas of life: Higher mind; philosophy, religion and the law; belief systems and how we create meaning; intuition; long journeys, import/export, ethics; justice system, especially foreign travel; expansion of mental and spiritual horizons; publishing and advertising; in-laws; higher education
Person/People: teachers and gurus, ministers and priests, “god” (your version thereof)

Tenth House (Midheaven/MC) – ACHIEVEMENTS

Sign – CAPRICORN – The Winter Solstice
Planet – SATURN
Phase of Development: Taking on and utilizing power in the world
Themes/Areas of life: Social role, status and reputation; career; your relationship to authority; how you appear from a distance; your destiny; ambition; social responsibility; reputation, prestige, promotion.
Person/People: father (or parental authority), boss, employer, authority figures, government officials, judges, police, law enforcement, supervisors, management

Eleventh House – FRIENDS

Sign – AQUARIUS
Planet – URANUS
Phase of Development: Friends, Acquaintances, Colleagues, Companions
Themes/Areas of life: Goals and objectives; friendship and social relationships; social change and revolution; idealism; groups, organizations and movements; humanitarian and philanthropic concerns and causes; the gift we give to the world; hopes and wishes; the future
Person/People: friends, associates, community or group members, humanity

Twelfth House – BLISS : UNCONSCIOUS

Sign – PISCES
Planet – NEPTUNE
Phase of Development: The imagination, the spiritual, the dream realms
Themes/Areas of life: The unconscious and consciousness; sacrifice, spirituality, ecstasy, where you find portals to other realms; final phase of life, “mystic personality”, hospitals, institutions; paradise; transcendence; dreams and fantasies; imagination, illusions; addictions; solitude and retreat; conditions prior to birth; karma, sacrifice, generosity;
Person/People: mystics, empaths, psychics, artists