The horoscope is divided into 12 houses, also called astrological houses. The astrological houses describe our actual and practical lives. Each house represents a specific area of life, such as home (4th house), friends (11th house), career (10th house), money (2nd house), etc.
Where the planets are the universal actors, and the signs give them an energy form and way of expression, the astrological houses are the area of life in which the actors play out.
The position of the astrological houses is defined based on the time and place of birth. MC, which is always at the top of the horoscope, is funny enough determined by being due south, down to the equator here on earth, and to the ecliptic, which is the Sun’s apparent path around the earth. The ascendant (Asc), which is the start of the 1st house, is determined by the eastern horizon. Thereby we have the two axes in the horoscope which are the most important. The division into the four quadrants has been done in many different ways over time. It is called house systems. The discussion revolves around which method divides the distance between the two axes. Many astrologers today use the Placidus house system, and the reason is said to be that it was the system that had early success in getting tables and reference works printed, which is why it became the most widespread.
Today, with computer systems, we are not so dependent on printed charts, which is why many astrologers also experiment with using different house systems. Common to all the systems, however, is that MC and Asc are calculated in the same way.
The interpretation of the astrological houses
When interpreting an astrological house, several factors together make up the interpretation.
Which sign of the house cusp (the start of the house) has something to do with how a life area takes shape? If your example has the 4th house (which is housing, home, and family) in Virgo, it is important that the details around your home are under control. Emphasis is placed on order and structure, and the interior is according to a plan that has been thought through. On the other hand, if the 4th house is in Pisces, the home is spacious and flexible. You don’t focus on the details but on the feeling of what it’s like to be at home. The decor is more chaotic and impulsive, and also more variegated and colorful.
The next thing you look at is whether there are planets in the house. If one or more planets are in the house, then it is an area of life through which the planet plays out. The house in which Mars stands says an example of which area of life you put your efforts and commitment into. E.g. if Mars is in the 6th house, which is work and daily tasks, then you are a person who works a lot and who needs to use his body for something concrete and tangible. You get involved in the daily routines and take pride in carrying out your practical tasks.
The ruler of the house
The last overall thing you look at in the interpretation of an astrological house is which planet rules the house. All signs have a ruler, i.e. the planet that rules the sign.
The ruler of the sign in which the cusp (where the house begins) is, is the ruler of the house. This planet has something to say when it comes to the house and what happens in the house. After all, the ruler himself is in, in most cases, another house, but it is like a landlord who has an overriding rule over the activities in the house. How the ruler stands in the horoscope and what aspects it forms to any planets in the house and other planets also play a role in the interpretation of the horoscope.
If, for example, you have your 5th house in the sign of Leo, then it is the Sun that rules the house. Normally, one would say that the 5th house in Leo is a person who wants to live out his desires and interests to a great extent. He/she wants to party and enjoy life and wants to have a taste of everything fun, lively, and festive. But, if the Sun is in the 12th house in Pisces in conjunction with e.g. Saturn, then it will put a damper on the enjoyment of the 5th house. Because Saturn will constantly say to the Sun, who is the ruler of the house, “No, now we also have to think about the more serious aspects of life. There is also a day tomorrow when we have tasks and things to do. We never know what can happen and when I’m needed”, and because the Sun is tucked away in the 12th house, it will have difficulty letting go and breaking free among others. Thus, the position of the sun has an impact on how the house has the opportunity to unfold.
The interpretation of the astrological houses is often complex and not so straightforward. Therefore, it can make it a little easier if you start by looking at the sign, then at the planets in the house, and finally at the house ruler.
Why are the astrological houses not equal?
The houses a division of the distance between the two axes. As we here in Denmark are in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, the distance between MC and Asc is sometimes over 90 degrees and other times it is less than 90 degrees. If you go to northern Norway or Greenland, you can find that the house system basically cannot work, because MC and Asc fluctuate so strongly concerning each other.
If you instead go down to the equator, the distance is always 90 degrees between the two axes, and there the astrological houses are roughly the same size. So it depends on where and when you were born, and houses are always like that.
Read more about the 12 astrological houses here:
| 1th House: | This house starts with the Ascendant (Asc) and, like Asc, is the term we look forward to. It is our way of meeting the world and other people. So we see the appearance, radiance, shape, movement pattern, and style described in the 1st house. 1st houses are thus how others experience you when it is the first meeting, or they do not know your more personal sides.
1th house also tells about physics and the body. How are you built and how do you use your body? Skilled astrologers only have to look at a person to be able to give a qualified guess as to which Ascendant the person has. This is because they look at the physical characteristics, clothes, style, and radiance. We also see our ability to form relationships with other people in the 1st house. How receptive and impressionable are you? To what extent are you a loner or a co-player? Planets placed in the 1th house are typically very visible in the radiation and how the person behaves. They also play a significant role in the person’s ability to bond with others. The 1th house is at home in Aries where Mars is the ruler. |
| 2th House: | This house is about resources and values. This also includes purely factual money. So here we see how the economy works. How you earn your money and how you use it. Do you tend to use more than there is, or do you do the opposite?
But resources and values are also far more than just money. We also see the purely physical properties (but not land and houses), i.e. the things you own, which can have an economic value but can also have an emotional value. It can be jewelry, furniture, art, car, boat, clothes, etc. How a person values his possessions and what kind of value is most important (emotional or factual) is also interpreted from the 2nd house. We also see our surplus and strength to do something in life. It is in the 2th house that we go and get the energy that needs to be used when something needs to be accomplished. So the 2th house is both our savings in the bank and also our internal energy battery. When you talk about values, it’s also about self-esteem, and precisely self-esteem is also seen in the 2th house. To what extent do we value ourselves and how do we value the person we are? The 2th house is at home in Taurus, where Venus is the ruler. |
| 3th House: | This house is about communication and learning. 3th house is how we communicate and interact with people around us. How we speak and formulate ourselves, and how we present what we have to say to one or more people. In general, our ability to express ourselves in writing and speaking.
School time is seen in the 3th house, where you can see what the immediate learning is like. It is the ability to absorb information and knowledge and how you manage to connect it all on a mental level. Here we learn a language, mathematics, physics, and everything else we need to be able to live in the world we are a part of. 3th house is also our daily logistics. In other words, the transport in everyday life, how we get from A to B. It is also our siblings, neighbors, schoolmates, and other people with whom we interact on daily basis. We can keep balls in the air at the same time and remember all the many pieces of information that are used in the various tasks of everyday life. You could say it is our mental logistics. The 3th house is at home in Gemini, where Mercury is the ruler. |
| 4th House: | This house starts with the point called IC which is opposite MC. IC and 4th house are our points of view and roots in life. It is our foundation and what we build our lives on. Therefore, the 4th house is naturally also our home and residence.
In the 4th house, we see how we live. In other words, which home we choose and how we furnish it. What atmosphere prevails in the home? We also see how we are around our home and real estate. Do we take good care of it and make sure that the rent is always paid, or are we impulsive and move often, and have difficulty keeping track of rental agreements, deeds, and documents? 4th house is not only our current home, it is also our childhood home and the family we come from. This is where we see our close family and those who raised us. In classical astrology, it was said that the 4th house is the mother, but today it can just as well be the father who is the foundation of a family. It is the supporting stone, the structure, the foundation, and the responsible person seen in the 4th house. The 4th house is at home in Cancer, ruled by the Moon. |
| 5th House: | This house is characterized by being the creative area of the horoscope. Here it is that we permit ourselves to do what we want. 5th house is our hobbies and interests, our free space, where we can do exactly what we want and which is not determined by others.
However, the 5th house is also our children, so we are not completely free of responsibility in that house. But even though there are duties associated with children, there is also a lot of joy and energy. The 5th house is what we nourish in life. Where we each have a personal expression of the person we are. We play and flirt in the 5th house. We are in the moment and let go of worries. 5th house is about experiencing life and feeling its joy and richness. The testing and playful sexuality are also in the 5th house, where it sometimes also gets a benefit in the form of a child coming into the world. Artists and creative people typically have a very active 5th house. They are people who follow their moods and can forget about obligations and responsibilities. They can be like children who don’t grow up. These people can be incredibly productive because they are precisely focused and lost in what they are working on right here and now. The 5th house is at home in Leo, where the Sun rules. |
| 6th House: | This house describes our working environment and relationships with colleagues and others we deal with daily. It tells how we are to work together and what atmosphere we experience e.g. our workplace.
We also see our ability to work and how we approach tasks in the 6th house. Are we structured or impulsive? Do we enjoy working, or do we see it as a duty that must be completed? If you employ people, you can see them here. 6th house is not only the work we do to get our salary. It is also the daily task of looking after the home and not least our body. So it’s our diet and exercise. How are we taking care of ourselves and to what extent are we aware of our basic needs? Thus, it is also our health and any illnesses. Bad habits are also seen in the 6th house and so are the good habits. If you need to work with daily routines and “addictions”, this is the area you should look at. The 6th house is at home in Virgo where Mercury rules. |
| 7th House: | We see partnership and our close relationships in this house, which is also the Descendant (opposite the Ascendant). It is our spouse and life partner, and shorter love relationships are also seen here.
The 7th house is largely about how we bond with the world around us. It can be both love ties and also close partnerships around a company or a project of a different kind that is important to you. It is through the 7th house that we go out and meet other people and see our surroundings. So how we experience others can also be seen here.
7th house is also our audience and the public. It is “the others”, the other party. Signs and planets in the 7th house show how we approach meeting others and our ability to relate to people who come very close. Typically, you can also, based on just the sign on the house cusp, describe what type the person is looking for as their long-term partner. Reason and practicality also come into play here, and it is not only physical attraction that determines.
The 7th house is opposite the 1st house in the horoscope and is thus the opposite and opposition to our Ascendant and 1st house. Thus there are also tensions and dynamics in the relationship between the 1st and 7th houses. People who have multiple planets in these two houses, and especially in the 7th house, are typically very involved with other people and kind of need this ping-pong with others to feel their energy.
Conflicts with others are also seen in the 7th house. These are our obvious “enemies” and opponents. To a large extent, it is the person himself who defines what role others are allowed to play in his life, and precisely this range of different roles can be interpreted from the 7th house.
The 7th house is home in Libra where Venus is the ruler. |
| 8th House: | This house is one of the more secretive and closed houses in the horoscope. This is where we keep our secrets and hidden pages. Everything that is pushed under the carpet is seen in the 8th house. It is a psychological house with depth and hidden sides.
Taboos and topics such as death are hidden in the 8th house. The house in the horoscope shows how we can go into these topics or whether we generally avoid them. In this house, life becomes more black and white, here we recognize reality and not just the superficial life. These are our psychic powers and abilities. The 8th house is also our more underlying lusts and desires. Thus we also see the hidden sexuality here. The 8th house is also about other people’s money and values, as opposed to the 2nd house, which is about our own money. This means that it is banks, mortgages, the municipality, etc. and these are also people we know and their fortunes. Our partner’s finances (or lack thereof) are also seen in the 8th house and the same applies to inheritance and sudden gains. The 8th house is at home in Scorpio, ruled by Pluto. |
| 9th House: | Travels and longer educations take place in this house. This house is largely about how we look out into the world, and not just in our immediate environment, but to the horizon.
The 9th house shows how we travel. Is it in small or large shoes? Are we adventurers who want to go all the way to the far corners, or would we rather stay at home and travel via e.g. books or movies? The journeys in our lives are also how we develop and thus how we educate ourselves. The longer programs are seen here, in contrast to the primary school that we see in the 3th house. How do we go about acquiring knowledge at the more complex and specialized level? Religion in the form of the more established religions is also seen here. How do we believe and how do we feel about the idea of a creative force in life? How do we seek to find meaning in our existence? And it’s not just religion, we also see philosophy and ethics here. All these larger issues are contained in the 9th house. People with many planets and activities in the 9th house are generally very interested in seeking answers and more knowledge, they can often be described as eternal students. The 9th house is at home in Sagittarius where Jupiter rules. |
| 10th House: | This is one of the important houses in the horoscope. In the 10th house, which starts with MC, we see what it is we strive for in this life. This is our goal and what we want to achieve. It is the common thread and the theme that runs over and over again as life unfolds.
Contrary to the 4th house which is our roots and where we come from, the 10th house is what we search for. It often turns into our career and what we want to achieve in our working life. By looking at the sign in which the 10th house stands, you can describe what kind of job and working life the person has. If you are looking for a job that deals with care, communication, finances, food, etc. In addition, you can also see what ambitions and what drives the person. Our careers often don’t last a lifetime, so the 10th house is more than just our working life. It is also what we feel called to and what gives our lives fulfillment. So basically the meaning of our lives. Authorities such as our father, bosses, and others are also seen in the 10th house. In our modern times, the authority in the childhood home can also easily be the mother, so today it is often said that it is the dominant parent that you see here. We can also see our ability to take control and manage and the status we can achieve. Are we our boss or do we let outside authorities determine our direction? The 10th house is at home in Capricorn, where Saturn rules |
| 11th House: | In this house, it’s all about our friends and social networks. What is it that we care about and that means something to each of us? The 11th house is also our involvement in groups and associations, and in that way, it is seen where we put our extra efforts.
Politics, association work, club life, and groups of friends we all see in the 11th house. Where the 5th house is about our interests and hobbies for ourselves, it is the community that is the driving force in the 11th house. Here we meet the people with whom we share an interest and a commitment. And then it doesn’t matter if it’s in a political party, a grassroots movement, the football buddies, or the chess club. Where the 5th house is one’s children, the 11th house is other people’s children, including if there is a partner who brings children with them. People with a lot of activity in the 11th house are typically very ideological. They use their energy and resources to fight for causes that go beyond their interests and needs. It’s about conviction and community. These people typically have a large social network based on the causes they are fighting for, and this is also where we see something like voluntary work. The 11th house is at home in Aquarius, where Uranus rules. |
| 12th. House: | This house, like the 8th house, is also one of the hidden houses in the horoscope. Everything that happens here is behind the surface and hidden from others. The 12th house is our inner world, where we are alone with ourselves.
Many find that planets in the 12th house are difficult to get in touch with and put into play. Some may even go through life without ever coming into contact with the areas of life that this house represents. The 12th house is our deeper consciousness. It is the inner life that can be difficult to put into words and concrete images. Here it is about feelings and moods. The 12th house is where we store memories and impressions that we cannot necessarily handle. It is our emotional baggage from our whole life. People who actively enter this area of life are typically concerned with subjects such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, Qigong, fantasy travel, and other spiritual subjects. This is where we find our faith when it is not defined externally by others. It is our very personal space, where we cannot invite others inside. The 12th house is opposite the practical and everyday 6th house. In the 12th house, we are away from the superficial and external. Here we forget to eat and take care of our basic needs because we are immersed in another world, where the physical framework and needs do not rule. The 12th house is at home in Pisces where Neptune is the ruler. |
