CONTSNTS

Pagc
Aclnufudgcrunts u
Pnfaoc t,
Intmdrction t7
krt L Thc landnpe of tifr
Cbapar
l. BasicPremiscs lg
2. Sgace,Time and Bounderies 24
hrt 2: ttfepd.lt thcJouncy
3. The Ascendentand the First House t7
4. The Sc<ondHouse 4'
,. The Third House 48
6. The knum Coeli end the bunh House ,4
7. The Fifth Housc 60
8. The Sinh Housc 6'
9. The Dcscendantand the SqrenthHousc 7l
10. The Eighth House 76
ll. The Ninth House 82
12. The Midhcarcn and the Tcnth House 87
lr. The Elcsmth House 92
14. The Trrclfth Housc 98
lt. Grcuping the Houses 108
 ACKNOWIEDGEMENTS
Manypeopleharahelped,supponedandtoleratedme throughthe
agonyand ecstasy of writing this bookandmy sincercappreciation
ortendsto dl of thern.
In panicular,an eqpecidlyheardelt thanl$ goesto Max Hafler
for dl vrcsharedandfor pushingmein the bcginning;andto Roben
tVdkerfor pushingmethroughthe middleandcnd,for hisorccllent
advice,criticismand zuggestions, his patient suppon through my
moredifticult periods,andjust for beingtherewhenI neededhelp.
My appreciationalsogoesto MaryAnn Ephgrarafor her adcpt
'Houses
uanscriptionof the Seminar';to ChristineMurdockfor her
orpert and much neededhclp, guidanceand encoutagement;to
ksley C,otuill for hcr profesiond advice;and to SheilaSasponas
for her warm suppon.
I am naturallyindebtedto dl thoscpeoplewhoharcsharedtheir
knmrledgewith mc overthe years.Specidacknowledgements go
to MaharishiMaheshYogifor his inraluableteachingand for the
orpericnccof meditation and what it openedup for mq to Darby
C.ostellofor titillating me with her Geminian insighs and for
inuoducing me to asuologycay backwhen; to my first astrology
teachers, BettyCaulfieldandIsabelHickey;to EanBeggfor helping
me to begin to understandmyselfa little better; to lan Gordon-
Brorn, BarbaraSomersand Diana Whitmore for the enornous
amount I leamedfrom thcm; toJudy Hdl for her generousand
constantsuppoft,wisdom,healingandhelp;andarterywermthant$
to Liz Greenewhoseinsightandgraceasa goodfricnd, teachcrand
asuologicdcolleaguchara left a decp mark on all my *ork.
Tcromore pcople descrvespecidmention. Ifords can't orpress
my ftelingp of apprcciationto a ceftainDona Margarita,Our lady
of C"omera,for sharingwith mc the porrcrof her lconine lorc and
spirit andfor providingmc with anidyllic atmospherc(in dl senscs)
12 THETIOYEIVE
HOUSES
to begin writing..And-last,-butccnainly nor least,I am especially
grateful toJaquelincClarc for being a true friend through al of this
and for the impeccablediagramsshe so caringly produced.
PREEACE
The hpuscsof the horoscopcform oneof the basicbuilding-blocls
with whicharcrystudentof asuologymustleamto *ork attheoutset
ofany scriousstudyofthc subjcct.Becauscthe houscsarcbasic,it
isoften assumed that thercforetheyaresimple- pcrhapsthe most
simple and accesiblcof the uinity of planet-sign-houscwhich
comprisesthe foundationof horoscopeandysis.And bccauscthc
housesareoften consideredsosimple and accesible,theyarcalso
bclierredto bethe leastwonhyof anyin-depth perusalin the body
of asuologicdliteraturc.
I harrcfound in my orrn orpcricnce,however,that thc housesare
nosimplerthantheplancaandrigto, andpcrhapsevenmoresubde.
How could theynot be so,whenaftcr all e€ryone bom on a givrn
day will harrcthe sameplanetsin the samesigns,whilc planetary
placemcntsinthehouses aredepcndentupon that mostindividud
of hctors,the momentof binh? Bccausc theyaresorrcryindividual,
th.y ponoy a m1p of a rrcryindividud dcstiny,and ere*onhy of
much more onensiveinterpretationand andysisthan is usudly
offercdin asuologicdtortbools. Thereis a luge and unfomrnate
gepin this areaof the snrdy,and cenainlyno pzlstauthorhasdone
full justice to this apparentlyrc simple yet difficult issueof thc
'spheresof lift'.
I am thereforcdclighted to be ablc to write a prefaccto a boolr
which I ftel not only fills thir gapin curent astrologicdliterature,
but dso ortends the understandingof astrologyitself. Hward
Sasponashasmanagcdto do this without either violating thosc
prorcn to be rzlid, or
Tpc1tsof asuologicdtradition *-hi.h herrc
ignoring - asso manyauthorsdo - the curent urgent needto
bring pqrchologicdunderstandhginto a snrdywhich hasfor fu
too long bcen purely prognosticatirrcand behaviouralin its
interpretations.This book seemsto me to be unique dso in that,
 Tl{E TV/EIVE HOUSES PREF/ICE l,
dthough it is 'psychologicd astrology'at ir best,it doesnot hide confrontation,which I harrcalmys ftlt to bc thc chidcriterion for
behind psphologicd jargon,and its languagcspeaksboth to the anypcrmnmnting to tab up thc responsibility of counrlling othen
begrnngran{the orperienccdpractitiorrcr.q"itty clearly. in eny *zy. Thc pqrchcis obviouslye rcdity to the euthor, and
The issueof 'pryrhologicdasuology'appears-to bea ratherthomy thcreforehe is ablc to communicateits rcality and its subtletiesto
one-in somerespects,because many asuologers who harastudicd thc readerthrough the asuologicdmodel. Gcnuinc authority of
in oldertraditionsfeelthat thcir language,*hich hasstoodthe tcsr this kind cannotbGfrted, dthough nurnetousasuologicdwriters
of qan-ycenturies,is bcing encroachedupon by the languageof lppclu to oftr mellent thcorieswhich havt ncrrcrbeenput to the
psphology,and that astrology,in thesehands,is no longlr .furc, tcst in lift. No one obscrvingthc &cts of a panicular planet in
but .is.bccoming an ortension of thc hclping profesions. But a paniorlar housecanredly undcrstandthc complor isuc of hon'
psychologicdasuologyin the wayit is appfiedin Hocard,sbook an individud unconsciously creetes,brick by brick, thc apparently
is not an erosionof the beautyand comp[iencssof the asrrological buter' reality whidr he or shc eocounte$unles there is somc
mgdel.It cmbodies,rathcr,onclpparendyrrcrysimplcconceptlthc reletionshipwith the unconscious. Otherwisethc interpretationsare
redity of the psyche.That an individud's iift is charactedstiiofthe dcscriptionsof behaviour,which learrcsus backwhcrewe stancd.
individud oughtto bcobrvious, but it isoccedhgly difficult to fully I?hen thishappens,thecre*ftre,teleologicaldimensionofasuology
graspunlcs one'sovmpspheisarealityto onesclf.Theinterprctation - its epacity to olrcn doorsto 1lrcrsonand dlow that perrcn to
of the houscsthat Ho*zrd oftn in such depth in this'book is seehowan enitude might beshapingoutcrlift and thereforehos,
'pqrchological'
in the mostprofoundsense,ncrr.^_use implicit in otry someconsciousness of that anitude might shepea diftrent qudity
chaptcr is rhe obsenation that an individud hasceriainkinds oi of lifr - c.onot be prescnt.Asuologythen ceases to be creatirrc,
:pyd*.f l1rapanicular sphcrc oflifr becausethat ishowthepc5rhe and becomcsquitc poindesscrccptasa methodof justifring issues
o.{theindividud pcrceirrcs, reacrstq and interprea that spfeie of for which the individud doesnot wish to take rcsponsibility.
lift. The author phrascsthis rary eloqucntlyG ttr. first chaptcr: As a lcarningtqtbook, Hwad's book is inrzlueblc, becauscit
prcmiscuponwhichpsphological b.gitu at thc beginningwith hasicprinciplesand takesthc reader
fh9 nhilosonhicd asrologyisbascd
isthetaperrcn's rediryspringp
outrzrdlromhisorhcrinncriandscape funher andfunhcr into thc complodtiesof interprcdngthe houses
of thoughs,feelings,orpcctations andbclic6. whilc rctaining throughout an essentidclarity of writing and a
This.iscenainly.asuology, disciplinedstrucnre.I harcnodoubtthat it will becomeanessentid
and not an qtension of anythingelsc;
bgt it rpa3 astrologywhichprcsenes tortbook for anyscrioussnrdert of astrologywishingto derrclophis
the escntialdigniil'-{ot"e or heruodetstanding. Asa stement ofwhat pqrchological astrology
of the individud psychc,and in which the houses,io lcs than thc
isreallyabout,it isdsoirmrluable,becausc it couldnot put thc point
signsand planets,areinsideaswell asoutside,end becomcfull of
more dearly. kychological asuologyis not about abandoning
pemTq fo-{$. individud ratherthan remainingstatic,placcs,or
'earnts' astrologyto pqrchotherepy, but abouta wayof understandingand
in lift which harc no connectionto the-soul. both inner
rcadingthe synrbolsofthe horoscopewhich encompasscs
. TF. lgpo"d o<pcrience of astrologywhichis o,ident throughout and outer lerclsof orpcricncc,and points the *zy to thc esentid
the book is ortensirrcand impressirrc. I harrchad manyoccasi6ns to pattenr which undcrlie both. Usuallythc houscsare
lcam from and have my (mn asuologicd inrigha enhancedby
confirsingbccauscof the epFuent divcrsityof themeswhichoften
Hoqard'swork,asweharrcjointly foundedandco-directthc Ccnui
for Psychologicd occur undcr one umbrclla. br onmple, thc profirndities and
Astrologyin Londonwhichisfocussed on precirly
thisapproachto asuology. mystcricsof deathrrc conjoincdwith lifr insurancepoliciesin the
I cantherchreraommcnd Howzrd'sbooi
not only for thc clarity and depth of its content,but dso beceuse eighth, end thc complcxiticsof the rclationshipbetweenbodyand
'smdl animals'in the sixth.Houard'sbook
I am well awarethat the interpretationswhich he oftn arc built spirit arcmircd up with
prwidcs the esntid meaningwhichuoderlicsdl thescepparendy
upon manyycanof directorpericncc,and not mcrelyupon clcrrcr
intellecnrd theorizing. Also implicit in thc book is a persond dispamtethcmesconoectedwith one housc,which thercbyallws
commitmenr to the asuologcr'sovm devclopment anl inner thc rcadcrto understandwhydl thcsebuter' cfurum.ttenccatcpart
ofone core.Thlskind ofinsight is rareendcennotbeorrcrestimetcd
in ia relue.
l6 Tt{E TI7EIVE HOUSES
It isthereforewith greatpleastuethat I canintroducea bookwhich
I.am.cenainwill provideanimponantanduniquecontributionro
the body of astrologicdliterarure.
UZ GREEI.IE
INTRODUCTION
Manisaskedto makeof himsclfwhatheiszupposcdto become,
to fulfil his destinv.
PaulTillich
All around us in nature, life unfolds according to certain inner
designs.A rosebudopensinto a rose,an acorn growsinto an oak,
and a cateqpillar emergesas a bunerfly from its cocoon. Is it
unreasonableto assumethat human bcingssharethis quality with
the restof creation- that we,too, unfold accordingto an inner plan?
The concept that each of us has a unique set of potentialities
ycarning to be redized is an ancient one. St Augustine wrote that
'there
is one within me who is rnore myselfthan my self.'I Aristotle
usedthe word enteleclryto referro the errcludonand full blossoming
of something originally in a stateof potendd. Along with anteleclry,
Aristotle also spokcof essenceas those qualities which one could
not lose without ceasingto be oneself. In like manner, Eastern
philosopy appliesthe term dharrra to denote the intrinsic identity
and latent life-pattern presentfrom binh in dl of us. ltbthe dbarnza
of a fly to buzz, a lion to roar, and an aftistic personto create.Each
of these patterns has its own kind of truth and dignity.
Modem pslrchologyanachesmany different namesto the pcrennid
'to
quest bc that selfwhich one truly is'2 - the individuation process,
self-redization, sclf-acnralizadon,sclf-dorclopment, etc.By whatever
label it is cdled, the underlying meaning is clear: all of us possess
ccnain inuinsic porentials and capabilities.\Vhar's more, somewhere
deep within us there is a primordial knowledge or preconscious
percepdon of our true narure, our destiny,our abilities, and our
'cdling'
in life. Not only do we havea panicula( path to follow, but
on some instinctive level, we know what that is.
Our fulfilment, happines and well-being hinge on discovering
 T}IE TVEryE HOUSES
this. pattcm and co-olrrating with its realization. The Danish
philosopherKie-rkegaard obscircdthat rhe most commonform of
despar s that of not
deeperforS P.i"g *\o weredly are,adding that an errcn
gf_despeir sems from choosingto be;;;.;oth;;
TT oT.sett., Ihe pqrchologist RolloMaywrote,.I7hen the oersor,
clenlesh'' potentidities,failsto fulfil them,hisconditionis suilt.,.
Thcologians ha'e interpretedthefounh cardinal,i,,j,irt-*Iiir, Pz\RTI:
as'the sinof failing to do with onet lift all that onekno*r one.odi
oo.' nur howcanweconnectto that part of ourselvrs which knoc6
THE LANDSCAPEOF LITE
what wecouldbe?Hon,canwefind ihe path tir"
lost the "g"in,-r"-..," ilIi
l,^y? Is thereanymap thar cxists'which'i;'g"id.; 1.
to ourselves?
The asrologicalbirthchanissucha map.A picnrreof thehea'ens
asit appearedat one'splaceandtime of binh, ihe ch* rr.b.ri*lr;
BASICPREMISES
po_nra)'s our ownuniquereality,innatepattemand inncr desisn.
A knowledgeof the chanenablesusro perceir*h;A;;r-;f;i;
wewouldnarunlly bedoing,if*c had not b*" f.ro;Jfi-di;: One may indced say that it is not thc event which heppcns
socrety and,perhapsmostcrucidly,b1tbc ambfualcnces oforroui to the pcnon, but the personwhich happc*Jl:iffi
nararc.
. Our beingis not o-nlygivento us but demandedof us, and it
rsup to us to makeof ourselrcswhat *c afemeanrto bccome.ln There are three basic ingredients which combine to make up an
the end,wedone areresponsibre forwhat weao witt ourlG rri asuologicd chan - plonets, igns arrd,boues. Planets represent
$e dgSreeto whichweaCcept or rejecrorrrtrue narure,purposcand panicular psphologicd drircs, urges and motirntions. Uke verbs,
identity.The binhchanis ihe bestguidewe harrc,o'rtiur-u.* they depict a cenain acdon which is goitrg on - for orample, Mars
to ourseh'es. Eachplacementin thelhan reraalsthe most;";; 4lscrts,Yenusbarnonizcs, Jupitet cxpands, Sal;ttmresfiicts,etc. The
and,appropriare wayro unfold whoandwhatwcarc.SThynot listen signs represent tweha qudities of being or attitudes tocnxrdslife.
to the cluesthe chan hasto offer? The drirc of,aplanet iso<presedthrough thesign inwhich theplanet
is placed. Mars can assenin an Arien w:ry or lburean way; Venus
HovanoSasponras can harmonize in a.Geminian or Cancerian fuhion, and so on.
Hotses, hm,errct, show the specific areasof crrcrydaylift or fields
of orperience in which dl this is occuring. Mars in Dunrs will assen
itself in a slow and steady manner, but its placement by housc
determines the exactareaof life in which this sloc,and steadyaction
canmost obviously be obserrred- whether it is in the pcrson'scdecr
that he or sheactsthat way,or in his or her rclationships, or at school,
etc. Put very simply, the planea shourubat is happening, the signs
ltout it is happcning, and the housesubcre it is happening.
Servingasthe lensto focusand perrcndize the planetaryblueprint
onto the landscapeof actud life, the housesbring thc chart docrn
to eanh. And yct the meaningpand functions of the welrrc houses
are usually thc least understood of all the basicastrologicd factors.
It is the purpose of this book to oamine how a propcr appreciation
 20 THET\I/E[I[EHOUS$ BASICPREMISES 2I
of the signsand planetsin cachof the twelra housescanguide us hc, himself, is responsiblefor creadng.His difficulty relating with
to our-trueidentity, ill-uminatingthe path of self-discorcry and the companionsis the surhcc manifestation of something much deepcr:
unfoldmentof our life-plan. his fear of orpanding his boundaricsto includc somcthing other than
Thereare a few reasonswhy the full significanceof the houses himsclf. He cants to becomegreaterthan he alreadyis - to identifr
hasbeensooften ornrlookcd.Mostasuologicaltortbools dcrcllon with somcthing beyond his otisting senseof self - and yet he is
the traditiond buter' meaningof eachhouseand ncglectim more afnid of endangcring the identity he already has. The llth house
'hold
subtlcor basicunderlyingprinciplc.Unles the coremeaningof a urgcshim to encompassa greaterredity but Saturn says on,
houseis grasped,the true essencJof thar houseis 6st. br inst-ance, preservewhat you arealreadyfamiliar with.' Understood in this way,
the llth houseisnormallyknownasthe 'Houscof Friends,Groups, it is not friendship which restric$ him, but bis oun restictiozr which
Hopesand\Tishes'.At first thismayseemstnnge- whatdo friends limit his friendships. The astrologerwho points out this dilemma
ald groupsharreto do with hopesandwishcs? rUfhyarethesethings ushersthe man into the vestihule of changc. Confronting thesc
dl lumped togetherunder the samehouse?Hoylerrcr,when tie apprehensions,oamining their origins, and looking at the posible
deeper,most basicprinciple of the houseis orplained, then the waysof deding with his fean, are the kep which open the door to
connecdonbecomes clear.Thekernelof the llth houseis ,theurge funhcr growth and derrclopment. rUflhenappreciated in the contoc
to become something greater than we already are'.\UCedo this 5y of unfolding his potentid and realizing his life-plan, this man's
connecting to something gr-eater rhan our separate seh,es- by difficulties with friends becomcsa necessaryand productive phasc
digning oursehaswith friends and socid circles,byjoining groupi oforperiencc. Gnppling with Satum in the llth, rathcr than arniding
'makes
byidentifringwith causes whic-h lift us out of ourscl# and encompass it or blaming it on others, is one way he of himself what he
usin a rasterschcme of thingp.But thc desire to become somettring is supposed to becorne'. How infinitely more beneficid this
'Sorry
grearcrthanvrcalreadyaremustdso bc accompanied bythecapacity interpretation of an llth houseSaturn is than old chap,your
to envisionnewand differentposibilities.In otherwords,hoping friends are no goodJ
and-wishingfor somethingmovesus beyondo<istingimagejand In his book TlteAstrclogl ofPernnality, Dane Rudhpr, a pioneer
modelsof ounelrrcs.!(e must hara a dreambeforewe.ariharrc a of perrcn-cenued astrology,proposcsthat reading the chan is to read
dreamcometrue.Understoodin thecontoctof thc desireto ortend rhedbarna ofthe person. I In a later wo rk, TbeAstrclogical Houses,
our dready eristing sphercof orperience,the llth houselabelsof he elaboratesmore fully on this, emphasizingthat thc planetsand
'friends, 'celestid
instructions'on how a personcan
groups, hopesand wishes' begin to make senscin signsin cachhouseoffer
relationship ro one another. most naturally unfold his or her life-plan in that areaof existence.2
Theconrcntiond way in which the influence ofplanea and signs fu far aspossible,this book interprets the planer and signsthrough
in the houscshas been interpretcd is another bbstacle to frlly the housesin this pcrspective.Howcrrcr,besidesjust indicating the
appreciating thesignificance of each house. krceiving orcntsaspurcly most authentic way to fulfil our inuinsic potcntidities, the house
ortemd cirom$anceswhfuhbcfallus,traditiond astrology int-rprca placements dso show our innate predispositioa to perceive the
placements in thc chanin a deterministicand htalist[fight, and orperiencesassociatedwith eachhousein the context of the signs
fr$r,9 comprehcndthe pan we play in shapingand coniituting and planets found there. For orample, a woman with Pluto in the
what happensto us. An 'errcnt-orientated' a*rologer,for instanci 7th houseis ptedisposedfrom binh to o(pect Pluto in connection
Tjght_s.ay t-oa man with Saturnin the llth housJsomethinglike with the affairsof that house.ril?hat'smore, becausePluto is what
'Your
fricndswill restrictanddisappointpu.' Thismaybc trui but she is orpecting there, Plurc is prcciselywhat she will find.
w@ gogd doessuchan interpretationdo for anyone? What we scein life is coloured by what we el(Pectto see.Tvanty-
. Thc philosophicdpremiseupon which psychoiogicdastrology cight snrdentswere askedto describewhat they sawwhen a deck
5 basedis that a person'srcdity springpoutwardfrom his or hii of playing catdswasflashedone-by-oneonto a screen.Their basic
inner landscapeof thoughts,fteling;s,orpectationsand beliefs.For orpectation (or orienting paradigm) wasthe preconceptionthat a
the man with Satumin the llth, uoubh with friends is only rhe packof cardsconsisaof four suits:mo black(spadesand clubs)and
tip of the iceberg- the outer manifesrationof rcmething *U.h two red suits (hearts and diamonds). However, when the
 BASICPREMISES
22 TFIETWETVEHOUS$
o(perimentcnslippeda ray'sixof spadesinto thc deck,manyof thc snduallvoqanding itsbordcrsto dlon'for otherdtematives.Bcaring
snrdenusimplyrefuscdtheo'idenceof theiron'nelcsand torn'ened' ?iir-i" there"ader.anuscrhisbookboth asa tool for personal
the red spadcto blackin their descriptions.In other uords, when ;;l;;.;; "ii".[ andasa guidefor chaninterpretadon'Thesuggested
the red six of spadeswasflashcdonto the scrcen,they didn't even ;;;;;f ...tt pt""".t and sign throgsl the housesis intended
notice the card'sincongruityto their opectationsof what a sixof ;;;;t; broadandgencnl6utfine,hgnetutlvinspiringtunhcr
spadesshouldlook like. Theysawonly what they orpectcdro see, thousht and rdlcttion on thc natute of eachplacement'
Mv nrscotionsshouldnot betekcnu gospclor'cookbook'applredtoo-n$dy'
not what wasrcnally there.s tormat.
Similarly,our archetypalorpecadons,asseenthrough thc signs .na f apiEcire for theinherentlimiations of the
and planets in the houses,prccondition us to cenain yraysof M;ifi- da"f is that orcry factor in the chan canonly bc fully
o<periencing life. Thewomanbom with Plutoin thc 7th, then, will in the light of the whole chan' Funhermore' the
filter issuesrelatingto pannershipthroughthe lensof that planet.
"o'oi..i",.a
.ff;;;;f -y phcJmentin the horoscopcis contingenton the
In this sense,sheis 'stuck'with Pluto in that dimensionof lift, just i:fi.,"i.f ,n letciof onscio'sncs of theentityforwhomit isdrawn.
asan acotnissruckwith becoming.anoak.Nothing shecando will A *oman might be bom at the sametime' placeand date asher
the
changethat planet bcing therc.But onceshebecomcsconsciotsly Detfrog, and-thet*o charts*ould look oecdythe samc'But
itog o;t o.t the binh mepaccordingtoits levelof awareness' and
awarethtt Pluto is the contort in which sheviewsthc 7th house, plays
Ji."*ri* .oorai"g to hcri. Because our lerclof consciousncss
a few altetnathrcsopen to her which didn't ocistpreviously.
To begin with, shccanaskherselfwhat purposethe 7th housc ;.h ii dcterminingthc butcome'and mcaningof
";.i"1rolc chan, no rigidintcrpretetion 9f -y one factor
;ffi;io,tr.
Pluto serves in the ovcrdl unfoldmentof her lift-plan. In this uay,
sheaccepts andbeginsto co-operate with herinbomnatue. Sccondly, iarr u. nria. zuh of * is moie than the sum of the PuF of.the
.rr*. g*t, of us hasthe potentid for greatetawareness, freedom
insteadof blaminglife or otherpeoplefor the stateof affairsin that
house,shecanry to understandthe roleshehasplayedin creating and fulfilment.
the circumstances there.Bydoing this, sheimbuesthe orpcrienccs
in her life with greatermeaningand significance- they iue not
just randomeventswhich 'happen'to her.FinallS if shecan 'use'
Pluto in its mostconstructircconnotations,sheis les likely to have
to suffleria gruelling sideanylongerthan necesary.On one levcl,
Pluto impliesthe tearingdorvnofforms andthe collapscof oristing
suucnrres. But on anotherleral,Plutoreprescnatran$rmadon and
rebinh into a whole new wey of being. Through altering the
perspectira in whichsheviewswhatishappening,shecanundcr$and
Plutosuphearalsasnocessary oppomrnitiesfor grwth andchange.
Byfacingandcomingto tcrmswith the kindsof traumasasrcciatcd
with thisplanet,she'shifis'lerrcls andfindsthat Plutohasawholc
-that 'theto oftr. Shelearnswhat Pancelc.us
other dimensionof orperience
obserrrdso long agq deity which btingpthe illnessalso
bringsthe cute.'
Awarenessbrings change. Through oramining thc house
placementsin our chafts,wenot only aregircn clucsasto thc bcst
w:ry to meet lift in that area,but we alsogdn insight into thc
undcrlying archetypdoqrectationsopenting within us. Oncc*r
becomeawarethat wehavt an inborn biasto scethingpin a ccnain
context,wecanbeginto workconstructirclywithin that fizrncnork,
 TTMEAND BOTJNDARIES
SPACE. 2t
2. Ceusnrl
SPACE,TIME AND BOUNDARIES Eeurror
A humanbeingis pan of the whole,cdled by us 'Universe';
a part limited in time and space'
Alben Einstein
According to the Bible, God beganHis great work by creatingthe
universe and then dividing it into different pans. i{e madi the
heavenssepararefrom the eanh, light separatefrom darkncss,and
day separatefrom night. In an attempt to manage,undersrandand
make senseof exisrence,human beingsorhibit this sametendency
to divide the wholenes of life into variouscornponent parts and
phases.Similarly, the binhchan, rhe map ofan individud's oristence,
reflectsthis slicing of life into different sections- rhe sum total
of which make a whole.
Fg.l
The Division of Space
No matter how haphazardthe universemight seemar times, it is, Tne DlvlslorrOr SPnce
nonetheles, fairly orderly.Cplic and prediaable, the cclestid bodies
manageto keepon their parhsand adhereto their proper motion. approximately8 or 9 degreeson cither sidcof what is knownasthe
Perhapsin an artempt to ascribemeaning and order to their lives, i'tOtn - th; apperenipath of the Sunaroundthe Eanh - and
our early human ancestorsobserrcd a relationship betweencclestid is caneatheh4irc Bclt.l\e eclipticis then dividedinto twelrc
ex'ents(the movementsof the Sun, Moon and planets) and life on signsof thiny degceseach,stardngwith 0 degrees of Aries,thepoint
earth. But they neededto havea frame of referincc or backdropby *-h.re the Sun'Jpath intenectsthe celestid equator (the.Eanh's
which to plot and pinpoint the positionsof thesemoving lighrs in equatorprojeaed- into space)at the SpringEquingx.k $i 53sc'
the sky.In order to do this, spacewasdividcd into different sictions thesigttsof theZodiac(Aries,flurus, C'cmini,etc.)i aresrMivisions
and labelled. of thl ediptic, thc apparcntyearlyrnorrcmcntof thc Sun around
- Modern astrologersare faced with the sameproblem - how to the Eanh (sceFiguri i;' the posiiionsof the planctsarcmappcd
divide spacgto createa frame of refcrcnceby which to identifr the
positions of the cclestial bodies. It so happens,from a geocenuic but due to a
* The sigrs bcarthe sarnenlmesasthe constelladons,
point of view, that the Sun, Moon and planets all appearro moue phenominonknwn as thePrcccstion of thc Eqtinws, thc signsand
in a broad circular path around the ianh. This-path cxtends no longercoincide.
ionstellations
26 TI{ETTEryEHOUSES
againstthesedivisionsof theeclipdc,showingwharsigneachplanet
lappensto bepassingthroughon anypaniculardayof theyear(see
Figure2).
-.The plane6,eachar its ownrare,conrinudlymorarhroughthc
differentsigns.Th_eSun takesapproximately-one month 6 p.r,
througha sign,and roughlyoneyearto makea full circleof alfthe
signsalongthe ecliptic.The Moonspendsabout2th daysin each
sign and tekes27vedap ro passthrough dl sweh,esigns.Uranus
takesapproximercly7 ycarsto passthrough a signand roughly g4
yearsto makea full circle.Asstatedin Chaprerl, a planetdis.ribes
a panicular kind of activitywhich o(presses
iaelf accordingto the
Fq.z
PLANETSMAPPEDAGAINST
THE ECLIPTIC
FOR JANUARYIst. I9B5
SPACE.TIME AND BOUNDARIES
narure of the sign in which it is placed.
The Division of Time
The word borcscopecomes from thc Greek word
'horoscopus',
meaning tonsideration of the hour' or
'consideradon
of the asccnding
degree'.In other words, the horoscopeis literally a
'time-map'.
By
dividing the spacein the heavensinto signs,the early astrologers
were able to plot the position of the planets in the sky. But they
soonrealizedthat somethingmore qasneeded- a frame of reference
to link the planetarypattern to a pafticular personborn at a ceftain
time and placc.
Besidesthe movementcausedby thc apparent revolution of the
Sun, Moon and the planetsaround the Eanh, there is another rype
of morrementwhich thc horoscopemust take into consideration:the
daifi rctation of tbe furtb on itsoumaxis.The earlyastrologershad
to find some way to correlatethe celestialphenomena of planets
moving through thc signsto the terestrid phenomenon of the daily
rotation of the Eanh on its own axis.
The most obviouswayof doing this wasto divide the twenty-four-
hour rotation of the Eanh into sectionsbasedon how long it took
the Sun to morrefrom its position at dawn to its position at noon,
and from its noon point to its sunsetpoint, etc. Becauseat cenain
times of the yearthc Sun would spend longer abovethe horizon,
thesedivisions would not alwaysbe equal.
Manin Freeman,in his book Hou to Interpret a Binb Cltartt,
helps the beginning student of astrologyconceptualizethe kind of
movementcausedby the rotation of the Eanh. He suggeststhat we
imagine a day in earlyspring. From the point of view of the Eanh,
the Sun in earlyspring is situated in that pan of thc Zodiacal Belt
which is known asAries. At sunriseon the day in question,the Sun
and the sign of Aries will be scenappearing ovet the easternhorizon
of the observeron Eanh. By noon of that day,however,the Sun and
Aries areno longer due east- they harremorad to aposition more
or les orrcrhsadof the obscrrcqand a different sign, probably Cancer,
is on the eastemhorizon. By sunset,the Sun and Aries will be seen
to be setting orcr the westemhorizon, and thc opposite sign of Libra
(180degreesaray from Aries) will be rising oar the eastemhorizon.
At sunrise the nort day, thc Sun and Aries will again be seenin the
east, but the Sun would hara morad approximatcly one degree
funher along in the sign of Aries. Thus, due to the daily rotation
of the Eanh on ia own axis,the position of the signs(and anyplancts
which happcn to be in them) changesin relation to the horizon.
28 THET'$rEtVEHOUSES
The Division of the Chan into Anglcs
lb understand housesit is csendd to remember that we aredealine
with tqo kinds of morcmenr - that of the Eanh and the other phnd
around rhe Sun, but also the morrcmentof the Eanh on iis ois.
The division of the mundanc sphere into what ercnrually bccame
known asthe housesaroscout of a need to relate the axiai rotarion
of the Eanh with the mo'ement of the planets in the sky. Ifhile
signsaresubdivisionsof the apparcnt renLlution of the Sun, Moon
and planets around rhc Eanh, housesaresubdivisions of rhc Eanh,s
diurnd (daily) rotation on its own a:<is.
In
. TbeAstological Hoases,Dane Rudhyar orpands Cyril hgan's
view that what we now refer to as houses*ere oiiginallyperiods of
time called 'watches'.\Tatcheswerebasedon thehoramint of the
Sun as it rose in the ebst, passedoverheadof the obsener, and sct
in the west. Each watch corared approximately six hours of time,
marking-the points of sunrise,noon, sunsetand midnight. By the
advent of the Renaissance,asuologershad do'ised selr.ml -.thods
MrDnEvEi
il€D|uil Co€Ll
M.C.
UFJcET'DNT
AscCr{DArt
l.c.
lmur,rCoeu
f'g.3 Tnt Foun"Axeues
TIMEAND BOTJNDARIES
SPACE. 29
of dividing thesecatches into the twelve housesof the horoscopc.
Rrfthermore, they had derrelopcda conespondencebetweenrarious
typesof human activity and the different watchesor houses.In this
vay, the housesbecamethe frame of referencethrough which the
poicntialitics of a planet and sign combination could bc related to
the ectual qrcnts and concernsof life. !flithout the structure of the
houses,astrologerscannot bring the significanceof celestialsvents
down to eafth.
It is an easystep from the four watchcsto the four points in thc
chart known u tlte Angles (seeFigure 3). From the point of view
of an obscrver'sposition on eafth, at any tirne of day, a cenain sign
will be sc'ento be rising in thc eastwhilc its oppositesign (180degrees
auay) will be seento bc sening in the west. The degree of the sign
occupying the easternrnostpoint in the sky is callcd rhe Asecnding
Dcgrec and the sign it is in is cdled the Asccndant or Riitg Sign.
Asuonomicdly, the Ascendantmark the intersectionof the ecliptic
with rhe obsener'shorizon - in othct cDrds, thc meeting of heatrcn
and eanh. The opposite poht to the Asccndant is the Descdnfunt,
thc sign seaing in the west.The line connecting the Asccndant and
Descendant is called thc am of tbc horizon.
Lilcewise,at anytime of the dayfor an obsen'eron eanh, a panicular
'culminating'
dcgreeof a cenain sign will be at the upper meridian,
thi point due south of the place in question. This is called the
Midhcaun or lfC an abbro'iation for the latin rcrm Mediam Cocli
'middle
the of the heavens'.The opposite point to the Midheaven
'the
is cdled the Imam Coeli or IC, an abbreviation for lomst
heavens'.Thc line connecting the Midhearrcn to the Imum C-ocli
is cdtcd the ocis of tbc meridian.
These four poina are determined asuonomicdly. Collectively
cilled tbe Anghs, the signsfound on thesepoints reveala great ded
about an individual's orientation to basicorperiencesin lift. Their
significanceis more fully discusscdin later chapters.The interscrdon
of the a:risof the horizon and the axis of thc meridian give rise to
the four Qaadrants of the chan. Ottiog to thc tilt of the Eanh, the
sizeof the quadmnts arising from this fourfold division arescldom
equal, and will rary according to the latitude and time of year of
the binh.
The Division of thc Four Anglcs into the Twclrc Houscs
While determining the anglesdoes not raise too many problems,
the manner in which the four angles should (or should not) be
trisectedto form the tcth'e houscsis amajorconuocrsy inasuology.
]O TI{E T'UgELVE
HOUSES
On the whole, there seemsto be generalagreementthat the line
of the horizon - the Ascendant-Derendant oris - is the basisupon
whidr the division of the chan into housesshould rest.ln orhervords,
most astrologersagreethat the Ascendantshould mark the caspor
beginning point (or lcading cdge) of rhe lst house and the
Descendantshould mark the cusp or beginning poinr of the 7th
house.After that, astrologersdispersein all directions..Thosewho
suppoft the Equal HouseSystemof house-divisionprovide the least
complicated soludon. Cdling the Ascendant the cusp of the lst
house,they simply divide the ecliptic into twelvecqual-sizedhouses
of thirry degreeseach.So,if the Ascendantqcre 13degreesof Cancer,
then the 2nd housewould be 13 degreesof Iro, the 3rd house 13
degrccsofVirgo, etc.ln the cascofEqud Housechafis,the Midhearrcn
does not necessarilycoincide with any house cusp.
However,in Quadrant sptems of housc-division,the four points
of thc anglesall correspondto housecusps:the Ascendantbecomes
the lst house cusp, the IC becomesthe 4th house cusp, the
Descendant becomesthe 7th house cusp, and the Midheaven
becomesthe 10th housecusp.But how the intermediate housecusps
(that is, the cuspsof the 2nd, ]rd, trh, 6th, 8th, 9rh, urh and tzth
houses)should be cdculated raisesmany questions.In someof these
systems,sprceis divided to determine thesecusps;in other systems
time isthehctor upon which the division is made. A fuller discussion
of the question of house-division is included in Appendix 2.
Personally,and fot reasonsorplained in the Appendix, I favour
Quadrant systemsorrerthe Equd House Systcmand for the purposes
of this book, will gcnerallyrelate the cuspof the 10th houseto the
Midheaven, and the cusp of thc 4th house to the Imam Cocli.
One way or another, we want to end up with rwelra houses.Why
twelve?The most obvious reasonfor this is that astrologersbelieved
that the division of the mundane sphereinto housesshould mirror
the division of the ecliptic into twelvesigns.Rudhyaroffersa more
philosophical answer.He arguesthat eachquafter of the chan (as
defincd by the Ascendant,IC, Descendantand Midheaven)should
'each
be divided into three housesbecausc opemtion of lift is hasically
thredold, including action, reaction, and the result of both.'2 In
his opinion, then, thc 2nd and 3rd housescarryout the significance
of the Ascendantand lst house;the lth and 6th housesfulfil what
is begun by the IC and 4th house;the 8th and 9th housescontinue
what is staned by the Descendantand 7th house;and the llth and
12th housescomplete what cas initiated by the Midhearan and tOth
house. Besidesjusti$ing the need for twelrrc houses,Rudhyar's
TIMEAND BOI.JNDARIES
SPACE, 31
reasoning hclps us to appreciate the fact that the meaning and
relevenceof eachhousc follons on logicdly from the previous one.
More will bc said on the cyclic processof the houses later.
The houscs are traditionally counted anti-clockn'ise from the
Ascendant. The lst and 7th housesare alwaysopposite onc anoth€r
- this meansthat the sign on the 7th housccuspwill bc the opposite
sign to the one on ttte lst house cusp, dthough thc actud degree
on the cusp will stay the same.This samerule apPlies to the other
pairsof oppositehouses:thc 2nd and 8th, thc 3rd and 9th, the 4th
and toth. the )th and ttth and the 6th and 12th.
Manin Freemanmakesthc relationship between the signsof the
zodiac and the melvdold division of the housesclearerby picturing
'great
the zodiac asa wheel surounding the eanh along whoserim
the planets move'.This whecl is fixed againstthe background of the
hea'rcns,and the signsaremarked dong the edge.The twelrrchouscs
'spokes
are like thc of a moving wheel superimposed on the greater
wheel'. The spokcsof thc housesrotate a full circlc every twenty-
four hours in line with the daily rotation of the Eanh. The panicular
way the wheel of the housesis related to the wheel of the zodiac
at the time and place of binh is what makesthe chan unique for
each individud.3
Since the Eanh rotates once everytwenty-four hours, the t'welve
signsand ten planea passthrough thc twelrc housesin that period.
The binhchan is a frozen moment in time which shovmthc panicular
dignmcnt of planets, signs and housesfor the time and place of
bifth. Turopeople may be born on the sameday and havethesame
sign positions of the planets, but becauscthey are born in a different
placc or at a diffcrent time, thc planetary pattem will be seenin
a different area of the hearan. i.e. in diffcrent houses.
So fir we havc divided spaccinto signs, divided time into four
quadrants, and divided four quadrants into twelrrc houses.That's
enough dividing for nor', It's time to assignmeaning to the houses,
and consider thcir relationship to one another, and to our lives.
The Natural Tdn c
Since the housesare determined by thc line of the horizon (where
hearrcn and eanh meet), they relate the activitics and cnergics
synrbolizcd by thc planea in thc signs (cclcstial oents) to actud
lift on eanh (tencsuid crrcna). ln othcr words, thc housesshont
specific arcasof crrcrydayorperiencc through which the operations
cf ttre sigrs ana phncs manifot. Eachof the t*chc houscsrcprcsens
a diftrcnt dcpanment of lift - a paniorler phascofwhat Rudhyar
'thc
cdls spcctrum of agedencc'.'
 THE TWEIVE HOUSES
But we still havethe problem ofassigning meaning to the diftrent
iil|l
houses.Generdly, the meaning of eachhousemirrors the meaning
|illr
of the tweh,esigns of the zodiac Aries is considcred similar to the
lst house,fhurus is consideredsimilar to the 2nd house,and so on
right through to the connection of Pisceswith the l2th housc. ln
what is cdled the Notaral Zodiac (seeFigure 4), rhe first degree of
Arics is placed on the Ascendant, the firsr degreeof llurus is placed
i on the cusp of the 2nd house, the fint degree of Gcmini is placcd
iLr
on the cusp of the 3rd house, etc. The Natural Tndiec is symbolic,
and its main purpose is to hclp the student gun ^ deepcr
under*anding of what the housessignrS. In rctaal prrcticc, tbc
1l
Ll
lir
l of the totality of life can be written in different ways,just as in the
ilr
Fi9..4
Txe NaruRn Zoonc
TIMEAND BOUNDARIES
SPACE, 13
boasesin aperson'sc/tart uill almost neaera/igntltemseltesin sac/t
an eract conespondence uitb tbe signs as in tbe Nataral Zodiac,
The coupling of 0 degrecsof Arieswith the Ascendantdoesmake
sense,however,becauseborh Aries and the Ascendant(cuspof the
1sthouse)arebeginning points in their respectivecycles.The yearly
cycleof the Sun'sapparenrmovementaround the Earrh bcginswith
0 degreesof Aries- the point wherethe celestialequatorinrersecrs
the ecliptic at the Spring Equinox. The daily cycleof the Sun ttuough
the housessymbolicallybeginswith the Ascendant- the point where
the horizon of the observeron eanh inrersecrsthe ecliptic. Since
Aries and the Asccndant both connore beginnings, it is
understandablethat they should sharea similar meaning. Aries is
a sign which implies 'initiation', fresh srafts,and the first impulse
to act. The Ascendantand lst houseare associaredwith birth and
the wayin which we meet life. The ruler of Aries, Mars,alsodenores
initiatory energy,the will-ro-be, and the urge to make an impact
on the environment.
Zipporh Dobyns, in Tlte Astrologer's CasebooL,5describes
astrologyas a symbolic languagein which the signs, planets and
housesform the alphabet. She fecls that astrologydepicts rwelve
wap of being in the world, or melvesidesof life. Theserwelveaspecrs
English alphabet we have upper case,lower caseand italic letters.
Signs symbolize one form of the lerters of the alphabet, planets
another,and housesanotherstill. Signs,planetsand houses,in other
words, representdifferent ways in which rhe same rwelve basic
principlcs can be expressed.More spccifically,Aries, Marsand the
lst houserepresentone letter; Taurus,Venusand thc 2nd house
another;Gemini, Mercuryand the 3rd houserepresenta third letter,
etc. It must be remembered,however,that any planet or any sign
canbe locatedin anyhousedependingon the exacttime, placeand
date of binh. Therefore,the factorssymbolizedby a sign, planet
or house will be found to be mixed.
The Houses as Ficlds of Experience
In many textbooks, each house is generally allotted a field of
experience,dcrribing a panicular setof circumstancesin a person's
life. For instance, one traditional meaningof the 4th houseis 'the
'long journeys',
home',of the 9th houseis and oneof the areascorrred
'institutions'.
by thc 12th houseis Texrstell us that if we want to
know what a person'shome is like, we should examinethat person's
4th house.If wewant to know what will happen ro a personon long
,4 TI{ETWEIVE HOUSES
journgls, we shouldanalysethe 9th house;and if we cant to find
out honrsomeonewill fue in hospitalsor prisonsweshouldconsider
the placemenain the l2th. \flhile rcmetimesquite accurate,this
wayof interpreting housesis flat, boring and not rrcryhelpful. In
Chapter1, I cmphasizedthat the coremcaningof thc housemust
be grasped- that essentialinner meaningfrom which springdl
the endles associations and possibilitiesconnectedto that housc.
'the homc' for a reason,
The 4th houseis rcferredto asthe houscof
and that reasonshouldbc understood.The 9th houseis associated
with 'longjoumqls' because travelisjust onewaythat a moregeneral
'Hospials
processassociated with the 9th housecanbe lircd out.
and prisons'hardly scratchthe surfaceof the 12th housc.In hrt
2 of this book, we crackthe shell of eachhouscin an attempt to
'get at' the meaty,archerypdkemel.
cut through dl its layersand
Planetsand signsin a houserertedmuch more than iust what
might bewaiting 'out there'for us.Placemensin a housedcscribe
the inner landscape - the inborn imageswccarrywithin whichare
'projeaed'ontothat sphere.\Ufle filter whatishappcningoutsidc
then
through the subjcctivelensof thc sign(s)or planct(s)in a house.
'nice' someonedoes
If Pluto is in the 4th house,errensomething
for us in our home might be pcrceivedasdangerous,underhand
and threatening.But, most imponantly, the signsand planetsin
a housesuggestthe bestand most naturd mannet in which we
'should' meet that areaof life in order to unfold and realizeour
'eachhouscof the
inherentpotentiditics. AsDaneRudhyarwrites,
chan symbolizesa spccidisedaspectof [our] dbarrna.'6
The HouscsasProcess
ln a lectureentided'Creatinga SacredPqr-hology',t theps:rchologist
JeanHoustonrelatedan anecdoteaboutthc life of MargatetMead.
As a child, Margaretaskedher mother to tcachhcr how to makc
'Yes,dear,but.1'ouaregoingto hara
cheese. Her motherreplied,
to watchthe calf being born.'Fromthc cdf being bom to making
cheese - MargaretMeadwastaughtasachild to do entircp(xesscs,
from bcginning,to middle, to end.
'age of
Dr Houston laments that we are thc victims of an
intcrrupted proces'.!7e tum on a switchand the world is sct in
motion. Wc knowa litdc about thc bcginning of thingp;*t knm,
alitde aboutthc endof thingp;but nt harrcno idcaaboutthemiddle.
It/c harrclost the senseof the nanrral rhythmsof lift.
Our curent culnrrc is insufferably imbalanced. Bcforc thc
sixteenthcenturythc dominantyorld vicwrzs orguric.Pcoplelircd
SPACE.
TIMEAND BOTINDARIES ''
closeto naturein small socialgroups,and perceivedtheir own needs
assubordinate to thoseof the community. Natural sciencehad its
basis in reason and faith, and the material and spiritual were
inextricablylinked. By the seventeenthcentury this world view had
changeddramatically.The senseof an organic,spiritual universewas
replaced by a different notion: the world as a machine, which
functioned on the basisof mechanicallaws, and which could bc
cxplaincd in termsof the movemcntand arrangementof its rarious
pans. The eanh wasno longerthe Great Mother, sentientand alive,
but a mechanism,reducibleto bia and pieceslike a clock.Descanes'
'Cogito,
famousstatement, ergosam'- I think, therdore I am -
heralded a major split bctncen mind and matter. Peoplemovedinto
their headsand ldt the rest of their bodiesbehind. Fragmentation
becamethe rule of the day, and continues to reign even though
twentieth-centuryphysicshasshownthetrelationsbip is eaerytbing
- that notbing can be understood isolated from its context.
Ironically, astrology,the study of nature'scyclesand movements,
alsolost its senseof processand its fceling for thc organicwholeness
of lifc. The mechanisticworld view led to a belidthat nature could
and should be controlled, dominated and cxploited. SimilarlS
astrologycameto cmphasizcprediction and outcome at the orpense
of an understanding of the dceper significanceof things. Houses
weredescribedby keywordsand meaningswhich made them seem
asif they wereunrelated to one another,or only looselyconnected.
lD0hyis rhe 2nd houseof 'money, resourcesand posesions' follovrcd
'the
by the 3rd houseof mind, immediate environment, and brothers
'work,
and sisters'?rWhyis the 6th houseof hedth and small animds'
'creative
spawnedby the Jth houseof self-o<pression,hobbics and
spare-timeactivities'?Surely,just assummerfollons spring and day
turns into night, there must be somefundamental reasonwhy one
house leads on to the nexr.
Houses are not separate,isolated, dangling segmentsof life.
Conceived in their totality, they unfold a processof supreme
significance- the story of the emergenceand developmentof a
human being. Staning at birth from the Asccndant,we arenot even
awareof ourselvesasdistinct from anything else.Gradually, house
by house,through a scriesofsteps, phases,dancesand changeswe
build an identity which can ultimately expand to include all of
creadon.\?'eei-,ergeout of an amorphoussea,takeshape,and then
merge back again. Unlessappreciatedzrsa processof unfoldment,
both lifc and the housesforfeit their essentialmeaning. Processis
embedded in the very root of human experience.Division is only
 !o
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TI{E TWETVEHOUSES TFIE IMUM COEU AND TI-IE FOURTI{ HOUSE t7
of origin', the family into which we were born. Planetsand signs much more obviousto the child than the father. The maternity-of
like
in the 4th revealthe atmospherewe felt in that home, and the kind
'scripting' ,ii. frtiia ir a clear fact - up front and publicly recognizable
ofconditioning or we receivedthere - the psychological the lgth house.Paternity iimore speculative,sometimeshidden
family inheritance.Delving evendeeper,the 4th denotesqualities and perhaps€'vena.yt,iry and theiefore maybe better correlated
Also,
we carry stemming from our racial or ethnic origins: those aspects ro the mori hidden and mysteriousIC point and the 4th housc.
of the accumulatedhistory and evolution of our racewhich reside i; V.;tem societyat leasi, the mothir'nay-sayer' is usuallv the.*ildt qt{t'
within us. For example,Saturn in the 4th or Capricorn on the IC socidizing influence. she is the great ot childhood, tne
watch
sometimesderribes a home atmospherewhich wasfelt ascold, strict onc with ihom we spendthe most time and whoserole tt tsto
and
or unloving, or a backgroundof a long line of staunchconservatives; ov€r us and teach us the difference berween what is good
mother
while Venusin the 4th or Libra on the IC will likely be more attuned *.fpoUi. -d what is bad and not dloqad' It is normdly the
to the love and harmony within the early home, and may feel an *tro'.it..-rrains thc child - the frst major adjustment we.have
affinity and appreciationfor thc tradition out of which it hascome. ro makein orderto conformto societdstandards(saturn' capricorn
The Moon or Cancerthere blend easilyinto the home environmenr, -and the l0th house).
whereasUranus orAquarius in this position often feclslike a suanger ia*'J.[era that ir is possibleto fix a view that the 4th isalways
in a strangeland, curiously wondering how it 'ended up' in that f;;;;Jil or vice versa.It is saferand
io,ft ir alwaysrnother 'shaping
panicularfamily. MarcelProust,who in TbeRememberanceofTbings perhapsmore accurateto saythat the parent' - the one
Past uplorcd in unsurpasseddetail his early life and innermost *ittt *ttom thc child spendsthe most time and who has the most
feelings,and thc workingsof memory iaelf, wasbom with the Sun, - should bc associatcd
ttte child to soci.e-ty
i"fil;;;"a"pting 'hidden
Mercury Jupiter and Uranus all in Cancei in the 4th. with the t0th house;iandrhe more Parent" the one who
The influence parental figures hara on us is normally amributed is les visible and who is not so much of a known quanttly-'should
client
to the 4th-10th house axis.Tiaditiondly it has dways made sense b. .orrrr.o.d to the 4th house.In practice,after tdking with a
to associatethe 4th house(naturdly ruled by the Moon and Cancer) th..rttolog.r can formulate an educatcdguessasto which Pgelt
client's
with the Mother, and the 10thhouse(naturally ruled by Saturnand U.ir"st ,o'*hi.h house.For instance,if I ascenainthat the
Capticorn) with the Father.Most astrologersw€recontenr with this Afi;;";;Gemini with an Aquarius Moon and I find Gemini on
classfication,but the work of Uz Greenehasshedsomeambiguity ,ft. Ji."i't fC and Uranus in the 4th house, it would -se5m-lifely
in this area.Shc has found from hcr considcrableenperienceand ,rr", ,rr. 4th house,in this case,is an aPt descriptionof the father.
orpertise asan astrologicd consultanrrhat her clients' description Not all charts make it this easy,howerrcr'
(be it
of the relationship to their mothers seemedto corelate more closely It is imponant to remembei that placemens in the 4th
was
with the 10th house,while the image of father worked better with *oitt.t or'father) may not describethe'ay the.parcntactudly
the
thc 4th.2 as a person,but iarhir the way in which the child experienced
There aresolid cascsfor and againstboth schoolsof thought. Since theparent-imago, the child's 4 t"??
o"r.'n, - what is known u'liaditional
the 4th houseis linked to Cancerand the Moon, then it would seem ittUo. i-rge of the parent. ps'ychology.normdlf upn3ys
the
reasonableto assignit to the mother. Her womb wesour origind the view thlt if somithing goeswrong betweenthe parent and
places
home, and in infancy we aremore responsiveto the mother's moods .nita, i it ,fte parent'sfiuli; 6y .o"trast' pqrchologicalasuology
the
and feelingsthan to the father's. The father is rhen connectedto at leasrhalf oithe rcsponsibility on the child for orperiencmg
houseto
the 10th house,Saturn and Capricorn: after dl, he is normdly the o"t.", in a panicularrrray.For orample (assuming4t 4$
most
breadwinnerand the one out More the public, and it used to be f,..6; fathcr;, a little girt *ittt Situm in the 4th will be
will
thc practice that the son follovrcd the father's profesion. Howwer, ;.-rp""ri; ;.'the Saturiine side of her father's nature. Hc
the opposing argumentsare equdly convincing. Thc Moon is not or6U"Ut, orhibit many qualities other than those associatedwith
tdil.fr.,ypJ
just mothcr; it is also our brigins' and we inherit our name from pri".rpt., but thechildin quesdonwillselcctitely-
the f*her. In this vay, he can be associated with the 4th house.The ;;;;t*;;;y'th.Sr'r.r-traits.Thefatheimayut-"^T--{!lj
'scrrcnty-firrc per cent tol
l0th houseis much more obvious than the 4rh. and the mother is Per cent of the time, but the twenty-tive
 l j
I
:
THE TWETVEHOUSES TTIE IMUM COEU AND THE TOURTI{ HOUSE
'go
which he is cold and critical will be what the daughter registers. quietly
^ andpeacefully, whileMarsandUranus out witha bang''
More often that not there is a collusion betweenthe parentd image 1.friatn aisosuggeits thc conditionssu'ounding thesecond halt
in thc child's chan and key placementsin the chan of the parcnt. of lift. !0hat is riJst deepwithin us comesout at the end' lvlany
Forinstance, the chan of the girl's fathcr with Saturnin the 4th may ;i;; tft;it; or rotin and perhapsmovedbv the deathof a
"i. ofour monaliryandconscious
show the Sun in Capricorn, Capricorn ascending,or a Sun-Saurn '6;il;. , *itt U*otie in r.asinglyavare
conjunction. Howwer, errenif her father's chan is not that closea "*.ri tr litt ti-.,o *"t,i. bn thisbasis,wemaywillingly.makl
descriptionof the placemenc in lrer 4th house,the predilectionto morespacein our livesto express 4ndventour innermostneedsencl
seea parent in a panicular w:ryoften hasthe effect of turning the f..fi"g'r. Funhermore,she&orperience of life is a prercquisitefor
personinto what is being projectedonto him. If shekeepsreacting ;|f-J;;ty, soit isnotzurprisingth1 9urdeepcstandmostintimate
to her father asif he is an unkind persone\rcnwhen he is displaying motiradonsmay not emirge until the later years'One,extreme
love and generosity,erantudly he might become so frustrated that illustrationof this is the dcath-bedcontessron, rn whrcnPeoPre
he turns sour toqrardsher or giras up and aroids hcr altogether. And ;;;i."llydisclose-truths aboutthemselves whichtheyhavekept
'The
then the little girl saysto herself, cad - I knew he waslike guardedfor decades.
that all along.' But washe? "-*y.toan.rapy, self-reflecrion, rariousforms of meditation-
-
lWeare born with rhc barebonesofcenain innatepredispositions -rrfrit s whichtakesus into ourselves bring4th housegnergies
and orpectations, but the orperienceswe harrcaschildren add layers to'the *.f".. and can makethesemorcconsctortsl! aveiltDleto
upon layersof flesh to these.\U(/e interpret the environment in a cerain ;;;.k;;[er in life. Ratherthan neglectingwhat's.down there'
way and then form concreteattitudes about oursehasand life but i, i, to dealwith difficult placements in thishousesooner
there' in generd bascdon theseperceptions.The litde girl we harrc "a"ir"Ute
;;;;,t; hter. The 4th house,iikt our Pa$, dwayscatches up
been discussingwith Saturnin the 4th dready hasa few oristentid with us.
life-statementscoming to the fore 'hther doesn'tlorc me' and 'Pather
is a cad',to narne but rwo. Shewill caffy thescinside her evenafter
she hasdepaned from the parenral home where they will blossom
'Men
into more full-blown attitudessuchas, find mc unwonhy and
.All
unlouble' and men arecads'.Becomingconsciousof the origins
of these attitudes allowsfor the posibility of changing them, or
finding other waysof organizing orperience.Delving into the 4th
house,which showsthe archetypesacti%ted in the earlyhome life
berweenourselvesand the parent in question, can grcatly aid this
process.
The 4th house, in addition to describingour inherited origins
and that which residesdeep within us, is associatedwith the home
basein generd. What kind of atmospheredo we createin the homc?
\7hat do we aftract to ourselvesthere?What qualities in thehomc
environment do we most naturdly resonatewith? Thesequestions
can be answeredby oramining thc planea and signs in the 4th.
'in
T. S.Eliot writesthat my beginning is my end.' The 4th house.
depictsour origins but it is alsoassociated with how we end thingp.
'enact
The manner in which qleultimately resolrcan issueor a closure'
will bc related to placementsin the 4th. Venus there ends things
neatly and fairly, all tied up in a pretty bundle. Saturnmay prolong
or bcgrudge an ending. The Moon and Neptune often slip away

7.
l THE FIFTH HOUSE
ril
l
Tiuly,I sayto you,unlessyouturn andbccomelikc children,
you will neverenterthe kingdomof heaven'
Manhewrg:3
lrl In thc 4th, we discoverour own discrereidentity, but in the 1th we
revel in it. The fire of the lst house burns without evenknowing
it is buming; the fue of the 5th ragesconriously and isjoyfully fanned
by the sclf. The nature of life is to grow, and this house(naturally
associatedwith Iro and the Sun) rcflectsour urge to expand, to
becomemore and more. and ro radiate out into life like the Sun.
By thc time we reachthe 5th house,we nov/ know that we are not
rL
'a
I
everything;but we arenot contentjust to be somegns'- qrernusl
be a specialJorTueone, lWeare not all there is, but we can try to be
the most important rhing there is.
I The function of the Sun in our solarsyscemis rwofold: it shines,
giving warmth, heat and life to the eanh, but it alsoservesas the
centralorganizingprinciple around which the planea orbit. In this
'I',
IL sense,the Sun is like thc personal ego or the the centre of
consciousness around which the diffcrent aspectsof the selfrevolve.
Individualswith strongplacemenr in the )th panakeof the qudities
of the Sun. They need to shine and createfrom inside themselves;
I they need to feel influential; and they need to feel that othersare
revolving around them. To some this meansliterally alwaysbeing
t111il
the cenrreof attention - a cravingto be worshippedlikc thc Sun.
One woman I kncv with the Sun and Marsin the 5th couldn't tolerate
being in the sameroom with the televisionon, becauseit meant
that othersin the room might focuson it rather than her. We must
.i
remember that the Sun, although vitally central and imponant, is
not the only Sun in the galaxy- it is just one of many.The words
of a popular song remind us that
'everybody
is a star'.
Lrii
I
6r
5ttr
Embedded deep in our psyches,and rwerberating througtrout
As childrcn, we believethat the
be recognizedfor our spe-cialnes.
the ith houscis an-innatedisire to'curer'
ot rnore spell-binding and
captirating we ate, the more cenainly will Mother want to loveand
p[i..i us]Enslavingand enchantingothcrsvith our unique rahrc
lrrd *onh is one way of cnsuring *I ar. fed, protected, caredfor'
-and therefore more likely to stay alive.
ilotlr;r k ynoteof the Jth is ginerativity - which simply de{ined
'the
ability to produce'ITheserwo principles, the need.to
means
be lorad for our specidnessand the desire to createtrom rnslde
ourselves,underfiimost of the traditional associations with thc lth
house.
The lth housc is the area of the chart attributed to creatira
opt most obviously with anistic.endea\tours,although the
"ion, just painting a picture or performing
.rJ",i"iry ,ne lth neednt be
"f
a dance.'scientists or mathematicianscanapply themsehres to ther
'lhe
work with asgreatananistry or plTion asa Picassoor Pavlom'
;[;;;Jpt"it." i" thelth stridtigtrto."+: posible""'!",-!1
crltira orprcsion. Mcrcury or C'emini in thc 5th may denote a talent
for writing or public speaking;Neptune or Piscesmay be absorbed
;i,h ;;i?, d.,ry, phbtogr"ihyoidance.Cancer andraurusmight
JiUii a fliir foi iookiig;'*ftil. Virgoin this positioncanbe
orccptionallyadeptat sewingandhandiwork'Hon'ever' morethan
here
a.*iiUitg Jnich creativeouil.t weengage.il,the placements
susqestti.- *oort, md stylewith whichit is pursued'-Apteceot
.iii. ."n be an intellerti^l' too, deforce(Mercuryor Uranus)or
comcstraightfrom the hean (Moon or Neptune)' Somepeopte

62
THETWELVE
HOUSES
producespontaneously and joyfully,while otherssufferextraordinary
binh pangs.Above and beyondpurely creariveexpression, this is
the houseof the actor,and depictsthe way in which we tacklethe
an of living. One client with an obviouslth houseslantdescribed
'professional
herselfasa person'- and shedid not intend this solely
in terms of career.
The creativeoutlets associatedwith the lth also include spons
and recreation.Forsomeit is the challengcof athletics,the contesr
lli and competition, thc joysof winning and coming first. For orhers,
it is the sheerecstasyof orenion and the pitting of the self againsr
rllilr
the elements or odds. Similarly, gambling and speculation are
assignedto the lth aswell - wherewetestour wit and imaginadon
against fate and chance.
The lth house is more broadly associatedwith hobbies,
arnusementsand spare-timepleasures.Theseall soundteribly low-
keyfor a houscruled by the Sun and [ao. Hoqr\rcr, upon oraminarion,
I they are more imponant than they first appear.Thc lth describes
activitieswhich makeusfeel good about ourselvesand makeus glad
to be alive. Hobbics and spare-time amusemenrs afford the
I opponunity to panicipate in what we want and like to do. Through
thesepursuitswe feel the joy of beingfully inaolaed in somcthing.
i Unfonunately, many of us havecareersor jobs which do not entail
this degree of engagcment. There is a great danger that our
enthusiasmand vitality rrould run dry unless we had spare-time
li
inteteststo rechargeand reinvigorateourselrres. In this lighr, hobbies
and amusementsharrc an almost therapeutic effcct. The word
'recreation'
literally meansto make new, to revitalize and inspire
with life and encrgy.Planes and signsin the Jrh suggestthe types
I of spare-timepursuits we might ocplore,and thc manner in which
this is undenaken.
I
Romancefinds its wayunder the heading of the 5th house.Besides
being exciting, passionate,heart-wrenchingor whatever,romantic
lWebecomethe main
encountersenhanceour senseof specialness.
ri focus of attention for somcbodyelse'sfeelings and we can display
our very speciallove to someoneelse.Placementsin the lth reveal
the way in which we
'create
romance'- the archetypalprinciple(s)
ili
most likely activatedin thescsituations- aswell assomethingabout
thc kind of person who ignites us.
Sexual expressionis also linked to the 5th. A good sexrd
relationshipcontributesto our rnse of povrcrand qronh,highlighting
both our ability to give pleasureand the capacityto aftract others
to us. This powerto enchantand hold the atrention of othersis very
;Liii
I
THE FIFTH HOUSE 6'
reassuringand sad$es deeply embedded*yi*l insdnca, (Corypare
this to thl gth - whereweseekto transcendour personalboundarics
through intimacy.)
-
Allitris leadsio one of the main representationsof the lth
children, crearionsof the body and thl physicalextensionsof the
self. Most people primarily exPresstheir creative drives (and
symbolically cniure-thcir survival; through generating offspring'
riznl. thc 4th and toth housesindicate how we view our parents,
placementsin the 5th describethe arche-types constellatedbetween
ourselncsand our children. signs and planetshere reflectwhat our
progeny mean to us. In line with examp-lesfrom other houses,
pl".".-.ttrt in this housecan be interpreted.in a varietyofways'-For
'instance,
Jupiter in the 'th may literally produceJupiterian.children
- thoseLoin ,rnder the sign of Sagittariusor wirh Saginariusrising
orJupiter conjunctat angl. or thi Sun, etc.Or we canunderstand
encounterJupiter
;upiter in the lth to mean our prcdispositionto
init
"t
areaof life: we projectJupiter onto our children or are prone
to register theirJupiteiian sidemore stronglythan anyof their other
traiti Planetsin tihe lth alsodescribeour experiencein the role of
parenr. satum there may be tenified of the responsibilityof parcnting
that they won't be good at it. Uranus' idea of bringing
""a "ft"ia may embracethe most new and avant-gardetheories
up children
on the subject.
More than just describingexternalchildren, thc lth housecould
- that pan
aptly be called the house of out own Inner Child 9f
ui *tti.h lovesto play and which dwaysstayseterndtf f9t"tg.. trttt*
us all is rporrt"tt.orrs, natural child who cravesto be lovedfor his
or her own^" specialnesand uniqueness.However,aschildren, this
pan of us is often quashed.lbobften, we are lovedfor conforming
and matching np to our parents'orpectationsand standards,rather
than for bein-gwho *. In this way,we losefaith in our budding
"ti..
individuality-"nd b..o-e what liansactional Analysisrefersto as
'thc of our own
adapted child'. Inrnriably, we will Pfoject the state'the daryag-ed
inner child onto our actual offspring. \fe can heal
child, in ourselvesby giving the tb'e and acceptancewe weredenied
aschildren to our own progenyor other young peoPlewe encounter'
Howerrcrwe do it, it is nevertoo late to hara a hapPy chtldhood'
sre augmenr and enhanceour unique identityand orerciseour
*,tr pdt through the creativeoutpbutings.of tlre tth' As a,b.y-
product, we may errcngeneratesrunning works of art, wofthwhile
^new
books and-ideas,1r interesting children who in somc way
conuibute to society.Bcnefiting society,howerrcr,is not the main
64 THETOqELVE
HOUSES
concernof this house.\Titnes the reluctancemany people harrcto
releasingeither thcir worksof an or their children into the world.
In the 5th, wc createprimarily for ourselves,becausethe self takes
joy and pride in doing so,and becauseit is in the nature of the self
to create.
8.
TI{E SIXTH HOUSE
A monk toldJoshu:'l havejusrcnteredthe monastcry.
Please
teachme.'
'Haveyouearenyour
Joshuasked: riceporridge?'
The monk replied:'l haveeaten.'
'Then
Joshusaid: you had betterwashyour bowl.'
A Zen story
The main problem with the 5th houseis a tendencyro 'go overthe
top'. lWedelight in self-expresion,but we don't know when to stop.
In the ith housewe no longer believeweore everything,but westill
think wc canbe or do znything. The 6th housefollowsthe Jth and
reminds us of our natural boundariesand the need for clearerself-
definition. Like the philosophy of Zen, the 6th houseasksthat we
'perfection
respectand regain the of our original nature',I that we
becomewhat we aloneare(no more, no less),and that we live this
in our everydaylives. Our true vocation is to be ourselves.
6ttr
66 TTIET\UTELVE
HOUSES
Thc 6th house shakcsa finger at the lth and retons:
Very well, it's wonderful to give orpressionto your creativeflair,
but haveyou really done it thar cleverly?That painting is not
quite right yet and you've orhausted yourselfstaying up rwo
nights working on it.
or
Sure, you are having quite a sizzling romance, but have you
examincd the practicalitiesof this asa long-term relationship
- not to mention the fact you can't stand the after-shavehe
wears?
or
Congratulations, you've had a baby girl. Now adjust your
scheduleand life to her and keep thosecleannappiescoming.
or
Rememberthat pany lastweekwhereyou really let yoursclfgo?
tVhcn you look back,don't you think you might haveoffended
that shyboy in the cornerwho didn't errcnharrea chanceto spcak
becauseyou monopolized the conversation?
The time hascomero takestockof ourselves,to dirriminate between
priorities, to assessthe use we are making of our power and
capabilities,and aboveall, to recognizethe limits and truth of our
own nature and humanity.
Tiry,r it may, a pear seedcan neverbecomean apple tree. Nor
should it, if we believeas Kieikegaarddid, that 'to will to be the
self which one truly is, is indeed the oppositeof dcspair.'2The 6th
houseis all about stickingto our plan and blossominginto precisely
what we are meant to bc. Doing this feelsright and good. But the
consequences for not respectingthe truths of our own nature ale
stress,frustration and dis-easemessengers tclling us that somcthing
is awry and needsto bc oramined.
'Reality
has both a "within" and a "without".'3 The 6th house
exploresthe relationship ber,weenwhat we are inside and what
surroundsus on the outside - the correlation betweenthe inner
world of mind and feelings and the outer world of form and the
body. The traditional6th houselabels, 'health, work, service,and
adjustment to necessity',all stem from this bodymind connection.
It is a basic fact of existencethat life has to be lived within
THE SD(TH HOUSE 67
boundaries.No matter how divine or wonderful we think we ate,
wc sdll have to eat, brush our teeth, pay bills and cope with the
necessitiesof cveryday,mundane redity. Funhermore, eachof us
hasa panicular body, a pafticular mind, and somepanicular task
'designed'
to perform. lUTeare in a cenain way to servea PurPose
or function specificd in our own individud make-up and nature.
Nobody canfulfil that purposebetter than ourselves.We servebest
by being who we are. Through the necessaryadjustments and
refinements of the 6th house,we becomewhat we done can be.
'work
Somebodyonce said that is the rent wc Pay for lifc.' For
many of us, work is something ue baaeto do in order to suPport
daily existence. Daily employment also implies roudne and
adjustment. \7c have to arive there more or lesson time, and we
cannot be asfree and spontaneousaswe might like with our lives
if we know the alarm clock is set to ring at seventhe next morning.
rUTehave to structure our dme, establish priorities, and make
dispensations.In one way,the need to follow a rigid schedulehelps
to order and pattern life. We escapethc existentialanxiety which
freedomof choicemight provoke:wehavea job and we know where
we must be.
Idealljt, however,the work-forceis composedof raried individuals
eachperforming thc panicular skills they havedevelopcdbest.The
end result is a perfectlyfinished product or the maintenanceof the
proper functioning of society.Planes and signsin the 6th describe
isues reladng to work and employment, and suggestthe tasksthat
wecan potentidly do most well. Placementsin this housemay rwed
the natureof our jobs -Jupiter or Sagittariuscould be a uarcl agent,
the Moon or Cancerlook aftcr children, and Neptune or Piscesdraw
pints at thc local pub. But much more than describingthe type of
employment, the placementshere suggestthe way in which we
approach(or should approach)doing the iob - not just ubat we
do, but hou we do it. For instance,thosewith Saturn or Capricorn
here may prefer a stablejob with clearlydefined requirements,at
which they can work slowly and steadily;while thosewith Uranus
and Aquarius in this housenormally hate to punch a clockand would
much rather work without a bosslooking over them.
The nature of relationshipswith co-workcrsis alsoshownby 6th
houseplacements.Venusor Ubra heremay fall in lora with someone
at work, while Pluto or Scorpio stirs up intrigues and complo<
encounters.The 6th houseis
'naturally
squared' the 3rd (seepage
'unfinished
121) and business'around sibling and early pcer
relationshipsmay resurfacewith co-workers.
 68 THE T\UUELVE
HOUSES
ThLroughemployment situations,we find ourch'es in relationships
of inequality. Thiny peoplemay bc working under us, and wemay,
i in turn, be subordinateto thiny others.How wecopewith dispcnsing
rtill
authority, and how we managein the more subservienrposition is
shown by the 6th. It is a kind of rehearsalfor the reladonshipsof
equality we form in the 7th house.
The 6th house also describesour relationship to the mechanic
who works on our car, our doctor and his or her receptionist,the
milkman - in fact anyonewho is servingusin someq/ay.Conrrrsely,
'a
our own qualities as server'and our deeperfeelingsand attitudes
regarding serviceare shown by placementshcre. This is not to be
taken lighdy, asmany peopleview humiliw and serviceCIthe pinnade
of human endeavour- asthe path to God and more enlightened
statesof being.
The way we use our time and the kind of atmospherewe need
in order to function happily in daily life is shownby the 6th. Signs
and planets in this housecolour the energieswe bring (or should
bring) into everydaytasks and how we approach the rituals of
'white
mundane existence. Marsin the 6th may cleanthe houselike a
tornado',while Neptune is still trying to rememberwhereit left the
moP.
Pets- who arearound us in our everydaylife - aredso assigned
to the 6th house.This may seema trivial considerationand yet a
good number of peopleareprofoundly affcctedby their experience
'hook'
of caring for animals. Pets can be the for any variety of
projectionsand for somepeople their_relationshipto their dog or
cat is asimponant aswith anyhuman. In cenain cases,pets:rssuage
what would otherwisebe an unbearablesenseof lonelines or feelings
of uselesness. The lossor deathof a belovedanimd canrigger many
psychologicaland philosophical issues.
Thereis an obviousrelationbetweenwork and health - the other
major concernof the 6th house.Although the dominant work ethic
of rVesternculture may seemextremeor easilyabused,nonetheless
the need to be productive and useful is somehowbasicto human
nature. Overworkstrainsthe hedth, while too little work can leave
us listlessand lethargic.Redundancynot only deprivcsusof a source
of income, but alsoa sourceof a senseofwonh and purpose.Studies
haveshownthat the number of rcported illnessesincreascsin areas
where the uncmployment rate is rising. Conversely,some people
will use illnessas a way of escapingfrom a job they hate or which
doesn't suit them.
The 6th houseconcernforcraftsmanship,perfectionand technicd
HOUSE
THESTXTH 69
proficiencyappliesto issuesof health aswell aswork. Optimally the
body i, fineiy mned mechanismwherethe different cellswork for
the good " of the largerorganism.Eachcell is an entity in itself and
'do
yetCachone is pan of alargu system.Each-cell must its thing'
Lut eachmust;bo submii to the demandsof the greaterwhole'
In a healthy person (as in a healthy society)each.individual
componenrassensrmelfand yet worksin harmony with the other
.o-pon.tt,t. The 6th houseasksthat we bring our different pans
- that is,our mind, body and feelings- into a harmoniousworking
rclationship.
Many individuals with 6th house placementsare especially
interesiedin health and fitness,some to an obsessive degree'In
extremecases,specialdiets and techniquesfor maintaining.the
optimal functioning of the body dominareand structurethe life,
liaving litde time for anyrhingelse. Horrever,many-orcellentttealers
havea 6rh houseemphasis,and ir canbe associated with traditional
medicineaswell at.ir..rs in homoeopathy, osteopathy, herbalism,
massage,etc.
It hL aheadybeenmentionedthat the body,mind-andemotions
operateas a unit. \fhat we think and feel will affect the body'
Conversely, the stateof the body will influencehow we think and
feel. Psyihe (mind) and sonza(body) are inextricably linked'
physiologicaland chemicalimbalances,give rise to psychological
proUt.,,'i, while emotional and mental turmoil can manifestin
physicalsymptoms.The 6th housemay revealsomethingabout the
'unh"rryi"g
p^rychologicalsignificance of i9Tai" illneses.Sarurncould
indicaic in meeting everydayhje, aswell asarthritis. Mars
in the 6th"ligiaity
nrihesinto life, *or1*' itseif to a frazzlc,only to bediagnoscd
later with high blood-pressure.However,it is an over-srmplficadon
to referto rh16th houseonly in relationro health. TheAmerican
Book of Natrition ond Medical Astrology by Eileen ftly"ll
(publis'hedby Astro Compudng Services, San Diego, California)
ir"-in.t medical in great depth, and is highly
"sttoiogy
recommended.
Through 6th houscissueswe refine, p!{ect and purify ourselves,
'channel'for being who.weare'\We
and ultiriately becomea better
could be rhe mosrwonderfullyinspiredartisr(1th house)b_utunless
we learn the toolsof the craft (6th [ouse) - the right useof brushes,
paints and canvas- we won't be able to concretizeor realizeour
'techniqueis the liberationof thc
iosibiliries. Ir hasbeensaidthat
imaginadon'.Theseare true watchwordsfor the 6th house'
\fie embarkon life unconscious of our unique individuality and
 TI{E TIrEIIYEHOUSES
by the end of the 6th houscwe harc a much more dcfined sensc
ofour on'npanicularidentity andpurpose.Likethe 3rd house,the
$h houy.emplqn the left brainactivityof reducingthingsto parr.
The problem with the 6th is that we end up seeingthe-worldroo
mrclt in termsof 'what is me' and 'whet-isnot-me'.IThen we
characterize oursehres by thoscfeatureswhich distinguishus from 9.
-
94.11 our weight,height, skin colour,job, car,hJuse- weare
left with the feeling that there is an absoiutedistinction between THE DESCEI\DANTAND
who we areand who other pcople arc. !flhile it is thc purposeof
thefirstsixhouses to makeusmorefullya*are ofourselrts^as*pmt.
TI{E SEVENTHHOUSE
individuals,it remainsfor the lastsixhouses(the 7th to the Uth;
to reunite us with othcn again.Otherwisclift is aurfullyloncly.'
Dri,ren by the forceof lovethe fragments o{the world seekeach
otherthattheworldmavcomc
Ti:rlJit?in"rddcchardin
'rhe personalhouses"
The 6th houseis the last of what is known as
and representsthe refinementof the individual personalityttTo$\
work, scrvice,humility and amendonto crrcrydaylifc and th9 Rhnicd
body. tking a microscopeto lifc, thc 6th housc analysesand
categorizesiI into diffcrent parts, giving.each.panits app.rop.riate
placc and purpose. \7e now know preciselyhow we difter trom
'cverybody
and everything else.But, by thc end of the 6th house,
we have grown t.p"t"ti from one another as life will allow, and
"r
wehavea-newlcsson-ro learn:that nothing existsin isolation.\rhcn
we arrive at the Descendant,the westernmostpoint in the chan,
we turn a sharpcornerand find ourselvesheading backagainto the
point whereit all staned.It will be thc work of the 7th to 12thhouses
ro reconnecrusoncemore to the lost senseof our unity with all life .
The Descendantis the cuspof the 7th houseand thc point oPposlte 'point
the Ascendant.Traditiondln the Ascendantis considered the
'the point of
of self-awareness' and rhe bescendant is considered
awareness of others'.It describesour approachto relationshipsand
the qualities(alongwith the planetsin the-7th)that wea-relooking
for in a parrner.Michael Meylr in z{ Handboohfor the Hu.manistic
Astologer also writes rhat the Descendant(and .the 7th house)
denoreithe kindsof activitiesthat givethe individud the experiences
'he needs in order to realisethe significance of others'''
'the
Similarly, the lst house is traditio-nallyknown as house of
'. the lst, is labelled
the self The 7th house,which is the fanhcstfrom
'the
,rhe '. houseof marriage'
houseof the not-self It is alsoknown as
,the houseof open enemies'.Marriagehereis taken
and curiouslyas

72 THE T'IOTEIVE
HOUSES
7+n
:o q:a" anyimpoftant relationshipbasedon murual commitment,
legally contractedor orherwise.I'the 7th house,rwo people come
togerher for a purpose - ro enhancethe quality or in.ii lives by
joining with one another,to producea famity ind g.;in grearer
security
and stability, and to assuagelonelinessand isJatio"n
Most.astrologicaltortbooks teach that the planets and signsin
.
thc 7th housedescribethe ma'iage panner,or 'ihe significant6ther'.
This is rrue asfar as it goes.plaiements in the Tttioften indicate
the.kindofpanner(s)towhom we areaftracted.br instance,, -"n
with the Moon in the 7th may '.ek a pannerwho reflectsthe qualiriis
of the Moon: someonewho is re.epiiue,compassionat.
A wornan with Mars in the 7rh rrny be attraited ,o p*n., "nd."tirr!.
*lio
1eflec-ts " direct and
the qualities of Mars: someonewho is assenivi,
forceful. Shemay be looking for someoneto make decisionsfor her
and to tell her what to do.-
If there area number of planetsor different signs(asin rhe case
of an interceptedhouse)in the 7th, the issueian'be.o-. u.ry
confusing.becausewe are looking for so many different kinds o?
anributes in apaftner. br e.xample,should a woman harreboth Sarum
and uranus in the 7th, sheis.scekingsomeoneto offlerstability and
security(saturn) and yet at the sami rime sheneedssomeonewho
is unpredictablc,orciring and highly individualistic(Uranus).These
rwo setsof qualitieshardly live comfonably togethei in oneierson.
she may marry Saturn first, becomedreadfufy restressand bored,
meet someoneUranian and file for a divorce.or she mav remain
married to Saturnand harc an affair with Uranus.Or sh. -"y -".ry
uranus first, di'orce him on accounr of his unstable and'erratic
-tl
HOUSE
AND TT{ESEVENTH
THEDESCENDANT 7'
charactet,and then breathing a sigh of relief settledown safelywith
Saturn. Or, if sheis somewhatmore psychologicallymatute, shecan
marry Saturn and find ways which are unthreatening to the
relationshipto satis$ her needfor Uranus,or evenderalop it more
in herself.Orshe canmarry aUranian man and provide the Saturnian
securityherself in the pannership.
More than just describingthc nanrre of the Paftner, signs and
planets in the 7th suggestthe conditions of the relationship: thc
archetypesconstellatedby the union itself. Saum therecould indicate
a union basedon duty and obligation. Marsin the 7th is prone to
'love' into mariage, tempestuous.battles,
ar first sight, -$i"g
passionatereunions,and then more battlesagain.Anhur Rimbaud,
the Frenchpoet shot by his lorrcrVerlaine,had o<plosivePluto and
Uranus both in the 7th house.RexHartison, with six marriagesto
his name, wasborn with abundant Jupiter thcre.
As stated earlier, a planet or sign in a house suggeststhe
predispositionto meet that archetypd principle through the area
of life in question. Placementsin the 7th arewhat we o(Pectto find
in closepannershipsand thereforeindicate thoseatuibutes we notice
most in the other person.Inrariably, something in our pamner'schaft
will colludc with planetsand signsin our 7th house,and more often
than not, the panner's chanuncanm/yreflectsour 7th. br instance,
a woman who hasMars,Saturn and Pluto in the 7th may r,erywell
find a husband who has Mars, Saturn and Pluto in the lst or
something like an Aries Sun (rdlecdng her 7th houseMars),a Scorpio
Moon (rdlecdng hcr 7th housePluto), and *uee planes in Capricom
(reflecting hcr 7th house Sarurn).
Thc psychologicalmechanism of projcction must again be
mentioned in respectto the Descendantand 7th house.lnRehting
Liz Greenesuggeststhat the Descendantand the 7th houseplanets
'belong
rcpresent qualities which to the individual, but are
'through
unconscious'and which we try to live out a Panner, ot
through the kinds of experiencesthe rclationship brings'.2 kt's
explore what she means by this.
The Descendant - the westernmostpoint in the chan -
disappearsfrom view aswe arebcing born. In this sense,it describes
what is hidden in us, what we feel doesn'tbelong to us becausewe
can't or won't see it in ourselves.Diametrically opposed to the
Ascendant and lst house, the Descendantand 7th house teveal
quditics in ourselveswhich we have the most difficulty bwning',
bcing responsiblefor, and accepting.However,asJungpoints out,
'when
an inner situation is not made conscious,it happensoutside,
 -T
14 THETWELVE HOUSES THE DESCENDANTAND THE SEVENTHHOUSE 7t
asfate.' If we are unconsciousof something in ourselvesthen 'the inrolrrcdin thc helpingor caringproftsions.harrca heavyemphasis
world must perforceact out the conflict and bc rorn into opposite onthe7th. Theyrequireanalmoircontinualflow of closeorchange
'siphon off' a packed
halves.'3In other words, what we are unawareof in ourselves,we tr*." ttt.-t.lrr.t *d others'It iswiscrto
inrariably attrac to us through others. Thditiondly the Descendant 7th houscin this way,and relievea one-to-onePaftnershlP ot the
and 7th houseare describedasrhosequdities we seekin a panner; - brunt of manyPlanea thcrc'
-full
but on a deeper level they represenr those qualities hidden in us The'lmrcr.o.r.t' i6o nndertheheadingof the7th' Social
which we need to consciouslyintegnte into our awareness ro become morescomeinto being"pp..n to-counter--effectrhe orcesses of rampant
whole - what Liz Greene calls 'the inner panncr'. If wc have inai"ia"Airy and to .ir,rt. somedegreeo{fairngs and iusticein
suppressedthese attributes in ourselrresbecausewe find them the behaviour of membersof society.Should these laws be
disagreeableor unacceptable,then it is not surprisingthat we won't uansgresed,then an ouFideforcemust interveneto redres the
like them when thcy aremirored backto us through anotherperson. balarice. Hon,wefarein counsof this kind is shownby placements
Hence, the connotation of the 7th house as the sphere of open in the 7th.
enemies. The 7th house,naturdly associated with LibraandVenus,is the
Howerrer,we dso tend to inhibit or 'dis-own'potentially positira spherein whichwelearngreaterco-operadon with others'It poses
traits aswcll and thesemay be the very attribures which dlure or dil.--" *ith the lst housc:howmuchdo I co-operate (7th)rrcrsus
exciteus when we meet them in others.rWefall in lovewirh rhose " muchdo I assenmywm way(lsQ?On theonehand'the9anger
lrow
people who openly exhibit thesetraits becausethey make us feel is givingor blendingroo muchandsacrificingone'so*'n identity.
more complete. We i^pon thesequalities into our livesby marrying Oi the"other,*..oild demandrhatothersadapttoo muchto us,
them. Ideally,the paftner may serveasa kind of role model for rhese -a J.pti* them of their individuality. The problem.t"t :l:itl{
'lf
energies,which evenrudly permircus ro consciouslyintegratethem oor.rr.d bv a RabbiHillel: I am not for mysel( who will bc?
back into our own nanrre.All too often, though, we remain reliant trid if I am only for myself,what am I?'a The 7th housesetsthe
on the other personto supply them. r$(/epolarize with the panncr t*t of encount;ringanotherpersonand bdancingboth endsof
and stayonly half a person. the scale.
It should be made clearthat projection is not something which
is purely pathological. A projected image is a porcntid locked up
within the self.Whcn rhereis the needfor this image to makeitself
known, thc first step is perceivingit in someoneelse.Then, hopefullX
we realize that it has something to do wirh us and we consciously
take it back. For examole.a woman with Mars in the 7th mav not
be in touch with her o*n po*., and assertirrcness. Therefori shc
looks for those qualities in a man. She finds a paftner with a
prominent Mars,one who is dominant and sclf-ccnued,and shouts
orders at her. Through him, she has brought Mars inro her life.
Howewr, when shecanno longertoleratehim that way,it may dawn
on her that she has a right to make demands as well. Shc begins
to fight back,to make a standfor hcrself, and in this wayshediscorars
Mars in her own nature.
Once we have,to somedegree,reintegraredqualiriesin rhe 7th
houseinto our own idcntity, we servero exposethoseprinciples to
societyat large.Therefore,a personwith Marsin rhe 7th might be
someonewho rousesother people to action. Someonewith Saturn
there could funcdon asa teacheror mentor for orhers.Manypeople
 -- I
TT{EEIGHTHHOUSE 77
many planetsin the 8th in careersinvolving other people'smoney:
bankeis.stockbrokers,investment analystsand accountants'
However,the 8th house is much rnore than iust other people's
'that which is shared'and the manner in which
money.It describes
*e fuie or unite wirh others' Elaborating and expanding on what
hasbegunin the 7th, the 8th houscisthe nitty-grittyof relationships:
10. what f,appenswhen two people - each.with his or her own
TT{EEIGHTH HOUSE temperament, resources,taluelystem, needsand biologicd tlo,tt<
- a$empr ro merge. A whole piethora of questionsand conflicts
are aPt to ensue:
I have somemoney and you have somemoney' How-shall we
!f.my devilsareto leaveme, I am afraidmy angelswill take
flight aswell. spend it? How much shall we try to saveeach month?
Rilke or
The 8th househas many labels.since it is opposirethe 2nd house I like sexthreedmesa weekand you seemto needit everynight'
wltich 'nnl,ralues',it is commonly calred'the houseofother peoplei Vho wins?
r
mlues'. This can be taken quite iiterally. Signs and planei i"'rh; or
8th.suggest how we fare financially in miriage, int.rit-.. -
businesspannerships.For.lnstance, th.i. -ay ;*ry ;;; You bclievethat to sparethe rod is to spoil the child, but I insist
Jupiter
money, receivea good windf.dl *r^ough a legacy, escapelightly fro- that no child of mine is to be hit' Who's right?
the tax inspector, and form beneficial busiiesi A poorlv or
aspected Saturn in thc 8th, on rhe other "tr*i"t.r]
hand, may marry soil;;
who declaresbanftruptcythe pc d_ay, inherit ia nort-oct in'r"np"iJ I don't know hm, you canbe friends with thal cgup-IgThey pall.f
debts, be scrupulouslyinvestigatedby the mx inspe*or, and ch'oose irritate me. I'd ratiler wevisit my friendstonight. \7hose friends
crrsastrousbuslnesspaftners.Nor is it unusud to find people with do they end uP visiting?
The aisleintended to lead to the path of wcdded blissseemsto have
i-t Ji",o arrgingbattlefield and thereiswhat lookslike a funerd
'procesion uP ahead.
Thc gth house,naturallyassociated with Pluto and scorpio,is dso
'the house of sex,death and regeneration''In the myth'
labellcd
tt e maide" Persephoneis abducted into the underworld by Pluto,
th. god of Death. Shemaries him there and returns to the upper
pcrson, no longer a li"]: gtl' but awoman' Reladng
go
J..pfV with"anoiher personenrails k*d of death, the letting
"rtf?i*ft-ged
1
down oiour ego-boundaries and tightly knit identity.
'I' 'lWe''
"na'[["ting
\$7e dic tl.p"t"t. and are reborn as
"s
Li[e PersepLone, through relationship we are.plungcd into
pars of
another's*oitd. In so<and"intimacy'we exPoseand share
Bttt ourselueswhich are normally kcpt hidden.-Sexcan be considered
j";;;;U. *fri.fr remporarily makcsus feel better; or through
78 TT{ETWETVE
HOUSES THE EIGHTH HOUSE
to discover
the sexualact, we may orperiencea form of self-ranscendence,a relationships we derend into the depthsof our being
theenvy'grecd'iealousy'rage'
union with anothcr self. In thc hcights of ecstasy,we forget and or"tttia i*drr.n J inhcriance 'nd control aswell asthe
abandon ourselrcsto mctge with another.The Elizabethansreferred "rr
;.,"#;"t^d;t=' ,h.;;ig;pt*tt
'the the1o1t r":Tl fu*::
to the orgasmas little death'. Much about our scx.rd nanrre de*ructivefanusia wnictiil ili berr*th 'the beast'in us that
is shown by placcmentsin the 8th. It is only throught tognitini and accepting
Relationships are the catalystsfor change.The 8th housecleanses il;;: ilo#r-.a'-v/t t""oot changcanvthinswedon't know
'We wecondimn' Thedarker
and regeneratesth'rough drawing to the surface(usudly via a presenr isthere. cannot*""tfo* *tethi{S
relationship) unresolrredissuesfrom previousrelationships,eqpecially sideof our natu* -* bt;;;;il; tJgttl utrtre wecanbccleanscd'
early bonding problemswith mother and father The first relationship regenerated or born again'
stifled a rast
inour life, that with thc mother or mother-substitute,is the most
""P;i;tly, ili;"yfi ;;-his darkcrsidewemavhave
"t"tigy' However' acfnowledging our
highly charged.This is not surprising asour survival dcpends on reservoirof psychic mean cathaning
her. lWe are allborn into this world potential victims: unles there vindictirrcness' cruelty,*'t'gZ'n9t 79' necessatilv
behaviour
is the caring lorc and protection of sorneonebigger and more adept or
'acting out' thcsettotio"' indiscriminatelv'Such
than us, our chancesof surviral areveryslim. Thc lossof a rnorher's cnpendsthc energy dt"toyttt"h morethanwewish'
'owning'
"J;;ibiy and ya gontainingthcscexPlosive
love doesnot simply mean the lossof a personcloseto us: it could Ra$er,the keyliesin encrgveKPrcssmg
mean abandonment and death. Many of uscontinue to projcrt ther ilil;. iht;Ljh ,..ont"t$q :9 the fou.ntof
sameinfantile concernsonto later reladonships.The fear that our itsclfasoutragecrnstrncrs andhJlding9ll1o.it insidcus'sreevenflrauy
becntrapped'Thus
panner doesn'tlorc usanymoreor is posibly betraying uswill rigger release this en.rgyr,o']'-tit-i"t,,, it ittith.it has
backinto thc psyche'more
or reawakenthe primd fearsof the lossof thc original love-object. diraned,it canbeconscio*lyi"ttgtated
It then feelsasif our very survivaldependson the presermtion of productirrcly orchannclledinto constructive outlets'Stewingin the
tlrL.t to shift is not rcry
'If
the presentrelationship.Plcasand outcriessuchas you leaveme, .i pii;a .*otiott until they arc readv
'l 8th houseit t^I1 .^,^-
I'll die' and can'tlivewithout you' rerrcdthe chargedundercurents oleasant,but who n*?t' t"ia-tf i'tttt
from early bonding difficultics infiltrating the realiryof the current ""fri,'.il h";yi.r* trtt oppomrniryto re-oaminethc conncruon
situation. Tiue, aschildren we might havedied if Mother ldt, but betweenPresentrelationshipissucs andthoscproblemsenc"t"j:fl
percePuon
more likcly than not, as adults we are quite capableof managing ;rh;h.'-*hcr and fathei earlyiri life' Bascdon our
opinionsabouiwhatkind
our os/n surviral needs.Through exposingthese unresolvedand of thc cnvironment;.htid;;;form belids
hidden fears,the trials and tribulations in the 8rh househelp us ofperson we.r. *aiir"iilild',-,h.t.; ii tit forus.Thesc
'scripts' .orr,-.tJ 'i- optt"tt' often unconsciously' far into
to shcd attitudes which are obsoleteand cumbersome.Not everv or 'fatherwasacad'grows
oTTii:,l#,T3*il;",,"na1fears, ;|"ilffi. ,n. i-i,,f.gl"f*fi" U.ti."a.that
agood
proponion
oftheanger into thecomantitltf;;Pry i"go;td ttnsc.that'n -:1I::*'
weharrca mysteriousand
and outrage we sometimesfeel and unleashon our paftner can be Due to the lawsorp'lJit'attertrinisl'
'tracked
back' to infancy and childhood. Children are not all uncannyability,o o"i ri*t 'ttt *rv peopleandsituations
'goo' ""li'i"t If not' we will probablv
siqrcetness, and light. The work of the psychologistMclanie Klein which suPPort,hJ;il;;-p'it"t'. prorrc
hasdepictedanothersideto the baby'snature.Bccauseof ia oftreme tr; ,h", ;;; -v t"tt' rne aimof a comploristo
;;il
helplesnes, the smdl child orpericncesenormousfrustrationwhen tS:Ti", in the 8th
his or her needsare not bcing understoodand met. Eventhe most and rubble from chjrdhoodare excavated
adept mother cannot alwaysinterpret prcciselywhat a screaming house.Our more Pt"bl;;; anddeeperoristentid life-staternents
,"rr* inpre^scnt rclationshipcrises.vith
babywants,and inrariably the child's frusration eruptsinto violent areuncovcred "lJ-ti*irrg' of living besly'11t;x'
hosdlity. Sinceearly expcriencesleavesuch a deep impression,all thc added-"to,ityl"d "'itaJ- ttt"1 rtlt past'whrchnas
of us have a'raginginfent' buried inside. A presentpartner thwans ;;'.1; .,p' *-i of the residuefrom the
ourperspecuve on life' oursilvesandothers'
us in somewayand the screamingchild may be awakenedyet again. colouredandobscured andsclf'mastery
Like Persephone's abduction into the underworld, in veryintense ffifr|"f ;. i f, frour" isgreaiersclf-knon'ledge
 THE T\TEIVEHOUSES THEEIGHTHHOUSE 8I
freeing us to conrinue our journey renewed,les encumbered bv
Uranus may end it all rather suddenly.
unnecessarybryg gr.
Howc\cr, in the spanof one life-time, weorperiencemany different
Should vrcfail at amempts-at merging and ,working through' rhe psychologicaldeaths. If we have been deriving our identity from
rolatile isues which the 8th house eiokes, rhen *,i .* ,if., ro
a panicular relationship and it should finish, then this is a kind of
plT-....lq !r:r. to gain a senseof what the dirorce proceedingsmight death of who we havebcen. Likewise,if we havegained our sense
be likc. Difficult planetary aspecrsto the gth narn of trl.rmiti.
of vitality or meaning in lifc from a cenain professionand then are
separationsand 'mesy' dirorce settlements.The two 'raging infants'
made redundant, we dso die aswe knew ourselves,Childhood dies
and their respectirrclawyersare lefr to carry out the SattL in the
and adolescenceis born. Adolcscencepassesand we die into
couftroom.
adulthood. A bimh requiresa death; and a death requiresa birth.
All levelsof sharedexperienceare describedby the gth house.
Signsand planetsin the 8th indicate the manner in which we meet
In addition ro the redm of joint finance and rhemerging of mo
zuchphasetransitions.Individuals with a srong 8th houseslant often
individuals inro one, this househasa broaderecorogicil ,lZot. wi
experiencethcir livesasa book containing many diffcrent chaptets,
all hara to shareour planet and its resources. The high_powered or a long play with distinct changcsof scene.Theseendings and
entrepreneurwho indiscriminately y lerrels
lerrelsforests
forestsfor hiJ own profit
hiJown orofir new bcginnings may be thrust on us or we might assumea mote
is.disregarding.th.e
inhabitants of the forest, aswen asdepriving a acdverole in tearing dovrnold structuresto make room for something
fellow human being of an areaof natural beaury -a intiir"tiJ".
else.
I n5n""p sensitivityto theseisues will be mi'oied by placements In mythology, the gods createthe world, decide they don't like
in the 8th.
it, destroy what they harrcbuilt, and createanother. Death is an
The house dso denotes our relationship to what esoreric
ongoing proccssin nature. There is alsothe image of the dying and
philosophersc4l 'the.astrd plane'. A strong ehotion, though not
reviving god, who is desroyed in one form but then reappearsagain
necesarily visible,will nonetheles penadc thc atmosphereiound
uansformed. Christ is crucified and then resurected. Dionysusis
yt. Th.:.esrrd plane_is that level of oristence where seemingly dismembered,but Athene, the goddes of\$?isdom,rerues his he,an
intangible but porrcrful emotions and feeling;scollect and circulaiJ.
and he is born again. Like the Phoenix, we may temporarily be
T.h9pore rationdlyminded may doubt the ciedibility ofsomerhing
reducedto ashes,but we canriseoncemore, renewed.Form can be
which cannor be seenor measured.And yet, almosi all of us havE
destroyed,but essenceremainsto flourish again in someother form.
'So
lt"d t: orpe{9nc9 of enrering on. peisor,'s home and feeling The German poet Goethe wrote, long as you do not die and
immcdiately 'hit' by something unpleasant, while walkins irrti
riseagain,You area strangerto the dark eanh.' On somedeep level,
another person'shouse and feeling uplifted and spirited. planets
anv survivorof the 8th house'sraumas and tensionsknows this.
and.signsin the 8th showrhe panicular kinds of energies'ho'ering;
in the astrd realm to which we are most sensitiue.Someone*ifir
Marsin the 8th will more easily'pick up on' angerin the atmosphere
than someonewith Venustherl who quickly-senscswhen ,lo* i,
in the air'. In this capacity,the waterygth houseis akin to the other
water houses,the 4th and thc l2th. Expcriencesof thc psychicor
occult sphereare shownin the 8th, ar *.ll asthe degre. of irrr.r.o
or fascination we harc for thar which is hidden,"mysterious or
underlying the surfacelevel of existence.
Death, asshown by placemens in the gth, can be taken literallv
to mean the manner or o(enuating circumstancesof our physical
death. saturn there may be reluctant to die, fcarful of lies
belon{ corporealoristence.Neptune may die from drugs, ",trat
alcohol
poisoning or drowning, or gradually dijengage itself i-n a coma.

11.
TI{E NINTI{ HOUSE
Mankindispoiscdmidwaybetcrcen
thcgods-O
Tffil*
The 8th houseinrariablyimpliessomedegreeof pain, crisesand
suffering.$opefu,lly,in survivingthesedifiicult times,weemerge
tencwed, cleansed, and wiserabout ourselrasand life in generd.
Havingdescended into the depthsand rcmehon'managedto find
our wayup again,an overviewis gainedwhichdlowsusto conceirrc
of life asa joumeyandprocess of unfoldment.Thefiery 9th house,
naturdly associated withJupiter and Sagittarius,followsupon the
troubled watersof the 8th and offersa broaderpe$pectiveon all
that hasoccurredup to nos'.Enoughorperiencehasblen gathered
to attempt formulating someconclusionsabout the meaningand
purposc of our sojoum.
The 9th is the area of the chan most directly concemedwith
philosophyandrcligion- questions aboutrhe'whp andwherdores'
of ocistence. h isherethat weseckrheTiuth, endearouringto fathom
theunderlyingpaaems andbasiclac/swhichgoramlift. In onesense,
thesufferingincurredin the 8th compelsusin this direcdonbecause
pain is moreeasilyborncifwe canenvisionsomepurposefor having
to endurc it. In addition, if sufferingis in any urat linked with i
failure to live in accordance to rhe lawsor rrutbsof oristehce,rhen
discovering and adhcringto theseguidelinesmight decrease the
amountof pain we needincur.
Human_beings seemto requiremeaning.We apparentlyneed
absolutes, firm idealstmardswhichqrecanaspire,andprecepswhich
serveto steerour lives.lU7ithoutmeaning,thereisoftenthc fteling
that we havenothing to live for, norhing to hopefor, no reasont;
strugglefor anything,and no directionin life. Manypsychologisa
believethat much of modern-dayneurosisis relatedto a lackof
THE NINTH HOUSE 8l
9ttr
meaning or purposein life. Regardless of whether it is true or not,
'out
we are comfoned by the belief that there is something greater
there': that a coherentpattern existsand that eachof us has some
panicular role to play in that design.Whether it is ultimatcly up
to us to createour own meaning in life or whether it is our task to
discoverGod'splan and intention, the searchfor guidelines,goals
and a senseof purpose forms the crux of the 9th house.
'the
The 9th housesignifieswhat is known as higher mind' -
that pan of the mind linked to the faculty of abstractionand the
inruitive process- ascomparedto the concretemind shownby the
3rd house.Mercury,the natural rulcr of the 3rd and 6th housesis
a fact-gatherer;whileJupiter, the naturalruler of the 9th denotes
the symbol-makingcapacityof the psyche,the tendencyto imbue
a particulareventor happeningwith meaningor significance . Facts
arecollectedin the 3rd. but in the 9th conclusions aredrawnfrom
them: isolatedfactsareorganizcdwithin the frameworkof a larger
schemeof things or seen as the inevitable offspring of higher
organizingprinciples.
tDThilethe lrd and 6th housesareanalogousto the analyticaland
companmentalizingleft brain,the processes associated with the 9th
house(and the 12th)correlateto the activityof the right brain. The
right brain can identify a shapewhich is suggestedbv only a few
lines.The poins arementallywoven togetherinto a panern.Synthedc
and holistic,the right brain thinks in images,seeswholes,and detects
'the
pattcrns.As MarilynRrgusonwrites, left [brain] takessnapshots,
the right watchesmovies."
Thc 9th houseoften believesthat eventshavea message conceded
84 THET\TEDT HOUSES
in them.Jupiter or Venusin the 9th, for instance,may givethc feeling
that everything that happens is ultimately positive and to one's
advantage,as if there werea benign Higher Intelligenceat work
guiding our unfoldment. Saturnor Capricornin the 9th could have
more difiiculty perceiving meaning in an event, or elseinterpret
the meaning in a negative light. Albert Camus, the French
existentialistphilosopherand writer, had Saturnin Gemini in this
housc:he believedthat eventshaveno higher or absolutemeaning
other than that which human beingsattribute to them.
Placementsin the 9th describesomethingabout the stylewith
which we pursue religious and philosophical issues,as well as
zuggcstingthe kind of God weworshipor the nature of the philosophy
in lifc weformulate.Fore.xample,Mercuryor Gemini theremay lead
one to try and graspGod intellectuallywhile Neptune or Pisces
predisposcs one to embracethe deiry through heardelt devodon,
to zunenderthe self. Marssuggestsa dogmatic and fanaticd approach
to religiouspursuitscomparedto the greatertoleranceand flexibility
exhibited by Venusin thesematters.The God-imagc is alsoshown
by planets and signshere. Saturn or Capricorn might conceiveof
a harsh,punishing, critical and paternalisticGod, who must be
obeyedat all costs.Neptuneor Pisces in thc 9th, on the otherhand,
envisionsa compassionate and loving God, inclined to leniencyand
forgiveness.
The 3rd houserulesthe immediate environment and that which
is discoveredby exploring what is at hand. The 9th describesthe
perspectivewe gain standing back and viewing life at a distance.In
this way, the 9th is linked to travelsand long journeys.Tiavelling
can be taken literally to mean journeysto other lands and cultures,
or it can be understoodmore symbolicallyasjourneysof the mind
or spirit - the broadenedhorizons gained from extensivereading
or the insights gained through meditation and cosmicreflection.
Understoodmore literally, through trarrcllingand mixing with people
rearedon traditions different from our own, our oudook on life is
expanded. The taste and style of somecultures may appeal to us
more than others, but nonetheless,other facetsof the myriad
possibilitiesof life areglimpsedand comparedwith our own. Tiavel
enablesus to view the world from a different perspective.I may be
involvedin a complicatedrelationshipin london about which I feel
confuscdand uncenain; yet, when I uarrclto SanFranciscoand reflea
on this relationship, somehowthe added distanceof 6,000 miles
helps me to understandit more clearlythan when the relationship
is right in front of me. The cpitome of a 9th houseexperiencemight
THE NINTH HOUSE
be the view of the world afforded the astronautre-enteringthe eanh's
atmosphere.There,at a glance,is-the.wholepicrure- our P.lanct
seen as an entity in reladon to limitlcs space.One's ordinary,
mundaneand everydayconcernsassumea different proponion after
suchan orperiencc.JohnGlenn, the first Americantoorbit the eanh,
had both Neptune and Jupiter in his 9th house.
Placementsin the 9th designatethe archetypd principles we
encounteron our travels,and may evenreved somethingabout the
natureof the culture or culturesto which wearedrawn. br instance,
Saturn there may experiencedifficulties or delayson journeys,or
ffavelmore specficallyfor a practicalpu{Pose,suchaswork or study.
Hcnry Kisinger, the American foreign ambassadorunder Nixon,
hasCapricornon the cuspof the 9th, and Saurn, its ruler, in Libra,
the signof diplomacy.If Pluto or Scorpiois in the 9th, wemay aftract
experiencesin another country which profoundly transform us, or
we may be drawn to a counily with Pluto or Scorpiostrong in its
national chan. Admiral Richard Byrd, the first man to fly to the
North Pole, had innonativeUranus in this house.
Returning much closerto home, 9th houseplacementsindicate
relationshipswith one's in-laws.Just as the third housefrom the
Ascendant describcsour own rclatives,the third house from the
Descendant(the 9th), describcsthe panner'srelatirts. rVhethersuch
relationshipsare cordial or stormy will be shown here. An in-law
might reflect a planet in the 9th housc, or receivethe projection
of that principlc. SomepeoplewithJupiter in the 9th seethe unirarsc
in a grain of sand, whilc others might perceive it in their
mother-in-law.
Journeysof the mind aredescribedin the 9th, which is alsoknown
asthe houseof highcr education. The chosenfield of study or the
nature of the collegeor university experiencein gencrd is shown
by placementshere.Foro<ample,Neptunc in the 9th may concentrate
on-a degreein an or music. However,that same Neptune could
indicatc confusionand vacillationin the choiccof a courseof study
or disappointmentand disillusionmentduring the stayat unirrcrsity.
Uranui may rebel againsttraditional systemsof highcr educadon,
or pursue a degreein someunusual or newly rising field, or bc the
firs1 person to securea place at Offord at the age of seven.
'I '\fe
The lst houseis am' while the oppositehouse,the 7th is
'I '\fle
are'. The 2nd is have' and its opposite, the 8th is have'.
'l '\we
Correspondingly,the 3rd is think' and thc 9th is think'. The
9rh describesthought structureswhich are codified on a collective
level. These include not only the religious, philosophicaland
 TI{E TWETVEHOUSES
cducational sy$cmsasdready discussed,but alsolegd systemsand
thc body of law. The 7th house is the lower courrs, but the 9th
representsthe higher coufts - the supremelaw of the land which
governsthe actions of the individud within the broadest socid
context. In the 3rd, we learn about ourselvesin reladon to those
in our immediate environmenr, but in the 9th a senseof our
relationship to the collectiveasa whole is kindled. Thc 9th is also
associatcdwith the publishing profession, in which ideas are
discminated on a large scalc.
Traditionally, planets in the 10th are associaredwith careerand
profcsion. The researchby M. and F. Gauquelin, however,has
establisheda correlation berweencenain planetary placementsin
the 9th and people who have achievedsuccessin fields related to
thc naure of theseplanets.A discussionof thesefindings is found
on pages118-119.
In the 3rd house,we oramine that which is immediate and direcdv
in front of us; in the 9th, we glimpse that which is not only fanher
'up
aray but also and coming'. Suongplacementsin this houseconfer
an unusual degreeof intuition and foresighr- the abilityto sense
the direction in which someoneor something is heading. Thc 9th
'tunes
house in' to the pulseof a situation,quickly regisering rends
and cwrents in rhe aun-osphere.Jules Veme,the scieniefiction writer
with a remarkablegift for anticipating furure discorrries,wasborn
with Uranus in the 9th house.On one leral, the fth givesthe prophct
and visionary,while on another it denotesthe public relationspersonJ
or the promoter intent on opening new vistasfor othcrs. Energies
in thc 9th can be expressedthrough rhe travel agent picking out
'just
the right holiday for you'; the entrepreneurconfiding to you
the latest sure-fire investment; the proponent of the most recent
psl,chotechnologyto hit tm'n which promisesinstant cnlightenmenr
in one weekcnd; the coachgiving his team a pep-ralk bdore the
big game;the tipster advisingon the winning horse;or the anistic,
literary or theatrical agent discoveringthe next big new tdent.
In the 8th, we dug into the past and dredged up thc remnanrs
of our primordial and instinctual nature. In the 9th, we look to the
fururc and what is yet to unfold. Depending on the planes and
signs there and aspectsto these,we may seea future full of hope
and new promise or one in which the bogeymanlurks around the
cornerjust waiting for us to be foolish enough ro passthat way.In
cither case,it might be useful to reflect on something which St
'dl
Catherine once observed,namelv that the wav to hearcn is
heaven.'2
t2.
THE MIDHEAVENAND
TI{E TENTH HOUSE
Nerrcrmeasurctheheightof amountain,until youharrcreached
the top' Then youwill seehow lw tt
S;, Hammarskj<ild
!7hat the 9th houseenvisions,the 10th house brings to eanh' In
-
Quadrant systernsof house-division,the Midheaven !h. de-gree
olthe cclipiic which reachesits highestpoint at the meridian of any
place - mark the cusp of the 10th house.The Midheavenis the
most elerated point in the chan, and symbolically speaking,
'stand
placementshere out' aboveall othersin the horoscope.Thc
qudities of any sign or planet in this position correspondto what
'standsout' in
in us is most visible and accessibleto others, what
'$0hereas
us. the IC and 4th house (the oppositc housc) rePresent
what we arelike prirately and how we behaveat home behind closed
doors,the MC and 10thhouse(naturdly associated with Saturnand
Capricorn)indicatethe waywe bcharrcpublically,the imagewe'step wish
to pr.settt to the world - the kinds ofclotheswe don when we
o,ri'. Lir Greenecallsthc MC and 10thhouseour'socialshonhand'
- how we would most like to be seenby othersand how we describe
ourselvesto them.
In keeping with the elcrated position of thc Midheaven,
placemenisin this areaof thechan suggestthoscqualitiesfor which
i. *"nt to be admired, lauded, looked up to and respected.It is
through the signs and planets here that we hope to attain
achierrment, honour and recognition. Placementsin the 10th denote
what we would most like to be rememberedashaving contributed
to the world. This is the houseof ambition, behind which lurks the
pressingurge and compulsion to be esteemedand acknowledged.
ih. believedthat if you performed a truly noble or
heroic"nli.niGreeks
deed, you were rewardedby being made a constellation in
11' l
88 THETIrETVEHOUSES
AND TI{ETENTHHOUSE
THEMIDFIEAVEN 89
l the hea*ns for dl to seefor all eternity. Besidesthe recognition
fTs u:, bcing famousmeensw€li* inpeopl.t -ina, for'*.r.-ft.
it likely follow the letterof the law than the judge with Uranusthere,
whosereadingswould be moreindividualistic,unconventional, and
$orated ego, so teartul of its own finitenes, finds this idea
rcrv shocking to others.
reassuring. '
The kinds of energieswe exhibit or encounterin the pursuit of
The narureof our contribudon ro societyand our status
and prace a vocationarealsosuggestedby placementsin the lOth. Saturnor
in the world areshownby the signon ,t. uiar,."".i.-ilJ"
- Capricorntheremay work long and patientlyto reachthe top; Mars
the 10thhouse,*d srudiesGg;;; ('r;;;;s;; and impatient in this sphereof life, while
anyplanets T t:$"q":lin
l-18-19) or Aries is aggressive
' on the 9th house sideof the MC. Tfre phne, ;fir; Neptune or Pisces may be vagueor confusedasto its rolein society.
I the signon the Midhea'en and im placemcni by ;;;:'il* ;e The 10thhousecould alsodescribewhatwe representor symbolize
I aspectalsoshedslighr on career
ot rhechaftdsohaveconsiderabre
(suchasrhc 6th house,2nd house,
and rocadon.
bearing on
rro:*si.r,
the issue
oth.r areas
of proftssion
to others.Marsmight be seenasa bully or the pinnacleof courage
and strength; Neptune as a saint or maftyr, champion of the
ro the Sr",;;il,-;;;
l q. fqh Tap asawholemust TpC"cts
becarefuilyassesscd r;;il;;;;
downtroddcn,or the victim himself; and Venuscould symbolize
the epitome of style,tasteor beauty.
wiselyin this respect.
If the 4th houscis associated with the father,then the 10thhouse
. In somecases, rhe signsand planeain the lOth and on th. 9th is assignedto the mother.In the beginningof life, sheis the whole
houseside of the Midheao, *"y literallya.r..iU. if,. ;";;;;i world to us. Early bonding patternsestablishedwith her will be
the individual's career.br instanie,satuin therecouldfii;;;; reflectedlaterin life in how we relateto the externalworld in general.
teacher,iu.dg9or scientist; Ju-piteran acror,pfriforopfr.i;;;;;j In otherwords,the natureof what passes berweenmotherand child
agent;and the Moon a profesionalchildminderir i""t..p.i.
(asshown by the MC and placementsin the 10th) resurfaces at a
ThomlsMann,theacdaimedGermanwrite.,h"a tlr..o--il;ti;
laterstageof dwelopmentasour wayof connectingwith societyand
signof Geminion theMg 'out
the Austriancornposer, Td Mercuryin the t0th. F;; S;hril, the world there' as a whole. If we found mother threatening
hadmusicalpisceson rheMidhea'en,anl and potentiallydestructive(suchasa difficultly aspectedPluto in
Neptune,rts ruler, in the lth, the houseof creativeorpresion.
the 10thmight suggest)then lateron the world will seeman unsafe
Howerrcr,it issaferro assume tharthepositionsn."r rh. l,tC*a placeand wewill attemptto defendourselves accordingly.If mother
I in the 10thsuggesr not somuchtheactuarprofessi* ur, i"trr..,rrl wasexperiencedassupponiveand helpful (well-aspected placements
approacha personhasto thecareer- themannerin whichthc *ork
in the 10th), we carryan expectacionthat the world will treat us
ishandledorpackaged. Thejudgewith sa*n in the rothwili moii similarly - what Erik Erikson callsbasictrust,
If we associate the l0th housewith both mother (the shaping
parent) and career,then the choiceof vocationmay somehowbe
influenced by our experienceof her. Forinstance,if Marsis in the
10ththe mother may havebeenexperienced aspushyand assertive.
The child, therefore,harboursresentmentand angeragainsther,
and growsup with the desireto actualizea position of power and
'pushed
' autonomy in the world so he or she won't be around' in
thc samewayasin earlylife. Fightingwith the mothercreates a pattern
i of fighting with the world.
Sometimesit is the desireto win lovefrom the mother (thereby
ensuringour survival)which underliesour choiceof profession.For
example,if Mercuryis in the 10thhouse,the mother may havebeen
experiencedasexpresiveand intelligent.The child then feelsthat
l lOth
this is what Mother valuesand appreciates,and so strivesto gain
her love and suppon by developing such traits. An expectationis
,,llilil
 I
90 THETWETVE
HOUSES THE MIDT{EAVENAND TFIETENTH HOUSE 9r
established that excelling in this way earns recognition, and others may rebel againstit, often becoming the exactopposite of
accordingly,later in life, a careeris sought which brings Mercurial what the parent(s)hoPed.
qudities to the fore. The toih houic extinds bcyond the mother or shaping PTelt
In some cases,it may bc competition with the mother which to dcsignateour relationshipwith authority figuresin generd: EIly
nudgcsus in the direction of a cenain career.If Venusis in the 10th, angero-rhun at beingsupprcssed or mistreatedby a pa5lt wlll often
the mother may have been seenasglamorousand beautiful. In a disiort the reality oflaterlnteracdons with other symbolsojnowgr.
sense,Venushasbcen projected onto thc mother. In order to reclaim The revoludonarymay have a true and just cause,but the style'
his or her on n Venusianqudities, the child may later seeka profesion manner or intensity in which he or she esPouses convlctlonsmay
in which he or shecan be admired asbeautiful, elegantor tasteful. *irr.., from a reductionist point of view,rhe contamination of earlier
At its most simple, the 10th house describesthose qualities of irru., *.*ing from the rcgime of rhe parcnts.This is not to bclitde
the mother (or parent in question)which arein us aswell, whether or judge thoseiho obiect tJ that which is unfair in society,bYt tfel
we like it or not. The isue is complicated,however,by the possibility ro considertheir 10th house,and its psychological
that placementsin rhe lOth often denote aspectsof the mother's "rJ ",.l-"auised
implications. Throwing a punch ar one'sbossor eggsat thc prime
'angry child' in us but may not be
personalitywhich were 'unlived' - attribures and traits which the -ilir,., is a wayof veriting the
mother did not consciouslyoeress or representin the child's grwing- the most cffectiveway to promote eventhe most neededt!"tg9t'
up years.Planetsand signsin this housemay describethe way the Presidingoverthe ,op of tt. chan, the 10th housesignificsthe
motler would haveliked to hara been if only shehad dlowed herself fulfilment"of the individual personality through thc personal
the opponunity to do so. A child who is acutely sensitiveto the satisfactiongained in using our abilities and talents to serveand
mother's psycheand undercurrentsin the home atmosphercwill influence ii.,y. Some may even earn aPplause and public
be receptivenot only to what she manifestsoumardly but alsoto recognition of their great value 1qd wo1h.
'live
what sheis denyingor suppressing.The child may bc swayedto i"lo.rg way has bC'entravelled from the lst house to the l0th'
out' the mother's shadon,side, as if mother is made more whole In the bt: we wereriot e,,enconsciousof ourselrres asseparateentiti€s,
or redeemedin this way.The mother of a child with Uranusin the no,.*r, of ourown individual cxistence. By thc timethe l0th
"*.howerrer, 'incamated' sufficiendy
lfth, for instance, may harreappearcd extremely conventional, is reached, wehavederclopedand
straight-lacedand restrainedon the outsidc,whilst under the zurface not only to harrca more solid and concretesenseof who we ate, but
lurked explosivefeelings and the desirc for space,freedom and also to be held in esteemfor it'
'busting
loose'. In some way this unvented Uranian side is
communicatedto the child, who growsup with a compulsionto
enact just those qualities to which the mother has not allowcd
expressron.
The placementof many planets in the 10th usually suggesc
someonewho is ambitiousand desirousof recognition,statusand
prestige.Men are normallvgiven more permissionto pursuethese
needsthan women.It may be easierfor a womanwith a strongl0th
houseto seeka pannerwho ispowerfulor famousand thereby impon
a position in the world in thatway. Shemay evenbe the one who
pusheshim on to fame and prestige.Ultimately,however,shemay
feelresentfulthat it isher husbandreceivingthe acclaimratherthan
herself,and consciously or unconsciously devisewaysof punishing
him for this. Likewise,eitheror both parentswith a stronglOth house
may displaceunfulfilled achievementand recognitionneedsonto
a child. Somechildren may co-operatewith the projection,while

L3.
THE ETEVENTI{HOUSE
In the heavenoflndra, thereissaidto bea nerworkofpearls,
so arranged,that if you look at one you seeall the others
reflectedin it'
A Hindu sutra
From being oblivious of being anybody,to winning recognition as
a somcbody:this hasbeen the route from the lsr houseto the 10th
house.But now that the egohasbeenfirmly establishedand duly
acknowledged,what happcns next?
At ia deepestlevel, the llth house(associatedwith the sign of
Aquariusand co-ruledby Sarurnand Uranus)represents the anempt
to go beyondour ego-identity and becomesomething greaterthan
what we alreadyarc. The main way of achievingthis is to identify
with something larger than the self - such as a circle of friends,
a group, a belief systemor an ideology.
Accordingto GeneralSystems Theory nothing canbe understood
in isolation but must be comprehendedas part of a system.The
componensof the sptem and their aruibutesareviewedasfuncdons
of the total system.The behaviourand expressionof eachvariable
influencesand is influencedby all the others.In what is known as
'high
a synergy'society,the goalsof the individual are in harmony
'low
with the needsof the systemasa whole. In a synergy'system,'
thc rndividuals,in fulfilling their own needs,do not necessarily act
for thc good of the wholc.' How we function as part of a system
is shown by the llth house.
In keeping with its dual rulership, the concept of group
consciousness implied by the llth canbe understoodin rwo distinct
ways.Saturnsecksgreatersecurityand a more solid senseof identity
'belonging-
ttrrough belonging to a group - what psychologistslabel
identification'.Being a member of a panicular group, whether it
THE ELEVENTHHOUSE
I ltfl
is a social,national,politicalor religiousgroup,enhances thc sense
'lb
of who we areand girasa feeling of saferyin numbers. someextent,
this is exploitive,iince the rest of the world is used in the service
of augminting or bolstering the identity. Eridence of this is most
clearl!seenin thosewho arebverlyconcernedwith havingthe.'right'
'right' places,and aligning the self
friends, being noticed in the
'right' beliefs.2The most negativeface of this Saturn
with the
undercurrenl of the llth manifestswhen a grouP is threatenedby
anothergroup - suchasblaclsmoving into a white area'orJungians
movinglnto-a predominantly Freudian neighbourlogdr -
The-Uranian-sideof the llth houserepresentsthe kind of group
consciousness which spirirual teachers,mysticsand visionariesfrom
all different culturesand times haverepeatedlyespoused.Instead
'me-in-here'versus'you-out-there'par{1igm or self-
of the typical
model,'theyspeakof the individual'sunity with all of life, that we
arepart of a gieatcrwhole, interconnectedwith thc restof creation.
Mirioring ttre mysticd perception of the unity of all life, recent
scientific- breakthroughl demonstrate the wcb of relationship
undcrlying cverythinf in the universe.For instance,David Bohm,
a British plysicist, thiorizes that the universemust be understood
'a
as singie undivided whole in which separateand indcpendent
pans haie no fundamental status'.3A thorough analysis9f thq
parallclsbetweenmodern physicsand Easternmysticismis f9u1d
inTbe Trc ofPltysicsby Fritjof Capra,an eminent researcher in high-
cnergyphysics.Someof the paraflclshe tecountsaresostriking-that
it is almbsrimposiblc to determinewhether cenain satemen6 about
the narure of life hauebeen made by modern scientistsor by Eastern
mvsdcs.'
 THE T'iTEIVE HOUSES
One recenttheoryproposedby a British plant physiologist,Rupcn
Shcldrake, ispanicularly rele\rantto the llth house.Sheldrakesuggess
the possibilityof invisibleorganizingfieldswhich regulatethe life
of a system.In 1920,Villiam McDougall of HarvardUniversitywas
studyinghow quickly ratslearnedto escape from^maze filled with
water: meanwhile.other researchers in Scotlandand Australia who
wererepeating theseexperimentsfound that their first generadon
of rats,bred from a different strainto the McDougdl rats,pcrformed
the taskwith the samedegrceofability asMcDougall'slastgeneration.
'picked
The skill wasin someway up on' by other ratseventhough
they were in another pan of the world. Such occurrenceshaveled
Sheldraketo theorizethat if one memberof a biologicd species learns
a new behaviour,the invisibleorganizingfield (morphogeneticfield)
for that specieschanges.The ratswho masteredthe task made it
possiblefor other ra$, manymilesaway,to do rhe same.5On some
deep lcvel, we are all linked together. Sheldrake'stheory is nicely
summed up in a remark oncemade by theJesuitpricst Piere Teilhard
de Chardin, born with MercuryJupiterand Saturnin the llth: A
truth once seen,even by a single mind, alwayscnds by imposing
itself on the totality of human consciousness.'6
lnTlte Aquarian Conspirrclt,Marilyn Rrgusonwrites,'Youcannot
understanda cell, a rat, a brain srructure,a family or a culrure if
you isolateit from its context." Similarly,Carl Rogers,one of the
foundersof humanisticpsychology, onceremarkedthat the deepcr
the individual delvesinro his or her own identity the more he or
shediscovers the wholehuman race.Our identity hasa much wider
membershipthan the 'skin-encapsulated ego'iscapableof admining.
In this light, the developmentofgroup consciousness asseenin rhe
llth houseis not solelyfor the purposeof aggrandizingor bolstering
the ego-identity.Rather,the awareness of being part of somcthing
largerenablesus to ffanscendthe limits and boundariesof individual
separateness and experienceourselvesasa cell in rhe larger body of
humanity.Out of this realizationgrowsa senseof brotherhoodand
sisterhoodwith the co-inhabitants of the planet far beyond the
obligatoryties of family, nation or church.
Syntropy- the tendencyof life-energyto moverowardsgrearer
association, communicadon,co-operationand awareness - is the
main principle upon which the llth house operates.Having
recognizedourselvesasseparateand distinct individuals there is the
call to reconnectwith everything from which we have previously
differentiated ourselves.Just asmatter organized itself into living
cells,and living cellsgatheredtogetherinto multi-cellularorganisms,
THE EI^EVENTHHOUSE
it may be that at somestagehuman beingswill integratc themsehas
into someform of globd super-organism.Evenon a Sarurnianlcrrcl,
the interdependenceand interconnectivityof life on the planet is
bccoming increasinglyobvious. Communications technology has
dramaticallyenhancedthe speedofglobd interaction and Marshall
'global
Mcluhan's conceptof the world asa village' is nearto being
an actuality.Multinational corporationsand conglomerateslink the
economiesof thc world inextricably togcther. The collapseof the
monetary systemof one country would havea disastrousrippling
effecton a host of others. Isoladonismand nationdism areno longer
practically viable. On another level, small groups, nerworls,
movementsand suppon systemsareproliferating all overthe wodd,
gatheringpeopletogetherto promote common causes.In shon, much
in the samewaythat our own body changesand develops,the larger
body of humanity is alsogrowing and cvolving. The way in which
wemight panicipate in and servethe evolution and progressof this
collectiveSelf is shown by placementsin the llth house.
In the 5th house,our energyis usedto distinguishourselvesfrom
others,and to augment the senseof our own individual worth and
specidness;in the llth, our energycan be investedin promoting
and fulfilling the identity, purposeand causeof anygroup to which
we belong - whether this is understood to be the whole human
raceor a particular segmentof it. In the lth, we do what we want
to do for our own sake.In the llth, we may chooseto relinquish
or compromisesomeof our preciouspersonalurges,inclinationsand
idiosyncraciesfor thc sakeof adhering to what the group decides
is best.
Socid consciousness is a keynoteofthe llttr. A society(10thhouse)
is structured on cenain lawsand principles (9th house).laws and
societyeasilybecomeboth crystallizedand turgid, and invariably
cenain elemcntsof societyarefavoured by the systemwhile others
areoppressed.Groupswhich feel neglectedor betrayedby the odsting
lawscan find a voice through the kinds of reformsassociatedwith
the llth house. Often, those with strong placementshere work
through humanitarian orpoliticd groupsto implement neededsocid
changes.However,it is just zrscommon to find otherswith an llth
houseemphasisjockeyingbackand fofth from one socialengagement
to the next - Ascotthis week,centrecoun at Wimblcdon the next,
and then a day at Henley's before going off to the opera at
Glyndebourne.
In somecases,placementsin the 1lth may signify the soruof groups
toqardswhich we gravitatc.br insance, Neprune could be interested
96 THE TITELVEHOUSES
in musicsocieties,spiritualistor psychicgroups;Uranuswith asuology
groupsi and Marswith the local rugby club. However,rather than
just describingthe type of group, it is more likely that signsand
planetsin the 1lth symbolizeour styleof behavingand interacting
in group situations.The Sunor ko theremay haveto be the leader,
dcriving a good propoftion of its worth and identity from group
involvement.Mercuryor Gemini in this housemight appearasthe
secretaryof the group or as one of its most cleverspokespeople.
Someonehasto makethe tea, and the Moon or Cancertheremay
be happy to providenot only theseservices but its home asa meeting
place as well. Funhermore,the llth house givesa senseof how
comfortablewe feel in group situations.Venusor Libra may blend
in easilyand makemanynewfriendsthrough joining a group. Saturn
or Capricornis more likely ro hold back in the group, and feel
awkwardor lumpish mixing with the others.OscarVilde, who rose
to the heightsof success in london's anisticand socialcircles,had
the Moon in lro in the llth. PaulJosephGoebbels,the official
propagandist of the Nazi party who controlled public
communicationsand rhe media, had Pluto conjunct Neptune in
Gemini in this house.
Friendshipclearlyfits into the llth houseidcd of becominggreater
than what we already are. People are linked together through
friendship,personalboundariesirc cxpanded,and both the nceds
and resourcesof others become interwoven with our own. \ile
introduce our friends to new ideasand interestsand, likewisc,we
are broadened by what they have to share.
Planetsand signsin the llth often describethe kinds of friends
to whom we gravitate.Forexample,a man with Marsin this house
may be attracted to those people who exhibit obvious Manian
qualities, such as dynamism, drivc and directness. However,
placementsin the llth may dso showthosequalitiesin ourselves
'dis-own',project
which wc ouflardly and meet externallythrough
friends. If the man with Marsin the llth hasnot developcdhis own
'Mars' 'get
side, and lacksthat cenain up and go', his friends will
then provide that energyfor him - they stimulate and push him
into action. He may evenpossess an uncanny ability to evokesuch
qualitiesin his closeassociates, who in most other situationsand
with other people might be normally more placid and withdrawn.
The llth housealsosuggeststhe way in which we make friends.
Marscould rush impulsivclyinto fricndship,while Saturnis more
awkward,shyor cautiousin this respect.How we behaveand what
energieswe awakenin friendship is alsoshown by placementshere.
THEELEVENTH
HOUSE 97
Venusmay make friends easily,but prefers to keep things light
(althoughshemay expectfriendsto 'live up to' ratherhigh ideals).
Pluto suggestsintense and complicated associarionswhich
significantlytransformusor in which issuesof betrayal,intrigue and
treacherycome into play.
In the llth house,thereis the desircto transcendor movebeyond
existingimagesand models of ourselves.!7e yearnfor a more ideal
selfor a more utopian society. Therefore, this areaof the chan has
beenlabelledthe houseof hopes,goals,wishesand objectivcs.The
desireto becomesomethinggreaterthan we aremust be accompanied
by the capacityto envisionnewand different posibilities. Morethan
anyother species,the largehuman brain and evolvedcerebralcomor
endowshuman beingswith the capacityto imagine a wide range
of alternatives,choicesand outcomes.The manner in which we
envisionpossibilitiesand proceedtoward realizingthesehopesand
wishesis shownby placementsin the llth. Forinstance,Sarurnrhere
may havedfficulry in forming positiveimagesof the future or may
encounter blocks, delays or obstructions on the way to finally
grounding its goalsand objectives.Marssetsa goal and rushesafter
it, while Neptune may be confusedabout what it really wanrsor
merely fantasizesand daydrcamsabour unrealistic aims. In rhis
context, it is helpful to remember that the more clearly we can
imagine a possibiliry,the closer we bring it to actualization.
Encouragingpositivevisionsof the future aidsthe proces of moving
in a more positive direction.
Evolution pushestovrardsgreaterand greaterlevelsofcomplority,
organizationand connectivity.In the first air house(rhe 3rd) vrcgain
the ability *rough languageto distinguishsubjectfrom object.Our
own mind is developedas we relate to others in the immediate
environment. In the secondair house (the 7th) we grow through
the close encounter of our own awarenesswith another person's
awareness. Subjectand object, differentiatcd in the 3rd, meet face
to facein the 7th. In the last air house(the llth) our individual minds
are connectednot just to the minds of thosecloseto us bur to all
othcr minds. Eleventhhouseplanerssensitizea personto the ideas
and thoughrs circuladng on rhe level of the group-mind. It is not
such an unusual phenomenon for somebody in San Franciscq
somebodyin london, and anotherpersoninJapan ro 'flash' on rhe
samebright newidea independendyof one anotherwithin a relatirrly
closespan of time. In the 1lth, we discoverour relatednessnor just
to our family, friends,countryor lorrd ones,but to the wholehuman
race.

.ii]
li
14.
TI{E TWETFTHHOUSE
If the doorsof perceptionwerecleansed, would
errerything
il
appearto man asit is' infinite'
v'liam Brake
Commencingwith the lst housc,growthhasentaileddistinguishing
til ourselvesfrom the unbounded and universalmatrix of life out of
which we first emerged.Howevet,aswe have seenin the llth, the
distinction berween ourselvesand others is chdlenged by the
ii
understandingthat eachpan of a rystemisrelatedand interconnected
with the other paru. Mysticsand scientistsalike tell us that we are
not so sepdate after all. Who we are is influenced by others, and
others are influenced by who we aJe.Our minds are linked and
il
directly affectedSone another.The notion thatwe orist asanisolated
entity is quickly losing ground to a more collectiveor broadersense
of sclf. In the 12th housc, the rwin processes of the dissolution of
the individud ego and the merging wirh something greaterthan
the self is felt and o<perienced,not via the mind or intellect as in
the llth, but with our hean and soul. Or as Christopher Fry puts
'The
it, human heaft can go to the lengths of God.'
The poet \Talter de la Mare writesthat bur dreamsaretalestold
in a dim Eden.'On is most underlying lercl, the 12thhouse,naturally
associatedwith watery Piscesand the planet Neptune, represents
rhe urge for dissolution which cxists in each of us - the yeaming
i
to rcturn to the undiftrentiated uaten of the comb, to the otiginal
stateof unity. Freud,Jung, Piaget, Klcin and a host ofother modem
psychologistsagreethat the infant's first strucnrre of consciousnes
is pre-subjcct/object,ignorant of boundaries,spaceand time. Early
memoriescut the most deeply.On rcme deep lerrcl,aneryindividud
intuits that his or her innermost nanrre is unbounded. infinitc and
etemd. Thc redirorrcry of this wholenes is our greatestnecd end
I
I
THE T!TEI,.FTI{HOUSE 99
tZttr
went. From e rcductionist pqrchology- perspectirre,the desireto
reconncrtwith the lostscnscof origind wholeness canbc understmd
asa regressionbackto the pre-binh state;but in spiritual teffns,
thissameurgeuanslatesinto e mptical longingfor union with our
soruceand e direct otpcrienceof being pan of somethinggreater
then ourselves.It is a kind of divine homesicknes.t
In oncreqpcct, thc proqpcctof a renrmto that statesoundsblisfirl,
ccstaticandserenelypeaceful.And ytt, somethingelsein us- the
ego'sdesireto preseneitsclfandthc ftar of is ovmdemise- contends
wittr this longing. Thc egohasfought hardto win a sliceof lifc for
itself:whyshouldit relinquishthis?In thc glyph of Pisces,the sign
ascietod with thc l2th house,tc,ofishessf im in oppositedirections.
Human b.i"gF are fucd with e fundamentd dilemma,with two
contrastingpuUs.fach personuantsto losea senseof isoladonand
tnnscendhis or her individud seParateness and yct eachpersonis
terrified of disintcgrationand&cads thc los of the separatgself.2
This aistendd double bind - wantingwholeness and yetfcaring
and rcsistingit - is thc major predicamentof the l2th house.
Because thedissolutionof theego-identiryissofrightening,people
sceksubstitutegratificationsin an attemPtto satiS the yearning
for sclf-transcendence. One strategyfor reconnectingto unity is
'If
through sor and lorc: I am lorrcd,held or included, thcn I go
bqpnl my scpafirteness.' Anothcr ploy to rcgain a lost senseof
omnipotenceand omniprescnceis through wielding porrcr and
prestigc 'If I canortend my tcrritory of influenceorrcrmore and
more things, then the restof lifc is connectedto me.' Immcrsion
in dcohol or drugpis anothcr*zy to breakdwn boundariesand
rlll
IOO THET\TETVE
HOUSES
i rigidities. suicidal urgesand variousother forms of self-destructive
behaviour often cloak the dcsire to rerurn ro a more blissful state
of non-differentiated being. others '.ek tranrendence more directlv
llil through meditarion, prayerand devotion to God. The l2th housc
may raisc any of theseissues.
Hoycvel it is approached,the l2th housede-srrucures',engulfs,
i .
absorbsor inflatesindividual identity. Irtting go of the 'me-in-icrei
versus'you-out-there' paradigm meansthat the borders berween
ourselvesand others become blurred. For this reason, a sffong
emphasison this housecanindicatepeoplewho hara greatdifiicult!
in forming clearlydefined identitiei. They ar. *y.1 by whatevei
they arearound, or whoeverthey makeconracrwith. others diston
il their pcrsonalidentitiesdramaticdly out of proponion. Ratherthan
sacrificethe ego ro merge with somethingn'minous and divine,
trill a personmay rry to imbue the egoitself with rhosequalities.Instead
of secking to_reconnectto God, the persontries ro play God - a
form of inflation related to whai Abraham Masiow called
'
lll
higher-sidetracking'.
Along with thc l2th houseconfusionabout who we areoften comes
a lack of a.nyconcretedircction in life. On some level, there may
i be th.efceling that sinceevcrything is all the sameanlnley,whatt
the difference?As soonasa dear identiry isdisdnguishcdbt rt .n r.
rii is imposed_onthe life,something happenswhiih pulls the" rugfrom
under rhe feet and nebulousnes reignssupremiagain. As i,on as
i the individual thinks he or shchas.aptured somethlg upon which
itlr
to hang the senseof 'I', it mysteriouslyslipsavay ot diipiears. The
capacityto hold things togetheror funhlr thcir own pirsonal ends
is somehorvsubservienrto a much greaterdissolvingpd€r orrcrwhich
there is little contiol.
The obscuring of boundariesberweenthe self and othcrs may
11ri
createconfusion about_wherewe begin and other people end, bui
it dso confersa greaterdegreeof empathy and compassionfor thosc
with whom we sharethe Eanh. So-overwhelmedby the suffering
around them, somepcople with a-strongl2th housewill seekan!
m3ary of gscapingor withdrawing from tlrc world altogether.Othen
who feel the pain 'out rhere' asthiir own will naturalliwork in some
l. way-to_relieve that pain. 1b rnrying degrees,the tzth housedescribcs
||l
iiii
the helper, 'fixer',rescuer,martyr or siviour who ,takeson' the needs
and causesofothers.
The original meaning of the word sacrificeis ,to make sacred'.
Somethingwasmade sacredby offering it to the godsor the higher
iiiil forces.Rippling through all the lcveh Jfmeaninfof the tzth iirhe
ril11
THETVELFTHHOUSE IOI
suppositionthat the individual is redeemedthrough self-sacrifice,
through offering the self up to somethinggreater.This is true in
sofar aswemust, to someextent,let go of a senseof an autonomous
and separateself to mergewith the all-embracingwhole. While
sacrificeand sufferingoften serveto soften the ego and give rise to
greaterempathyand spiritualawareness, the valueof pain and the
'l
natureof sacrificeare too easilydistortedinto haveto sufferto
find God' or Anything that might constitutepersonalsatisfaction
must be givenup.' Howwer,perhapsit is not thingsthemselves which
must be sacrificed,but ratherour attacblneflt to them. 1b the degree
thar we derive our identity or fulfilment from such things as
relationships,possessions, ideologiesor beliefsystems,welosetouch
with our deeperand most basicunbounded nature.
Somepeoplemay evenmanageto acquircor achievetheir llth
housedreamsand wishesonly to discover, in the 12th,that theystill
feelcheatedof a morecompletehappiness.\(rhat theythought would
givethem ultimate satisfactionjust wasn'tenough,or didn't turn
'Quod
out to be everything.The Romanshad a saying hoc ad
'What
aeternitatem?'meaning is this comparedwith eternitv?'
Similarly,the 12th houseis a constantreminderthat all joyslong
for infinity.
'liaditionally,
the 12thhouse(alongwith the other waterhouses
- the 4th and the 8th) revealspatterns, drirrcs,urges
which operatefrom below the level of consciousawareness
and compulsions
and yet
significantlyinfluenceour choices,attitudesand directionsin life.
Storedin our unconscious memory pa$ experiences colourthe way
we seeand meet the world. But from how far back do thesepast
influencesstem?
In somecases, planetsand signsin the l2th may relateto what
psychologistscall 'the umbilical ef[ect'.According to this concept,
the developingembryo is receptivenot just to physicalsubstances
which rhe mother ingests, but is also affected by her overall
psychologicalstateduring-the gestationperiod. Her attitudes and
experiences areransmitted through the umbilical connectionto the
'passed
foetus in the womb. The nature of what is on' to thc child
in this way is shown by placementsin the 12th. If Pluto is there,
the mother might have endured a traumatic time during the
pregnancy.The child is then born with a senseof the dangerof life
and a nagging apprehensionthat doom is only around the corner.
There is no consciousmemory of thc sourceof this attitude: only
a rague feeling that this is what life is about. Forexample, I recently
came acrossthe caseof a pregnant mother who wasdiagnosedas
 TTIETWEIVEHOUSES THE TWELFTHHOUSE
I
laving.a brain tumour. Her babydaughter*zs bom with pluto in rhecollectiveunconscious:the endre memory of the whole human
'the prccondition
the 12th and the mother died shonly after her binh. race.Jung defined the collectiveunconsciousas
\U7har about funher back than the womb?Manyasrologenreftr of eaitr inlividud psyche,just asthc scais the carrierof thc individud
the 12th
to the 12thasasthe 'house
the 'house lzrrna'. Reincamationisr
of lzrna'. Reincamationisrbefs'e that wave'.3In someway,asshownby the 12thhouse,eachof usis linked
the immond human soulis on a journcyof perfection-i r.* to the past,carryingrecordsof experiencesfar bcyondwhat we havc
to irs sourcethat cannot be accomplishedin one shon liftspan.
-personallyknown.
Definite laws, rather rhan chancl, operareto determine^the Besidesthe residueof the past,hovrever,the collecti'rcunconscious
circumstances of erarylifetimeor eachsiageof the sojourn.with isdrc the storehouseof latent potentids waiting to be tapped. Colin
eachnew incarnadon,we bring with us tfre har'esr 'the
!(ilson writes that unconsciousmind may includc all man'spast
from pro'io's liras,aswellaslatint capaciries "i*p;ri.;;; t
awairing derclopment. but it dso includes his fururel The unconsciousmind is more than
causesserin motion in prior odstences affecr what-we -..i in th. just a reserroirof represed or buricd thougha, impulscs an{ wishel
presenrone.Thercul chooses a cenaintime to bebornbecause thc - it isalsothe sourceof 'potentiditiesfor knm'ing and operiencing'
asrrologicdpaftemfits the oqxriencesneededfor the presenr$age which the individual hasyet to contact.5The 12th house' in othcr
o{Browth.In this sense, theentircchandepictsou,Ao*ro boih words, containsour future aswell .rsour Past.
what hasaccruedasa resuhof pastactions-andalrc what we need Somcpcoplc with 12th houscplacementsserveasthe mcdiators
to.avakento proceedfunher.Morespecift"lly,the r2th housesho*s and transmittersof universd, mythic and archetypalimagess'wirling
yl"l ate bringing over'from rhe pastwhich will operarcthis about on the leral of the colleaira unconscious.1b %rying dcgrees,
""
lifetime on either rhe debir or creditiide of ou, cenain artists,writers, comPosersr actors,religiousleaders,healers,
Difficuh placemen$in the 12th may indicare old 'trouble
"..ouirt. mptics and modern-day piophea tap into this realm and become
spots' 'tuned into'.
andenergieswhichc/emisusedin earliir li'es and sdll need to llcarn the vehiclesfor inspiring otherswith what thcy have
to handle-wisely in this Fo.siti'eplacements in rhis house suggest They touch the appropriate chord which then resonates with
9y.
ingrainedgyalitiesyhich will senrcusadmntageousty this riftifine something insidc us, and we are able to share thcir orprcrience'
asa resultof 'work' doneon them in thepast.nehtirrcio *ris theory Numeroui oramplesof chaftswith 12th houseplacementsillusffate
someastrologers labelthe l2th thc houseof'self-sustainm.ttt o, t li- this phenomenon: the comPoserClaude D9b9sy with sensuous
undoing'. Forinstance,if Marsor Aries is there, it could bc thar Venus in ko in the 12th; tUfliUiamBlakc with the imaginative and
selfishnes, impulsirrcncs, or rashnes has bcen a problcm in th; fteling Moon in C:ncer in this housc;the poet Byron whoseopansira
ppt agd a continuadon of such behaviour -"y bi rhe causeof a and playful use of word, rhyme and form invigorated,the whole
'don'nfall'
in this lift. on theotherhand,aurcll-aspected tzth house Rom-anticmo\€ment hadJupiter in Gcmini in the 12th; and the
Mars-suggesa that positive Mars qudities such ario,rrag., strenqth visionaryPierreTeilhard de Chardin with the Sun, Neptung, Vequs,
and fonhrightnessha'e already been lcamed and wilisustain ihe Pluto and thc Moon all in the 12th, are just a few casesin point.
l
natirrcthrough d4ql. times, coming ro the fore just when they It is asif energiesin thc 12th housc are not intended to be used
aremo$ needed.rWithmixedaspec$to placements in thc l2th, solelyfor personalends.lVe may be askcdto o(Pressthat principle
the effectof tl,ratplanel _orenergysomehowhangsin thc balance, for tLe sakeof others, not iust for ourselrts. For instance,if Man
p if.*q arebeing.testedfor howwehandlethat piinciple. If *c use is there we may take on the role of fighting a battle or causefot other
ig wSly be rccruded;if wc run amock-withthe planct or people.In thij sense,wegiveour Marsaway,or bffer it-up' to others.
sig_n_in ",.411
question,-rhe consequences atelikely to be serrcre. Mercury in the 12th may speakother people'sthoughts or servcas
r$(/hetherwe reftr to 'the
umbilical eftct' orio thc theoryof karma a spokespersonfor others.
and reincamation,placements in thc l2th describcinfluenceswhich Somepeople, through 12thhouseplacements,lead what might
harrecomedwn to from crusesand sourceswhich we cannot
us 'sy-Uoti. lives'.Their individual life issuesrcflect rends
be called
obviously lcmeqrber or see.Through the mtery 4th we i"h.tii ot or dilemmas in thc collectiveatmosphere.For orample, Mahatma
rctain rrcsdge.s of our ancestrdpast.In the l2th, it is posible thet Gandhi, with the Sun in Libra in the 12th, became the living
wr arcreceptirre to ancrtn largerpoolor mcmory- whitJung c2[ed cmbodiment of a Libnn principle of pcacefulco-oristencefor millions
 IO4 THETWETVE
HOUSES
of people. Uranus in the 12th houseof Hirler's chan renderedhim
orceptionallyopen to ideologieswhich may have been in the air at
that dme. Bob Dylan has Sagimariuson the 12th housecusp an<i
is rulerJupiter in the ith, the areaof the chan related ro creative
orpresion. Through his music he was both the mouthpiece and
inspiration for many of the trends of the 1960scounter-culture.A
blackwomanwith Uranusin Cancerin the 12thwasborn and raiscd
in a pan of England where rhere were hardly any non-whites. In
having to integrateherselfinto the life of the townshe wasnot onrv
dealing with her own personaldilemma but fighdng the causeoi
many other black people as well.
The 12thhousehasbecn calledthe houseof 'secretenemies'and
'behind
rhe scenesactivity'. This could bc taken literally to mean
people who plot or-conspireagainstus. However,it is more likcly
to penain to hidden weaknessesor forces in ourselveswhich
undermine the realizationof our consciousgoalsand objectirres.In
brid, unconsciousdrivcsand compu.lsionsassho*n by the izth ho,se
placementscan thwart the achievementof our consciousaims. br
instance,if a man hasthe Moon and Venusin the 7th house,there
is -a strong urge to be close to another person in an intimate
relationship.Burif this man alsohasUranusin the 12th,it suggesa
that unconsciously there may be such a suong desire for frellom
and independencethat he will somehowsaboage any amempt ro
form binding ties. Generdly, in any contest bctwein conscious-aims
and unconsciousaims, it is usudly the unconsciouswhich wins. In
this casc,-hemay habirudly be attractedonly to thosewomen who
are not free to marry or who, for rcme reason, do not wish to
reciprocatehis adrances.In this way,the unconsciouscompulsion
to remain independent (uranus in rhc 12th) is vicroriouso'er thc
more consciousneeds.If we are consciousof urgesin ourselves,we
can do something to regulate and dter thesc if we so wish. If we
ate unconsciousof cenain patterns or drircs, thesehave a way of
dominadng and conmolling us. \tr(/harwe are unconsciousoi in
ourselrashasa knack of coming up from behind and hitting usover
thehcad. Therefore,if no matieihow hard vrc rry somec6nscious
god is condnudly blockcd, we might oamine the l2th housefor
clues why.
The linking of the l2th housewith instirutions makessensein
the light of the rarious connotations of this house discused so far.
Thc 12th shmn what is hidden just
or in the background ashospitals
'stored
1nd prisonsare,itr p"n, placeswherecenaln people are iwey'
from society.Thoscwith difficult placementsin the l2th may track'
TFIE TWELFTHHOUSE IO'
under the *rain of life or fdl prey to powerful unconsciouscomplores
which erupt ro the surface,resulting in the need to bc looked after
'put
and contained. Others are away' becausethey are considered
dangeroustothe well-being of society.In anyof thesecases,the will
of a higher authoriry is forced on them, congruent with the 12th
houseprinciple of the individual submitting to something greater
than the self. Hospitdization or a pcriod of withdrawal from life
may be neededto re-establishpsychologicaland physicalbalance,
thus making a personultole again- another 12th houseprinciplc.
Experiencesin orphanages,hospicesand homesfor thc disablcd also
appear via the l2th.
It is not uncommon to find people with placementsin this house
working within suchinstitutions. Servingothersles fonunate than
the self is the pracdcaloeresion of compassionand empathywhich
the 12th houseconftrs. Thc Church, rariouscharities,or the monasdc
life will be other sphcreswhich absorbthe personwho feelsit is his
or her calling to sacrificeor dedicatethe life to God or the welfare
'bad
of others. Rcincarnationistsbelievethat past karma' can be
cleared through goodwill and serviceof this kind.
fu alreadymentioned, thc 12th housegivesaccesto the collective
archirre of aperience passed on generation after generation.
Therefore,it is not surprisingthat the keepersof this storehouse-
thosewho work for museumsand libraries- often hara 12thhouse
placements.
It would not be appropriate to discus the l2th house without
mcntioning again the researchdonc by Michel and FranEoisc
Gauquelin.6 They analysedthe careersof succesful sponspeople
and found a corelation with Mars in the 12th housesectorof the
dran. Similarly,rienti*s and physicianstended to harrcSatum there,
writen the Moon, and aconJupiter. Basedon their snrdies,it appears
that planets in the l2th (and to somecxtent the 9th, 6th and 3rd)
significantly determine the characterand professionof the natirc.
This surprisedmany astrologerswho assumedthat placementsin
the lst or 10th housesshould be strongerin this respect.
Howerrcr, are their findings so strange in thc light of what we
'give
understand thc 12th houseto be? If there is an urge to auray'
whateveris in the 12thto other people, then it follonrsthat we could
make a careerout of the principles there. Also, if the 12th house
indicates energiesin the collectivc atmosphere to which w€ are
sensitirc, then it is likely that our characterand o<presion will reflect
thesc.Sporupcople capturethe collectirr urge to competeand be
first (Mars);writerstune into the collcctiraimagination (Moon) and
 THE TWELVEHOUSES TFIETWEI.FTHHOUSE
scientistsservethe collectiveneed to classifrand structure(Saturn). unbounded. Uldmately, the uick is to swim in the cretersof the 12th
Sincethe 12threlatesto reconnectingwith somethingnuminous housewithout dtowning in it.
and divine, an individual may experiencea planet there asthe key 'we
emergcout of the-universalmatrix of life, establishourselrrcs
or path to greatnes and self-ranscendence.Naurally, he or sheqould asindividuil entities, and then find that after all w€are redly one
want to developit. On somelevel, they may belicrrcthat the doors with all creadon.\urhether our connecrionwith the greaterwhole
to heaven are opened through orcelling at whaterrcrptinciple is in is consciouslyorperienced or not through the 12th house, it is
the 12th. The deep longing for wholenes and immondity which inevitable that oir phpical bodieswill die and disintegrate Ybtl
existsin all of us is the enticement which modrates achierament the body dies, so dbesthe senseof our having a seParatephysical
through 12th house planets. eristence.one way or another, we return to the collectiveground
For some people, e.L2th house emphasisconuibutes to the lack out ofwhich wehavecome.vhat wastherein the beginningis there
of a clear identity nebulousnes, directionles lirres,victimization, at the end. V'e arrive back at the Ascendantto begin again on a
the orperience of being overwhelmed by unconscious drircs or new lerrclof the spird.
undercurrenm at loose in the atmosphere, and a distoned senseof
the value of suffering and self-sacrifice.On thc other hand, the 12th
houseconceptof zurendering the senscof being a separatedfgirres
rise to true empathy and compassion, selfles service, anistic
inspiration, and ultimately the capacityto merge with the grcrter
whole.
In the lkh house,we theorizeon the unity and interconncrtednes
of all life. It is acknowledgedin principle. In the 12th, the mystery
of our onenesswith the rest of creation is pcrceirrcd dircctly with
errcrycell of the body. All of o<istenceis felt aspan of ounelves, just
asportions of our body are pan of us. \7ith such an awarenes, it
would be asdifiicult to heedlesslyharm another personasit would
be to cut offone of our fingers. Conrrcrsely, what we felt servedour
own individud well-being would inrnariablyserrr the good of the
whole.
An old story illustrates the positirc side to the 12th housc. A man
is allocrcdto visit Hearcn and Hell. In Hell, he seesa largegathering
of peoplc sitting around a long table set with rich and delectable
food. And yet these peoplc are miserableand starving. He soon
discoversthat the reiuon for their dreadful state is that the spoons
and forksprovided for them arelongerthan their arms.As a result,
they areunable to bring the food to their mouths and fted themsclrres.
Then the man is shown Heaven. He finds the sametable set out
there, with the same extra-long eating utensils. But, in Hearrcn,
insteadof just trying to feed their own selrrcs,eachpersonuseshis
or her spoonand fork to feedonc another.They aredl well-fedand
h"PPy.
While notfully losing our own personalidentity or scnseof out
own unique individuality, we need to orperience, acknwledge,
honour, and connect to, that pan of us which is unirrcrsaland
ilI
i
and lower
ffi;;;
il;;.:;;oi"r,
(ilr.,

GROI.JPINGTI{E HOUSES
(nonhern) hemispheres'The houseswhich fdl below
rlAi-
the
most-directly.concernedwith the
"rJ and stp"t^it idtntitv andthe basic
iniiua"d
requirements p.*on Theseareknon'nasthe
rli "ililo.ttftift'
PersonalHoases.
.- "
focuson
{1r. fro"reswhichareabovethe horizon(houses7-12)
the interconnection oi,nl individualwith others:on an intimate
to
L5. ;;;_;". level,in t.rm, of *.iety asa whole,and in relation
il;;i;;;"tio". Ttt.tt areknown astheCollectiacHotses(see
GROUPINGTTIEHOUSES Fieure
""Th. 5). the line of the horizoncutting-
of rhc meridiancrosses
"*1, in half' #;;l'ilg
thehorizon anotherdivisionof thewheelof
i-fr. fto"t.t, theFour Qaidrants(seeFigure6)'
Searchformeasurable elementsamongyourphenomena and
then searchfor relationsberweenthesemeasurcs.
SOUTH
Alfred Nonh Vhitehcad
(Scienceand the Modetz lYorld)
The twelvehousescan be subdividcd and classifiedunder different
headings.A knwledge of thescgroupingsenrichesan undcrstanding
of the meaning of eachhouseand the way in which one houseor EAST
WEST
sphereof life relatesto another.
Hemisphercs and Quadrants
Thc line of the horizon divides the chan inro the upper (southern)
SOUTH
/\
COLLECTIVE
HOUSES\
Fig.6
//\
Aotses 7-12 to takcshape
FAST WEST In Qaadranr/ (houses1-3) the individualbeeins
asa distinctentity.A t;;J"f ; t6;t identityformsthroughthe
PER.SOIVAL
HOUSgS ;'ff'-t;;;i;;;"it'rrtit'r'"*;t:b"dvand'subsnn"^(?ldhouse)
matrix of life'
Houscs l-6 ;J;i;d 6rd house)-outof the unirrcrsal funherorpresion
ln Oadrantll(houscs 4-6) growthinrolvesthe
''-----' *,;';ffi ;;;;;il;Jlftr-Jn"riat.dself.tnthc4thhousc,_shaped
theindividud
NORTH il;;il;it f".kg-;e*J -i.r,ta inheritance,
mouldsa rnote.og.ni-r.*i oi r,it or her own idcntity.\(iith this
.I'
;;?, ;ir; itselfoumardly
to o(press
seels in the
;; ilffid
Fq.5 andpcrftctirspanicular
1thhousc,anotnennrni.itp*iry, fine-^nrne
rllllll
IIO THETIUTETVE.HOUSES GROUPINGTI{E HOUSES
is describedby
nature, skills and capabilities(6th housc). other, but many others. A person'srole in socicty
are explorecl
In Quadranr 11l(houscs7-9) the individual expandsawareness the 10th house,rarious forms of group consclousness -.\is ortrer
through relationship with orher people. In the 7th house,thcre is r" ,h.-il h, and an individual's-spiritualidentiry
of the selt -
the closeencounterhtween one lrrson's reality and anotherperson's relationshipto rhat which is greaterand yet inclusive
redity. The 8th housedepica the breakingdown of the individud 12th.
"is orplored in the
ego-identity through the processof merging with another. The Vhifilgro"pi"g of the housesby.quadranmmakessensein
subsequentbroadening, reauakening,and re-visioningof the self .;;;?rillSgical biundaries createdbythe crossof the horizon
is shown by the 9th housc. iJil. -.iiJL, i isposibleto subdividethewheelin yetanother
In QtdrantlZ{houscs 10-12)the main concemis the oganding ;; G; it*ie r1.-rt.i tn houses 1-4,theindividualisbornandbecomes
or transcendingof the boundariesof the selfto include not just oni ;;t;t;iilt' Ji o*n existence'bodv,mind' backgroundand
'me-in-here'.Houses
i;;iiilr. lhis phaseestablishes a senseof the
and sharethe-autonomous selfwith
l-iJlpi.. thi urge,o op,.tt
.r(^s&
'you-out-therc'.ln houses9-12the task
ott.is,',mi.-in-h;' -..L
i, i",.**ion, nor justwith'afewothers,but with society-at-large
ffi;?;;;;;l, *ti.r. we area paft: the devclopmenr.of
"r*,ich
tJ'Jt-ii-n.r.; ,.Ai,v. In thisclassification, eachphasebeginswith
mdrcaung
thc soarkandinoiration of a fieryhousc(lst' 5th and9th)
,h; L'*h il; n'.* l.,ol of being;andeachphaseendswith awatery
PHASE Itr t "
li,n, eth and tzth) desciibing the disolution' assimilation
""r.transitionwhich leadsto the no<tstage'
and
Houses9-lz Ancular. Sucdcnt and Cadent
PHASEII T#h;r;;;aditionally to whethertheyare
according
classificd
angular,succedent or cadent'
Housess-B Angulat Houscs(Figuret)
, theAngalarHo.uses erethe
In Ouadrantryr,.-, of housc-division
PHA5E
T onei*hi.h fofiowimmediatclyupontherog alstll the
lstnogs3
bcsinswith thc Ascendant, the4th housewtth thelu' tne /tn wltn
Housesl-4 .h$;;;;;; ;i,h. tbth with the MC' In the naturalzodiac'
,ft. tg"ft housescorrespond to thecardindsigl:f {i::!:.Rtl:F
and
eouinox),Cancer(summirsolstite;'I ibra(autumnalcquinox)
andrelease new
Lloli."li t*i"r.,,.lstice). cardinalsignsg€nerate
iililtt",tt
;rJ;.'#;.-;; -g.,i"tt'ot'* spurusintoacdonandrcprescnt
ffi J1iii *tfi .tt harrca strongimpacton our individualitv:
o.rro*fia.ntitv(rsthouse),thehomc-andfamilybackground(4th
il;).
-Th;;ic*;;;t ielationships(7th) and career(lfth)'
of the cardindcros figuratiralysquareor oPPose one
anothcr.-Likewisc, the four angularhogsesrePresent.toursPneres
other' nn
of lift which are potcntially in cgn{llct wrth each
F'ry.7 il;;dt"; ,f,; f."a"*1 Td.di!r"-as presenred bl_,*.
of posible
ai[i.* -g,if","f fr",rl *iU hclpin theinterpreiadon
 I
Irt
THE TVETVE HOUSES GROUPINGTHE HOUSES
will versuslove:how much
rwo housesgivesthe classicdilemma of
how much do we adjustto
do we assenour own ,rrJiuid""tity and
adiust too
*i"r-*fr.tr need or r.q,rire. There is a fear that if we
ld€ntlty; but conversely'if we
much, then we loseour own seParate us'
;;;;;;'df-.entred and demanding' then otherswon't love
i Tlte 4th-tOtb oPPosition
Here. one oossible.o.rfli., is bctween staying
p"iiiip",-g
familv in
in the family unit (4th) versus-being
at home and
awayfrom the
order ro esnblisira carcer(1fth). The man
immersedtn
#..i;il;;tbti#t d*'not h"utihetimeto bewiththefamilv'
of life ' The woman
or sDaremorncntsto r.flttt on the deepermeaning
-,it-*p""fr* q*t" theserwohouses mavbetornbetween
thedesire for. prot r.io"'iilL; 'ott *tft ormother'Thechild-
"' " behaviour expected
in-us (4th) .o,rld .o.,iiit*itf' tnt'adult-like'
cannot
;; ;;"i;:it.;l [fe (10th). The businessman'for instance'
a ctientif the dealrhreatensto collapse
I l.t#;;,;;;-;
-" the last mornent'
at
iri ri".l
"i
ilr;itconditioning (4th) influenceshow wefunction laterin
as a child that we feel
society(10th). ff"u. *t Bttn so dcnigrated
the reiectedchild who
we have nothing to off.i'otitty?.Or itt *t
makea mark on the world? Have
ANCULAR. HOUSES i;;.;;i";d
il:;;;Goil.d
tJrho*-'ittttn'
""a
piotected bv-oyr parentsthat we lack the
at dl ?Thcse
J. t-.8.:.""r,i; ;nture out of tht familv home
Activatlry t Gewrar;Lng-
Enr;rgg ;tip;;;,
isues may ar$ert,n.t. oppttitions berweenplanetsin the 4th
"tt
and toth houses.
Fio.8t Tbe lst-4tb rqaare
(lst)' but t9
squaresand opposidons plenets may make to one anothet if pleced Ve arebom scparateand unique individuals *i:*fl,:'
individualitv?
ourbudding
h";Jrir. tarrtJ*pptnorquash
in rhese houses.r ;;;; rnl'eorn tne
ia; up thechanof a vgung.rnl"yh9hadJupttcr
naturdspontanelty
Tbc lst-7tb opposiion i" tqttia to Neptunein Scorlioin the4th' His
andrestricted
Somedegreeofpcrsonal identity and fuom (lst)must besacrificed andenthusiasm$"pii.ii" thti"ltt4 to becontaincd
to funcrion in a relationship (7th). An opposition between these soasnot ro disrurb r",r,cr(Neptunein the4th)' \0e might
"r "in-"g to smv
-i fttt (lst), but.regresive.urges
itk ;; t;Jif.na.n,
t A squareis a 90 degreeanglebctwecnt*o planes; the oppcition is a withwhatissecureandalreadyknowninhibitus(4th).
180dcgrceanglc.A planet in thc lst may or m.y not opposca planct in
thc 7th. Hovcrrer.if thcy arein opposition,tensionariscsbctyiecnthcsc The4tb-lth sqa*re likelihood
o*o iueasof lift. Ewn if they do not form an oppositionaspcct,thc pull Vith squarcs berweenthe 4th and7th houses'thereisa
of,onchouscandthc pull of thcoppcitc trorc corld still prescntaproblcrn ;il,:ffi;""n."rt.a busines'arounda parent(usuallythe
Thc semeeppliesto planetsin thoschouseswhic-h,figuntirrcly spcafing
fathcr)onto a p""".L
p*ttins establishcdelly in life (4th) often
et least,squaleone enother.
obscureour ability io ;;;;htt peopleclearly(zth;' Problemsin
 II4 THETWETVE
HOUSES
establishinga home (4th) with a panner (7th) could ariseif planes
in thesehousessquareone another.The capacityto be objectiraand
fair with others is interfcred with becauseof childish needs and
complexes.
Tbe Ttlt-tOth rqilare
Conflictscould surhce betweencareer(10th)and relationship(7th).
If we are so busypursuing a career,w€may haveles time for close
pannerships.Our amractiveness to a panner (7th) may be contingent
on our statusin the world (10th). Or a panner may be sought who
ti enhancesone'ssocid standing. Isues with our morher caninterfere
with seeing a panner clearly.
Tbe 1st-10tb tqaare
Sclf-disciplineis neededto forge a career(10rh) and this inrnriably
limits our personal freedom and spontaneity (lst). \flhat sociery Fig.9SUCCEDENT HoU5E5
approvesof and ralidates (lOth) may imposc restrictionson what
Stabttt:rttlSu ConcretizlngWry
we arenaturdly inclined to do (lst). Somethingthe mother represents
(10th) may inhibit the orpresion of the lst houseplanet. One man
with Venusin Iro in the lst squaredto rhe Moon in Taurusin the in conflict with eachothcr'
10th wanted to be an anist (Venusin Iro in the lst) but his mother spheresof tift which are Potentially
insistedthat he choosea more practical carecr(Moon in Taurusin
the 10th). Often, we are labelled solelyby what we do in rhe world 'tii;;I,kK"#i"';natoneP'g,"ryY11.'.11'd^*trffi
Tbc znd-Atb oPPosition
(10th) rather than by other qudities we might possess(lst). Cbntlrctslrlscucrw'ssuw"rvr'v prcrrrrcs and
dear' Tht. ?n9 housc
Pcnxln holds
;H.ffiH;#.t; ;'ilh";""" uTq1* :::*'ffi
*r,", -o,rter r-.- - aarrp nrrrr
SuccedentHouses (Figure 9)
The forcesset in motion in the angular housesare concenrrared,
;;u""Jfi.'tTSl:::f#Y
fflHfrfrff.*:S."i.fi
t0rsOmeuungrrsw' wLJ*s'lY -
evalueOfsom.thing,
The 2n{ housc.scestttcry'*--,L-
f'$l.iTT$"ii#'ilil
embellished,utilized and derrclopedfunhcr rnrhe Saccc&nt Hotses: *iO.ttotft.(Srhl. hiidan
""d;;$': 11ii:;t*fi
ffi:."fi .ffiilil'&;;JG'h',":3gT,i:g31
the 2nd, lth, 8th and ttth. Thesehousesare narurdly associated
with the fixcd signs of Taurus,Iro, Scorpioand Aquarius, which instirrnrel
orrcr Foccsscs.
consolidatethe generativeenergyof cardinal signs.The succedent ffi;::J',r,.tii;* o g3inrna$ery
2nd house adds substanceto the persond identity (1st) through
dcfining our posesions, resources,shape and boundary. In the TbcI'h-u'b
Tbc oPPosiion
Stb-tttb oPPotttr:e- f^. nrrt r.,n oenootrl satisfaction' such
succedent5th house,weaffirm and suengthenthe senseof 'I' distilled I" rh. lth housc,wecreatefor oq1a1,q:f-- rmr. .''r enersy
ourownltion'r1,11-q. 19:
asdesigning
ar qclr''trurE vs v""
from the angular 4th by orpressing who we are and impresing such asnl*i:
designing K:?:"9
o"#t"ts,
to something grelt:1t- rt- " P*:t-::
ourselrrcson othen. Through the activiry of relating to othen (angular
;#;:-ieili.
--;'hr
-mignt
whic\
r"" i't1g.to-,hi.h or helons. Anorher
11-9.rons'
Y"'
lssuc
7th house) we increaseour resoutcesand deh,edeeper into ourseh'es chi
our childlen
rcleascour roruo*s
whetherwc
bc whcther .t? *iiting to release
*. are
(thc zuccedent8th). hnicipating in the mainaining and functioning
of society (thc angular 10th) enhancesthe awarenessof ounelrrcsas
#fii'-ilii,q'ffi 11fff'ffi J*:
i'fl i'T)'ffi"fi:
d an ()ut) rnfo rnc Ytltuu \ rrur/l'
r r s!'---- t*t
thc.gortP d, iat, I am a mcmbcr.
socid beingsand prwidcs the basisfor oganding our scnscof,idcntity I *tti l",ic end thc conscnsusof - --^ii thc
^ Ir acccpt group
rh.,n,,rrrr
iffiffiffi;;;;"fo;o m. ('ttr,fordo
to encornpassbigger and broaderboundarics(the succedcntllrh).
Likc the angular houses, thc four succedent houscs reprcrcnt opinion (lkh)?
l16 THE T\TELVEHOUSES TI{E HOUSES
GROUPING II7
Tlte Znd-)tlt sqaare cotrld inhibit the eascwith which we rclateto the largerunit of society.
A numberof conflictscanbe stired if planetsin rhe 2nd square C.onflictscould arisebetweenour own humanitarian, political and
planetsin the Jth. Theneedfor securityanda regularincome(2nd) rccid ideals (llth) and those of our panner (8th).
could interfcrewith time spenton morecreativeand recreational
activities(lth). C.onrcrsc\ithestrugglingafti$ or 'resting'actor(5th) Tbc 11tb-2nd sqaarc
oftensuffersfrom the lackof a stableincome(2nd). Somepeoplc The llth house may ptoposc such liberd aims as the equd
with squares betweenthe 2nd and tth derivetheir senseof power, distributionof wealth,but the 2nd houscdesireto onn thingp
qiofthandimponance(5th)solelyth'roughwhattheyownandposses
pcrrcndly couldcontradictthis. The 2nd houseneedto establish
(2nd). Children(lth) might be treatedas posesions(2nd) or clearindividualboundaries conflictswith the llth houseurgefor
orperiencedasa drain on one'sresources. 'out
a widcr group membership.Elcrrcnthhouscidealismmay be
of touch'with thedm,n-to-eanh2ndhousc.Problcmscouldensue
TlteStlt-8tb sqilare in financid dedings(2nd) with friends(11th).\U[ecould bccome
In the 5th house,welike to beseenasbright,positive,creativeand sostronglyanached(2nd) to achio,ingcenaingodsandobjectirres
special.Valueisplacedon thosethingswhichenhancethejoy and (llth), that orcesirrcforcccouldbe usedto obtainthese.\I7emay
dignity of life. Thc 8th dcpictsthe darker,more intenseand clingtoo tenaciously(2nd)to idcas(llth). Morepositiraly,theremay
destructiveelemcntslurking in the persondity.If weharrctheserwo bc the practicalscnseand ability(2nd)to realizehopesandwishes
housesaccentuated we may bc engagedin a fiercebattlebetween (nrh).
light and dark forcesin the psyche.Thc kinds of crisesassociated
with the 8th house can temporarilydisrupt the tth house's
spontaneiryandenthusiasmfor life. Insteadof feelingin chargeof
our lirrcs(lth), we may be drirrcnby unconscious complores(8th)
to actin waysorcrwhichweha'relittle conuol.Sorualconquestcould
be utilized asa meansof affrming our sclf-importance.Squares
betweenthc Jth and Bthhousescensomedmes manifestasintensc
conflictswith one'schildren.Perrcnalcreativity(5th) is associatid
with emotiondtensionandfrustration(8th).On the positircside,
periodsof psyctrological renewaland cleansing(8th) frec the life-
forceto express itself morepurely(lth). Creatiraorpresion(5th)
may be a way of clcaring something out of the system(8th).
Destructirrc ercesses(8th) may be glamorized(5th) asin the casc
of the tornrredFrenchpoet,Rimbaud,whohad Satumin the 8th
squaredto Neptuncin the Jth. Fig,toCADENT
H0U5E5
Tbeail-ittb tqt drc
Thc llth housemayhaveavisionof a bettersociety, but hasit taken
Dist r [unting, Read;ivstul,g
into accountdeep-seated complocs(8th) in peoplewhichobscure
the ability to relateto othersfairlyandobjectirrcly?
Theragingand
rrtsnrvntariryE*jy
needyinfant in us (8th) canwreakhavocin our relationships with Cadcnt Houscs(Figurc 10)
friendsor groups(llth). Thesocietalrdormerwith squaresbctween T?neCadentHottscs(the3rd,6th, 9th and 12th)areassociated with
the llth andthc 8th maybefiredwith suchconvictionthatanymeans the mutablesignsof Gemini, Virgo, Sagittariusand Pisces.r07hile
justifiesachievinghisor herends.Sexrdundercurents(8th)could angularhouscsgazalarcenetgyand succedenthousescorrccnrrotc
intrude on a fricndship(11th).In shon,highly chargedemotions enirgy,the cadenthovxs distribttc andrcorganizcenergy.Incach
 TI-IE TIUTEIVE
HOUSES
cadenthor.tse, wereconsider, readjustor reorientateourselveson the
basisof what we harrcprwiouslyexperienced in the preceeding
succedent house.In thecadent3rdhouse,weleammoreabourwho
we are through comparingand contrastingourselves with rhosc
aroundus.As thementd capacities derclop,weenteravorld bcJnnd
that of the bodilysensesandbiologicdnccds(2ndhouse).Thccadent
6th houscreflectson the useor misuseof thc outpouringof energy
in the 1th, andmakesadjustments accordingly. The intcrpersond
explorations andstruggles of the8th areconducirrcto the9th house
reflectionsonthe deeperlawsand proceseswhichgorrcmodstence,
and the patternswhichweaveus together.The perspectivc of rhe
individud ego,alreadyreelingfrom the llth houseorperienccof
beingpan of a groupor largersystem,finally,in the cadentl2th,
topplesdowndtogetherfrom its positionasking of the mountain.
Cadenthousesharcoftenbeendescribed asweakor insubstantid.
but the research doneby the Gauquelinssuggesathat placemens
in thesehouses aremorepowerfulthanpreviouslybelierrcd. Michel
Gauquelin and his wife FranEoise are both psychologists and
statisticianswhoharrcstudiedrhediumd disuibudonof thc plancts
in thousandsof accuratelytimed binhchans.In panicular,they
analysedthc houseposition of planetsin the chafts of cenain
profesions- actors,artists,doctors,businesorecutircs,politicians,
scientists,soldicrs,sporuchampions,writersandothcrc.Theresults
of their researchshovrcdthat the planea naturallyassociated with
eachof theseproftssions(suchasMarsfor sporapeople,Satumfor
scientists,etc.)appearedmoreoften in the cadenthousesthan in
the angularhouses,astraditiond asuologywould hara orpccted.
br instance,Marsin the chartsof successful sponspeopleappeared
mostoftcn in the 12thand 9th houses:that is, justafterthe rising
and supcriorculminationof the planetratherthan just beforein
the lst or 10thhouses.The noc mostfrequenthouscpositionsof
Marsforthe sponspeople theytestedc/erethe6rh andthe 3rdhouscs.
Agarn,thesearejust dter the settingand infcrior culminadonof
theplanet,ratherthanbcforein thc 7thor 4thhouses. Thecondusion
to be drawn from their surr€y is that cadent housesare more
imponantfutors in determiningcharacterand careerthanprwiously
suspected.
Bridly recapitulated,they found thesecorrelations:I
1. Marsappearedmostfrequendyin cadenthouscsin thc cherts
of physicians,military leaders,spons cha,mpionsand top
occutives.
TFIEHOUSES
GROUPING 1I9
Jupiter appearedmost frequently in cadenthousesin the chans
oflctors-playwrighr, politicians, military leaders,top orecutives
and journalists.
3 . Saturnappearedmost frequently in cadenthousesin the chans
of scientisa and phpicians.
4. The Moon appcaredmost frequently in cadent housesin the
chans of writers and politicians.
ln the discusion of the 12thhouse,I haveotplained why I don't
find theseresultsthat surprising(seepage 105).A similar rationale
can bc applicd to the other cadent houses.The 9th is where we look
for truth and principles to guidc our lirrcs- therefore we will be
highly motirated to developand give orpressionto the planetstherc
asl *ay of lending greatermeaning to our odstence.Both the 6th
and rhi lrd housei describcour effons to discernhow we differ ftom
other pcople. Therdore, dcrrclopingthe planets in thesehousesis
.n .i"l if *. areto diftrentiate ounelrrcsfully from othersand ddine
ourseh'esasscparateindividuals. The urge to connect to something
greatcr than the sclf (as shown by the 12th and the 9th) and the
urge to estabtishand dramcterizeour or'n specificidcntities (asshown
bV,h. 3rd and the 6th) arethe two complementary principles which
form the crux of the human dilemma. Seenin this light, thc planets
in these housesassumee gtcr;t imponance.
As in the cascof the four angular housesand the four succedent
houses, the four cadent housesfiguratively square or oPposeone
another. Eachone representsa contrastingview of life and a different
method of acquiring and processinginformation.
Tlte 3rd-9t/t opposition
The 3rd housedescribesthe nature of the analyticd and concrete
mind while the 9th house denotes more abstract and intuitive
thought processes. The 3rd houseseesthe pans; the 9th looks first
at thJwh-ole.\fhen planetsarefound in opposition berweenthese
two houses,it could signifr a good balanccand integration berween
thc right and left hemispheresof the brain. Hwever, in cenain cases,
the opposition might d.note a Personwho gathersfacts(3rd) and
then diaws the wrong conclusions(9th) from them. Mountains are
madeof mole-hills,oi conversely, a Pemonmay adhere to somebelief
or truth (9th) and then intcrpret erarphing around them (3rd) solely
in the light of thcse principles. In other words, factsare distorted
to pro'trca point. The Jrd housemay labour for many weekspreparing
a llcture, making surethat eachword conveysthe precisemeaning
 -.I
GROUPINGTF{EHOUSES Lzl
I2O TF{ET\UEIVEHOUSES
intended. The 9th houselecturermay preferto wait to seewhat the to rheprocesesof the logicalandrationalleft brain.Thetendency
audicnce is like, trusting that he or she will intuitively know what ; f"" ,i. mind to onerJork.The 3rd housclikesto knowa little
tmething abouteverything, whilethe 6th.house wantsto know
to saywhen the time comes.Sometimeswith the 3rd-9th opposition, and
there is a persistentfeeling that the grassis greenerfanher afield. ;;;;-h; p""lut. things'Put thesetwo tog.ether
"bo.r,
who "T.* to knowasmuch asposibleabout
wants
il;;;_i.uoav
;ry.hfi. Vith ilanets in both the 3rdand6th, it ispossiblcthat
Tlte 6t lt-t Ztlt opposition somtthin! couldbe analysed oyt o{ existence'Thkento extremes'
The 6th house examinesthe myriad forms of relative existence, i;;;"iJ bEapersor, *ho insissthat theonlyrealdifference berween
scrutinizing in detail how one thing diffcrs from another.The 12th ,ir;;ht; OltbrttoandHamletis that the lettersof the alphabetare
house,howwer, embracesthe essenceof a thing - not how much - differentlyin eachplay.
'ftels'
it weigtrsor measures,but what it like. The 6th is dirriminating U."r. poritively,tirereisgerrcrilyth..pursuitof information(3rd)
"rt".tgid
and selective,carefullydefining boundaries;the 12this empathctic foi,t . ,.1"f.. of .tring it prictically'(6th).Therecanbe a greatdeal
and all-inclusive, and a boundary-dissolrar.The 6th house is ou.rd.i"i6 muc'hdiscussion aboutthepreciseand
pragmatic, logicd and concernedwith the errryday redities of lifc; "?Ui.t*l"g "nd Consequer.rtlx
;;;;;; ;d*mething shouldbe done' :-T:t- :::l
wrth
the 12th aspiresto transcendwhateveris mundane, and is awareof ihcjrd/6th housecombinationusuallydo not let othersescape
the elusive,unknoqrableand mysteriousnuancesof o<istence.Thc [.i"ni* abstract, whimsicalorrague'If I havesomeone with these
6th house plans life; the 12th flocNswith it. ;i;;:;;;;'-;.h;Juled
'h;;l;; for a chanrlading, I will allowanextrahalf-
Oppositions betweenthesctwo housesheighten ther contrasting ---Vlirf, q;.ttions at theend'('Vhat emctlyd9 yoqmeanby ' ' '?')
approachesto life, but afford a geater chanceof achievinga synthesis rif"*o betweenthesehouses,it isposible that hedth isues
of the rariousmodesof bcing. I haneseen6th-r2rh houseoppositions, (Otfri.o"ia afFect physicalmobility T 1e[ asthe clearfunctionin-g
^Sometimes
for instance,in the chansofspiritudly-minded people who alsohave il.t'. -i"a (3rd). urueso6ad conflictswith siblingp(3rd)
thcir fecr firmly on the ground. One wasa dendst with Moon in i.*f".. inihe'form of problemswith co-workers (6th)'
Capricorn in the 6th opposingJupitcr in Cancerin the l2th, who
wasa devout follower of an Indian guru. Another ws a carpentet Tbe 6tb-9tlt sqlare
who rolunteered his servicesto rain pcoplc inThird !7orld counries rt .."-ui.ation of theorpansive andtruth-seeking 9thhousewith
in his skill. He had three plancts in the 6th opposingUranusin the themundaneandpracticdly-minded 6thcanproducearesdessou.
12th. whomovesfrom onepreoccupation to anotherln a constantsearcn
Oppositions between the 6th and tzth somedmesmanifest in il;;. Ji"g *ti.t ii totaly fulfilling..Thccatchis that theywill
phpical ailmenr which arepqrchologicalin origin. Reincamationists ;*"iiy find"rharthc thirrg'uponwhich_allthe hopeshara been
believethat ccnain health problems (6th) may be the consequences Whenthat fails'something
;i;;;A *-.rt * aus shonlf the mark'
of past-life behaviour (12th). For orample, if a man overindulged ilse is ferventlypursucdwith the sameabidingconvictionthat it
in food and drink in a prwious lifc, hc might be bom this lifc with 'werything'.Ratherthan.looking,to onethrng,to,be
shouldprovidi
allergiesto cenain foods,forcing him to pay more attention to what thewholetruth,theyshouldapproachitwiththeatutudethatlt
he put into his body. Or a person who habitudly looked down on mavoffersomeversionor anglcbf the truth' In otherwords'they
othersin apast lift couldfind himsclfabnormdlytdl in this lifttime. ,.d ,h;;;t;;;. oron. thinfto bewerything'Thqnthevcanfind
Or perhapshc would be born unusudly shon, sohe could orpcricnce ;;fi;;i;;;;ff.t bit of the truth andotherkindsof
"no,li., to complete
what it felt like to be the one looked down upon. In any case,with futfit*.rri. In thisway,theyarenotopeningthemselves
6th-12th oppositions, the origins of ill health may be difficult to J6;iil.n, if o". focusof attintion doesn'tdeliverall the
diagnose,stemming from a sourcewhich is not obniousto fface. nourishmenttheYcrara.
---ffr.
rq""re beiweenthe 6rh and 9th canbe seenhistoricallyin
I Tbe 3rd-6th tqilare
Here we harrclinked together the two housesmost dirc'ctly rclated
thc conflictbetweeninductivemodesof rientific inrrcstig"Uql
(9:ry
-d tfrrf.i"d of kno"'int",hich arisesfrom religiousfaith and beliefs
 -l
t22 THE T\TELVEHOUSES GROUPINGTHE HOUSES 12t
(9th). 6th-9th tension also manifests in the kinds of theologicd Tltc ard-tztb tqaale
disputesthat areconcernedwith exactlyhow many angelscandance Broadlyspeaking,the 12this the unconscious mind and thc 3rd
on the head of a pin. Scriptures(9th) may be interprered in a thc consciour -iird. The t2rh is the domainof whatis hiddenand
fundamentalist way: laws and rituals are to be followed exactlyto unseen,while the 3rd perceives whatis immediateand at handin
ensurethat eran rhe most humble or ordinary aspecrsof existence the environment.An altion or starementcanbe apprcciated at its
(6th) panakeof the sacredor areperformedin accordanceto higher facenaluc(3rd)or may be felr to be cloakinglessobviousfeelings
law (9th). There is also the ability to perceivecosmicsignificance or moti\ations(12th).In psychology, this is known u the meta-
(9th) in the smdlest dctails of life (6th). On another level, health meaning.The 1rd houseobierves ihe actionsand makessenseof
problems (6th) could occur through travel (9th). Or rhere may be 'picksup on' andissensitive to other
theworIs, but thc l2th house
many differencesof opinions with in-laws(9th) orar rhe managemenr levelsof what is beingsaidoi done.The lrd/l2th combination
of daily affairs (6th). Derceives manylevelsof realityar once.Thisconferseitheruncanny
i*igt , into peopleandsituations oragreardealof mentdconfusion.
Tbe gtb-tztlt squore
Shouldtheybeiievewhattheyhearandseeor whattheysenseand
feel?
In this casewe havetwo housesof an orpansivenature in relationship arenoruncorrunonamongsiblings
Thesekindsof mixedmessages
to one another.Neither sphereis fond of boundariesand limitations, theyounger
(3rd).In general,oldersiblingsfeelambiralenttou/ards
and those with planets in both these housesmay nor fccl very to lovethenewbaby,. but jedousy
it itd' ttt{ t theyaresupposcd
comfonablc within the confinesof a mundane exisrence.Usudly "*' urgeiarerhiie aswell.Theyoungersiblingperceives
an interest in philosophical or religious mamerspredominates: in
anddestructive
e:ftreme cases,they live in a world of symbols, dreams and images,
the older child aclingkindly towardshim or her, and ye!fe.nse:
surviving from one peak orperience ro the noc, ofren totdly
somethinglcs pleasantpassingbemeenthemaswell.vhich lcvel
forgetting about having to go to the dentist. They may have an
shouldUelatci asred?A caselnquestionis a womanI knewwith
unending sourceof uanspersond inspiration but no vehiclesfor
Saturnand Pluto in the 12thsquaredto the Moon in Scorpioin
expressingor relating their vision to everydaylife. Not inclined to
the 3rd.Heroldcrsisterwasoutwerdlykind to her,but underneath
resentedthe intrusionof theyoungerchild. Iater !! lifc, the younger
andytical thinking, they may swallow a belid whole and lira it
fervendy until it is spat out again and something new is looked for
child grewinto a womanwho had enormousdifficulty trustingor
befiorlngin whatothcrssaidto her.lg'haterrer waso<pressed or done
to swallow.Somesidetracktoo fu with delusionsof being another if it wasintendedto threaten
wasinteforetedin a negativelight_as
Napoleon or Chri$, landing thcmsclrrcsin mentd insriturions (12th).
her.Shemysteriously blcamedeafin oneearandliveda lonelylife
More positively, thosewith a heavy9rh-12th emphasisserrato open (12th)with siblings
in isolationfromothers.unrerclrcdpastissues
other people's eyes to realities beyond the kcn of the rypicd
(3rd)prernntedherfrom relatingin a naturalvraywith.thosearound
3rd-6th housc thinker.
There arediftrences in the 9th and t2rh houseapproachto 'higher
ii.t t*l tr squares betweenrhetrh and lrd, the capacityformaking
understanding'.The 9th housebelievesthat the basicpatternsand
dccisionsoi rhe ability to clearlypercei'rclife may be_distonedby
Jccp-rootedunconscibus .ompio,es.Theseneedto be oramined
principleswhich governlife can be known and comprehended.The
andcleaned up througha comiousandpis (3-rd.) of theimages.ano
12th housefeelssomcthingwhich is often unfarhomable and bqpnd
knowing. Th. 9th house is basicallyconcernedwith scding new
fantasieslurking beniath the surfacelerrclof the psyche(12th)'
heighs; the 12th finds inspiration not only in the heights, but also Classi&ingthe Houscsby Elemcnts.
in the depths- ecstasyand pain, blis and suffering,areintimately Anotherfry,o grouptht housesis by_elements. Therearethree
connected.On a more mundane level, there may be strangeand fti fio* tfg, llr ani 9th); threeeanhhouscs(2nd,6th and tOth);
inexplicableyearningsto travel to different countriesand a danger tt[ee air houscs(3rd, 7th and ttth); and thrcewetethouses(4+,
of imprisonment (12th) in a foreign land (9th). gth and 12th).Ameaningfuland sequentidderrclopment canbc
124 THE TVET]fE HOUSES
obscned as we progressfrom the firsr houseassociatedwith a
panicularelement,to the secondhouseof that element,and on
to the third houseof the sameelement.In general,the first housc
associated with a panicularelementbringpthe natureof that element
into focusand personalizes it. The nen housealignedwith thet
elementfunher differentiaces and definesrhat principle,usually
tirough comparingour orpresionof it with that ofothers.Thethird
houserclatedto a panicularelementuniversdizes ir orpresion:
that elementcanbeseento beoperatingon a broadcollectirnle.r'el.
Fg,lf FlRg: Tlv.Trinlrt5 of Spr{f,.
The Firc Houscs:The Tirinityof Spirit (Figurc U)
Fireisthg lift-forcewhichanimatesdl living forms.It isthe element
associatedwith thewill-to-be theurgeto orpresfrom insidetheseff.
The lst hous isthefirst fire house.h isalsoangularIfve combine
the qualitiesof fire with the nanre of angulerhouscs(activiryand
releascof encrgy)we arrivcat a good derription of the lsr house
12'
THEHOUSES
GROUPING
- the activity of releasingthe lif'e-force.The lst houseshowsthe
initial stiring of beinginsideus,the urgeto be a separateand distinct
person.Developingthe signsand planetsin the lst housevitalizes
and enlivensus.
The secondfire houseis the 5th house.It is alsoa succedenthouse.
Therefore the lth house combines the qualities associatedwith
with the elementof
succedenthousesand the qualitiesassociated
stabilizeand utilize the energy
fre. Succedenthousesconcentrate,
generatedin angularhouses.In the caseofthe 5th house,the pure
ipirit of the lst houseis given focusand direction. \7e strengthen
orrrs.nre of identity (lst) by pursuing thoseoutlets and interests
which make us feel more alive, and by stamping our individuality
on what we do or create(1th).
The third fire house is the 9th house.It is also a cadent house.
Thereforethe 9th housecombinesthe qualitiesassociatedwith cadent
housesand the qualitiesassociated with the elcment of fire. Cadent
housesreconsidlr, readjust and reorientatethe way we focus our
energy.In the 9th house,we revamPour senseof identity through
viewing life and ourselvesin a broadercontoa' The fre we recognizcd
burning insideusin the lst and 5th houscshasnorvspreadto everyone
'fire'
elsc we now perceive or spirit asa universd attribute existing
in everything around us. In the lth house, we orplore -our own
persond creaiivity,but in the 9th weglimpse the workingsof a cosmic
ireative intelligence which shapeslife in accordancewith cenain laws
and universalprinciples.
In the first fiic house(lst) our own identity is sparked.ln the second
fire house (5th) we strengthen,confirm and expressthat identity.
In the third fire house(9th) the creativenature of fire and the urge-
to-bc is seenexpressingitself impersondly through the archetypd
-principles which governand generateall of life.
ft; three fre liousessymbolicallytrine one another. Planetsin
the lst, )th or 9th housej may literally trine eachother - that is,
form 120degreeanglesto eachother (allowing an 8-10 degreeorb
or so). However,in finding irspectswe must alwayscount the actual
number of degrecsbetweln ihc two planets, not just the number
of houses.A planet in the lst doesnot automaticallytrinc aplanet
in the :th. and in some cases,due to the unequd size of houses
in Quadrant systems,the rwo plan€tsmay evensquareone another.
Nonetheless,it is helpful to understandthc basicaffinity between
with the sameelement in the natural
placemena in houscsassociated
zodiac.
126 THE T\7EIVE HOUSES GROUPINGTI{E HOUSES
Tbc lst-Jth tine
If a planct in thc lst housetrinesa planet in thc )th, then the lst
houseplanet finds a creativereleasethrough the 5th houseplanet.
For instance,if Mercury is in the lst house and trine to Jupiter in
the )th, the urge to communicate and exchangeinformation
symbolized by Mercury may have an outlet through someform of
anistic expression(Jupiterin the lth). In trine contacrslerween the
lst and the 1th, therc is a natural easeorflow in oumardly ogresing
who we are. The French author, Victor Hugo, who expresed his
humanitarian concerns*rough literature had sympatheticNeptune
in the lst trine to Mercurv in the )th.
Tlte )th-9tb tine
If a Jth houseplanet trinesa 9th houseplanet then whar we o(press
or create (lth) often influenccs and inspires other people (thc
orpansirrcnature of the 9th). It may seemasif crcativity flovn through
us from a higher sourceof inspiration or 'fired' vision. Iord Byron,
the English Romantic poet who orpressedhis acute sensitivity to
beauty through his work, had Vcnus in the 9th trine Neptune in
the Jth.
Tlte lst-9tb tine
Thosewith trines berweentheserwo housesnaturally acrin accord
Fi1..17
with a broadened view of life. Their actions comply with trends
already in the atmosphere,and rhereforelessresistanceis met in EARIHzTlw Trinity of f{atter
achieving their aims. A wide scopeon oristence(9th) guides the
manner in which they meet the world (lst). The dangerwith this Therefore,thc 6th houscadjusaandreconsiders thc eanhprinciple.
trine is that it can too easilygive rise to the individual idenrifying In this housc,our resotucesandskillsarccomparedto otherpople's
the self with the Voiceof God, and justifring acrion on the basis rcsources and skills.Our specidabilitics arcrcfined and perftcted.
of a higher authority or guiding principle. For example,Francisco Thebodyasnall nee&attentionto functionefrciendyandill hcalth
Franco,the fascistdictator, had the Moon, Neptune and Pluto in canbc undentoodasthe bodytrying to readiustit-self.ln economic
thc 9th trine to Saturn in the lst. tenns, it reprcscntsthc labour force.
The thiril eanh houscis the 10th,which is en angularhousc.In
The Eanh Houses: The Thinity of Matter (Figure 12) this case,thcre is the needto ggnctatematter,i.e. productivity-ln
The elementof earth is associated
with the plane of material ocistence: oneseflicrthe lfth represenathc forccsof merugemcntwhoactively
the condensationof spirit into concreteforms. orgariizcand orrcneCceitd and labour.Morepcrsondly,it sho*s
The first eanh houseis the 2nd house.It is alsoa succedenrhouse. hw *l purposdrlly stnrcnre and dircrt our encrgyend $ili{cs
Therefore,the 2nd houserepresents macer trying to makeirelf more for the saleof concrctcand definite rcsuls. Hence,thc associetion
secureor stablc hencethe associadons of the 2nd housewith money, of thc lOth with cereettarnbition and the my rc likc to bc secn
possessions and resources.It showsthose things - including the by thc *orld. Morc broadly,the lfth houscdepica tlc rylc $c
body - which we like to callour own. In economictermsit is capitd. iiaviaU pUp in petpctuatingandrneinaining thc bodyof sociay
Thc secondearth houseis the 6th. which is alsoa cadenthouse. itself.
 THE T\UTELVE
HOUSES GROUPINGTHE HOUSES r2g
In the first earth house (2nd) the body and matter itself is
differentiated from the ouroboric wholenessof life. In the second
earth house(6th) our particular body and resources,differentiatcd
in the 2nd, aremore specificallydelineated.In the third eanh house
(10th) our own body and practical skills (differentiated in the 2nd
and more clearly defined in the 6th) come together with others to
form and maintain collectivematerial existence.
The three eanh housessymbolically trine one another,and planets
in these housesmay literally trine eachother.
Tbe 2nd-6tb trine
If a planet in the 2nd trinesa planet in the 6th, thc individual is
equippedwith resources and abilitieswhich he or shecanuseskilfully
and productirrcly,and usuallywith adequatefinancialremuneradon.
There isoften an efficient and adept handlingof the materialworld.
Tlte 6tb-l0tb tine
With this trine. there is the likelihood rhat a oerson'sskillsand stvle
of working are conduciveto successin a career.It is possiblethat
something inhcrited via the mother (10th) contributes to the
repenoireof tdents and abilitics(6th). The daughterof showbusincs
parenr, Candice Bergen makesgood use of both her beauty and
intelligencein her careersasan actressand photo-journalist.She
is born with VenusconjunctUranusin Gemini in the 6th trine to Fig.J3
Jupiter in Libra in the 10th.
AfR 7TlwTenrtS af Rela.tionrhip
Tlte znd-totb tine
In this case,the careeris usually well-suited to the remperament The first air housc is thc 3rd, wirich is alrc a cadent housc.
and abilities. Money and statuscan be earnedfrom what a person Morrcment,mental deralopmcnt and the advent of languagecnablc
naturally enjoys doing. Something of womh is inherited via the ts to readjustand reddine the rnorc concretesarscof rlfjust brming
mother or shaping parent (10th). Sir Harry Iauder, the comedian in thc lst and znd houses.Thc sccond air house is the 7th, which
and entertainer,had a wide public appealand wascspeciallyloved is angular. My mind and pcnpectivc on life (3rd) rneetsyour mind
for his Scottish dialect. He was born with Mercury (the planet of and pcrspcctivc on lifc (7th). The coming togethcr of two pcople
speech)in thc 2nd (resourccs)trine to Neptunc in the 10th. gcnerates1n enorrnousarnount ofenergy and the failure or succcss
of a relationship may affect hon'we feel about many other areasof
The Air Houses: The Thinity of Relationship (Figure 13) our livrs. The third air house (llth) is succedent.tU[estabilize and
Air is associatedwith the capacity to detach the self and view strengthcn our viewpoints by looking for other pcople (groups and
something objecdvelywith distanceand perspective. Oncewe have friends) who shareout ideas.Minds come together in the llth. Ideas
'fi:cd' 'isms'
separatedor distinguished ourselvesfrom the universalmatrix of a,re into ideologies and which are broadly applied to
'taken
lifc, then we canstart forming reladonshipswith what wefind. The society and up' by large numbers of people.
elementof aircorelates to the intellect and rhe communicationand The three air houscssymbolically trine one another, and planets
exchangeof ideas. in thcsc housesmay litcrdly trine each other.
130 HOUS$
THETWETVE GROI.JPINGTHE HOUSES l,l
Tlte 3rd-7th trine
The 3rdhouscis associated with communicationandif aplanetthere
trinesone in the 7th, thereis an easein communicatingwith closc
partners.\U(ecan makc oursclvcshcard as well CI being able to
understandor appreciateothers(intellcctudly at least).Thcre is
usudly a lively interestand fair degrecof perceptioninto the way
in which one petsonor thing interactsor relateswith anothcr.
Tlte 7tb-11tbtinc
A pannershipmayserveasa sourceof socialor intellecud orpansion.
It may be a friend (11th)who introducesthis pcrrcn to the future
rnarriagepanner(7th).Or animponantrelationship(7th) maybe
formed with someonethc person meets through a group or
organization(llth). Unrdly thepanner(7th)shares theperson's goals
and objectivesand is helpful in achievingthese.JeanHou$on, a
leadingfigurein humanisticpsychology hasJupiterin the 7th trine
to Pluto in the llth. Sheand her husband,RobenMastets,co-
foundedaninstirutefor mind research andhavetogctherderrcloped
numeroustechniquesto broadenawareness.
Tlte 3rd-11tbtrine
If a planetin the 3rd trinesa planetin the llth, thercis usudly an
easerelatingto groupsof people.Theremay be an intuitirrc grasp Ftg.l*
of hm, theindividud mind (3rd)islinkcdto othen(11th).Theperson
canspcakclearly(3rd)aboutbroadconcepcor thosethit gpwhich WATER:Ttrc Trtn;tty of Sout
heor sheenvisions (llth). Fricndsor goups (11th)inspireando<pand
thc thinking (3rd), and conrrcrsely, the perrcn'spoint of viewot influenceswithin the eerlyhomewhich shapcthc idcntity. In the
generdknowledgeaffecaothers.Albcn EinsteinhadUranusin the socondcaterhousc,thesuccedent 8th, ow ftelingparestrenglhened,
3rd trine to Neptune in the llth. His new discorrcries (Uranusin deepcnedandsdrrcdthroughdoscrelationshipwith anotherpc$on.
the 3rd)haveledto agreaterunderstanding of theinterconnectednes T*o pcople,eachwith their os'nfamily backgrounds andcmotiond
of dl life (11th).On anotherlerrcl,a 3rd-uth uine maymcanthat meke-upattempt to rnergeinto one.Greatersccurity(a succedent
neighbourhood groups(3rd)canbeformcdto promotenecdedsocid qudity) issoughtthrought*o pcoplelinking theirftelingpogether.
changes (llth), or a sibling(3rd)might introducetheperrcnto new In the 8th, our own ftelingp (differcntiatedand recognizedin the
fricnds,ideasor groups(llth). engular4th) floc, into anotherperrcn'sftelings. In the third weter
house,the cadent12th,we progressfrom union with a sclectfcs'
The \lhter Houses:Thc Trinity of Soul (Figure 14) (8th) to a scnscof unity with all life. S0eacknm'ledgethe collective
lVater is the elementassociated
with the fcelings.All threewater unconscious, the collectivEseaout of whichwedl emerge,and the
housesareconcerned with emotionswhichdwellbeneaththesurface background*r sharewith errcryone and everphing.
levelof consciousness.They alsodeal with the pastconditioned ln thc 4th houseweftel our frfn ioy -d pain; in the 8th weftel
tesponses which arenou,instincrual,unreflectirtcand inbred. thc joy and pain of a closcassociate; in the 12th,weftel thecorld's
Thefirst waterhouseisthe 4th, whichis drc angulat It describcs ioy -d pain. The scquentidderclopmentof thc cater houscs,as
feelingsactivedeepwithin us,aswell asthe family backgroundand with thc housesof the other elements,is a rnovcmentfrom the