Like a clock, the zodiac is divided into 12 segments, or houses, each one ruled by a different sign.
The zodiac begins with the first house, and goes counterclockwise around.
Each house is associated with a set of traits, beginning from the self, and expanding outward into society and beyond. At the moment you were born, the planets were all in specific signs and houses.
When planets visit a house, they light up that part of your chart, and energize that house’s traits. Astrologers use the houses to predict which parts of your life will come into focus, and where you can take the best possible action.
The 12 Houses And What They Represent:
Signs in the Houses:
1st House – House of Self
It is the most personal and most powerful House in your chart, for it symbolizes you—your mannerisms, your style, your disposition and temperament. This is the House of your outward behavior, your likes and dislikes. The First House reveals both the way you present yourself to others and the way the outside world sees you. It often indicates your physical characteristics, especially your head and facial features. Sometimes called the House of self-interest, it denotes what you want in life and how you go about achieving it. The place in your chart at which this House begins is the most important point in a horoscope, for it determines where all the other Houses will follow. In astrology the First House is thought of as a giant lens through which the rest of your chart is seen and interpreted.
2nd House – House of Money and Possessions
It relates to what you own in life and what you will acquire, your income, and your financial prospects. This is the House of movable possessions, the things you physically take with you as you move through life. The Second House also tells how you feel about money and possessions, and gives a clue to the kinds of objects with which you like to surround yourself. To a certain extent it gives a picture of your earning power and ability to handle money. The Second House often shows what activities and projects may be a lucrative source of income for you.
3rd House – House of Communication
The Third House relates to your immediate environment in three major areas: self-expression, your family ties, and day-to-day travel. This House governs the way you think, speak, and write. Logic, memory, and manual skill are in its domain. The Third House often indicates what kind of early education you received, and your ability to study and learn. Your relationships with brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors are part of this House’s influence. Short trips and the vehicles for this type of travel are governed by the Third House—especially the travel you do for work or education.
4th House – House of Home
The Fourth House governs your home life in the past, the present, and the future. It indicates the kind of home you had in childhood and your relationship with parents. What you have brought into this life from your ancestors is in its domain. In the present, the Fourth House relates to the kind of home you make for yourself. Your current domestic affairs are under its influence, as are real estate holdings and the ownership of land. This House also rules over the closing years of your life, the kind of security you seek for old age. The Fourth House is one of the more mystical houses in your chart, for it represents what you keep protected and secluded from the rest of the world—the place you call home in both a physical and an emotional sense.
5th House – House of Creativity and Sex
The Fifth House rules over everything you do for pleasure and to express yourself creatively. Your sexual nature (the most basic creative urge in your psyche) is a large part of its domain. Children and the joy you receive from them are governed by this House. The Fifth House also relates to entertainment, holidays, amusements, and the arts. It rules love affairs, new undertakings in life, speculation and gambles, and games of chance. It is the House that expresses your artistic talents as well as your ability to enjoy yourself in life. In childhood, pets and playmates are part of this House, for it holds sway over all the things to which you instinctively give affection. This is the House of your heart.
6th House – House of Service and of Health
Often called the House of service to others, it indicates your need to help others and to be useful in the world. In the old days it governed a person’s attitude toward servants and those of inferior standing. In the modern day, this House rules your relationship with the people you work with, with those who are subordinates, and with your employers. The Sixth House also relates to your state of health and especially applies to illness brought on by worry or emotional upsets. This House often signifies whether you have a robust or delicate constitution, and what kinds of diseases you may be subject to.
7th House – House of Partnership and Marriage
On a personal level, it relates to your husband or wife, the mate you choose in life. It often indicates what kind of marriage you will have and whether you might divorce or remarry. This is your House of partnerships, not only in marriage but also in work, business, legal affairs, and sometimes in politics. It covers legal unions or contracts you enter into, and both sides of a question or dispute. The Seventh House concerns your ability to work harmoniously with others. Paradoxically, it also governs what astrologers call your open enemies, those who are usually your adversaries in the business or professional world. The Seventh House is the opposite of the First House of Self; here you blend your personality with others in order to pursue shared goals.
8th House – House of Death and Regeneration
The Eighth House is one of the three mystical houses in your chart (the others are the Fourth and the Twelfth), and one of the most difficult to understand. Sometimes called the House of spiritual transformation, it rules the life forces that surround sex, birth, death, and the afterlife. 1t concerns legacies and what you inherit from the dead—both materially and spiritually. Money that belongs to your partner, and taxes and debt are also in this House’s domain. The Eighth House may give some indication of the conditions surrounding your death, although the precise time always remains a mystery. Surgery is governed by this House, since it relates to regeneration. This is the House of psychic powers and occult studies and knowledge.
9th House – House of Mental Exploration and Long Distance Travel
The Ninth House can be thought of as a widening of the Third House; study, travel, and mental pursuits are expanded in the Ninth House onto a much wider plane. This is the House of the higher mind. Under its domain are higher education, philosophy, and the study in depth of profound subjects. Long journeys of both the mind and the physical body are controlled by this House. It concerns actual travel to foreign lands and business interests in other countries. It governs the meeting of foreigners who expand your way of thinking, and also the study of languages. The Ninth House rules your public expression of ideas and is therefore the House of publishing and literary effort.
10th House – House of Career and Public Standing
Its opposite house (the Fourth House) rules the home; the Tenth House rules all matters outside the home—your profession, your status in the community, and your public reputation. It has been called the House of ambition, aspiration, and attainment. This House also reveals in what esteem you are held by others. The Tenth House reflects your image, as shown in the power, position, and honors that you may achieve. It is an outward expression of your talents, the way you accept responsibility, the place you arrive at through your own efforts. This House has a great influence on your material success in life.
11th House – House of Friends and of Hopes and Wishes
Unlike its opposite house (the Fifth House) with its concern for immediate pleasures, the Eleventh House has to do with long-term dreams and goals and with intellectual pleasures. This House governs your involvement with groups and organizations that have to do with your work, profession, or family. The clubs, societies, or political associations you belong to are under its domain. This House often indicates the kinds of friends and acquaintances who can best further your interests and objectives in life. The Eleventh House reflects your ability to enjoy other people. On its highest level this House represents the harmonious working together of all people, each one doing what best expresses his or her individual personality. It is the House of idealism and vision.
12th House – House of Secrets, Sorrows and Self-Undoing
It is the most mystical of all the Houses, the final House, the end of the circle. This is not necessarily a negative and gloomy place, but it does define the limitations placed on your life, including by yourself through self-undoing behavior. This House governs disappointments, accidents, trouble, and self-defeat. It rules unseen forces, secret enemies, escapism, asylums, hospitals, and prisons. The Twelfth House has been called the House of Karma, the House of spiritual debt, for it contains the rewards and punishments for the deeds one commits in the world. It is associated with psychic powers and the ability to discover at last the meaning of life.