The Houses of the Horoscope

Before I continue with the remaining six houses (another day), it might be interesting to look at what the 11th century Persian astrologer al-Biruni said about the houses in his work al Tahfim [1029 ME]


First House Soul, life, length of life, education, native land.
Second House Suckling, nutriment, disaster to eyes if over-taken by ill-luck, livelihood, household requisites, assistants, profession of children.
Third House Brothers, sisters, relations, relations in-law, jewels, friends, migration, short journeys, intelligence, knowledge, expertness in religious law.
Fourth House Parents, grandparents, descendants, real estate, fields, houses, water-supply, knowledge of genealogy; what succeeds death and what happens to the dead.
Fifth House Children, friends, clothes, pleasure, joy, little acquisition of property, accumulated wealth of father, what was said of him at his burial service.
Sixth House Sickness, defects of body, overwork, if unfortunate accident to legs, loss of property, disease of internal organs, slaves, maids, cattle.
Seventh House Women, concubines, giving in marriage, marriage-feasts, contentions, partnership, losses, lawsuits.
Eighth House Death and its causes, murder, poisoning, evil effects of drugs on body, inheritance, wife's property, expenditure, poverty, extreme indigence, feigning death.
Ninth House Travel, re1igion, piety, fate, seriousness, attainment of knowledge from the stars and divination, philosophy, surveying, sharp discernment, trustworthiness, interpretation of visions and dreams.
Tenth House Rule of Sultan, government with council of nobles, absolute authority, success, in business, commerce, professions, well-behaved children, liberality.
Eleventh House Happiness, friends, enemies, concern for next world, prayer and praise, friendship of women, love, dress, perfume, ornaments, commerce, longevity.
Twelfth House Enemies, misery, anxieties, prison, debt, fines, bail, fear, adversity, disease, prenatal fancies of mother, cattle, harbors, slaves, servants, armies, exile, tumults

[Spiritlite]

I'm amazed although I know nothing about astrology I'm learning so much reading your teachings...printing it all out now so I can read more thoroughly.
Spiritlite.

A most excellent piece of work, Greybeard. Kudos!

Thank you both, Spiritlite and Moggy. I hope that you both learn and have fun Spiritlite. Moggy is already an astrologer and knows what she is doing -- so that compliment by a peer makes me feel like the time i put into these things is well spent.

I will continue this thread to include basic meanings for the remaining six houses, and then we will move on to rulerships of the houses and how they are used, with some other fun stuff.

The Houses are what "bring astrology down to Earth". They give the "cosmic influences" (planets and signs) a real stage on which to act out their play -- that is, to mold our lives in the real everyday world.

If you don't already have your own chart, get it from www.astro.com which is the most reliable site for casting horoscopes. Many other sites yield inaccurate charts. Then look and which houses the different planets are in, which signs occupy the cusp of each of the houses.

If there are a lot of planets in one of the houses, then the "affairs" described by that house will be prominent in the life. All houses are referred to the Ascendant, or First House cusp, as that point describes in general and in potential the entire course of the life.

The Seventh House opposes the First House. If the First House is the house of the “self” (the personality and ego complex, the body) then its opposite must be the house of the “not-self”. It is therefore the house of open enemies, all who stand against you in conflict, whose interests oppose yours. This is the house of suits at law, of war, of contests at the highest levels. But not all things which “oppose” us are inimical. The other side of this coin is that which complements our being and makes us whole. Thus this is the house of partners of all sorts. This is also the house of the spouse or any other partner of similar nature. Basically, this house shows the ability of the native to form cooperative and mutually beneficial (in conditions of equality) relationships, usually of relatively long-term. The Seventh House is also a house of death, the personal death of the native. The Sun – the Giver of Life – sets at the cusp of this house, the Descendant, or western horizon, and passes into darkness. It opposes Life at the Ascendant. This house also shows the Immediate Opportunity in any situation. The Seventh House contains contracts, and the public-at-large.

The Eighth House This house, like the Twelfth and the Sixth (and also the Fourth in some respects) was called a house of Infortune by the old astrologers. It is a house of darkness and difficulty. Being the second house from the Seventh House, it represents the money of others, and specifically that of the spouse or partner. It is money that is not readily available, such as that in trusts or escrow. The house also signifies debt and taxes. The old saying that “nothing is certain but death and taxes” applies to this house. It is the primary house of death. It signifies all things connected with death generally, such as inheritance, insurance benefits and legacies. This house shows all things concerned with elimination of the no-longer-useful or noxious. This applies to the purely physical products of the body and environment, as well as the psychic or psychological. It is the house of termination and transformation; things whose time has passed are given new form. It contains all forms of metamorphosis, typified by the caterpillar which on becoming a chrysalis dissolves before taking the form of the beautiful butterfly; the butterfly is inherent in the caterpillar, but must melt into formlessness before it can be transformed into what it always was. The Eighth House is a place of aloneness and rejection. It is the house of “seeing beyond the veil”, and deals with things mystical and deeply hidden. It is the labyrinth. Sex and sexuality are described by this house, as are all of our deep, passionate and compulsive drives. Although this house destroys, it also transforms, heals and makes whole. The path is never easy.

The Ninth House In contrast to the Eighth House, which is a dark and unfortunate place, the Ninth is held to be the most fortunate of houses, especially in Hindu astrology. Fundamentally this house rules all operations of rationalization and intellect, all abstract thought processes, and all self-projection to a distance. It deals with generalization out of experience; that is, the formulation of generalized theories or beliefs derived from the details of everyday experience (found in the Third House). It shows all personal relations with the distant and foreign, thus has to do with travel to distant lands and trade with foreign countries. The house is expansive and broadening. It is the content, but not the paper and ink, of books containing knowledge and wisdom. This house rules religion and philosophy, and persons concerned with such matters. It is higher education and the places and people who promote it. This house rules fame (what is said about the person, as distinct from the “honor” of the Tenth House, which has to do with position in life), and in the negative sense, notoriety. Because this house implies sensitiveness to larger or more remote ideas, it is the house of visions, dreams, inspiration, prophecy, and the whole psychic life in its more healthy forms; psychic maladjustment, or chaotic and formless states of mind are shown by the Twelfth because such is the result of some outer compulsion or failure of the individual to remain true to his inner self. This house rules large-scale and institutionalized means of exercising long-range control, in life and in trade, and so symbolizes the corporation (or the command center for space exploration). This house also rules publishing and broadcasting, as agencies of the general dissemination of knowledge. It is the house of creative thought in general.

The Tenth House The Tenth House, with its cusp located at the highest point in the heavens, is the House of Honor. It signifies the general recognition (by the collective) of any individual, group, or particular matter brought to consideration. As the highest of the houses it also signifies the ultimate authority in any situation, as the king, the boss, the landlord, or the head of any sort of group. It signifies efforts to gain prestige among your fellow man, or any failure to gain or hold it. It is anyone who issues orders or is entrusted to assure that the will of the group is carried out. The Tenth House designates superiority in general, and is that one of the parents to whom from the first the child yields the most necessary obedience, usually the mother. The house charts the ambition of the native, particularly in dynamic and direct relation to superiors. It is commonly called the house of profession, because it shows how or through what a person seeks to establish his place or prestige in the collective body of society.

The Eleventh House The Eleventh House shows a person’s generalized objectives in life, what the old astrologers called “hopes and wishes”. Thus, the house has a leaning toward the future. The old astrologers called this house the Good Daemon, and it is considered – along with the Ninth – the most fortunate of houses. The house also shows those people who are well disposed toward you and will assist you in the furtherance of your hopes and wishes, thus it is the house of friends and like-minded people. In Hindu astrology the house is used as the indicator of income generated through the profession (once earned, this money goes to the Second House of liquid resource). Legislation and legislative bodies are also indicated by the Eleventh, and it shows boards of directors, city councils and other such bodies. Also found here are humanitarian or public-service organizations, professional associations and such groups , and in a natal chart it shows the native's propensity to participate in such things.

The Twelfth House The Twelfth House is a dark house, one of “the houses of misfortune”. It is not all bad but, as we shall see, most of the things it contains are unfortunate or difficult at best. In general, it rules things which are dark and mysterious, hidden, isolated, binding and constraining, unsuspected and confusing. It is the house of the psychologists’ “repressed contents”. It shows institutions that in general isolate a person in some way, such as hospitals, asylums, jails and prisons, monasteries, and also all things that hold a person prisoner, whether to himself or others, whether physically or psychologically. This house shows all forms of protective custody, whether voluntary or involuntary. It is the house of “secret or hidden enemies”. In this regard, the house shows the native’s set of temperament that has called forth these enmities and strengthens them. Here we find kidnapping, abduction, blackmail and behind-the-scenes activities meant to cause the downfall of the native. This is the house of self-destruction or self-defeating thought and act. It is not only the house of imprisonment, but also of the escaped prisoner, or a released or pardoned prisoner. It is both bondage and escape from bondage. Here we find the detective, the prison warden or guard, the people who operate hospitals and so on. The outcast, and chronic conditions of misery are located here. It is the house of mourning and bereavement. As the house of self-destruction, it is suicide or its contemplation, the giving way to fear, or a sense of hopelessness. It is unrealized potential. Large animals live in this house, as do ghosts from the past and demons. It should be pointed out that all the suffering shown in this house can be turned to advantage because it contributes to the building of spiritual resources and enhance sensitiveness. Compassion grows in this house. This house holds psychological sustainment as well as restriction, shows help coming from unsuspected quarters, subconscious guidance and unexpressed devotion.