Astrology: The Houses (Circumstance)

The First House – House of Self/Personality
Ruled by the Sign Aries and the Planet Mars; Element: Cardinal Fire

Successful Navigation: Clarity and decisiveness in one’s actions. Sense of control over one’s direction in life. Sharply focused sense of identity.

Unsuccessful Navigation: Fearfulness and lack of self-assurance leading either to inflexibility and tyranny over the wills of others or self-effacement, vagueness of purpose, and the assumption of defeat.

The Establishment of personal identity.
Who are you? What will you become? How do you realize your best self?

The cusp of the First House is the home of the ascendant, the Sign which was rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of one's birth. Think of this house in terms of sunrise and new beginnings - centered around the individual: the self and the attendant voyage of discovery which defines a person.

Personality: presentation to the world, our essential qualities, approach to life, demeanor and basic sensibilities. It is the person we are becoming and will become, both internally and externally. The First House speaks to the realization of one's ultimate potential.

The Individual: their approach to life - the sum total of one's being. Not only our internal self but also our outer being are governed by the First House -- think the physical body and the way in which we present ourselves, and in particular, the head and face.

Early Childhood: Everything from our earliest steps to our view of the emerging world is considered here. How will we develop? What is our view on life?

The Second House – House of Possessions/Values
Ruled by the Sign Taurus and the Planet Venus; Element: Fixed Earth

Unsuccessful Navigation: Equation of self worth with value of possessions. Lack of self-respect. Fear of risk and collapse of will power leading to failure in the world. Life-limiting concern with material security

That which we own is not limited simply to tangible things. We own our feelings and emotions, as well as our inner selves, abilities, needs and wants. When we own up to something, we are in fact claiming ownership of our greatest possession, our self.

Posessions: earned income and our ability to influence it, investments and moveable property (cars, clothing, jewelry and the like). Debt is also part of the equation, since we own the responsibility to pay our bills. How we view money, the acquisition of wealth (and debt), financial reversals, savings, budgeting and financial status.

Value: Using our possessions, including material goods, to maximum advantage. Our possessions should enhance our lives and those of others in addition to fostering a general sense of well-being. This brings forth the concept of value. What do we value, both tangibly and intangibly? Why do we value it? Who do we value? What do we really own? What do we want to own? Why? Our effective resolution of these questions is a large part of what the Second House is all about.

Financial Sensibilities: Personal freedoms as established by financial capability and sensibility are addressed here. To a great extent, our possessions and what we do with them help to define us as viable human beings. Taking it a step further, will these material goods help us gain social standing, recognition, friendship and love? Used properly, they very well might. Therefore, the goal implicit in one's possessions could be defined as the ability to use those possessions honestly and to our best advantage and for the greater good.

The Third House – House of Communication
Ruled by the Sign Gemini and the Planet Mercury; Element: Mutable Air

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Urge to protect given concept of the world, leading to defensiveness, intellectualism, and verbal overkill. Scattered, unfocused curiosity leading to chronic time wasting and disorganization.

Information gathering and information sharing.
How do we communicate? How do we process and interact with our environment?

The questions posed by the Third House can be answered by listening to that House: think, process, share. The Third House reminds us that it's okay to use our conscious skills, as well as a more reflective intelligence, in order to make our way. Our minds are powerful, quick and dexterous. Some things will be well-thought out, others nearly automatic. Maximizing our sum potential is the key.

Consciousness: While communication here can be both written and verbal, it also has a conscious quality to it. Think about kindred spirits and mental connections. In this House, much of the communication is going on between the individual and those he or she holds close: brothers and sisters, as well as neighbors. A symbiotic relationship with those we hold close is also part of the plan.

Intelligence: Viewed in this realm as the analytical ability one possesses within their environment, specifically a basic grasp of things and a practical sensibility. We use this intelligence to help us work effectively within our world and with those in it.: Harnessing our intelligence and sharing it effectively with others. How do we best state our case with others, often those we love the most? Will our actions be true?

Early education: Effectively teaching us how to think and communicate.

Travel: The proximate nature of travel speaks to the intimate nature of the Third House: those we know well, in our environment, keeping that environment tight.

The Fourth House – House of Family & Home
Ruled by the Sign Cancer and the Moon; Element: Cardinal Water

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Lack of basic psychological self-knowledge leading to neurotic, unsatisfying, and obsessive behaviors. Self-absorption and self-analysis to the point of withdrawing from the world. Shyness.

When we think of home, we think of that place where we put down our roots. We lay our foundation and plant ourselves firmly into the Earth, as it were. One day, we will return to the Earth. The Fourth House brings things full circle by also addressing old age, endings and our final resting place.

Concept of Home. By laying down roots, we make a home for ourselves, or more specifically, the self. It's worth noting that in addition to the external home (all the bricks and mortar around us), we have really brought the essential self home. 'I'm home.' The self is now centered, grounded, one and at peace with the Earth. We seek to come home both physically and psychically, for ourselves and for those we love. By creating home, we create a meeting place, a sanctuary, a sacred place for ourselves and for others.

In our home, we integrate the self with all that has come before us and helped to shape what we are today. We create a domestic space which comforts and nurtures us and serves to keep safe those we love. Also important here are family history, cultural and societal norms, and ways of being. All of these are ruled by the Fourth House, as are our ancestry, roots and heritage. These qualities are brought 'home' through us and integrated into the place we call home.

Helping to create the home we make are our parents, for it is they who greatly nurture and shape our being. Therefore, the Fourth House can also be thought of as the House of the Mother, the Parent or the Nurturer.
Looking at things from a strictly tangible point of view, we can see that the Fourth House also encompasses physical structures (houses) and real estate. The Fourth House represents family, history and traditions. All of these contribute to the process of becoming a true, actualized and individualized self. This is how we come home.

The Fifth House – House of Pleasure/Children
Ruled by the Sign Leo and the Sun; Element: Fixed Fire

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Abusive, self-destructive uncontrollable relationships, focused on particular or unusual pleasures. Creative blockages. Inability to play and relax.

Life is more than just being or doing, it also includes finding – finding the pleasure in the acts in which we engage. Play for the purpose of emotional enrichment and pure pleasure.

Creation of Art and Culture: Oftentimes, pleasure is the result of a creative act. The simple act of creating is, essentially, giving of oneself and making something -- making another? The creative life is one from which we can derive much personal pleasure and self-satisfaction.

Romance: Taking this pleasure principle a step further, one can give it a more human face, even two faces. Romance and romantic affairs, both emotional pleasures, are within the realm of the Fifth House. Emotional satisfaction can be gained in many ways, and yet another way addressed by this House is

Gambling. While this implies a financial risk, it can also be viewed as the willingness to take a risk -- on love, with money or in life. A gut risk in the hopes of a pleasurable outcome.

Play: Fun, games and hobbies:

Children: Children as a source of pleasure are also important in the Fifth House. This brings us back to creativity, since through our children we create an extension of ourselves and then watch it grow. Giving our children all the good we had (and have), and then some, is certainly a pleasurable pursuit. How will this manifest itself? What form of pleasure and emotional release is best for our children? Music, dance, theater, art, science, literature -- these fancies are for them and for us.

The Sixth House – House of Health
Ruled by the Sign Virgo and the Planet Mercury; Element: Mutable Earth

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Endless busyness at tasks that have no personal meaning. Drudgery, wage slavery, and/or humiliatingly subordinate roles in key relationships.

The Seventh House – House of Partnerships
Ruled by the Sign Libra and the Planet Venus; Element: Cardinal Air

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Pattern of chronic subordinate or dominant roles in intimate relationships. Inability to form stable, emotional bonds. Fear of intimacy. Extreme dependency or extreme fear of dependency.

The Eighth House – House of Instinct: Sex and Death
Ruled by the Sign Libra and the Planet Venus; Element: Cardinal Air

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Blocked or obsessive sexuality. Fear or denial of death. Rigid denial of religious, occult, or mystical feelings.

The Ninth House – House of Philosophy
Ruled by the Sign Sagittarius and the Planet Jupiter; Element Mutable Fire

Unsuccessful Navigation:
Routine experiences, boredom. Rigidity of thought, dogmatism. Opportunistic, narrow-minded, or unprincipled behavior. Nihilism

The Tenth House – House of Social Status/Career
Ruled by the Sign Capricorn and the Planet Saturn; Element: Cardinal Earth

Unsuccessful Navigation: Entrapment in meaningless, alienating social roles. Obsession with power, appearance, and status, .

The Eleventh House – House of Friendships
Ruled by the Sign Aquarius and the Planets Saturn and Uranus; Element: Fixed Air

Unsuccessful Navigation: Vagueness of purpose, drifting. Inability to make a commitment at any level. Unrealistic, quixotic, whimsical goals. Friends and associates who only contribute to one’s confusion and drifting.

The Twelfth House – House of Subconscious/Troubles
Ruled by the Sign Pisces and the Planets Jupiter and Neptune; Element: Mutable Water

Unsuccessful Navigation: Blurry, confused, uncertain self-image. Escapism and abusive, self-destructive relationships with drugs, food, sleep, sex, television (etc.). Hypersensitivity, mental imbalance or illness. Chronic “bad luck.”