The fourth house is one of the four angular houses and is located at the bottom of the chart. It represents our relationship with our family and early childhood, hence it is a sensitive area where ancient childhood wounds can be discovered. You probably already know what your childhood was like, but it’s always wonderful to have astrology confirm what you already know. Furthermore, the beauty of astrology is that it provides you with a language through which you may better understand and describe some of the experiences you’ve had. You might have a Cancer-ruled fourth house if you were one of the lucky ones who had an excellent home life!
The house’s ruling sign can reveal information about the type of family you might desire to start in the future. It’s important to remember that family doesn’t have to be nuclear!
In This Article...
The 5th House: Self-Expression, Creativity, Pleasure, & Romance
This house has a pool, hot tub, bar, playground, paint, sidewalk chalk, a bubble wand, and a karaoke machine (do you mind if I come over?)
All things enjoyment and creative self-expression are ruled by the fifth house. This house will reveal how you prefer to play and have fun, as well as assist you in reconnecting with your inner child, which is likely important after plunging into the fourth house. This house isn’t just about inner kid enjoyment; it also deals with sexual interactions and dating. Before you become burned out and uninstall all the apps and opt to find love the old fashioned way, here is the fun and flirty side of dating (by waiting until a handsome person wakes you up from a deadly slumber by a kiss of true love).
The sign that rules your fifth house will reveal what brings you the most joy, so pay attention to this sector to figure out what you need to do to feel that happiness, baby. If your fifth house is ruled by Virgo or Capricorn, be aware that you may retain the lingering belief that all pleasures are guilty pleasures.
The 6th House: Work & Health
The sixth house is crucial because it is here that we learn about the day-to-day details of life; it is here that we develop our daily routines and habits. We find both business and health-related tendencies in this astrological house, thus someone with an Aries ruled sixth house usually loves to exercise but isn’t as much of a workaholic, whereas someone with a Virgo ruled sixth house is definitely highly concerned with both!
The sign that rules your sixth house might tell you which portion of your body you should pay special attention to during this lifetime. Did you know that each zodiac sign is in charge of a different bodily part? Taurus is the sign of the throat and neck, Gemini is the sign of the hands, Cancer is the sign of the breasts, and so on.
The 7th House: Partnership & Marriage
This residence can be compared to the master bedroom, where the parents not only sleep but also conduct adult conversations away from the children.
On the chart’s eastern horizon, the seventh house is the next angular house, falling precisely opposite the first house. It also marks the beginning of the interpersonal houses, which are houses 7-12 and are all about community and transformation. The seventh house is frequently misunderstood to be about dating, but this is not the case! No, serious partnerships and intimate ties are the focus of this home. Marriage, commercial partnerships, lifetime friendships, and all legal alliances are all under consideration. These are the significant one-on-one partnerships that we have.
Because your seventh house is ruled by the sister sign of your first house, the seventh house is all about collaboration, which is what we look for in others. Each of the 12 zodiac signs has a sister sign (also known as an oppositional pair), and these sister signs have similar goals but quite different approaches to achieving them. As a result, we seek out people who will complement us, people who will provide a different energy while still sharing a shared purpose or set of ideals.
The 8th House: Transformation & Sexuality
Hear me out when I say this house reminds me of a bathroom… Transformation, sex, money, joint resources, authority figures, death and rebirth are all covered under the eighth house. We frequently enter the bathroom soiled and emerge clean; we go in there to get away from the party or to gain some privacy from our parents; we even go in there to have sex! Like the ninth house, it’s a potent, solitary, and transforming space.
The sign that rules your eighth house will reveal information about your own life transition. Use this knowledge wisely; wisdom may not come to you right now, but take a long hot shower and think about it.
The 9th House: Belief Systems & Higher Learning
You may imagine this house as a large library or even a stunning rooftop observatory with a telescope.
The ninth house is where we form our personal ideologies and views. Because it’s where we widen our minds and break free from the paradigms we were born into, this house reflects our relationship to higher education, other languages, and long-distance travel. Basically, this is the house that will “blow your mind wide”! So, someone with Gemini ruling their ninth house may enjoy learning about religion but never commit to one dogma, whereas someone with Taurus ruling their ninth house may believe that they have discovered the one true definitive meaning of life, and someone with Sagittarius ruling their ninth house may believe that they must travel the world as a means of education.
The house’s ruling sign will reveal if you’re open-minded or closed-minded. The earth sign controlling the ninth house will be closed-minded, whilst the air sign will be open-minded; the water and fire signs could go either way, but will feel strongly.
The 10th House: Career/Profession, Responsibility, Reputation, & Standing
The tenth house is the final of the angular houses, and it governs our professional life and public image. Because the tenth house is at the very top of the chart, it’s like the tip of the iceberg, which is why everyone knows you for it. When you first meet someone, they ask, “So, what do you do for a living?” That’s the iceberg tip of the tenth house in action. Your tenth house, like the exterior appeal of a house, teaches us about first impressions.
The sign that rules this house can reveal information about your job title, but not so much about the actual labor you’ll be doing (remember the second and sixth houses?). and more importantly, the field in which you will be most successful.
The 11th House: Aspirations & Personal Goals, Groups
The eleventh house is all about the individuals we associate with and with whom we link ourselves. Imagine this house as a large potluck supper with all of your friends and the most inspirational people in your life. Everyone brings a dish to share, everyone nourishes each other with food and conversation, and you leave feeling satisfied and inspired.
The zodiac sign that rules your eleventh house will reveal the types of friendships you form. If your eleventh house is ruled by an earth sign, you’ll seek foundation in friendships, whereas air signs will be drawn to others out of curiosity.
The 12th House: Soul Growth & Undoing, Privacy & Secrets
Consider this dwelling to be the basement of our make-believe home, with a secret door that only you know how to use.
Because the last house in the zodiac wheel is so private, it can either be a location of self-undoing or significant spiritual progress. We prefer to hide things in the twelfth house, much like we do in the basement, allowing them to rot or decay, but if we take the time to unpack the things we try to hide, it can lead to personal progress.
The zodiac sign that rules your twelfth house can reveal your proclivity for mediumship or psychic talents. If you were born under the sign of Pisces, Scorpio, or Cancer, you most certainly inherited these abilities.
What are the 12 ground rules of the house?
The subconscious mind, dreams, intuition, instinct, and secrets are all ruled by the twelfth house. In reality, it governs everything that is hidden, including behind-the-scenes activity and confidential engagements.
As part of its control over the subconscious mind, this house includes psychotherapy and psychic phenomena. The influences on this house can heighten our intuition and hunches.
“Self-undoing, or anything we do to undermine ourselves, also falls under this house,” the ancients noted. It oversees repose, the completion of long cycles, and the conclusion of any and all forms of confinement, including hospital stays, nursing home stays, and even prison terms.
This is the location where we go to heal. Self-sacrifice, inner suffering, restrictions, and hidden foes are all ruled by this planet. Finally, this house is all about generosity, especially one-on-one.
The twelfth house rules over all giant animals, which is a little-known truth.
Neptune, the spiritual and self-sacrificing planet, and Pisces, the loving fish, control the twelfth house.
What are the ten ground rules of the house?
The summit of your unique story is the Tenth House, which is also known as the House of Popularity. It is positioned at the very top of the birth chart. The public image, professional objectives, and career achievements are all governed by the Tenth House. Planets in the Tenth House indicate an ambitious person, and as planets transit this zone, career changes are common. Capricorn energy is associated with this House.
Which planets are ruled by which houses?
Each house’s qualities are provided for both personal (see Keywords) and financial astrology.
- Aries and Mars are in the first house.
- Taurus and Venus are in the second house.
- Gemini and Mercury are in the third house.
- Cancer and the Moon are in the 4th House.
- Leo and the Sun are in the 5th House.
- Virgo and Mercury are in the 6th House.
- Libra and Venus are in the 7th House.
What do the 12 astrological houses represent?
The houses in astrology are the cosmic equivalent of a crystal ball, only far more reliable. There are 12 houses in the Tarot, each symbolizing a different aspect of life, such as health, money, relationships, and everything in between. Consider the wheel of houses as a sky map, with planets traveling from house to house all the time. Each planet was in a different house when you were born, and those houses may be seen in your birth chart. Because the homes are based on the time you were born rather than the date, you may need to text your parents to find out.
The positions of the planets at the time of your birth (or throughout your life) might reveal important information. For example, if Jupiter (the planet of luck) was in your second house (which governs wealth) at the time of your birth, making money will most likely come easily to you. (Could you please share the love?)
In astrology, what is the most powerful house?
Because the angular houses are the most powerful in the chart (according to Lilly, “Planets in angles do more forcibly show their effects”), succedent houses, which are less powerful than the angular but more powerful than the cadent houses, have the quality of appertaining to the angular houses, much like a representative or underling of a powerful person.
In this approach, the second house, which comes after the first house of the body and personality, tends to represent the person’s possessions.
Similarly, the eighth house, which comes after the seventh house of the partner or spouse or “other person,” indicates the other person’s or partner’s possessions.
Succedent houses have a constant, unchanging nature that stems from their central location in each quadrant of the chart.
Although at least one succedent house (the eighth) has a clearly malefic (or unfortunate) meaning, and one is quite weak (the second), on the whole, these are productive houses in which issues such as possessions (the second house) or children (the eighth) take root and grow (the fifth house.)
What exactly are 12 hour placements?
Finally, we’ve reached the finish of our tour through Western astrology’s house interpretations.
It’s one of the four shadowy residences. It’s a cadent rhythm. Saturn revels in seclusion, constraint, and loneliness, thus it’s a joy for him. The twelfth house was the weakest of the twelve houses for many writers in the classical Western school of astrology, and for good reason.
However, just as every life must include adversity or encounters with forces beyond our control, every life must also include sentiments of loss, retreat, and resignation. Nonetheless, every life has the potential to uncover gifts hidden in the shadows.
In astrology, the twelfth house is the house of shadow, enmity, self-undoing, isolation, and sadness. The twelfth house, as Saturn’s delight, is related with those aspects of life that limit and bind us, those aspects of life that always appear to be in the way of our best interestsor, more accurately, what we perceive to be in our best interests. From the outside, the twelfth house represents hidden opponents, those who may work against us without our knowledge in order to prevent us from achieving our goals.
Where do the meanings of the twelfth house come from?
The meanings of the twelfth house are derived from three basic sources: first, Saturn’s delight, the Greater Malefic. Second, it’s a cadent house, which means planets there are moving away from an effective and powerful ascendant position. Third, it’s a tough house to observe from an astronomical standpoint, and it’s what’s known as a “difficult house.” “Because planets in the first house are unable to see into it, the entire house is shrouded in shadow.
The twelfth house, as Saturn’s delight, receives the whole range of Saturn’s meanings (refer back to my discussion on the 3rd house and planetary joys if you need a refresher on how this works).
Saturn is the planet that governs constraints, harshness, coldness, limitations, those on the fringes of society, boundaries, and the word “no, therefore the twelfth house’s meanings are derived from all of those bits and pieces of life. Planets in the twelfth house are ineffectual at fulfilling their jobs because it is cadent, which doubles up on the problem “Limitation is also a good idea.
The visual character of the twelfth house must also be considered: even though planets rise above the horizon and are visible, atmospheric distortion prevents the observer from seeing a planet in its real form.
Consider how the Moon appears when it is full and rising over the eastern horizon at night, just before the Sun sets: massive, bloated, and red, somewhat dissimilar to the color she takes on during an eclipse. Also, keep in mind that tree lines and mountain ridges limit your view of the horizon. Even if the rising of a planet at the ascendant offers power as the planet passes from the underworld to the heavens once more, the twelfth house is a house of distortion and shadow from a visual aspect.
People and places associated with these ominous themes become twelfth house subjects as well: bereavement, prisons, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, and mental health in general ” (we might say “unconscious because the twelfth house is both figuratively and literally outside the gaze of the conscious observer).
The twelfth house was given several names, one of which was “the nefarious demon Consider the polar opposite of what I mentioned about the eleventh house in the last post in this series “the benevolent demon This house represents all of the things that aim to harm us, whether they are internal, such as the Shadow, or external, such as invisible foes.
Meeting the Shadow
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin, is a huge fantasy series that I was recently introduced to. Ged, a young dark-skinned magician, is the protagonist of the novel. He was the original boy wizard of twentieth-century fantasy fiction. Young, prodigious, inquisitive, naive, and brilliant. Ged, on the other hand, is a proud man.
He discusses magic with the Master Changer, a wizard who specializes in shifting objects from one appearance to another, in one of his early teachings. Ged can benefit from what the Master Changer teaches him, but it is illusory; only appearances change, not substance.
Ged, who is always bright, curious, and proud, challenges his teacher with a question: “When are we going to learn some real magic?” When will we be able to transform pebbles into genuine diamonds? With a stone in his palm, the Master Changer responds,
“You must modify this rock’s true name in order to turn it into a jewel.” And to accomplish that, even to such a small part of the world, my boy, is to alter the world… You must not modify a single item, not a single pebble, not a single grain of sand, until you have determined what good and evil will result from your actions. The world is in equilibrium, or balance. The Changing and Summoning abilities of a wizard can sway the world’s balance. That power is perilous… It must be guided by knowledge and serve a need. A shadow is cast when a candle is lit…
Not long after this encounter, Ged’s talent and pride prompt him to challenge a rival student, someone he has come to despise, to a show of magical prowess in a fit of rage. Ged says that he can conjure the ghost of a renowned figure from the past, and he does so in the dead of night. The world is shattered by blinding light, and Ged’s classmates are afraid.
However, lighting a candle creates a shadow. Ged’s own Shadow emerges from the dazzling hole between realms. His arrogance, intoxicated by his own brilliance, erupts in rage, claws bared, and mauls him. Ged barely makes it out alive.
From that point forward, until a dramatic encounter in the book’s last chapters, Ged and his Shadow have been chasing each other, each attempting to master the other.
The deepest shadows are cast by the brightest flames. Like Ged’s arrogance and pride, those shadows are most often hidden in the twelfth house, where they go unnoticed until they have matured and festered into a gloomy cloud that hangs over our deeds. When a person whose shadow consumes them acts completely, their behaviors can be destructive, restricting, and domineering.
It’s not a location we’d like to spend much time, yet it’s necessary to look at what’s there, lest the shadow get too enormous.
Even when strong lights cast gloomy shadows, the deepest shadows in the earth still have luminous treasure buried within them, if we can be brave enough to name our shadows. The prize of the twelfth house is depth of experience and a greater sense of significance, not wealth or pleasure.
How to interpret the twelfth house in your natal chart
When you start interpreting the twelfth house in your natal chart, you’ll come across questions like these:
- What aspects of my life would I prefer to remain unseen?
- What aspects of my life have the most potential for depth and significance development?
- Where do I feel distance, alienation, and sadness in my life?
- What is the best way to turn my Shadow into a Gift?
To begin, we’ll examine two planets in particular: the planet that rules the twelfth house and any planets that are situated within the twelfth house. We’ll evaluate the nature of the planets in question, as well as their ability to perform their functions.
Wherever that planet lands by house will depict times in the native’s life when they experience tragedy and sadness, as well as times when they may discover depth and purpose in their life’s tale. The state of that planet will determine whether or not that story may be told with ease and elegance, or if it must be told with strife and effort (and therapy).
One thing to keep in mind: the planet that dominates the twelfth house becomes a “functional malefic.” Because the issues of the twelfth house are often negative, that planet must be the bearer of terrible news, even if it is usually a benevolent planet like Jupiter or Venus.
“What kind of shadow do I cast?” we inquire of the ruler of the twelfth house. “And where does that shadow fall?” says the narrator. The first question is answered by the planet that rules the twelfth house. The second is answered by the twelfth house ruler’s house location.
This is a metaphor I commonly use with the twelfth house (I can’t remember where I got it, but I know it’s from someplace; please let me know if you know where it came from!): Consider an old Gothic cathedral with stained glass windows on every wall that faces the exterior. During the day, the glass of that church appears to be dull. Sure, there’s a drab color and a shape there, but you can’t identify what’s going on.
Now imagine driving past that same cathedral at 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, just as midnight service begins: all of the building’s lights are turned on, filling the windows with radiance and warmth. Now you can see all of the delicate intricacies in full color in the stained glass. The structure appears to be alive.
Planets in the twelfth house, particularly the Sun and Moon, have the amazing ability to illuminate the intricate intricacies that lie hidden in that house. Planets in the twelfth house become highly important in this way, but because they are cadent, they remain out of sight until a scenario (typically a difficult circumstance) forces those planets and their stories to the forefront.
A planet in the twelfth house will carry out its aims in the native’s life by utilizing the twelfth houserestriction, isolation, grief, distance, margins, introspection, and hidden adversaries, which are, of course, determined by the house that it dominates.
It’s also worth noting that any planets in your twelfth house were most likely in the ascendant as your mother’s labor reached a crescendo just before your delivery. As a result, planets in the twelfth house frequently describe prenatal circumstances.
Saturn in Libra exalted in the twelfth house is one example I’m familiar with. The native’s head was too enormous to fit through her mother’s hip bones, so she had to be delivered via Cesarean section after 58 hours of labor (!!!). Because of the stress of the botched delivery, the native was badly jaundiced for the first two weeks of her existence. Saturn, of course, is the planet that governs both bones and pressure.
Another thing I’ve discovered while working with customers is that the twelfth house is associated with remoteness (because it implies isolation). I’ve seen a few charts where one of the parents’ fourth ruler or natural ruler was in the twelfth house, and the native came from a family where their parents divorced when they were children, with one parent being more distant than the other. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s something to think about while considering planets in the twelfth house.
