There is a buzz of bustle. While the planets in signs are based on an external reality (the solar system), the houses are based on your birth date and location. To make matters even more perplexing, their appearance in a chart can vary depending on the house system you employ.
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What does your astrological house system mean?
The Residences Consider a photograph of the sky taken at the time of your birth. Starting with the zodiac sign that was rising on the Eastern Horizon when you were born, the entire sky, above and below the horizon lines, as it reaches from the earth is split into twelve divisions. Houses are the names given to these parts.
In a birth chart, what is the house system?
Every house system, which is also associated with a zodiac sign, is based on the rotating movement of the Earth on its axis, but there are a variety of methods for calculating house divisions, as well as differing viewpoints among astrologers about which house system is the most accurate. It is required to have the exact time, date, and place in order to compute the dwellings. If the exact time of birth is unknown, some astrologers would use a birth time set for noon or sunrise in natal astrology. However, a proper interpretation of such a chart is unlikely.
At the time and place of the horoscope in question, the houses are divisions of the ecliptic plane (a large circle containing the Sun’s orbit as seen from Earth). From the first house’s cusp, they are numbered counter-clockwise. Houses one through six are often below the horizon, whereas houses seven through twelve are typically above the horizon, but some systems may not adhere to this division totally (especially when the Ascendant does not coincide with the first house’s cusp).
House divisions are calculated in a variety of ways due to disagreements over what they mean mathematically (regarding space and time).
In Western astrology, all house systems use twelve houses projected on the ecliptic. The distinctions originate from the fact that the initial division is applied to a basic plane and whether the divisions represent units of time or degrees of distance.
What are the foundations of astrology’s houses?
If you’ve ever looked at your birth chart, you’ve probably seen a picture of a zodiac wheel with twelve sections. You probably simply scrolled down to a list version of your placements because all the glyphs and aspect lines are bewildering. The zodiac wheel, on the other hand, is the actual birth chart! It’s where you’ll get all the juicy details. The 12 astrological houses, each representing a distinct aspect of your life, are represented by those 12 portions of the chart.
Your house is assigned to you depending on the precise time and location of your birth. House systems were devised in modern times to split the zodiac on the horizon line from east to west, metaphorically portraying the sun’s journey through the sky each day. On the zodiac wheel, your rising sign is always on the left-hand side. It signifies the eastern horizon, or, to put it another way, the location where the sun rises each morning. The rising sign always falls in the first house, no matter what house system you’re using (or, the house of the self). The houses are then recognized by turning the wheel counterclockwise from the second to the twelfth dwelling.
Consider a birth chart in the same way you would a tarot spread. The form is provided by the houses, which are similar to the card positions. The content is determined by the moment of your birth and the planets and signs that fall within each house. The houses provide context for the planets and signs, allowing for interpretation.
Is there a distinction between Placidus and Porphyry?
To begin, I’d want to point you that the home system we utilize can cause our planets to move from one house to another. This is significant because it affects how we trisect our chart’s quadrants and whether a planet on a cusp is in one house or the other.
I wrote this post eight years ago in reaction to an email informing me that an entire comment stream at a well-known astrological chat room had been blasted due to highly hostile discourse. That astounded me, because it makes no sense to argue about which housing system to employ.
This is an excerpt from my original piece, which has been rewritten for readability:
The following is what I was emailed, with the site’s name removed:
Greetings to all members Debate is an important part of intellectual discovery and learning. (This website) promotes constructive debate. When a post or thread descends into a caustic and adversarial personal squabble, all focus and value is lost, and (this site) and its members are denigrated. That was the case with the “What House system do you use?” discussion. All good stuff, as well as the counterproductive, has been removed from the discussion. According to your viewpoint, verbal abuse of life’s demigods and demons is allowed. Abuse in the __ community is not tolerated.
Wow. I’ve seen folks get worked up over a variety of topics, but never about an astrologer’s house system. I’m not sure how it happened, and I’m not sure I want to get involved over there, but it appears that this uncivil discourse reflects the current state of events in our society.
As a result, I’ve decided to try to explain what some of the different housing systems are all about. Only the horizon (ascendant-descendant) and meridian (midheaven-nadir) are determined by the time and location of birth. Whether you compute on the basis of a space-based system, a time-based system, or a space-time based system determines how you generate the boundaries (cusps) between dwellings.
Placidus’ houses are space-time, Equal’s dwellings are space-based, and Porphyry’s houses are space-based. Others include Campanus, Koch, Regiomontanus, Morinus, Alcabitian, Albategnian, and even those who divide the sphere into eight rather than twelve sectors, as well as those who delete all of the houses. We won’t go into detail about the advantages and disadvantages of any of these because most of my readers would be bored.
Though there is no consensus on which system is the finest (and it appears that some supporters of other systems are ready to fight! ), I have always utilized many systems at the same time in my work and been satisfied with the results. When I first started studying astrology, I discovered that depending on whatever system is used, several of my planets shift houses.
For example, using the Placidus system, I have Saturn in the 3rd house, whereas using the Porphyry and Equal systems, it is in the 2nd. Which is it, then? As I read the passages, I recognized that both looked to be correct. How is that possible?
Because both manifestations were true at one point or another, I came to the conclusion that, since none of these house “boundaries” are set in stone, I should think of the wheel in terms of zones of overlapping house boundaries, such as the areas where the first and second houses interact, or the second and third, or the eighth and ninth houses overlap, and so on.
This has worked really well for everyone I’ve read for over the years, and it helps to resolve some difficulties in how different aspects of our charts and lives interact. With Saturn in the overlapping zone between the second and third houses in my chart, it appears that I’ll need to use my Saturn function to figure out how it influences my values (2nd) and perception (3rd) areas, as well as where they intersect within myself.
I have to cope with a natural Saturn in the 2nd influence at times, and Saturn in the 3rd at other times. At all times, as expressed through my Saturn perspective, how these zones intersect and interact with one another.
Regardless of whatever house system is in use, I learn about Saturn from both aspects of my life and find Saturn’s impact in both. This holds true in your own charts as well. When a planet connects two houses, it is critical for your evolution to relate those aspects of your life with the planet in question.
Perhaps it would be beneficial to astrology (and bring some peace back to the realm!) if we could get past the notion that one system is correct and the others are incorrect, as I believe this is delusional thinking based on linear, restrictive rationalizations. Religious wars, whatever name you give them, are built on “winner-take-all” arguments. I don’t want any of my readers to get into a fight or disrespect one other over something as silly as whether one home system is better than the others.
Perhaps this is the most significant benefit of the quadrant system, sometimes known as the “no house” approach. To hit a note precisely, we don’t need frets on a guitar neck. They’re basically reference points that assist you get from point A to point B. The lines that divide the dwellings are the same way. Nearer to the horizontal axis, the sphere of self-not-self expands. Anything along the vertical axis is more in the domain of subjective-objective experience, or private-public experience.
It doesn’t matter whether a planet is “more really” in one house or another when it’s on the cusp; what matters is its relative position to the meridians. And attacking someone simply because they disagree with a house system is ridiculous.
What are the many types of housing systems?
House systems are divided into three categories: ecliptic, spatial, and temporal.
We’ll look at two sorts of ecliptic-based housing systems: whole sign and equal, as well as one spatial, Porphyry, and one temporal, Placidus.
Ecliptic-based home systems are the oldest and most popular throughout history. This is due to the fact that they are the most user-friendly.
What is the meaning of your Placidus chart?
The Placidus house system, commonly known as the Ptolemaic Method, is a “Time-proportional House System of Movement.” This differs from space-based systems, which are based on astronomical great circles rather than time curves.
It rose to prominence in the late Renaissance era, but the system’s origins have remained a mystery until this day. There are far too many ancient Arabic writings that have yet to be translated that potentially include predecessors to the Placidus system.
In astrology, what is the first house?
The house of the self is the first house in the zodiac. It houses our ascendant or rising sign and is linked to our self-image, initiation style, and how others see us. It’s akin to making a first impression. Any planetary placement in the First House will have a stronger impact on the individual’s personality. Jane Fonda, for example, has Mars, the planet of activity and aggression, in the First House, which is appropriate for a woman who has no qualms about initiating a fight, taking a position, or publicly discussing her own and others’ sex lives.
In astrology, what do the 12 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?)
Do houses have any significance in astrology?
The birth chart is like a photograph of the sky taken from Earth’s vantage point at the precise moment you were born. This chart is divided into 12 segments, which are referred to as “houses.” The action in the “movie of your life” takes place in the dwellings.
Depending on the time, date, and location of your birth, each house of your horoscope is ruled by a different sign. The rulership of a house is established by whatever zodiac sign the cusp, or beginning point of a house, intersects with on the wheel (that’s a little advanced, so don’t sweat it!). Simply put, the houses are what anchor astrology to the real world, as each one is connected with different aspects of life, such as profession, home, and relationships.
What is the significance of houses in astrology?
Astrology is limitless. The astrological houses come into action when each of the 12 zodiac archetypes appears in different aspects of your life… but what do houses imply in astrology, anyway? If your horoscope has ever made cryptic assertions about “the houses,” you’ve undoubtedly scanned over it and felt a little befuddled. I, too, was initially perplexed as a clairvoyant astrologer with a lifelong fascination with the cosmos. But now I’m here to assist you.
The astrological houses identify the specific regions of your life to which your horoscope refers. Each house, for example, signifies something entirely different; they decide the many types of people, places, and life events you will face over your lifetime.