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The Astrological Houses are a very important part of the natal chart. They represent the environment we live in, the outside world where we respond and react to all areas of life that we come into contact with, and the people and situations that touch our lives. There are 12 Houses, and each one relates to a different area of life experience.

The First House

This House is about our image of ourselves and how we want to put that across to others. Imagine you have a large mirror in front of you, where you can look at yourself and check out your appearance - this is definitely something you’d want in the First House! If you’re going out into the world to meet other people, you’ll aim to make a good impression and the First House is where you put the work in to make sure your image and the impression you make is right! Along with the large mirror, there is likely to be a wardrobe full of clothes and other accessories which you will use when you want to create a specific impression. Of course, you may think you look wonderful, but the other people that you come into contact with will give you feedback on this. They will act as your “mirror” out in the real world and you will learn more about your self-presentation from the reactions you get from others.

The First House is important because it is exclusively about ourselves, about “me”. If you were born between 4 am and 6 am it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the First House. This will emphasise your need to present yourself well to the rest of the world.

The second House

This House represents the area of life where we are very aware of our need for security. It is where we assess our self-worth and consider what we possess and what we value in life. These things are important to most people, and because we tend to identify with our possessions and what we have, we are likely to hang on to them for dear life! Whenever you say ,“That’s mine!”, you are coming from the Second House area of life.

You may have a certain amount of pride in your possessions - your car, computer, mobile phone, new kitchen complete with gadgets etc. - because they all add to your sense of self-worth. If you had to give any of these up, you would probably only do so with a struggle. Pride can also be taken in the achievements you’ve made, so any examination passes, award certificates and diplomas that you have will all represent how you value yourself and your own feelings of self-worth.

The Second House is where we find tangible possessions, like the new car or the dishwasher, and intangible ones, such as people’s values and attitudes to life. The car and the dishwasher we could take away, but it is nigh on impossible to take away what people value and believe and hold on to. Our self-worth is nurtured and sustained by what we value in life and it is interesting to note that even if our material possessions are taken away from us, our integrity would remain because our values and attitudes would still be there.

There is a danger with the Second House that we might allow ourselves to hold on too tightly to those things we identify with very strongly, so it could be a place where we become “stuck”. If you were born between 2 am and 4 am it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Second House. This will emphasise your need to feel safe and secure, and to take pride in your possessions and achievements.

The Third House

This is where we love to chat and talk to others and swap the gossip. The Third House is the home of news, media and all forms of communication. It is the area of life where we learn and pick up a huge variety of facts. These we get from books, from what we learn at school, from reading newspapers and magazines, from talking to others, chatting on the telephone, watching TV and listening to radio. All forms of communication - such as the internet you are using now - are associated with this area of the chart.

The communicative nature of Third House activities means that we may easily be swayed to take on and accept the ideas of others that we come into contact with, and perhaps will be reluctant to express our own viewpoints. It’s often much easier to go along with what people around us think and say because we believe that they know more than we do. We can become lazy in this House, and not bother to reason things out for ourselves, preferring to swap gossip rather than express our own ideas.

If you were born between 12 midnight and 2 am it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Third House. This will emphasise your need to learn and gather facts and to enter into all forms of communication available to you.

The Fourth House

This represents the area of the chart which includes our family and home, our roots and the neighbourhood we live in - in short, where we come from.

This House, or area of life experience, can be one of ease and comfort and connection to our deepest roots. We may depend upon our family and the close friends we have in our neighbourhood, and these comforting aspects of our lives may mean we don’t willingly step out of this secure and comfortable set up and make out own way in the world.

Now, there is nothing wrong with having a good and solid support network within the realm of the family and amongst friends, but if we decide we want to move out of this “comfort zone” and into a new area of life, this can hold up back. People that we know well will not like it if we want to make changes, because our desire to change will upset their sense of security! So it is possible that our nearest and dearest will find all manner of ways to block or stop us in the changes we seek to make.

Should this happen, the thing to do would be to draw on the strengths of our roots and foundations which will help us find the confidence to become more individual, and to develop the new qualities we wish to bring into our lives. This will help us move into the new sphere of life experience that we want explore.

If you were born between 10 pm and 12 midnight it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Fourth House. This will make you strongly attached to your roots and to your home and family, where you will seek to feel safe and secure.

The Fifth House

This House represents the area of life where we like to have fun and enjoy ourselves. It is the area of life experience where we pursue pleasure, entertainment, sport, and enjoy being creative. It is also where we make contact with people, through the relationships we make - and someone once said that relationships are probably the most dangerous ships we can travel in!…….but they can also teach us a lot about ourselves.

The interactive nature of the Fifth House means that other people will feature large within this realm. We try to impress people, we approach life with an air of bravado and we may try to make conquests here as well. These may be sexual conquests - we learn to “play the field” and often find out a lot about ourselves at the same time!

Creativity is a key feature of this area of the chart, so we may be encouraged to develop our creative abilities, through producing works of art of some kind…...and also babies, which in itself is a very creative act!

With so much “impress behaviour” going on in the Fifth House, we can easily feel rejected and insecure if people fail to notice us or give the applause and accolades that we are seeking. Yet this is where the deeper learning that this area of life comes into its own.

If you were born between 8 pm and 10 pm, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Fifth House. This will give you the capacity to go out and meet people, and you will be eager to impress them as well as form relationships with them. You are likely to be quite a sociable person!

The Sixth House

This House represents the area of life where we seek to establish ourselves in the work place. Here we have to knuckle under and learn how to earn our living, how to get on with our fellow workers and how to progress in our working life. We will do this more effectively if we bear in mind that the Sixth House is also the area of life where we can be of service to others. A helping hand, a cheery manner and a genuinely caring attitude towards all those we come across in this realm of life will support our own development as well as add a warmth and sparkle to the human relationships we encounter there.

The Sixth House experience is all about learning how to be a part of the working world. We have to find out what we can contribute. We have to learn how to combine this with being willing to take responsibility for others and at the same time work alongside them with love and humility, rather than trying to grab what we can for ourselves. In the Sixth House we may find that there are a few sacrifices to made on our part in order to keep things running smoothly in the work place. But be sure of this - we will learn and gain something from it for ourselves. It will be the respect and trust of those we work alongside.

If we are unable to cope with the challenges of the workplace, we may make up excuses to get us off the hook. These could take the form of psychosomatic symptoms of illnesses.

If you were born between 6 pm and 8 pm, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Sixth House. This will indicate that you have an easy ability to work with others and for the good of others. You might be engaged in the service industry, or work as a nurse, doctor, carer, teacher etc. Being of service to others will probably be a strong factor in your life.

The Seventh House

This house represents the area of life where we enter into one-to-one encounters and partnerships with others. These partnerships could be marriage or business, or any other area of life where we are closely committing ourselves to another person.

Problems may arise in this area of life if we enter into the partnership with big expectations about how the other person should be. We might find that they do not live up to our expectations, or that they disappoint us in some way. The partner we are looking towards with such great hopes and expectations may be unable or unwilling to live up to what we expect, simply because it would mean that they could not be true to themselves by doing so. Not surprisingly, this causes conflict within the partnership, so each partner has to learn how to give and take. We have to learn to balance our needs against the needs of our partner, otherwise we find the situation falls into a crisis.

Life in the Seventh House is a bit like living in a hall of mirrors. Everyone we encounter on a one-to-one basis will hold up a mirror to us, showing us what they see as they interact with us. We most certainly will not always like what we see, but if we have the courage to look into that mirror, and to listen to the feedback we get from our interactions in this area of life, we will learn a huge amount about ourselves, and our potential.

If you were born between 4 pm and 6 pm, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Seventh House. Here you will be able to “play the field” in the arena of one-to-one relationships, expressing yourself strongly in your partnerships, and learning a lot about yourself at the same time.

The Eighth House

The eighth house is opposite the Second House. The theme of “possessions” is continued in the Eighth, but this time the possessions are those that belong to others, not to us personally. They may be the possessions of individuals - for example very wealthy people - or the possessions, attitudes and values of groups of people, like society. As we are part of society, we have to pay our dues and taxes in order to keep these possessions in good working order, so our taxes will help to fund our street lighting, the police force and so on.

The area of life represented in the Eighth House includes that of big business corporations, lawyers, doctors, solicitors, the armed forces and the government, whose task it is to administer and protect the wealth and well-being of society.

The Eighth House is also the area of transformation and change - it’s where we must be willing to let go of our own personal desires and throw our lot in with the rest of society, so that all can benefit. Never an easy area of the chart, if this House contains significant planets in an individual horoscope, that person may be fired to work for the greater good of society and be strongly motivated to make a difference out in the world.

This House is not without it’s crises. If we refuse to let go and hang on tightly to our personal desires and outmoded ways of thinking and behaving, we can expect some “life lessons” to keep coming our way until we start to get the message!

If you were born between 2 pm and 4 pm, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Eighth House. You may be involved in a career in a business corporation, in the armed forces, or in some kind of socially aware activity. You may simply want to make a difference, interested in changing yourself and maybe about changing the world too! But without a doubt, you will be very conversant with the that way society - and the people within it - works.

The Ninth House

This is opposite the Third House, where we chat and gossip about anything and everything. The Ninth House is not restricted to mundane, everyday matters, and represents an area of life where we can expand our thinking and be stimulated by wide-ranging, challenging ideas and viewpoints. In the Ninth House we find our own truth. We stand firmly on our own two feet and are not afraid to say what we know, based on our own life experience.

In this House we may be drawn to travel and seek new experiences of life and the world, always learning as we go. The planet that rules this House is Jupiter, and Ninth House activities always have a Jupiterian flavour - we will seek to expand our horizons beyond what is already known. Our ideas and perceptions will change as we broaden our mind through reading, discussion, travel and seeking answers to questions such as “What is it all about?” or “What are we here for?” and one we all ask from time to time, “What is the meaning of life?”

This House is associated with wisdom and understanding, often gained through academic study, but there are dangers in this area of life too! We can become too much “in our heads” - too clever with our theories of this and that - and can get so carried away with our own cleverness that we fall out with friends, family and work colleagues. If this happens we find ourselves stuck in an ivory tower thinking we are the only one who has the answers - and that can be a very lonely place to be.

If you were born between 12 noon and 2 pm, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Ninth House. You may be involved in an academic career, perhaps as a teacher, lecturer or researcher, or you could be involved in some way with using original ideas to benefit humanity. You are also likely to be interested in philosophy and religion, and you will never be at a loss for interesting subjects to either talk about, or find out about.

The Tenth House,

This house is opposite the Fourth House of roots, home and family. The Tenth House is at the highest point in the chart and is where we aim to stand head and shoulders above the crowd and be noticed as an individual. Here, we want to succeed, have power and be a leader. In this area of the chart, we will probably strive to become “someone”, and in so doing we are likely to distance ourselves from our roots, and everything that has helped us on our way to asserting our own individuality out in the world.

This House, or area of life expression and experience in the chart , is where we will want, above everything else, to be recognised. And if we are, then this may well go to our head! Politically-motivated people jostle for attention and recognition in this area of life - think, for instance, of our politicians who seem to cling to power at all costs. In the same way, successful people who have made some sort of mark on the world will want to stay in this prominent position.

The danger here is when someone forgets about, or loses contact with, their roots and all that has nurtured them on their way to the top. They think they can go it alone and exist in isolation, and they reject their roots and all that helped them on their way. Their attachment to power is so great that they could live in constant fear of someone stabbing them in the back in order to remove them from their high perch. If you want a real-life example of this, look no further than politicians, the fat cats within the business world, and the stars, idols and personalities who thrive on the power that stardom and recognition endows.

If you were born between 10 am and 12 noon, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Tenth House. You may be in some kind of leadership role, heading an organisation (business, voluntary or otherwise) and be a person who is well-known in your community and perhaps in the wider environment. You will not relinquish your power or status easily, and it could be very beneficial to you to retain the “common touch” and stay connected with your friends, family and home neighbourhood.

The Eleventh House

This house is opposite the Fifth House. Both the Fifth and Eleventh Houses are where we experience relationships of all kinds. In the Eleventh House we want to get away from the “games people play” and focus on sharing and discussing ideas with people of like mind. In this House, or area of life, we are less interested in the intimacy and personal pleasures associated with the Fifth House, and are more drawn to developing and using the mind. We want to be with others who share the same interests as ourselves.

In the Eleventh House our approach to life is via the mental plane. We think, have ideas and inspirations. We may get sudden insights, especially when solving problems or looking at things in new ways. We want to be stimulated mentally. If there are planets in this House in our own personal chart, we may be strongly motivated to make changes in the world. We could join a pressure group such a Green Peace, Friends of the Earth or Amnesty International; we will care about global issues, environmental issues and social injustice.

We might choose a career where we creatively devise schemes which will be of benefit to the whole of humanity. It is likely that we will be immersed in the use of new and developing technology, and this will allow us to be connected globally to others of like mind. The internet can connect us to diverse and far-flung special interest groups around the world, and is a powerful Eleventh House technological creation.

The danger of the Eleventh House is that it’s a place where we can live solely in our minds and in our dreams away from the realities of everyday life, experience and other people. We may become aloof, out of touch with reality and lost in our own world of ideals and grand schemes. Idealistic we might be, but we must remember to ground our ideals in a practical way.

If you were born between 8 am and 10 am, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Eleventh House. You will probably be well-connected to other people who share the same specialised interests as yourself, and are likely to keep in touch with them via the internet, perhaps earning yourself a “geeky” reputation. You should beware of not becoming an “air head”, full of ideas, and stay in touch with the real world.

The Twelfth House

This completes the full round of twelve Houses, or areas of life expression and experience, shown in the birth chart. Opposite the Sixth House where we engage with the world through work and service to others, the Twelfth House brings us to a place of retreat and withdrawal. It is where we go to find within ourselves the meaning of our own existence. In the Sixth House we can define ourselves through our work and what we do for others; in the Twelfth House we have to search deeply within ourselves to find our raison d’être.

The Twelfth House is a place where we have to stand back from the needs of our own ego, which always wants recognition, and give to others what we have to offer, with love and without any expectations.

Many people will recognise the Twelfth House as a place where they can simply “be”. It represents the quiet space that we all need, and where we go to escape the everyday demands of life in order to recharge our batteries. People with planets in the Twelfth House of their chart will find it easier and perhaps more necessary to spend time in “recharge” mode. They will read, listen to music, meditate, do some yoga, go for a walk, do some gardening - but always alone. The need to have others around is not a feature of this House, whereas the need for solitude is.

Traditionally, this area of the chart is associated with life styles that are carried out in isolation, such as living in retreat from the world much as a monk or nun would. In the Middle Ages, this was a more popular choice as it offered access to a spiritual life path which included the study of books and texts not available to all. Nowadays,opportunities abound to search for new directions and find a spiritual dimension in life - in fact, this is the one search many people from all walks of life have in common: they want to find more meaning in their lives.

The dangers of the Twelfth House are that we may become so immersed in our own searching that we lose touch with the realities of life and cut ourselves off from contact with our fellow human beings. The balance that we need to seek for here is to bring the fruits of our spiritual seeking and searching to bear upon our everyday lives in a practical, loving and inclusive way.

If you were born between 6 am and 8 am, it is likely that the Sun - the planet which represents your innate sense of self - will be in the Twelfth House, so you will need to give yourself time and space to look within, in order to recharge your batteries. Then you will be able to serve your fellows out in the world in an effective and caring way, without needing or expecting anything back in return.

The Twelfth House brings us full circle around the chart, right back to the place where we started in the First House. If we view the chart and the Houses, or areas of life experience, as a roundabout, we can see that with experience and understanding, we can make each new turn on this roundabout richer and more fully conscious for ourselves in our own lives.

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