The astrological chart is a blueprint for understanding your personality and destiny. Though most people learn the meanings of the planets and signs, without understanding the house system, you are overlooking an important dimension of chart interpretation.

The western astrological chart is round and broken into twelve segments that look like slices of cake. Each “slice” is one of the twelve houses. While planets represent specific facets of your personality and signs describe characteristics and parts of your nature, the houses describe how the planets and signs manifest in different parts of your life.

This may sound complicated, but it’s not once you study the meanings of the houses. Each of the houses shows how your energy and personality may manifest in a different aspect of your life.

What are the Houses?

If your natal chart is a map, the houses are like sections of that map that help you locate and understand how a planet and or sign will express its characteristics in your life. The houses help you understand how the planets and signs’ energies are focused.

Each house represents a different aspect of your life (more on that shortly). Though you may not have planets in a specific house, you have signs in each of your houses, so each area of your life is flavored by the energy of these archetypes. In this sense, no house is ever truly empty.

Some astrologers compare the houses to rooms in a physical house and further compare the signs to how the rooms are decorated and the planets to people who may “visit” each room in the house.

Brief Overview of House Meanings

The first house in your natal chart is the slice to the left, the houses then advance counterclockwise to number twelve. Here is a brief glimpse of each house and what they represent.

The first house is also where you find the Ascendant or rising sign. Think of this house like a front porch or entryway into your personality and life path. This is the house of appearances, identity, individuality, and outward expression. The first house shows your first impressions. It’s ruled by Mars and Aries. So if you have Virgo in your first house, your initial appearance and impression is consistent with Virgo traits.

The second house rules what you value and often shows how you derive income and your attitudes toward money. It is ruled by Taurus and Venus. If you have Aquarius in your second house, for example, you may value freedom and independence and have an unconventional relationship with money.

The third house is ruled by Mercury and Gemini, it reveals your communication style, thought processes, and relationships with siblings. It also represents neighbors and early school experiences, as well as how you learn. Sagittarius in this house suggests abstract thinking and wordiness.

The fourth house is ruled by Cancer and the Moon. It represents family, how you find nurturing, and what you crave in your private life. Pisces in this house indicates an imaginative, creative family but also potential for addiction in the family.

The fifth house is ruled by the Sun and Leo. It represents creativity, hobbies, children, and potential to have affairs. Aries in this house for example suggests athletic interests and sports hobbies as well as the potential for impulsive, passionate affairs.

The sixth house is ruled by Mercury and Virgo. It represents your tedious routines and health. It is also associated with work and service as well as pets and small domestic animals. Capricorn in this house suggests traditional work routines and practical work in bureaucratic settings.

The seventh house is ruled by Libra and Venus. It shows how you cooperate with others and reveals much about love and partnerships as well as potential marriage. Taurus in this house suggests a practical, sensual, romantic partnership in romance or business.

The eighth house is ruled by Scorpio and Pluto, it is associated with shared wealth, taxes, loss, power, and transformation. Occult interests and psychic potential are also found in the eighth house. Cancer in this house suggests shared wealth related to family business or a strong psychic connection.

The ninth house is ruled by Jupiter and Sagittarius. It represents potential for distant travel, higher education, beliefs, morality, and publishing. Gemini in this house suggests multiple advanced degrees and a love of travel and learning.
The tenth house is ruled by Saturn and Capricorn. It represents career and public image. Libra in this house suggests a career related to justice, beauty, counseling, and advocacy.

The eleventh house is ruled by Uranus and Aquarius. It represents your network and friendships, groups, and associations. Leo in this house suggests someone who is the life of the party and has many friends and associations with theatrical, creative groups.

The twelfth house is ruled by Neptune and Pisces. It describes how you lose your ego and find spiritual connection but also your addictions, illusions, wounds and potential for incarceration or hospitalizations. Sagittarius in this house may suggest someone who has to work through grandiosity to learn humility or risk losing themselves to consequences of their impulsivity.