Houses in Astrology Explained

Zodiac wheel

Zodiac wheel

What are the houses of the Zodiac? The houses divide the horoscope into twelve segments. Each house is related to one sign of the zodiac and represents an arena of life experience. Each house is given a number from one to twelve, the first house cusp located at what would be nine o'clock on a clock-face, then, moving anti-clockwise as shown in the diagram to the left, numbering off around the chart.

The houses represent the sorts of circumstances you will have to deal with in this lifetime—challenges you have set yourself, so you may grow in personal understanding and consciousness.

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Astrological Houses

First House: (House of Aries and ruled by Mars) Includes the all-important Rising Sign (or Ascendant), and is the first impression given to the world. The house of identity, here are clues to our overall outer package, including behavior, physical traits, social mask, health and well-being. Planets here shape how others perceive you, and the "vibe" you put out there

Second House: (House of Taurus and ruled by Venus) This is often referred to as the arena of money and values. It's the province of stability, resourcefulness and slow, steady progress. Here you're shown how a grounded life can be created, one that is self-sufficient and in line with your values.

Third House: (House of Gemini and ruled by Mercury) The house of education, short travels, the fami tribe (siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles), neighborly exchanges and more. The style of sharing life observations comes through here. It's the arena of filtering info in, and sending it back out into your community.

Fourth House: (House of Cancer and ruled by the Moon) The arena of family, ancestral roots, the unconscious, Mother, and your sense of home. Planets here influence how you nest, and the experience to be had in the home base. Linked to our earliest moments in the womb, and even before that, in the undercurrents inherited from sources beyond this lifetime.

Fifth House: (House of Leo and ruled by the Sun) The house of creativity, and the Self radiating confidently outward. It's the arena of loving life through play, love affairs, self-expression and relating to children. Planets here also shape the way your Father is perceived, as well as risk-taking and the exuberant thrust into new creative fields.

Sixth House: (House of Virgo and ruled by Mercury or Chiron) The realm of routine in the service of a healthy, fulfilled life. Exercise, diet, our daily work, all fall in this arena. Planets here reveal your approach to daily life, discipline, colleagues and your own physical well being.

Seventh House: (House of Libra and ruled by Venus) This house holds clues to the tenor, style and lessons of your major relationships. That includes marriage, business partnerships and the big friendships in your life. Relationships are a mirror of the Self and planets here show what kinds of self-growth happens for us in that arena of life.

Eighth House: (House of Scorpio and ruled by Pluto) The house of regeneration through sex, and personal periods of death & rebirth. This realm deals with all things dark, hidden and potentially destructive, including our own unacknowledged psychic undercurrents. Planets here influence how we deal with the unknown -- whether with fear, attempting to control or surrendering to be transformed.

Ninth House: (House of Sagittarius and ruled by Jupiter) The arena of higher education, seeking knowledge, traveling and exploring the world. Planets here show how we expand our field of experience, and integrate all we know into a philosophy of life. This sphere reflects personal vision quests, dreams, aspirations and how we search for higher wisdom.

Tenth House: (House of Capricorn and ruled by Saturn) The house of personal authority and long-range career ambitions. Planets here influence how you create real change, and become an authority in your area of expertise. It determines things like persistence and endurance toward your big goals.

Eleventh House: (House of Aquarius and ruled by Uranus) The house of friendships, networks and the collective currents. Planets here show what kinds of alliances you create based on shared hopes, dreams and visions for the future.

Twelfth House: (House of Pisces and ruled by Neptune) This house deals with hidden realities, and planets here are vulnerable to illusion. Called the "house of undoing," because planets placed here are immersed in the All, and hard to see clearly. Growth in this house happens at the soul level, and often far below the radar.

Astrology List of Planets and Signs

Astrology List of Planets and Signs

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Learn more about the Nodes of the Moon here.

Aquarius Full Moon Rising by Guest Astrologer, Shakti

Full Moon Rising

Full Moon Rising

Full Moons are culmination points of your emotional journey throughout all those different inner facets throughout the month of one lunar cycle. Full Moon means the uttermost reflection of the light giving energy of the Sun into deepest crevices of your inner world. This Full Moon in Aquarius is receiving the energy of the Sun in Leo. Sun and Moon are the yin and yang, the male and the female force, the complementing forces in life. Sun as the life giving entity is radiating the force to create life and Moon is reflecting the energy, taking it into the inner world, sustaining and nourishing life.

Sun in astrology shows your self- identity, the inner place of strength you act from in your life. Sun is representing the inner and outer male figure. Sun is your self awareness and consciousness guiding you into choices and decisions. With the Sun moving through the whole zodiac throughout the year it gives you different mental perspectives onto life and guides your process of evolution as an individual and as whole humankind.

Moon in astrology on the other hand reflects consciousness evolving through your inner digestive process of your feelings and guides you more intuitively. Emotions are often unclear and hidden from the light of consciousness and might take a while to float up to conscious recognition and acknowledgment. Moon is the archetypal mother, the inner woman or outer woman, nourishing you in her unique way of being.

The Potential of the Aquarius and Leo Opposition

I believe wherever this Full Moon is touching into your chart it will have a profound impact for your soul’s journey in these challenging times. Note in which house the Full Moon falls in your chart and which aspects it is forming to personal planet. It carries the potential for integration between your inner and outer world and your visions and dreams coming to fruition.

You are also called upon extending your goodwill to others, be a role model for your beliefs concerning change for the better, taking care for your friends and neighbors, acting from a place of oneness and connectedness, taking charge and stepping up. Become a leader for what you believe in! Be the change you want to see! Grass root movements are needed to move on into the Aquarian Age, into the year 2012 with all its prophesied changes in consciousness of humankind.

I think we all agree that the old ways driven by greedy ways of the ego for power and self-gratification won’t meet the requirement of the 21st century. Mother Earth is polluted like never before and we are poisoning ourselves with it. The old economy is crashing and with it the old paradigms. We have to come up with new ways to organize ourselves on this earth looking beyond old tribal, ego driven survival instincts and make decisions based on the good for all.

What is needed is the emergence of a new consciousness and astrology is giving us much hope and understanding about the challenges ahead. It also gives us tools for coping. Here are two gemstones that can help you to balance and integrate the seemingly opposing forces of Aquarius and Leo.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine

An Aquarian Gemstone is the Aquamarine

Uranus infuses Aquamarine with some unusual qualities and a vision beyond our limited mind-set, making Aquamarine the Rebel among the gems. This is the gemstone of visionaries fighting for a better life, supporting goodness and necessary changes. It urges you to seek freedom and independence and to express your uniqueness. Aquamarine is the stone of innovators, ahead of their time in many ways. It encourages you to always question your limiting beliefs with an open mind and to be willing to grow beyond them. It can help you to find your own vision and purpose in life and the courage to live them.

This unique gem connects you with the unlimited aspect of being that is found in the ocean, symbolizing the vastness of existence, the unlimited space and horizon that you experience standing on a beach or on a boat.

ruby ring by shakti

ruby ring by shakti

A Leo Gemstone is the Ruby

The Ruby is the warrior of the heart, the knight of your dreams. It touches the root chakra and the heart chakra, helping gently but powerfully to bring energy up from the first chakra to the heart. The root chakra is your connection with the earth, your grounding, ego identity, survival instincts, anger, sex drive, and life force in general. The heart chakra is the seat of your emotions of love in all its aspects, from self-love to unconditional love. It is the site of unresolved wounds suffered in love and childhood experiences—but it is also home to forgiveness and compassion.

If you like my astrological musings I invite you to sign up for my free weekly newsletter here on my Astrological Signs Weather Report & Healing Gems Blog for a regular update on the actual universal flow in the heavens. As you can tell I am also very passionate about the abilities of the healing gemstones to help to align and balance our flow. I have even written a book about it and the connection with astrology! If you know where your challenges are, you can then take steps to support or balance yourself with gemstones, if that is something that appeals to you.

I hope you enjoyed this article, aloha and many blessings, Shakti.

Shakti

Shakti

Bio: Shakti Carola Navran has been an astrological coach, jeweler, spiritual teacher and healer for over 30 years. Her practice spans hypnotherapy, meditation, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and healing with gemstones. She creates beautiful jewelry for the soul and spirit at her studio on Maui, Hawaii. She has written many articles and is the author of the book Jewelry & Gems for Self Discovery: Choosing Gemstones that Delight the Eye & Strengthen the Soul.

In her book she teaches you about astrology and how to read the blue print of your own chart. If you know where your challenges are, you can then take steps to support or balance yourself with your 12 personal healing gemstones, those enchanting allies to raise your frequency and experience more joy. Jewelry and Gems for Self-Discovery is a treasure chest of ideas about Soul Jewelry; on how to select, purchase, and wear jewelry that will enhance your body, heart, mind, and soul.

Shakti Carola Navran: astrologer, jeweler and author, 1135 Makawao Ave. Suite 310, Makawao, Maui, Hawaii 96768. Phone: 808.878.8182