First and foremost, I mean it when I call this an advanced lesson. This kind of information should only matter to you if you're really, REALLY anal about your character exhibiting some very specific characteristics. Personally, this level of detail helps my personality framework sketching, and maybe it'll do the same for you. We can always hope.

In any case, in the last class we discussed the three core natures of an astrological personality: the Sun, Moon, and Rising signs. We also talked about what some keyword descriptions for each of the signs are, and I'm going to write this hoping that huge mess of information all sunk in enough for this to make sense. If you get frustrated with the information excess, though, don't feel badly -- remember that the Moon and Ascendant are considered "advanced" astrology by most layfolks and you've already got that one all figured out. ^_^v

The first thing we're going to talk about are Houses. The twelve houses define twelve different areas of life, and if you're looking at a natal or horoscope chart the twelve houses are the little wedges the chart uses to divide up the sky. Each house has a natural sign and ruling planet: each planet rules a sign, and the sign is attached to whichever house fits the best. It also helps that they go in order down the Zodiacal calendar.

The First House is the Ascendant, and we've already talked about that in the previous class. The natural sign for the Ascendant is Aries, and Mars is its planetary ruler; this is because the Ascendant is all about the You Show starring You as You and Aries and Mars are best suited for this.

The Second House represents material and financial considerations, and is, you might have guessed, ruled by Taurus and Venus. It represents security, gains, losses, and concerns about such. It can also represent the way a person will budget their resources, be they mental, physical, spiritual, or simply monetary.

The Third House is the sign of communication, and is ruled by Gemini and Mercury. It talks about mental aptitudes, everyday occurrences, early childhood, education, and siblings. Placement in this sign sheds light on the way thought processes occur.

The Fourth House is the sign of domesticity. Ruled by Cancer and the Moon, it discusses home, family life, and reflects the influences of the nurturing (as opposed to judging) parent, usually the mother. Look here for answers on questions of domestic harmony or the end of life. Isn't that pleasant?

The Fifth House, ruled by Leo and the Sun, is the house of sweet sweet love down by the fire. It represents recreation, creativity, hobbies, gambling, risks, and, perhaps most vehemently, love affairs and personal relationships.

The Sixth House maintains areas of professional affairs, and is ruled by the analytic and anal-retentive tendencies of Virgo and Mercury. This governs the work environment, employers and employees, daily routines, health issues, and hygiene. No, I have no idea why they throw health and hygiene into the employment House.

The Seventh House, the House of Contracts, is ruled by Libra and Venus (yes, Mercury and Venus get two, because Earth doesn't get one. Poor Mamoru). It represents partnership in all forms, from business arrangements to marriage and also deals with the relationship any person has with him or herself.

The Eighth House represents natural changes, like the journey between birth and death. It's ruled by the happy happy combination of Scorpio and Pluto, and is full of angst. It discusses attitudes toward life and death, self-revelations, clearing the ways of junk for better things to happen, and sex and regeneration. Yay Scorpio, ruling over the genitals.

The Ninth House is much more uplifting, ruled as it is by much more happy-go-lucky Sagittarius and Jupiter. It deals in religion, philosophy, publishing, higher learning, travel, knowledge-seeking, and legal affairs.

The Tenth House is you as you appear to others; Capricorn and Saturn govern over things like reputation, social status, fame, career choices, achievements, notariety, and reflects the influence of the judging parent.

The Eleventh House is the House of hopes and dreams and friendship and comraderie and light fluffy clouds. Under Aquarius and Uranus, this house also deals with clubs, sports, and organizational activities. It influences cooperation, bettering the community, and humanitarian aspirations.

The extremely spoooOOoooOOOooky Twelfth House is the house of the subconscious mind. Everything secret and hidden hides here under Pisces and Neptune, and it's just terribly mysterious. Hidden weaknesses, anxieties, limitations, and extra-sensory perception are all hidden here at the very end of the chart where no one can find them.

So how does all of this go together? Much like with the intertwining influences of the three major signs, you take what one thing means, take what the other thing means, and then determine how those two items would interact with each other. It's very easy, for example, if you have, say, Neptune in the Twelfth House; since that's the ruling planet, it means that the influence would be that of the standard House, but would be felt that much more strongly. So what happens, say, when you have the Sun in the Twelfth House? Well, I'm getting to that.

Just like the Houses and the Signs, each planet stands for a specific kind of influence. You can see some of it already in the descriptions of the houses they rule, but for the sake of research let's go into each one individually. The Sun, for example, represents warmth, energy, and vitality. Any House with which the Sun is involved is said to be "illuminated." The Moon indicates emotions and sensitivity, and its influence in Houses is normally unconscious and domestically-related. This is the same kind of influence they exert over the two birth signs: the Sun is a great deal of overt energy while the Moon is more subtle.

The inner planets exert specific influences as well, like the Sun and Moon do. Mercury represents the practicality of thought, mental aptitude, and communication. Its placement in the chart tends to focus on things that will become of great interest. Venus represents how you express yourself socially, romantically, and artistically in all different areas of the life cycle. It brings a sense of harmony, refinement, and asetheticism to the Houses it occupies. Mars stands for actions and desires, and the House of its placement may cause problems in its assertiveness and potentially conflict-causing ways. Jupiter is the planet of abundance and positivity, and the House in which it rests will generally have things that work well for you; it encourages optimisim and good sense.

Moving on to the outer planets (yes, I know Jupiter is really an outer planet, I can't help the Sailor Moon Influence, I'm sorry -- besides, this makes it more even. ^^), Saturn is the planet of heavy responsibility. Yeah, like you didn't see that one coming. It represents limitations and restrictions, and its position tends to mark challenges in life. Uranus represents individuality and freedom of expression, and its placement marks areas of sudden, normally unexpected changes. Uranus brings radical behavior, in any case. Neptune represents sacrifices and spirituality. It tends to deal a lot with psychic influences and dreamlike states of spiritual forces. Pluto is the planet of revolution. This goes waaaay above and beyond the sudden, unexpected changes of Uranus into immensely powerful power struggles of upheaval.

I know, I know, you're still waiting for me to put this all together for you. For englightenment purposes, let's go with the line from Hair: when the Moon is in the Seventh House. What does that mean? Well, back up there we discussed that the Seventh House is the house of contracts, dealing in partnerships and marriage; the Moon is a subtle, emotional influence that acts unconsciously. Putting these together like a Ritz Bits s'more, you have an emotionally dependant influence with a strong desire for social acceptance that may marry passionately and heedlessly. This isn't necessarily bad, because those subtle emotional understandings might also help read a crowd and learn how to fit in. Astrology, much like Tarot, is all about interpretation.

And now you have more girders to add to your personality framework. If this *still* isn't enough for you, join us next time for a discussion on planetary aspects.

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