Category: Learning Astrology

How to Interpret Houses in Astrology — Part 4: The Third House

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Admittedly, my posture towards the third house has been one of, “…well, we can get to that later.”

On the surface, it’s such a grab-bag of significations throughout the astrological tradition that doesn’t lend itself well to focused interpretation in the way that, say, the second house does with money matters, or the tenth house does with career.

It never feels certain which direction to go when interpreting third house matters in the situation that a person presents you with in a nativity or in a horary question. Whenever we come to this part of the chart I have to take a beat and figure out how to use words again, because they often fail me.

Are we looking at siblings? Family? Paperwork? A short trip? What if the person doesn’t have siblings? What do we do with the third house then? Or if a concern is about a communication between a person and their relatives: what’s the issue with the third house here—is it communication, or is it relatives?

But in preparing this article I’ve come to a deeper understanding of what the third house is actually about, and if we break it away from the “third house equals Gemini equals communication” model that is prevalent in most of the beginner astrology books out there, it takes on a particular richness that is easily missed if one stays purely at the surface level.

Then again, that’s to be expected from a house that is cadent and under the earth: it’s easy to overlook.

The starting point for understanding the meaning of the third house is this: this house is known as “the joy of the Moon.” In the classical astrological tradition the joys of the planets were particular parts of the sky where it was understood that each planet “rejoices” to be in.

For example, Sun rejoices to be in the ninth house because when the Sun moves through the ninth house during the day his heat and brilliance are at their maximums. Mercury rejoices to be in the first house because it is the bridge between the realms of the invisible and the visible, the mundane and the sacred, the alembic in which the deep alchemy of life manifests its elixir.

For the Moon, this is the third house—the house which opposes the Sun’s joy in the ninth. If we break apart the tradition to look at how the third house sausage is made, we see quickly how the signification of a planet being “in its joy” imported that planet’s meanings into the house where it rejoices.

So, let’s start talking about the third house by not talking about the third house at all; let’s start with the Moon instead.

What then, is the Moon?

Deborah Houlding includes a compelling discussion on this subject in her book, Houses: Temples of the Sky (affiliate link) that I think bears drawing out here for sure. She describes the nature of tribal and community experiences in the ancient world as being deeply tied to the cycles of the moon, a facet of life together that most Westerners have lost touch with.

But consider: for the major world religions, the lunar cycle is one of the most important calendrical features, working in concert with the Sun to describe shared communal experiences of fasting and feasting. The dates of the Islamic month of Ramadan, the Jewish feast of Passover, and the Christian celebration of Pascha/Easter are all determined in large part by the Moon. And it is during these fasts and feasts that we see much more emphasis being placed on community togetherness and tribal celebration.

In my own tradition it’s something of a joke that Easter is the best-attended Sunday of the liturgical calendar. But if we take a step back to consider this from an astrological perspective, it’s almost as though this phenomenon is a literal manifestation of the symbolism here. This feast is carved into the wheel of the year by the Moon herself bringing people together as a tribe to celebrate an important component of tribal identity. The same is true of similar lunar feasts in other traditions. While this is an anomaly to the contemporary Westerner, in the ancient world these cycles of the Moon were part and parcel of living in communities with one another as individuals whose survival depended on maintaining tribal cohesion and identity.

We see that one of the first functions of the Moon is to gather and unite in a community what Deborah Houlding describes as “lateral contemporaries.” In the ancient world, your immediate lateral contemporaries were your siblings and relatives. They served as your peers, your colleagues, your coworkers, and the social medium in which you grew up and came to understand the world.

The second major function of the moon is to transfer, translate, and transmit: the prefix “trans-“ in all of these words suggests crossing lines to facilitate communication between parties who have no other means of talking to one another. Another application of this principle is the fact that the Moon, throughout traditional astrological literature, is viewed as “the transmitter of celestial influences,” with Guido Bonatti going so far as to call the Moon a “mediatrix”—a title Catholics know as one of the epithets of the Virgin Mary, who very quickly got packaged in lunar symbolism as Christianity expanded through the Middle East and into eastern Europe.

The reason for the moon’s status as celestial go-between is twofold: one, the Moon is changeable, adaptable, and fast as hell compared to the other seven visible planets, taking only 28 days to make it around the wheel of the zodiac once compared to the average year that it takes the next fastest planet, Mercury. She can get around. As she does, she picks up the influence of the planets she aspects and transfers that influence to everything else she encounters. She also serves as the intermediary between the realms of heaven and earth, and any celestial influence must get through her. Her carrying and gathering nature, combined with her immediacy, changeability, and direct visibility make her a fabulous medium.

The Moon as one of the natural significators of communication and the mind is one of the planets that we look at to describe a person’s ability to intuit information. In Egyptian mythology, the ibis-headed deity Thoth was associated not with the planet Mercury, but the Moon, and Thoth himself was regarded as the god of writing, magic, and wisdom. In like manner, the Moon performs these roles exceptionally; we often see the Moon placed well in the charts of individuals who are notable writers or communicators.

I’ll go off-script to note here that, yes, Mercury is associated with the mind as well, but primarily with the rational, thinking functions of the mind that discern, label, and assemble information into cognitive constructs. The Moon functions differently, instead representing the gathering and dissemination of information itself, often by force of intuition.

With all of this in mind, I want to suggest that the basic signification of the third house is “medium.”

Not “medium” as in the size, or a bleach-blonde woman from Long Island, but rather “medium” as in the field that facilitates communication, exchange of knowledge, and shared tribal experience. That is, what is meant by the word “media” in “social media.” For example: Twitter is a social medium.

Think of the average person in the ancient world: they lived a tribal existence, found their identity as part of a communal experience governed by the cycles of fasting and feasting dictated by the Moon, and were educated in such a way as to maintain tribal cohesion. The main people with whom they exchanged words, ideas, and concepts were their peers, namely their siblings, cousins, and neighbors (who were often one and the same).

We can see now how the third house has accreted this peculiar cluster of significations, then: as the Moon rejoices to be here, so matters of the third house take on her priorities. She travels quickly, gathering people into a community as she does so, using words, concepts, and daily activities to stir us into a shared experience. As she whips around the Earth she causes the ebb and flow of water across the planet, that medium without which no life as we know it can exist. All the while, she serves as a mediatrix between the immense and unknowable wisdom of the cosmos and the blessedly mundane situations we encounter in our day to day lives.

Now, let’s land the plane.

How to interpret the third house

Interpreting houses in astrology effectively is a matter of asking the right questions at the right time. Just as we asked, “who is driving the boat, where are they steering it to, and how good of a job can they do?” with the first house, we asked “where is the golden vein, and how easy is it to access?” with the second house. In like manner, we need to figure out what the right questions to ask with the third house are, but because of the span of this house’s meanings, we can go in several different directions.

When we’re looking at the third house in astrology, we’re asking this core question: What describes the medium in which you find the narrative of your life story unfolding? Think of what the Moon in her joy is doing: what processes of gathering, transferring, fluctuating, and communicating are playing out with you, and where are they taking place?

If you don’t have siblings in your life, who are your “bros?” Who are your neighbors? What kind of people are they?

What describes the media, both in terms of platform and style, with which you choose to communicate your own ideas and experiences?

Which aspects of your life find themselves occupying the collective mental energies of your zip code?

Which concerns fade into the background of your day to day life, shaping it from the shadows?

Because of the variable nature of the third house in astrology, it’ll be a little bit more difficult to give line-by-line delineations of the third house ruler throughout the houses, and your individual context is going to give shape and nuance to these interpretations that just isn’t possible within a blog post. But I’m going to give it my best college try!

Just to remind you of the significations again, the third house describes:

  • your local zip (postal) code, your neighborhood, and places within commuting distance or “there and back in a day”
  • people who live in your local zip code
  • your siblings and close relatives, or people who fill those roles for you
  • your day-to-day environment and its background processes
  • communication style and priorities
  • the fasting and feasting cycles of your local community, aka the tribal religion

Let’s think through an example. Say a person has their third house cusp in Taurus, with no other planets in the third house. The third ruler is Venus in this case, and Venus is in Pisces in the person’s first house in good condition in a night chart (so, Sun in Aries in the 2nd, this makes Venus a morning star and she’s bright, fast, visible, not afflicted by malefics, etc.).

  • This person’s local zip code and neighborhood is a place of comfort and peace for them and they feel most “themselves” when they’re on their old stomping grounds.
  • This person has strong relationships with the people who live in their neighborhood and delights in building relationships with their neighbors. They’re the kind of person who brings cookies or casseroles to new families on the block.
  • This person, if they have siblings, enjoys a close and supportive relationship with them or with the individuals who fill that role in their life. They also feel that their siblings’ input is extremely important in helping them to “steer the boat” in the direction of successful overall outcomes.
  • This person probably has a rich and luxurious day-to-day environment with a lot of comfort and ease in their background processes.
  • This person has a communication style that is geared towards gentleness, pleasure, ease, and matters of the heart and spirit.
  • This person probably maintains a strong connection to the faith tradition of their upbringing, even if they have gone through a deconstruction phase. Their practice of the tribal religion is sincere.

I’m kind of jealous of this fictive person, to be honest!

But remember that, because of the geometry of the zodiac, Venus is probably also their eighth house ruler, and so part of their experience of abundance and ease in life may be due to having come through to the other side of some deeply challenging experiences relative to death and poverty.

Suppose that this Mary Sue of an exemplar has Saturn in Libra in a night chart afflicting that Sun in Aries by an opposition. That’ll make things squirrelly for them during their Saturn returns; it’s likely that they had some serious engagement with poverty, or possibly had a serious illness (since Leo would most likely be the sixth house ruler here), and it’s as though this person has chosen to embrace the goodness of life because of the meaning and depth that experiences with suffering and loss gave them.

But I think this example illustrates the richness of the third house in astrology, one which it is so easy to overlook if we just leave it at “third house equals Gemini equals communication.” It sets the milieu for a person’s experience of daily living, and that’s not something to be minimized. There’s a narrative component here.

To move forward with interpretation, let’s bring it back to the idea of narrative and the story you’re telling through the medium of your life. This is tentative, so your mileage may vary:

The planet that rules the third house placed through the houses: what are the priorities of the local community in which your narrative takes place?

Planets placed within the third house: which aspects of your life demand that you share your experience of them with your local community?

  • Third house ruler in the first house: the priorities of the local community in which your narrative takes place fall on you, the individual in question. Whether this takes the form of support or strife is dependent on the nature and condition of the planet, as always!
  • Third house ruler in the second house: the priorities of the local community in which your narrative takes place fall on matters of material resources and financial security; in other words, ensuring that there’s enough to go around.
  • Third house ruler in the third house: the priorities of the local community in which your narrative takes place fall within maintenance of the community itself and preservation of tribal practices, narratives, and identity.
  • Third house ruler in the fourth house: these priorities fall within maintaining lineage and leaving a legacy, honoring forebears, or establishing a locally rooted place. Your siblings will stay close to home here and there’s a strong center of gravity pulling you towards home.
  • Third house ruler in the fifth house: these priorities fall within the realm of creativity, sensuality, generation, children, and nurturing new things. The words “artists’ commune” come to mind.
  • Third house ruler in the sixth house: priorities fall within maintaining physical integrity and health, and a sense of responsible service to those in positions of power.
  • Third house ruler in the seventh house: priorities fall within establishing and maintaining individual relationships.
  • Third house ruler in the eighth house: priorities fall within dealing with the unavoidable factors of death, debt, fear, and taxes. This placement could suggest the loss of a sibling or the loss of connection to a local community.
  • Third house ruler in the ninth house: priorities fall within the usual ninth house suspects: travel, expansion of horizons, philosophy. You might have a sibling or relative who is a clergy person, or a professor, or who moves to a foreign country. Or, home for you might be a place you moved far away from.
  • Third house ruler in the tenth house: priorities of the local community fall within the realm of achievement and performance. One way to spin this is working in communications, but another way to understand this placement is that your immediate associations are focused on high achievement (I’m thinking of what we call “gifted education” in the States).
  • Third house ruler in the eleventh house: priorities of the local community fall within the realm of friends and good fortune. It may be that you identify your friends as more akin to siblings than your actual siblings, if you have them.
  • Third house ruler in the twelfth house: this one is tricky, as always. What I’m imagining here is that when you think of “local community” or your experiences with your neighborhood there’s a sense of imprisonment and limitation in how you understand them, but it may be that such a limitation exists in your life as an avenue for integration. It may also just mean that you and your siblings don’t have a relationship to speak of.

What’s the milieu for your story? What’s the medium in which your plot unfolds? Let me know in the comments!

Featured image by Ferenc Horvath via Unsplash

How to Interpret Houses in Astrology – Part 3: The Second House

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This week brings us to the second house in astrology, the house I love to hate.

In case you missed the post on the first house, that one’s here!

Part of the reason I struggle with matters of the second house is because I’ve got two things working against me in this matter: the ruler of my second house, Jupiter, is debilitated in Gemini, and the second house itself is afflicted by the presence of an extremely strong Mars in Aries in a day chart. I also have Rahu there in both my Western chart and my Jyotish chart. Yikes.

In the broadest possible sense, the second house deals with our resources, money, and value. By “value” here I mean the matters we regard as a medium of exchange and agency, but more specifically it refers to our relationship with the material resources we need to support our flourishing.

But why the second house, of all places? After all, it’s a little weird for something as “material for human flourishing” to come from a house that can’t even make an aspect to the ascendant. This is where things start to get interesting rapidly.

In the ancient astrological tradition, the second house was often referred to by astrologers as “the Gate of Dis,” or, perhaps more evocatively to modern hearers, “the Gate of Hades.” There was an obvious connection in the minds of early western astrologers between the idea of matters of physical resources and the notion that those materials came out of the ground.

Veins of rich minerals, fresh spring water, fertile soil, everything that human civilization required for flourishing emerges from the earth. And so all matters financial quickly became wedded to all matters chthonic.

And who has charge over that which lies under the earth but the chthonic deities? Dives Pater, Hades, Pluto—in fact, we acknowledge this when we describe someone as a plutocrat, one who rules by virtue of having the biggest bank account. The point here is that all matters necessary for human safety, satiety, and security emerge from the earth, and far too often we drive ourselves to the grave in their pursuit (or on behalf of those who have told us that they are most important).

This requires a beat to consider the astronomy of the second house: any planets or points in the second house are succeeding to the first house as the sphere of heaven rotates through the day. Remember what I said about succedent houses in my first post in this series? That which is moving towards the first house from the second house is coming into being, and in fact, everything that sits on the first house is literally sitting right on top of that which supports it in the second. The second house, for that reason, describes the “foundational materials” of the life that comes to be in the ascendant. So, the ascendant is where those earthly treasures emerge and are put to use.

By the way, the words funds and foundation are etymologically related, both related to the Latin word fundus, which—in addition to “foundation”—also means farm, namely, that place where material resources turn into food. Those of you who took AP Western Civilization will remember that people gathering around farms that produced food is, after all, the backbone of civilization, and it was agricultural societies that developed the practice of astrology in the first place.

I think the more important meaning of the second house for the modern reader is, however, money. This begs some more pointed questions.

What is money, anyway?

As part of my own process as of late I’ve been re-evaluating many of the ideas that I picked up from the atmosphere regarding money: namely that it’s essentially bad and not a subject of conversation in polite company. It’s as though there’s a cultural aversion to money’s chthonic origins (it comes out of Hades, after all!) that’s baked in to the way we approach it, coupled with a general cultural misunderstanding of a saying of Jesus, who did not say “money is the root of all evil;” in fact, the text reads, “money is the root of all kinds of evil,” and furthermore, “you cannot serve both God and wealth.”

Decrying money seems to be a favorite pastime of millennials, anyway (and for good reason, considering the mess we inherited following the 2008 financial crisis). It’s also not very woke of us to pursue financial abundance, is it? We’ve been sold the idea that accumulating money from other people deprives them of resources that they need.

Yes, in a wage society our labor is undervalued and exploited, that’s not an item of discussion. But I would like to posit the idea that money itself, as a means of exchange of value, is fundamentally morally neutral; it is rather what we do with the money that we have, and how we go about accessing it, that engenders good or evil in our approach to the same.

Instead of looking at it as a necessary evil, I’ve made the conscious choice in recent months to work with a more neutral, perhaps even positive, view of money. At its simplest level, money is a means of exchanging value. But the definition I’m working with is this: money is a symbol of agency that facilitates change. Money, as a symbol, both represents change-facilitating agency and facilitates change itself.

If that definition doesn’t land for you, think about how you feel when you get a larger-than-expected tax refund and all the ideas you have because of that extra cash.

Indeed, for you to have access to money in the modern world is tantamount to having access to farmland or a mineral vein or a spring in the ancient world: you have agency. You have some means by which you can improve your own circumstances and the circumstances of those who depend upon you. What you choose to do with that agency is where things can go amiss: I’m of the opinion that abundance multiplies in its sharing, and that in doing so we’ll find that there is indeed always enough to go around.

So what?

The second house, in view of all of this, relates to our funds and our foundations: the peculiar veins of wealth that we have access to in this life. I contend that we all have access to something, even if that something is limited in terms of quantity and accessibility. Supposing that we think of the second house as a vein of resources, we can begin to interpret it like this:

If the second house and its ruler are in good condition, that vein of resources is right near the surface and easy to access, and there’s always plenty available.

If the second house and its ruler are in rougher shape, that vein of resources is further under the surface and requires more work to access, and there might not be as much there in terms of flow.

Another thing to keep in mind here is that indicators of plenty and scarcity in the chart are culturally landlocked. Someone who makes $17,000 a year in the United States is living at the poverty level, no question. But if you’ll excuse the extreme example, someone who makes $17,000 a year in Haiti is unquestionably a person of means and access within that context, considering the median annual income is $350.

(Hey, France: pay Haiti reparations.)

Moreover, it’s better to understand wealth indicators in relationship to the second house as indicators of fabulous wealth, far and above the average income for a person’s culture. Likewise, poverty indicators are primarily interpreted in the extreme opposite direction.

So, the person who makes a low five figures in Haiti might have the Moon and Venus in Pisces both applying to Jupiter in Cancer with the 2nd house cusp falling in Cancer, which would be a strong indication of fabulous wealth from a person’s endeavors. Contextualize that chart somewhere else, like the States, and we’re probably looking at a billionaire. This is how matters of wealth are treated in the astrological tradition.

How does that impact me?

What about us average folks, without either wealth or poverty indicators in our charts? That’s the bulk of us, to be quite honest. For us, we’ll be looking at the second house to describe our relationship with money and possessions, how we go about getting it, and what we choose to invest our resources in. I’ll also add as a joiner here that we can use “resources” in a broader sense to refer to our emotional energy, our time, our availability—anything we can invest, anything we own.

The planet ruling the second house describes, in part, our overall angle of approach to our resources. Saturn tends towards discretion, Jupiter towards generosity, Mars towards pursuit, the Sun towards extravagance, Venus towards sharing, Mercury towards managing, and the Moon towards gathering. As always, the condition of the planet determines how well that planet can go about doing its job. Assessing planetary condition is another blog post series… in fact, it’s an entire book (one which you would do well to get if you haven’t already).

Meanwhile, the placement of that planet by house locates the peculiar veins of resources we have access to throughout our life and livelihood, and the areas in which we choose to make our most significant investments of finance, time, and intention—namely, the places we value most. This is determined also in part by the second house ruler.

For example, say that your second house cusp falls in Cancer. This makes the Moon the planet which has most say over your finances and therefore your collecting and investing of resources serves a peculiar emotional security function, for the Moon’s nature is to gather, hold, and seek belonging. Let’s then say that you have the Moon in Virgo in the fourth house. This means that your approach to finances will drive you to gather, hold, utilize your finances to seek belonging in a scrupulous, careful fashion that applies sound judgment to financial management, living out similar sorts of patterns that your parents demonstrated to you. “Bad with money” is probably not a descriptor for you.

Another example: your second house cusp falls in Libra, making Venus the ruler of your second house, and Venus is placed in Aries in your 8th house in your nativity. This suggests that your default approach to finances is one of sharing what you have with other people with whom you’re in close relationship in an effort to broker peace and to win their affection through what you can offer them, to the detriment of your bottom line (remember that the 8th house is the other money house).

Let’s nuance this second example. Say that you also have Saturn in Libra, who is in very good shape there. Saturn’s nature isn’t one of surplus; his nature is of sufficiency. Namely, his concern is that you have precisely what you need when you need it; no more, no less. He sees Venus over in Aries and reins her in: stop trying so hard to pay for the affections of others.

Another way you might experience this is as a transit—say you’ve got that Venus in Aries in the eighth situation happening, but Saturn is currently transiting your second house. The opposition of transiting Saturn to your natal Venus will create a situation that forces you to come to the uncomfortable realization that trying to buy people’s affection is a dead end.

So we’ve got a basic structure to work with here:

The planet ruling the 2nd house describes your basic style of engagement with financial matters. The house where the planet is located describes both the location of that golden vein of resources, and where you’ll invest the resources that you do have. Another way to say this is that your resources get tied up in the affairs of whichever house the second ruler falls in.

As always, the nature and condition of the planet ruling the second house describes the nature and condition of your resources; meanwhile, if you have any planets in the second, their nature and condition describe the peculiar demands that are placed on your resources by other influences, and whether those demands generate ease or hardship.

So where is your vein of gold?

  • Second house ruler in the first house: my resources are in my own hands and I invest my energies and funds in myself. If my second house ruler is in good condition, I have everything I need; if my second house ruler is in poor condition, chasing after enough becomes a major plot point for me.
  • Second house ruler in the second house: my resources are precisely where they should be and can be uncovered and multiplied through how I manage, spend, save, and invest what I already have. Because the second ruler is likely in the sign it rules, there’s a solid chance that my base financial status is one of ease.
  • Second house ruler in the third house: my resources are found in my own zip code, within the day-to-day activities of life, “tasky” stuff, routines, the exercise of word and mind, and in daily exchanges. I might also get money from siblings, relatives, or neighbors.
  • Second house ruler in the fourth house: my resources are in the hands of my parents or the legacy that they left. If my second ruler is in good condition here, it’s probable that my parents have helped me out quite a bit. If that second ruler is in bad condition here, chances are that money is a continual pinch point between me and my parents. Another meaning of this placement is resources being found in real estate or the land (or sea, if the fourth house cusp falls in a water sign).
  • Second house ruler in the fifth house: my resources are bound up in my creative endeavors, what I make, and the ways in which I enjoy myself. The second ruler in poor condition here can indicate overspending on luxuries.
  • Second house ruler in the sixth house: I’ve got to work for what I have. My resources come to me through concerted effort, discipline, and diligence, and money isn’t necessarily “fun” for me as much as it is a stark necessity. This could also signify finding resources in the medical field, or receiving money from AD&D insurance payments (that’s a niche delineation!)
  • Second house ruler in the seventh house: my resources are found in partnership, marriage, contract, or enmity. Again, condition and nature of the 2nd ruler: Mars in Aries here ruling the 2nd might describe an arms dealer; Venus in Pisces here ruling the 2nd might suggest marrying for money.
  • Second house ruler in the eighth house: my resources are found among other people’s money, and chances are I make a cut or income from judicious management of investments. Problem is, there’s a solid chance that my 2nd ruler is in detriment here, and so my money will always be a problem that needs to be solved rather than something that flows out from and into my pockets with ease.
  • Second house ruler in the ninth house: my resources are found among faraway places and people, through mass communications, teaching, religion, or philosophy. I’ll have to go looking for it, most likely (especially because there’s a good chance that, in the 9th house, the 2nd house ruler is in aversion to the 2nd).
  • Second house ruler in the tenth house: my resources drive my career here, and one of my driving professional goals is financial security. I likely work as a leader with influence over financial matters in my setting and the 2nd ruler is a powerful overall storyteller in my chart.
  • Second house ruler in the eleventh house: my resources can be found among my friends, groups, and associations; I give freely and freely I receive, holding things in common. My network is as important as my bank account. (A niche interpretation: I live on a kibbutz and we hold everything in common!)
  • Second house ruler in the twelfth house: my resources are frequently a pain point in my life and it requires a lot of effort to get the engine to turn over financially. The best outcomes from me financially come from diligent saving and prudent use of resources, and I might be able to access money in unusual ways from dealing in hidden matters or working with people who are involved in 12th house situations (patients, prisoners, those in recovery).

Remember, this is just a start: there’s plenty more that can be said about getting your financial house in order! If you want to do a deep dive, I’d love to work with you to identify the vein of resources in your life and help you develop a strategy to earn, save, and give more than you thought possible.

Get your financial house in order: book an astrology consultation today!

Featured image by Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash

How to Interpret Houses in Astrology: Part 2 — The First House

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This week, we’re the first house in astrology.

The first encounter with the first house is that fabulous point that causes every newbie astrologer to marvel. They realize that reading the sun sign horoscopes they had been forcing themselves into, like square pegs into to-o-small round holes from the perspective of the first house often causes those mass-marketed promises to land in a way they hadn’t before—at least if they’re written by an astrologer that knows what they’re doing.

They begin to learn that this is the point that makes the most sense when they view their spirit, identity, motion through the world, and fundamental personality through its lens. This turn is especially fabulous for the nascent astrology enthusiast, because, when we encounter the first house, we encounter the most important point within an astrological chart.

But what is the first house? Let’s turn our house music back on and take a deep dive.

Astronomically speaking, the first house is the part of the sky that is ascending over the eastern horizon at the astrological moment. It is that point where things are set into motion, the point of the sky that has the strongest bearing on the overall outcomes of what comes into being at that very moment. The first house is determined by the ascendant degree, the point where the ecliptic hits the horizon.

The ascendant degree represents the meeting point of the sky and the earth, where everything that was held in promise underneath the earth enters onto the scene. Here, matter and spirit join and create something new, like water in stone becoming wine. This is the point of incarnation, where the soul enters the body, according to tellings of cosmic myths. Indeed, I could wax poetic at length about the magic and myth of this point.

In the Hellenistic tradition, an astrological chart was likened to a boat containing the life of a native (or of an event, if they were looking at an inception chart). Remember that the Mediterranean lifestyle depended in no small part upon the ability of competent helmsmen to steer boats containing cargo and people safely to their destination, so the metaphor is an apt one. In modern life, we might consider this as the pilot of an aircraft, or really, any vehicle.

Essentially, if the chart is a boat, a boat has a rudder, and a place on the boat where one stands to turn that rudder to steer the boat safely to its destination. The planet that rules the ascendant degree is the captain of the boat, or the pilot of the plane, or the driver of the bus… pick your metaphor. That planet’s condition describes how well it will be able to manifest the best outcomes for a person’s life.

Demetra George explores this more richly in her books Astrology for the Authentic Self and Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice (affiliate links ahoy). Tolle, lege.

The helm of the ship, or the cockpit of a plane, or the driver’s seat, is the ascendant, which we refer to as the first house. Regardless of the house system you’re using (I discussed that a little bit in the last entry in this series), the first house is always related to the ascendant degree.

But when it comes down to it, this degree and the house that contains it, the first house, are the most important point in a chart and the starting place for reading anything.

To wit, if I don’t know at least your rising sign, I’m kind of at a loss for where to begin with a reading of your nativity. That doesn’t mean I can’t, it just makes it harder to frame any judgments I might derive relative to you specifically.

But what does it mean, Nate?

Every house has multiple layers of meaning. Throughout this series, I’m going to distinguish between the internal meanings of a house, namely what you carry in your subjective experience and personality, and the external meanings of a house, being the way in which a house physically manifests in the material world. In every case, there are important “meta” significations that impact both internal and external experiences.

In fact, let’s start with the “meta” significations of the first astrological house.

From a 30,000-foot view, the first house, together with its ruler, describes the overall circumstances and general positive or negative outcomes of a person’s life. We might say that the narrative being played out by the ruler of the first house and any planets contained within the first house point to a person’s plotline. This house describes how a person both bears the story being told about them and how they tell their own story.

Internally, the first house describes a person’s underlying motivation and baseline personality. What drives them unconsciously? What patterns their life? What is their way of being in the world?

Externally, the ascendant degree and the first house describe a person’s appearance, their preferred style of dress, how their internal experiences join to outward style to create a peculiar behavioral style. In either case, this expression is conditioned by the sign on the ascendant degree in their chart.

For example, someone with Aquarius on the ascendant will have an underlying motivation and baseline personality keyed to maintaining intellectual security and bearing the wisdom that they accumulate over a lifetime within the context of a community. They move through groups knowing precisely it is what they believe and remain committed to their peculiar why in such a way that it gives them a set-apart-ness that causes them to appear aloof to others. Put Saturn in an earth sign and you wind up with someone who manifests this with ruthless practicality and resistance to trends (all my Capricorn rising babies with Saturn in Cap, I see you).

But, put that Saturn in a water sign such as Pisces, and you will see much more commitment to matters of emotional knowledge and a personal style that is much more open to the suggestions of trends and passing dreams (barring, of course, other influences).

Meanwhile, an individual with the first house falling in Virgo will find their life plotline conditioned to matters of applying knowledge in material fashion, improving their own physical circumstances and those of the people who journey alongside them, and regarding any situation wherein knowledge may be applied with scrutiny. They’ll tend towards caution, skepticism, precision, and anxiety.

You may notice that I’m deriving these sign interpretations more from the planets that rule them, which is the natural order of determining meanings in the classical astrological model. That’s because the expression of a person’s first house primarily determined by the ruler of the first house, with its expression modified by its own placement by sign and house, as well as other conditions.

(Did you buy Demetra’s book yet? DO IT NOW)

There is, however, one important consideration here: this way of interpreting presumes that there are no other planets in the first house. If we have another planet in the first house, especially one very close to the rising degree, that planet is sitting in the driver’s seat, and its nature and condition will impact the behavior, style, and circumstances of a person in much more flagrant colors than the ruler of the first house alone.

For example, consider someone with Virgo rising, as I described above, but who has Jupiter in Virgo conjoined the ascendant (someone dear to me has this configuration). This means a couple of things: one, the person’s baseline operating personality will be ruthlessly committed to perfection in their search for truth, and that can take them in the direction of a cheery, winsome fundamentalism (which can go either towards belief or skepticism). Their behaviors may have a peculiar doctrinaire flavor, but what prevents them from becoming the lovechild of Pat Robertson and Richard Dawkins is the fact that Virgo is mutable, and Jupiter is naturally adaptable given its warm and moist nature.

Meanwhile, this person has their natal Mercury, their ascendant ruler, in Capricorn in the 5th, configured to the trine of Jupiter (which is a beneficial configuration for Jupiter’s positive expression). This means that their baseline operating priorities are weighted towards matters of the fifth: toward their children, and especially toward their children’s success. They want to know that their kids are alive, employed, and financially solvent.

We can summarize this interpretive principle for the first house like so:

The placement of the ascendant ruler by house describes the overall priorities and plotline of a person’s life. The ascendant ruler in the 7th gives us either a romantic comedy or a heist film. The ascendant ruler in the 4th gives us a nostalgia piece. The ascendant ruler in the 12th gives us a psychological thriller, and so forth.

Meanwhile, planets placed in the first house act like competing voices that focus a person’s peculiar narrative.

These rules don’t just work for natal astrology; they work for all branches! For example, in a horary with the ascendant ruler (or the Moon) in the 10th, I might surmise that there’s a heavy emphasis on career, vocation, or public image in the person’s query, even if the question isn’t about a career matter at all.

Interpreting the First House Ruler through the Houses

Here’s the fun part. What I want you to try on, especially if you’re just learning astrology, is to use this formula to learn how this interpretation feels:

My first house ruler is in the [nth] house. That means in my life, the pilot is steering my life in the direction of [nth] house matters.

And if you have planets in your first house:

The ruler of [nth] house is in my first house. That means in my life, priorities of the [nth] house compete with my first house priorities and influence my daily life and actions.

Here we go!

Ruler of the first house in the first house: the pilot of my chart steers my life in the direction of my own circumstances, priorities, and self-development. My priorities are aligned closely with improving my own circumstances and understanding of myself. I desire to know who I am.

NB: when you use quadrant houses, it’s important to note that sometimes the first house ruler in the first house can fall in a sign that’s not the rising sign. This creates a situation called an aversion, where the pilot can’t see the control stick. In this instance, manifesting the best outcomes for yourself requires more focused effort and remediations.

Ruler of the first house in the second house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of material and immaterial resources, financial security, and ensuring that I have enough to support myself. I desire to have enough.

Ruler of the first house in the third house: the pilot of my life steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of my local community (my zip code), communication, exchange of words and ideas, my siblings if I have them, relatives, regular folk, functional learning, “street smarts,” and being a neighbor. I desire to belong.

Ruler of the first house in the fourth house: the pilot of my life steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of my home, the land, my parents, my traditions, and that which I inherited from the living. It also draws my focus to the legacy that I will leave for those who come after me. I desire a legacy.

Ruler of the first house in the fifth house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of self-expression vis-à-vis creative work, sensuality, procreation, nurture, children, enjoyment, and having a good time. I desire to create.

Ruler of the first house in the sixth house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of disciplined action, physical rigor, service to others, and being responsible for the needs of those who depend upon me. I desire a project.

Ruler of the first house in the seventh house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of the other: to relationships, to partnerships, to coalitions and collaboration, and possibly to open enmity and strife with others, toward pursuit of the other for good or for ill. I desire an equal.

Ruler of the first house in the eighth house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of life’s unavoidables: fear, death, and debt. I desire gravitas.

NB: this does not mean that you are morbid or have something wrong with you; the gift of this placement is your ability to walk where others fear to tread, and that’s a blessing in a culture who has no tools to engage well with the beauty of death. More on that when I write on the eighth house.

Ruler of the first house in the ninth house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of philosophy, higher learning, theory, understanding, matters of faith and belief, and deepening my engagement with all matters of ultimate concern. I desire faith, hope, and love.

Ruler of the first house in the tenth house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of career, vocation, and the visible impact that my actions have in the world. I desire to make a name for myself.

Ruler of the first house in the eleventh house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of friends, groups, community, chosen family, and fidelity to others and their fidelity to me. I desire a community.

Ruler of the first house in the twelfth house: the pilot of my chart steers my life, motivation, and behaviors in the direction of retreat, hidden matters, sorrow, and succor. I desire to be apart to be myself.

Wondering how to interpret the ruler of the first house in your own chart with all other factors considered? There’s no better way to do so than to get a second set of eyes on your chart. Pop over and book an astrology session with me and we’ll see exactly where your pilot’s steering your plane—and how we can help them out, if they need it!

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How to Interpret Houses in Astrology: Part 1

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When you’re first learning about astrology, there comes a time—and it usually happens when you encounter your first quality sun sign horoscope— that you’ll come across the idea of “houses.” Houses in astrology are one of the crucial components of understanding your birth chart, and if you want your understanding of astrology to level up quickly, learning how the houses work and what they mean, both in general and for you, will be one of the quickest ways to understand how this kooky cosmic clock times trends in your life and in the world.

“Sure, but what are they?”

First, let’s put some vapor house on to get in the mood…

Imagine a department store.

Within a department store you have, well, departments, and you’re probably thinking of the sales floor: there’s housewares, men’s clothing, women’s clothing, automotive, sporting goods, automotive, and electronics (in most, anyway). The sales floor has quite a bit to do with how the store interacts with you, the customer.

But there are also parts of the store that you don’t see, too; things like the cash office, human resources, the loading dock, the employee lounge, and the warehouse area in the back. Sometimes there’s a concessions area with a Starbucks in front. Then there’s the checkout area, which is where the magic happens for the store.

Each of these areas serves a different function in the overall shopping experience. So, we might think of them as “functional areas.” And each of these areas has a middle manager who oversees the day-to-day operations of each department, while everyone in the store and all its functions, as well as its overall success, is under the purview of the general manager.

In astrology, each house in a chart is like one of these functional areas within a store. Each of the houses has a way in which it relates to you as an individual, and each house interfaces with an aspect of the outside world around you (just like each area in the store, sales floor or not, relates to the customer experience overall).

The Ascendant and its ruler represents the General Manager of the store, and every other department has its own manager, or what we call a “house ruler.”

So if each house represents a domain of your life, how do you figure out which domain goes where? Let’s look at a chart example.

Screenshot 2019-04-08 13.06

If you’re looking at your circular birth chart, you’ll see it divided into twelve pizza slices. Starting with the point on the circle furthest over the left-hand side (the nine o’clock position), you will then count forward counter-clockwise to number them off. See where the Ascendant degree is in that graphic? Everything in a counter-clockwise direction, to the next line or “cusp,” is the first house.

So, the first house in that chart is the pie piece that starts at 26 Libra 46 and goes to 24 Scorpio 57.

However! A tricky bit quickly arises: when using quadrant houses, if a planet is within 5 degrees of the next house cusp moving in a counter-clockwise direction, we read that planet as being in the next house. Looking at that same chart, we see that Jupiter is at 24 Sagittarius 19, but the 3rd house line falls at 26 Sagittarius 44. Since that Jupiter is within 5 degrees, we know that this Jupiter is a 3rd house Jupiter.

That five-degree “buffer” until the dividing line is what we call the “cusp” of a house, which doesn’t mean boundary; it means point or apex, like the points on your canine teeth: it’s why those teeth are called “cuspids.” It’s the seat of power related to that house, and planets on the cusp have a big impact in the affairs of that house.

For example, we might think of the second house in your birth chart as your stock room: it’s where all your inventory and resources are stored. A planet sitting right on the 2nd house cusp is in the middle of your stock room, doing whatever it is that planet does: if it’s Jupiter, he’s making money for you, but if it’s Mars, he’s probably spending money. “You gotta spend money to make money, honey,” he says.

But, he’s not in charge of the stockroom. He’s just right in the middle of it doing his Mars thing.

Who’s actually in charge of the 2nd house? Well, whose turf does that cusp fall in? To figure this out, we look at the sign wherein the cusp falls, and see what planet rules it.

So, if the 2nd cusp falls in the sign of Leo, the ruler of Leo is then in charge of the 2nd cusp. In this case, the Sun rules the 2nd cusp and will describe your relationship to money in some way.

How do I figure out how to divide the houses in my birth chart? I heard something about whole sign/Placidus/Koch/&c. houses… what’s all that about?

Technical Ramble Alert!

What you’re thinking about is the issue of house division, which has been a logistical problem within the astrological community for centuries and has engendered more than one loud argument in restaurants at conferences throughout the years.

Conceptually, houses are divisions of local space using astronomical considerations. There are… more than a handful of different criteria around which you could divide this space. You could use time to divide space. You could use… space to divide space (how’s your spherical trigonometry?) You could just use the Zodiac itself to divide space. It’s like cutting a pizza into 12 pieces. We generally want the result to have nice, even pieces.

But different astronomical criteria (yes, astronomical, meaning things that we are observing about the sky) determine how those pieces are divided. Broadly speaking, most systems of house division use either a reference to a point in the Zodiac, usually the ascendant, and then project houses from there on a sign-by-sign basis (whole sign houses and equal sign houses do this), while others, like Placidus, bring the degree of the midheaven into the equation, creating some complicated math.

My friend Ryhan Butler did a series of Twitter threads on the rationale for the way most of the popular house systems are divided, and if you want to do a deep dive, head over there!

BUT HOW DO I PICK ONE

Just pick one and stick with it long enough to learn how it functions and why it functions. In my practice, I waffle between whole sign houses and Placidus houses for natal astrology (although I gave up whole sign houses for Lent this year to build some consistency of interpretation…), but I use Placidus exclusively for horary.

The point, especially if you’re new to learning astrology, is not to win an argument; the point is to have results that help lead you to richer understanding of your own chart and the charts that come into your life. So!

How do I actually interpret the houses in my birth chart?

Let’s start off with the idea of angular triads. There are four angles in your birth chart. As each day goes by, if you’re looking south, the sky appears to rotate in a clockwise direction. We call this direction “primary motion.” Planets rise at the ascendant, culminate at the midheaven, set at the descendant, and come to their lowest point at the imum coeli, AKA the cusp of the 4th house.

Those four turning points are called “angles,” and initially were described with a word that also meant “tent pegs.” Those four points are the most significant points in your chart, and anything placed within those houses has more to say about your overall life and experiences. So start off by looking to see if you have any planets in the 1st, 10th, 7th, or 4th houses.

Planets in the houses that come before the angular houses in primary direction (remember, clockwise is primary) are called “succedent.” If we think of each of the big four angle house cusps as a throne, planets the succedent houses (2nd, 11th, 8th, and 5th) will, as the day goes on, succeed to those thrones. Conversely, planets in the houses that come after the angular houses in primary direction are called “cadent.” They were on the throne, but now they’ve lost their opportunity and have fallen out of power (which is what “cadent” means).

We can then divvy out the houses into three categories: succedent, angular, and cadent. Planets in angular houses have all the opportunity in the world to manifest what they promise; planets in cadent houses have lost that opportunity and are regrouping. Planets in succedent houses are movin’ on up but aren’t quite there.

Now, just because a planet is in an angular house doesn’t mean that it’s doing its job well, which is why understanding planetary condition is crucial—but that’s for another blog post!

Let’s get to the overall meaning of the houses, then. I won’t go into the rationale for why these meanings are what they are; that’s been treated at length by lots of fantastic astrologers. What I do want to point out is that there’s disagreement on the meanings of some of these, for sure.

Modern astrology understands the meanings of houses that Dane Rudhyar articulated in his lovely book “The Astrological Houses,” where each of the houses is viewed as a part of an unfolding life cycle. That’s not what I’m presenting here.

What I’m presenting here represents the consensus of the classical astrological tradition as found as common threads through the astrological texts of the middle ages, renaissance, and baroque era. Try these out, see if you like them, and if you get stuck on the meaning of a house or if it doesn’t land, let it marinate until it clicks. Many of these are drawn from the “joys” of the planets: if a planet delights to be in a house, it impacts the overall meaning of that house.

    • The first house is the joy of Mercury and it relates to you: your baseline personality, underlying motivations, style, appearance, and vitality.
    • The second house relates to money, especially your money, and resources that you have access to which enable you to support yourself.
    • The third house is the joy of the Moon and relates to communication in general, but more specifically to communication with people who are in your local space. There’s a “your zip code” element to the third; it represents your peers, siblings, neighbors, and really anywhere within commuting distance. It also relates to matters of the mind, gathering knowledge, primary education, news, rumors, and reports.
    • The fourth house relates to matters of ancestry, parents, family, and your sense of “home;” it also relates to matters of the land, and the legacies that you leave.
    • The fifth house is the joy of Venus and relates to matters of sensual pleasure, fun, recreation, procreation, and creativity. Sam Reynolds calls this the house of swagger; where you go to express yourself and put more of yourself in the world.
    • The sixth house is the joy of Mars and relates to matters of disease and illness. It also relates to drudgery, hard work, labors, servitude, and people who work for you. It also represents pets and small animals!
    • The seventh house relates to one-on-one interactions, most commonly marriage or romantic relationships, but it also has signification of anyone with whom we are engaged, such as the opposing party in a lawsuit, the business partner we would sign a contract with, or our enemies.
    • The eighth house is the house of unavoidables: death, debt, and taxes. Since it opposes the 2nd house, it has significations of other people’s money. It also represents inheritances you might receive from the dead, as well as your relationship with fear.
    • The ninth house is the joy of the Sun and relates to matters that enlighten and elevate our perspective: religion, philosophy, higher education, and travel to far-off lands. It’s everything that the 3rd house isn’t; if the 3rd is focused on here and now, the 9th is focused on everything else. Publishing and mass communication is part of the story here; 3rd is generating content, 9th is getting it out there.
    • The tenth house, called “Acts” in Greek, is what you’re known for, the way you appear within public perception, career, vocation, and accomplishments.
    • The eleventh house is the joy of Jupiter and relates to the people whose company you keep: friends, groups, affiliations, associations. It also describes the positive boons and opportunities which come your way and your aspirational longings.
    • The twelfth house is the joy of Saturn and relates to matters of sorrow, isolation, separation, and imprisonment. Kelly Surtees describes it as a “Pandora’s Box” of all the stuff that you’d rather forget about that can be brought to the surface by transit.

Now, the key to interpreting how houses function is to figure out which planet rules the house and to look at the condition and placement of that planet in your birth chart. We can use this extremely basic formula to get us rolling:

My [nth] house cusp falls in [sign]. [Sign] is ruled by [planet]. [Planet] is in [good/bad/eh] condition in [x] house. My relationship to [nth] house affairs manifests in a [planet] style using [matters of the house the sign ruler is placed in]. This leads to [positive/negative/mixed] outcomes relative to matters of the [nth] house.

Since I’m a Sagittarius midheaven, I’ll use my own chart as an example.

In my chart, the cusp of the 9th house falls in Scorpio. Scorpio is ruled by Mars. Mars is in overall good condition in my chart in the 2nd house. My relationship to 9th house affairs manifests in a Mars style using matters of the 2nd house. This leads to generally positive outcomes relative to matters of the 9th house.

I’m an impulse spender when something resonates with a goal or ideal that I have. In fact, I spend a lot of money, but I try to spend it in accordance with my ethics around money!

Let’s try another one!

Say you have the 7th house cusp in Libra with Venus in Capricorn in the 10th in a night chart, applying to the conjunction of Mars, with the Moon applying to trine Venus from Taurus. That’s a strong Venus, helped by Mars and supported by the Moon. So it would look like this:

In your chart, the cusp of the 7th house falls in Libra. Libra is ruled by Venus. Libra is in overall good condition in the 10th house. Your relationship to 7th house affairs (relationships) manifests in a Venus in Capricorn style (strong, determined, suffers no fools) within the realm of your 10th house. This leads to positive outcomes relative to matters of the 7th house; you might meet your partner in a work setting, or you and your partner might join together to found a company (since in this instance, Mars would be your ascendant ruler as the ASC would fall in Aries).

Remember what I said especially about planets in an angular house (both Mars and Venus are in an angular house, the 10th here): this part of your chart will have a lot to say about your overall life story! It’s turned up to 11, so to speak. This synergy between Mars and Venus in your chart makes your professional achievements a major factor in the stories people tell about you.

What if I have empty houses in my chart?

That’s not anything you need to worry about. I’ve heard of people told that they won’t have kids because their 5th house is empty… that’s bunk, sorry. Even if a house is empty, it still has a ruler, and that ruler is still placed somewhere and doing something. If your 2nd house is empty, you’re not going to be broke because of that; look to the ruler of your 2nd and see what’s happening with it! Use the formula, tell the story!

That said, understanding the condition of a planet is crucial to getting accurate interpretations for each placement. I’ve not yet written a lot on understanding planetary condition, but if you want to do a deep dive, Demetra George’s new book is the text you want to get to start getting the mechanics in your head (affiliate link ahoy!): get it here!

Meanwhile, over the next twelve weeks, I’m going to be offering one post for each of the houses going through its ruler being placed in any of the other houses! That’ll cover every possible combination.

In the meantime, if you really want to do a deep dive into understanding your house placements, there’s no better way to do that than by working one on one with me in an astrology consultation. Your chart will come alive in ways you didn’t expect just by getting another set of experienced eyes on it, and I absolutely can’t wait to work with you!

get your houses in order: book a session with me today!

Featured Image by Jakob Owens via Unsplash

What’s So Hot About Aries?

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It’s almost Aries season, which means my dad’s birthday is coming up.

Aries has the reputation of being impulsive, hotheaded, and needlessly aggressive. But that wasn’t necessarily my experience growing up with an Aries dad. Once the astrology bug bit me, figuring out why my Aries dad wasn’t a caricature of everything I had heard Aries was about became my peculiar thunderdome.

Henry Coley, an English astrologer from the 17th century, writes of those born with the Sun in Aries: “…a noble spirited Soul, very courageous and valiant, delights in all War-like Actions, gains victory, and honour thereby, appears a terrour to his Enemies, and thereby makes himself famous in his Generation, sometimes even beyond his Capacity of Birth” (Coley, Clavis Astrologiae Elimata, 54).

Nowadays, Christopher Renstrom writes of those born with the Sun in Aries, “You are independent, uncompromising, and heroic—traits that are too often in short supply but always in demand. Not only do you rely on yourself, but you assume others will rely on you as well. You even welcome it. The last thing you would ever do is let someone down” (Ruling Planets, 117).

Where do these heavy-duty descriptions come from? Let’s pick apart Aries so we can get a handle on why it’s got the valiant warrior archetype baked in.

In the traditional perspective, signs get the bulk of their meaning from the planets that “rule” them. In this case, Mars is the ruler of Aries; everything that falls in these 30° of the Zodiac has to play Mars’ game. It’s as though planets there have been sucked into a battlefield and must figure out what they’re doing there before they get caught up in the crossfire. The middle of an infantry charge is no time for hesitation or equivocation; only direct, immediate action in accordance with a singular goal will do.

The planet Mars, bearing the name of the god of war, absolutely loves it. With his burning heat he can charge into the thick of the battle and level everyone that stands in his way. The fact that Aries is a cardinal fire sign bakes initiative and forward drive into the meaning of the sign as well. Mars is at his hottest and most intense here, though not quite as precise or tactical as he is in his other sign of Scorpio.

Truly, the rule for Aries is “the best defense is a good offense,” and so planets in Aries are forced into the fray, ready or not.

Know who a great example of the archetypical Aries is? The actress Lucy Lawless is a triple Aries, with the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant all there (if her remembered birth time of 6:25AM is correct). Lawless is, of course, most remembered for playing the titular role of Xena: Warrior Princess. I don’t believe I need to say anything else about that.

(Oh, by the way, the Astro-Databank author describes Lawless’ Xena as “beautiful and gloriously husky” and you need to know that.)

The fiery nature of Aries also makes it a sign that operates in the imperative: planets in Aries speak in commands. Demetra George writes of fire signs, “the brilliant illumination of fire compels the events signified by planets in these signs to be seen, and can be correlated to the imperative mood which is the issuance of commands” (Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice, 163). Anything placed here demands to be seen—and which planet loves most to be seen by others? The Sun, of course.

The Sun in Aries performs in a way that makes it feel not only that its work is appreciated, but also vital. It’s almost as though the Sun knows that its entrance into Aries is what begins the new astrological year.

In other words, Aries has something to prove.

People born with their Sun in Aries are people who understand their purpose in life to be associated with Mars’ pursuits. If not actually charging into battle, someone with their Sun in Aries is telling a story with their lives of the fight to prove oneself. They’ve got something to prove, just as the Sun insists on himself when entering Aries to kick off spring in the northern hemisphere.

The Sun delights in Aries’ single-pointed focus: “ready, FIGHT!”

Moreover, Aries Suns have a peculiar part of their life in which they shine more brightly than any other. This is true of everyone born under the Sun, but it’s especially true for the Sun in Aries; because the Sun is exalted there, the Sun feels special pressure to live up to his brand. This might come across as aggression or a complete lack of inhibitions in the way a person engages with that part of their life.

(To know which part of life this happens in, just look to the house the Sun in Aries falls in!)

That’s the reason why Aries suns get the stereotypes of hotheaded and impulsive heaped upon them. The world, by and large, would much rather exalt caution and equivocation.

Mars, however, as Aries’ ruler, is more than happy to highlight the Sun’s laser focus and get-it-done attitude. Not only that, but—mythologically speaking, of course—since Mars derives his burning heat from being the next planet up from the Sun, he’s quite happy to have his radiant friend over to drink a few beers and light stuff on fire.

It’s worth noting that these reasons amount to why Venus and Saturn have a hard time here. Venus is a peacemaker who wants everyone to have a say, while Saturn delights in studied deliberation and frigid cold, the very things that Mars has forbidden within Aries.

So why is my dad so chill?

Part of the challenge here is sun sign astrology itself. The basic approach to sun sign astrology that most folks are familiar with doesn’t consider the way the rising sign and its ruler, as well as the Moon, all combine to program a person’s way-of-being in the world.

My dad has Gemini rising with Jupiter conjoined the ascendant degree, his ascendant ruler is Mercury in Pisces, and his Moon is in Cancer. He’s much more Jupiterian than he is Martial, for sure.

But remember what I said about every Aries sun having an area of their life in which they’re trying especially hard to prove themselves? For my dad, it’s his 11th house.

My dad has never met a stranger. Every time we went to a gathering, party, or event as a family knew we’d be there for at least an hour after the event itself wrapped up while we were waiting on dad to finish visiting with people he just met that day but seemed to have known for years.

The other part of this story, however, is that my dad’s line of work is public-speaking heavy (he’s a pastor). He shared with me that, for the longest time, he had quite a bit of anxiety about the whole public speaking thing, even after he had gone through the discernment and ordination process in his tradition. To be fair, most people have anxiety about public speaking. It was his Thunderdome.

So as much as he has a lot of comfort and ease in one-on-one or small group interactions within the community, it’s taken quite a bit of work to get that Aries Sun to shine when it comes to public speaking, even though it seems from the chart that he should be a natural (we can draw this story out in further detail from the Sun’s opposition to Neptune in 5, or the square from the Moon in Cancer).

Learning to make your Sun shine at its brightest is life-long work, and if you’re an Aries Sun, you’ve got a leg up on the rest of us. As a reminder, here’s what you’re up against, depending on which house your Sun is in in your chart:

  • First house (Aries rising): Proving yourself through developing your self-concept, health, vitality, and personal agency
  • Second house (Pisces rising): Proving yourself through bolstering your finances and your relationship with abundance
  • Third house (Aquarius rising): Proving yourself through the stories you tell and your ability to communicate
  • Fourth house (Capricorn rising): Proving yourself among your family and the legacy you’ve inherited
  • Fifth house (Sagittarius rising): Proving yourself through your creative works and ability to live with gusto
  • Sixth house (Scorpio rising): Proving yourself through discipline, labor, and responsibility to those who depend on you
  • Seventh house (Libra rising): Proving yourself through one-on-one engagement with others romantically, professionally, or inimically
  • Eighth house (Virgo rising): Proving yourself through how you offer support to other people and grapple with matters of fear, debt, and death
  • Ninth house (Leo rising): Proving yourself through wisdom, faith, philosophy, and the adventures you undertake
  • Tenth house (Cancer rising): Proving yourself through your professional accomplishments
  • Eleventh house (Gemini rising): Proving yourself through your friends, groups, and audiences
  • Twelfth house (Taurus rising): Proving yourself by dismantling your limiting beliefs and grappling with sorrows

Are you an Aries Sun? Looking for insight for the fight with what you’re trying to prove? You’re in the right place.

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Featured image by Mohammed Nohassi via Unsplash