Tag: relationship

How to Interpret Houses in Astrology — Part 8: The Seventh House

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There are many ways to be in partnership with someone.

I’m back from my trip to NORWAC, I’ve got both of the manuscripts I was working on done, and I’ve got plenty of thoughts about either I’ll share separately. For now, it’s time for us to return to our reflection on each of the twelve houses in astrology!

This week brings us to one of the houses that receives a lion’s share of the attention from astrologers who take questions from, and offer guidance to, those of us who are lusty, lovesick, or limerent. It’s time to talk about the seventh house in astrology, and how to interpret it.

Of course, it takes no time at all when you’re first whetting your astrological appetite to discover that, when it comes to love and romance, the seventh house is the sector of your chart with the most importance. However, to stop at that surface level delineation is to lose out on the depth of magic and myth that this part of the sky contains within its reaches. It’s about romance, sure, but it’s so much more than that.

Unlike most of the other houses we’ve explored, the seventh house does not derive its meanings from a planet which delights in being there, as is the case with the 5th and 6th houses. Instead, the seventh house, being an angular house, derives its meaning primarily from its visual features.

This is the part of the sky where planets sink beneath the horizon. Except in settings with few features on the horizon and clear visibility all the way to the heavens, setting planets quickly become obscured by atmosphere and environment. As they fall away in the west, they begin their journey through the realm of the dead, the foundations of the earth, as they wander through the unseen and the instinctual demesne of what lies hidden to the world. There they encounter deepest death and are turned, silently and subtly, back towards life at the imum coeli before beginning their ascent towards the eastern horizon once more.

The Greek name for this house is dysis, which simply means “sunset.” The word’s construction, however, suggests a process that embodies “difficulty, opposition, injuriousness or the like, and corresponding to our mis-, un-” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 160). The day unfolds itself into night as that which rises in the ascendant falls into its undoing at the point of dysis. Things are undone here.

Because this house is an angular house, it is one of the pillars of the earth, or one of the tent pegs of the sky that gives it shape and structure. Planets here are actively playing a role in the unfolding narrative of the chart. However, they are playing that role relative to people who are not us. What is most important in understanding this house is its configuration to the ascendant: it opposes the ascendant, and therefore carries an essential understanding of the Other.

When I say Other here, I’m not referring to the Other in the sociological sense (viz., marginalized people who receive the scrutiny of the majority as a scapegoat population). What I mean is anyone with whom we are in a formal, public interaction who is not a subordinate, superior, friend, or blood relation. Any person with whom we can engage one-on-one as a partner, lover, or enemy is signified by the seventh house.

In the ancient world, the setting of planets underneath the horizon, especially the setting Sun, symbolized death. It’s a simple enough association: once the Sun is no longer visible, its light gradually vanishes from the sky until we’re left with naught but starlight. This point in the chart is the entry to the unseen, the mystical, the reunion of heaven and earth.

The Other is the ultimate unknowable; we may think we have a deep understanding of those with whom we are in formal relationships, but the reality is that, if it’s impossible to fully know even our own selves, it’s even less possible to come to a full understanding of another human being as a separate Subject.

The philosopher Martin Buber describes the Subject-Subject relationship in terms of “I and Thou,” which acknowledges the essential transcendence of the Subjects with whom we are in relationship—they are unknowable, inscrutable, and yet so tremendously present and active in our lives that to imagine a life without their presence giving our own experiences form and shape becomes impossible. Since the Other’s presence in our lives can give our own life increased understanding, so too does the other Subject become the Object of our pursuits. We’ll see how that plays out in the significations when we break it down further.

The antipodal I-Thou relationship baked into the seventh house in astrology is the point of departure for all its meanings: this place, its ruler, and its inhabitants all serve as peers, foils, and partners in our journey towards becoming ourselves. We might imagine that when we encounter a Thou to meet our I, our self-concept becomes as undone as the Sun does as it sets in the western sky to be raised again, transfigured. To love, to fight, and to collaborate requires that we make room for the Other, and in so doing, we ourselves are changed.

For this reason, we not only ascribe one-on-one romantic relationships to the seventh; we ascribe any individual with whom we are in an I-Thou arrangement. Those whom we pursue in love, war, and business, to be sure, are the main subjects of this part of the sky, but if we think about it, we might consider that other planets placed in the seventh house play out their meanings within the realm of the I-Thou dynamic as well. They become objects of pursuit, and our relationships will coalesce around the matters over which they have rulership. For instance, say the fifth house ruler is in the seventh; pursuit of creative endeavors expresses itself in collaborative work.

It’s also important to note that the element of pursuit lends itself to the seventh house’s use in classical horary astrology to symbolize thieves, fugitives, hunted targets, business contracts, and the opposing party within a lawsuit. Depending on the context of the question, the seventh house can also represent a desired location, for instance if the question is whether one would be better off staying put or moving to a different home. Imagine anything that lies in front of us as an object of our action or pursuit: that can be a seventh house factor, too.

How to interpret the seventh house in astrology

As with each of the houses we’ve explored to this point, we need to think about the questions that the seventh house raises. Examining these questions involves looking carefully at the planetary ruler of the seventh house, its placement and condition by sign and house, as well as the condition and house rulership of any planets placed within the seventh house. If there is a planet conjoined to the degree of the descendant (within five degrees), pay attention. This isn’t something you’ll want to miss in interpretation.

The questions we need to ask relative to the seventh house fall along the following lines:

  • Which planet represents the partners with whom this person finds themself in relationship?
  • What level of importance is placed on the person’s relational processes?
  • What kind of people serve as the Thou to this person’s I?
  • What slices of life best express themselves within the realm of one-to-one partnership as far as this person’s narrative is concerned?
  • How well does this person’s ability to be in healthy, differentiated relationship with others express itself? Does it come with ease, or does it require careful cultivation and discipline?

I want you to notice very carefully which questions we are not asking here. We are not asking, “is this person doomed to a lifetime of singleness?” Because, remember, singleness isn’t a bad thing! We’re not asking, “does this person attract garbage people?” Because it’s not a person’s fault if their partners are garbage! The most we could surmise, if the person’s seventh house and its ruler are afflicted, is that relationships are troublesome for them, based on the nature of the affliction. (By the way, Western post-Evangelical culture doesn’t have a helpful container for the dynamics of singleness when it’s something you actually want.)

Suppose that someone has Aquarius rising, with Saturn in Leo in the seventh house, but their Sun is in Sagittarius in the 11th house (this would make it a daytime chart). Saturn is slowing down to station retrograde. Saturn in such a chart has several rejoicing conditions working for him, but it’s as though his story is written in boldface and he has quite a bit of say over the unfolding of the chart.

This is an individual who very likely desires one-on-one connections with people, but it might be a herculean effort for would-be suitors to win their affections, simply because Saturn in this placement acts as an impenetrable hedge. The one who would win this person will allow them plenty of space and autonomy. Given the Sun’s placement in Sagittarius in the 11th, this individual will likely need lots of freedom to maintain relationships with their community of friends, with the acknowledgment that these friend relationships and their local community is primary.

Meanwhile, consider the same rising and setting sign—Aquarius and Leo—but in this instance, instead of Saturn conjoined the descendant, it’s Venus, and she’s receiving a partile overcoming square from the Moon in Taurus, and the Sun is in Virgo in the eighth. In this instance, this person is the marrying type. Because Venus is probably the fourth house ruler as well as the ninth, there’s a spiritual dimension to the person’s desire to have a person to call home, as much as they need a place to call home to feel emotionally secure (Moon in the fourth sign). Yet, with their Sun as the seventh ruler in the eighth, there’s a perpetual fear that what they have attained, they will lose. In this instance it’s crucial for the individual to be willing to look their worst-case scenario in the eye; in so doing, it will lose its power.

Of all the houses, the seventh house is (I think) one of the hardest to interpret in cookbook style considering the varied narratives that it contains. To be honest, I don’t think it’ll actually be helpful to stick with these, but they can serve as an entrée: I’ll simply offer a general comment for each placement. In any case, we’ll need to pay very close attention to the configuration of the seventh ruler and any planets placed in the seventh to get the most useful information, a task for which this format is woefully inadequate.

We’re all just trying our best. (These are satirical but rooted in actual astrology. Take with lots of salt!)

  • Seventh house ruler in the first house: your partners see you as a way of helping themselves out.
  • Seventh house ruler in the second house: your partners either want to create abundance with you… or somebody’s digging for gold.
  • Seventh house ruler in the third house: chances are you married your high school sweetheart (even moreso if your third ruler is in the seventh).
  • Seventh house ruler in the fourth house: your first date was dinner, a movie, and a U-Haul. (Shoutout to West Ardere for this one.)
  • Seventh house ruler in the fifth house: kids, creativity, and shared enjoyment is what keeps you bound to your beloved.
  • Seventh house ruler in the sixth house: the couple that gets swole and/or unionizes together stays together.
  • Seventh house ruler in the seventh house: well, at least one of you has it together.
  • Seventh house ruler in the eighth house: your idea of a fun night in with your beloved is Netflix and Shared Existential Dread about the imminent threat of climate disaster and rising fascism in the West. So sweet!
  • Seventh house ruler in the ninth house: you’ll either meet at Mass or you’ll move halfway across the planet to be together. It’s kind of cute, to be honest.
  • Seventh house ruler in the tenth house: your partnerships are like unto that of a power couple with their own HGTV house-flipping series.
  • Seventh house ruler in the eleventh house: just marry your best friend already, everybody thinks you’re dating anyway.
  • Seventh house ruler in the twelfth house: if, by some twist, you don’t actually want to be single, you’ll probably meet your boo at an ashram.

If you want to untangle the richer stories that your seventh house contains, it’s best to look at the chart holistically. If you have questions about relationship, remember that you bring all of your manifold complexities and idiosyncrasies to partnership, as does your beloved (or potential beloved). Knowing thyself is the first step to being able to form functional, loving relationships; the second step is jettisoning all your expectations, because love will change you.

Horary Adventures: Can He Grow?

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A client wrote to me earlier this month with the following query regarding her partner of several months. As they were approaching the first Sun square of their nascent relationship, naturally conflicts and questions about quality and trajectory had begun to arise.

The client noted that, while the Quesited, who is on the tail end of a somewhat recent divorce, was quite capable of being a boyfriend, she is more in need of a partner in the deepest sense of that word, and suspected that he has the capacity to become one but the level of work that he will need to do in order to become so is manifold. The client likewise explained that she and her partner had an open relationship, but there was some tacit disagreement between them as to where the line between consensual openness and infidelity lay. The Quesited was giving her radio silence at the time of the question.

Her question, which I have truncated for brevity’s sake, is thus:

Is he able to heal fast enough (so I don’t get burned out trying to fix my triggers all on my own) and level up to the communication/level of presence I need, or do I need to rule him out as serious partner material for a while until he’s recovered himself post-divorce?

The chart is drawn for 8:29PM on January 7th, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Screenshot 2018-01-07 20.29.39.png

My response was thus:

“I’m glad I don’t have to write another “dump his ass” judgment, and, I’m really glad this particular chart is extremely easy to read. The symbolism is all clear.”

The Querent is represented by the Sun, at 17 degrees Capricorn in the 5th house. The Quesited is represented by Saturn, at 2 degrees Capricorn, also in the 5th house. The Sun presages a mature woman with light hair, full of body, robust, and of ruddy complexion, confident, humane, and deliberate at risk of haughtiness or being overbearing or demanding. Likewise Saturn: the Quesited is older than the Querent, with long and dark hair, pale, with a broad and high forehead, someone of patience and responsibility but with a share of discontent or emotional repression.

Now, there is no aspect joining these two planets at the moment, but they are in the same sign, and as a matter of fact the Sun is in the sign of Saturn so Saturn is setting his agenda for him while he is there. As this is not a “will we get together” question I am less concerned about finding a contact point.

I identified that the Querent felt, for better or for worse, at the mercy of the Quesited’s emotive state in the midst of this question. However, the Sun is peregrine where he is in Capricorn, meaning that he doesn’t have the ability to shine as brightly or act as clearly as he would normally. Likewise, the Querent doesn’t quite know what to do right now and feels like she’s floundering. A peregrine Sun is not a good place to be making final decisions from.

Saturn (the Quesited) on the other hand, is in his element in Capricorn; he is in a sign of structure and discipline and slow growth through boundary setting and rigor, which are all things that Saturn presages. However, Saturn has only just come home to Capricorn over the last couple of weeks, and we see in the chart that he is still freshly there.

Saturn has everything he could possibly need right now, but it’s as though he’s just walked in the door from a hellacious trip and is still standing in the foyer taking his boots off and getting his coat hung up and his shit put together so that he can be home and enjoy it. I reminded my client: you know what Saturn is bad at sometimes? Communicating. But you know what Saturn is really good at, when he has space and time to do so in his own sign of Capricorn? Embodying maturity.

Venus is applying by conjunction to the Sun. She is a planet of healing and peacemaking, but I notice that she also is coming between the Sun and Saturn. Saturn sees this and thinks, “hmm, well, the Sun’s not as accessible because Venus is in the way.” The Querent had mentioned an issue surrounding the openness in their relationship having happened on the 28th of December and the superior Venus/Sun conjunction speaks to this.

The Querent did not consider her actions to be unfaithful within the boundaries they had set for openness in their relationship; in fact, Venus in this position is extremely weak as she is fully consumed in the Sun, so the Querent has more of a solid handle on the situation, but from Saturn’s perspective, all he can see is the Sun consuming Venus in fire and wondering if the Querent do that to him too.

It’s as though Saturn has walked into his own house to see this whole situation unfolding and he’s wondering what the hell is going on. Pluto is right there, too, and, while we don’t read a lot into Pluto in traditional horary, his presence is worth noting—he is the bringer of deep and irreversible change. Let the reader beware.

Another prominent thing I see when I look at this chart is the newly-separating conjunction of Mars and Jupiter being directly on the cusp of the fourth house in Scorpio, which is very much a sort of deep “real talk” energy, the kind that brings epiphanies and healing — although not necessarily easy epiphanies and healing. This energy is coloring the entire chart because of the strong position of these two powerhouses.

The Sun is applying by sextile to both of those planets at the moment of the chart, and Mars is more like to receive him than Jupiter — there’s a sense to which the Querent’s approach to this question is much more conflicted than necessarily needs to be, and Mars is receiving the Sun’s energy and running with it, sowing conflict at home. Jupiter’s beneficence can’t shine as brightly in Scorpio so the penetrating conversations which the Querent’s thoughts and actions are leading into with the Quesited are going to have a more Martial feel—conflictual, even if they are not actually conflict.

Now, let’s look at the Moon: she is in Libra, the sign of Saturn’s exaltation, and has recently pinged him with a tense square aspect. This is another testimony to the Querent’s recent interactions with the Quesited having been cause for concern; she feels so strongly about him and he is ready to have her, but he hasn’t been as able to give her what she needs because he has been in a place of debility, as I mentioned.

The next thing the Moon will do, before she leaves Libra, is to hit Venus and the Sun with a square aspect as well, meaning there will probably be a couple more pings of conflict over the next couple of days (even if they are just internalized conflicts). After that, she will cross over into Scorpio, passing the newly separated Jupiter and Mars in a few days. At that point she’ll be tying the energies of Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and the Sun all together, making for a powerful time to have a conversation that, I think, will ultimately be about healing.

The other thing to mention about this chart is that the whole pileup of Sun, Venus, and Saturn, while they are in the Querent’s fifth house, are placed in the Quesited’s turned 11th house, which is associated with hopes, dreams, restoration, healing, and growth.

Here’s the skinny: in my estimation, the Quesited is 5000% percent able to mature to the level the Querent needs him to be, but he will likely not be able to mature on her timeframe because he is represented by Saturn, who is the slowest of visible planets and who does not do anything unless it’s worth taking a long time to do. 

I advised the Querent, if she valued his partnership, to utilize the energy of the next couple of days not to set ultimatums with him but instead to have some heart-to-heart conversations about the things she needs in a true partnership with him. It’s as though the Cosmos is asking her to step up to an elevated level of commitment with him, and saying “I’ll walk with you through the next few steps,” while it’s not marriage, might be the level of commitment that would help him grow in such a way as to enable both of them to be the best versions of themselves in partnership.

The Querent contacted me several hours after I sent her the judgment (at about 11:39PM local time) to inform me that she had just had a lengthy conversation with the Quesited that ameliorated many of the issues that had been raised, if not totally resolving them, and she mentioned that the Quesited had done a lot of emotional work during his period of radio silence and thanked her for provoking him into doing the work and asking for what she needed. I’m excited to follow up with her and see how this is continuing to unfold!

This judgment was shared with the permission of the Querent.