Lesson 4

Astrology for Magicians and Metaphysicists - Lesson 4
The Houses
As you have seen previously, it is the planets that reveal a person's inclinations and motivations and the signs of the zodiac that reveal the manners in which these inclinations and motivations operate. Now, you will see that it is the houses of the birth chart that point toward affairs of life upon which these efforts, functioning in a specified manner, will be concentrated.
First of all, the houses are traditionally referred to as mundane houses because they point toward worldly activities. Actually, the houses are divisions of the planet Earth; hence, Earth is the third art of the three part relationship that is the foundation for basic astrological conclusions: planets, signs, and earth. the fourth factor, aspects, depends upon this three part relationship, as you will see later.

In chart casting procedures, the houses always remain in the same position; Thus, the first house is the first house in all charts. It is the planets in signs that will move among the various houses, as determined by the birth date, the birth hour, and the birth place. Note, then, the following chart with the numbers of the houses in their proper places. This numbering will NEVER change.

The spokes, or dividing lines between houses, are called CUSPS: and it is on these cusps that the signs of the zodiac are recorded in the twelve equal wedges chart, as you will see later. Note that the cusps of the houses are numbered. They correspond to the houses that they in effect open, following a counter clockwise motion.

Further, the first cusp is called the ASCENDANT. This is so because it is the exact point on the eastern horizon that indicates the demarcation line between the end of the night and the beginning of day. Next, the tenth cusp is called MEDIUM COELI, or the MIDHEAVEN, because it marks the exact overhead point that separates morning from afternoon; then, the seventh house cusp is called DESCENDANT, because it is the exact point in the West that indicates the demarcation line between the end of the day and the beginning of the night. Finally, the fourth cusp is called the IMMUM COELI or MIDNIGHT, because it is the exact point that marks the end of one day and the beginning of the next one.

With these points in mind, study the following chart to see how, for purposes of chart casting, the motions of the signs and the planets are treated, remembering that the houses never move.

Now, begin to gain insights into the affairs of each house by studying carefully the key words that are listed below.
House Affairs and Activities
First Personal and self-related concerns
Second Personal possessions and security
Third Relationship to the immediate environment
Fourth Personal home and private life
Fifth Instinctive affections and re-creation
Sixth Services given and received and health
Seventh Partnership relationships at a personal level
Eighth Material relationships involving shared resources
Ninth Mental and physical explorations
Tenth Place in society and standing in the world
Eleventh Hopes and wishes and impermanent attachments
Twelfth Freedom from restrictions

At this point, you should readily see that you can make another step in interpreting the Sun in a chart, providing you know the house in which the Sun falls. For example, if a person's Sun is in Libra and in the seventh house, you should construct this basic sentence: "The person's inclinations and motivations to integrate, to express, and to project will operate unitedly, harmoniously, vigorously, pensively, and enterprisingly, concentrating upon partnership relationships at a personal level." These key words, of course, are taken from the previous lessons for the Sun and for Libra, and from this lesson for the seventh house.

This basic sentence may still seem to be artificially formal or pompous. Nevertheless, if you will study it closely, you will see that after some experience with charts you would come to interpret it as follows: "This person will be very pleasant and cooperative, but at the same time actively watchful and clever, as he seeks to become a significant part of the environment and the society in which he finds himself. Of great importance to him in these efforts will be the formation of lasting partnerships, whether this be in a business, a profession, or a marriage. He will function best when he is not alone."

Reasonably, the planetary aspects to the Sun would modify this interpretation with either ease or difficulty. You would, however, have to complete the foregoing procedure and then revise it accordingly to accommodate the impact of the aspects.

Proceed now to make a close study of the houses, giving careful attention to the key word extensions, the planet and sign affiliations, and the concomitant relations.

First House
Key Word Extensions
Personal and self related concerns -- Matters pertinent to one's establishing oneself as a distinct personality and being
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The first house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets Mars and Pluto and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Aries.
Concomitant Relations
The first house affairs are related to the physical body, the temperament, and the general disposition.
Second House
Key Word Extensions
Personal possessions and security -- Matters pertinent to one's accumulating material resources in order to establish security
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The second house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet Venus and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Taurus.
Concomitant Relations
The second house affairs are related to resourcefulness in acquisition, appreciation of luxury, and satisfaction with the material.
Third House
Key Word Extensions
Relationships to the immediate environment -- Matters pertinent to one's adjusting to those close because of circumstances and to the beginning of the process of education.
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The third house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet Mercury and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Gemini.
Concomitant Relations
The third house affairs are related to neighbors, brothers and sisters, short travel, and direct communication.
Fourth House
Key Word Extensions
Personal home and private life -- Matters pertinent to one's establishing a place within which to protect oneself and one's possessions
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The fourth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet Moon and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Cancer.
Concomitant Relations
The fourth house affairs are related to the family unit and the property occupied.
Fifth House
Key Word Extensions
Instinctive affections and re-creation -- Matters pertinent to one's creating his own image through both the body and the mind.
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The fifth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet Sun and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Leo.
Concomitant Relations
The fifth house affairs are related to sporting activities, speculation, love making, children, and personal creations.
Sixth House
Key Word Extensions
Services given and received and health -- Matters pertinent to one's serving others and being served in order to maintain good health through reciprocity
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The sixth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet Mercury and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Virgo.
Concomitant Relations
The sixth house affairs are related to detailed work, health, hygiene, and interdependence.
Seventh House
Key Word Extensions
Partnership relations at a personal level -- Matters pertinent to one's attaching oneself to others in order to compensate for one's own sense of lack
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The seventh house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planet Venus and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Libra.
Concomitant Relations
The seventh house affairs are related to marriage partners and business and professional associates.
Eighth House
Key Word Extensions
Material relationships involving shared resources -- Matters pertinent to one's sharing his possessions with others and to his sharing the possessions of others
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The eighth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets Pluto and Mars and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Scorpio.
Concomitant Relations
The eighth house affairs are related to material dependence, inheritances, and self sacrifice.
Ninth House
Key Word Extensions
Mental and physical explorations -- Matters pertinent to one's furthering the process of education through in-depth study and extensive travel
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The ninth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets Jupiter and Neptune and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Sagittarius
Concomitant Relations
The house affairs are related to foreign travel, extensive research, philosophy, religion, publishing, and higher education.
Tenth House
Key Word Extensions
Place in society and standing in the world -- Matters pertinent to one's going outside his home to establish himself properly in the social, business, and professional circles through entering into a career
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The tenth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets Saturn and Uranus and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Capricorn.
Concomitant Relations
The house affairs are related to ambition, special talent, and practicality.
Eleventh House
Key Word Extensions
Hopes and wishes and impermanent attachments -- Matters pertinent to one's relating successfully to group activity in order to participate in creative concerns that are communal in nature.
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The eleventh house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets Uranus and Saturn and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Aquarius.
Concomitant Relations
The eleventh house affairs are related to friendships, societies, clubs, connections, objectives, and concerns.
Twelfth House
Key Word Extensions
Freedom from restrictions -- Matters pertinent to one's resisting impediments to his efforts to be a totally integrated part of the process of living
Planet and Sign Affiliations
The twelfth house has a close correspondence to the inclinations and motivations of the planets Neptune and Jupiter and to the attitudes and manners of the sign Pisces.
Concomitant Relations
The twelfth house affairs are related to limitations, barriers, isolation, solitude, confinement, the unconscious, and the hidden.
Review regularly the key words for the houses. Then, you should conduct yourself, using the chart below, a cumulative review of the planets, the signs, and the houses. Note that a planet may fall into any of the twelve signs as well as into any of the twelve houses. Thus, there are a possible 1440 combinations for the key words of these three factors of a chart.

Large though this number of combinations may seem, you need only to grasp ten concepts for planets, twelve concepts for signs, and twelve concepts for houses. You will then be able to make 1440 combinations as any one of the combinations is needed when you are reading a chart.

Practice, now, making the combinations, using this basic pattern for constructing a sentence:

The inclinations and motivation (inset the key words for the planet) will operate (insert the key words for the sign), concentrating upon (insert the key words for the house).
Planet Keywords
Sun to integrate, to express, to project
Moon to respond, to react, to regulate
Mercury to communicate, to concentrate, to transmit
Venus to relate, to unite, to connect
Mars to initiate, to activate, to move
Jupiter to expand, to mature, to experience
Saturn to limit, to control, to discipline
Uranus to deviate, to invent, to reform
Neptune to refine, to detect, to transcend
Pluto to eliminate, to transform, to regenerate

Sign Keywords
Aries assertively, urgently
Taurus possessively, enduringly
Gemini versatilely, varably
Cancer sensitively, protectively
Leo impressively, creatively
Virgo analytically, critically
Libra unitedly, harmoniously
Scorpio intensely, secretively
Sagittarius freely, widely
Capricorn prudently, reservedly
Aquarius indifferently, unconventionally
Pisces impressionably, intuitively

House Keywords
1st personal and self-related concerns
2nd personal possessions and security
3rd relationship to the immediate environment
4th personal home and private life
5th instinctive affections and re-creation
6th services given and received and health
7th partnership relations at a personal level
8th material relationships involving shared resources
9th mental and physical explorations
10th place in society and standing in the world
11th hopes and wishes and impermanent attachments
12th freedom from restrictions

Aspects
You find the aspects in a computer printout of the astrological chart, usually in tables below the chart. Charts where planets and houses are inscribed in the circle of 360 degrees representing the zodiac (not the primitive twelve-equal wedges chart that is commonly used in the Anglo Saxon countries!) show the aspects as lines between planets and other important points of the chart.
The computer printout is sufficient for you to know the aspects. Usually the printout also indicates the orb of an aspect, i.e., how close the distance of the two planets is to the exact aspect. The larger the orb, the weaker the influence of the aspect will be.

Aspects are angular distances between planets in the zodiac, and between planets and the cusps of the first and tenth houses.

Distances between planets which are considered to be major aspects are the following:

0 degrees apart, or conjunction
60 degrees apart, or sextile
90 degrees apart, or square
120 degrees apart, or trine
180 degrees apart, or opposition.
In our present work we use the major aspects only.
When we say that two planets are in mutual aspect, we mean that the distance between these two planets is within a specific range. The distance is measured in degrees. This is so because the planets are inscribed in the periphery of a circle that represents the ecliptic, or the path on which the planets make their way through the zodiac.

To figure out the aspects is easy when you draw the planets and houses into the astrological signs. Each sign has 30 degrees, proceeding counter clockwise.

Aspects are strongest when they are correct. For instance when they are conjoint in the same degree, or exactly 60, 90, 120, or 180 degrees apart. When an aspect is exact, then its impact is strongest. The further planets are away from the point of the exact aspect, the weaker is the influence of the aspect. The range within which planets are effective is called the maximum orb of the aspect. Two planets that are 54 degrees or 66 degrees apart are still considered to be in the sextile aspect which would be exact at the distance of 60 degrees. However the influence of a sextile that measures 54or 66 degrees is much less than the influence of an exact sextile of 60 degrees.

As far as the orb of an aspect is concerned, opinions differ and so do computer programs. As a good rule you may consider 8 degrees maximum orb for the opposition and conjunction, 7 degrees for the square and trine, and 6 degrees for the sextile.

Besides the major aspects, astrologers work with many minor aspects such as aspects of 30, 45, 135, and 150 degrees. We will not consider these aspects at the beginning of our work.

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