I’m really struggling to understand the concept of HOUSES

[Charles]

Houses are the bane of my life atm. I’ve been studying my personal astrology recently. I’ve always known I was a Gemini sun and was always interested in it, but only started learning about the deeper parts of astrology recently, and I DON’T UNDERSTAND how the houses work?!

Why are my houses different to others, and how are the houses determined in the first place if they’re not actual points in the sky???

And ALSO, WHYYY are there multiple house systems? In my opinion, if there’s multiple different systems, its not concrete. I have this same outlook on religion: if there are multiple religions arguing different things, then how can we all agree on one thing? Astrology makes so much sense, but the different house systems throw a big fat cog into the works for me.

(From a very irritable {{Gemini sun, Capricorn moon, Sagittarius rising}} who’s been up all night with 15 internet tabs open)

Discussion

[riajyuu]

I totally get your confusion! I like to think of it this way. So you have your planets going around in their own orbit but the houses are like charging stations. Think of the planets having a little plug cord tail and the houses each have a plug point. If the planet is in a particular house, it “plugs in” and influences the energy of that house but also that house influences the energy of the planet. Each house has their own theme to explain the different aspects of our human existence. As planets orbit and occupy different houses in our personal chart, they charge certain aspects of their life with their own planetary magic manifesting in changes in our personal life!

Edit: not entirely sure why there are different house systems, but there are also different cultural interpretations of astrology as a whole! I think variation helps us understand different perspectives to our own natal chart which ultimately enriches our self-understanding.

[Howl_Wilder]

Houses are determined by your rising sign. Rising sign = first house. Its *kinda* the point in the sky as far as what houses your planets fall in. So your 1H starts with sag, and 12H ends with Scorpio.

Everyone’s rising sign and planetary placements are different thus giving them different houses.

Houses determine what themes, you are meant to learn in this life (money, family, sex,creativity, children) and the sign it rules determines the energy. Don’t worry if houses are empty.

A first house in Taurus energy is very different than a first house Pisces energy. Which is why houses are important. It organizes your life path and shows your divine path.

Not sure what you mean by multiple different house systems (unless you’re talking about Vedic)

House systems are a blast once you get them down. Don’t over think it, the one good thing about the houses themselves is that they always stay the same. The themes of the first house with always stay the same regardless of sign, the theme of the second house will always stay the same regardless of sign ect ect…

[Handy house chart ](https://astrostyle.com/learn-astrology/the-12-zodiac-houses/)

[atmosfear212]

Houses are kind of like areas in your life

1H – self, character, body
2H – finances, possessions
3H – siblings, early education, communication
4H – parents, home, family, private life
5H – children, creativity, pleasure, and romance
6H – illness, injuries, work (not career)
7H – relationships, partnership, marriage, open enemies
8H – death, inheritances, spouses/others resources
9H – travel, foreign things, higher education, religion
10H – career, reputation, relationship to public
11H – friends, groups, hopes
12H – hidden enemies, loss, seclusion

The house rulers and their condition will have a large impact about how these areas play out in your life. For further research I’d suggest astrology podcasts house series as well as Maren Altman’s video on it.

Also forgot to add that house system is really up to you a lot of modern astrologers use Placidus but a lot of astrologers that lean more towards traditional astrology will use whole sign. Either one works it best to go with the one that works and seems right to you.

[beeips]

You might find [these twitter threads](https://twitter.com/i/events/997505574127460353?lang=en) on various house systems helpful. There are different systems because each one is calculated a different way. The ones you’ll see talked about the most are Placidus and Whole Sign Houses. Sometimes people say you should use the one that “resonates” the most. I think you should learn the philosophy behind the systems, then choose the one that makes sense to you.

Your houses are different from other people’s because you were born at different times and in different locations. The time of birth determines your ascendant/rising sign (the sign that is rising on the horizon). This changes roughly every 2 hours and the signs are always in the same order (and always 30 degrees wide). So if you’re a Leo rising, you’ll have Leo in the first house followed by Libra, then Virgo, etc.

In Placidus and other space-based charts, location of birth determines the sizes of your houses. (In Whole Sign and other equal houses systems, every house is 30 degrees so location doesn’t matter.) In Placidus, my first house is 41 degrees wide and that causes the signs on the following house cusps to be different from my Whole House chart. Personally, I prefer Whole Signs for natal charts so I don’t really use Placidus.

If you met someone born in the same place and at the same time as you, and you use the same house system, your houses would be the same.

As to multiple systems meaning houses aren’t concrete…well there are also multiple approaches to astrology. Just like there are multiple languages in the world. I recommend sticking with one system (like Western tropical astrology with Whole Sign houses) until you’re comfortable with it. Then you can branch out and try other house systems or start learning about Vedic stuff, etc.

[x_chi_x]

Seeing your placements I sympathize with the want to grasp all systems of houses and the reasoning behind it all. I too suffer from wanting to know the “right” system. But sadly astrology is more complex than that.
It’s best to get personal with astrology. Look at your houses and compare them to how you grew up for example. You’re fourth house representing your household or nurturing guardian. Maybe test this out with different house systems and see which makes sense for you.
Since I have an interception in my Placidus chart, the traditional line up of Aquarius rising placements is skewed. I imagine my whole sign chart is something I am evolving into. For example I’ve moved from identifying with my Venus in 11th house to a Venus in 12th house. I wouldn’t say one is more correct than the other. They both make up me and my experience.

[StellaGraphia]

> And ALSO, WHYYY are there multiple house systems? In my opinion, if there’s multiple different systems, its not concrete.

I’ll just answer this little bit. HOW can we have multiple systems of weights and measurements and they all be accurate? How can an architect draw up blueprints for a house in meters and centimeters, and another builds a house from blueprints in feet and inches, and both work? Because both are legitimate, just different.

Another tidbit about houses. They weren’t all intended for the same purpose. Placidus was not intended for general natal use, it had its own special applications (and doesn’t even work for all birth locations, unlike other house systems). Just like with horary astrology – it uses its own house system. If I want use a nail, I make use of a hammer. If it’s a screw, I use a screwdriver, if I want to paint a wall, I use a brush. Different purposes, different tools.

A good exercise is to create your chart at [astro.com](https://astro.com). Now, looking at a map that includes your birthplace, just pick another town, maybe a hundred miles away. Change only the town in your chart, what does it show you? Now pick a town 300 miles away. Go east and west, north and south. Just watch how the rising sign (which determines all the rest of the houses by their signs), changes. You can also just play with time of birth, in your birthplace.

As someone else mentioned, the meaning of the houses does not change. Only how their cusps land on the chart, where we decide they are.

Bottom line: there is much in life that is not “concrete”. So, for your gemini-ness, I caution you: don’t go looking into vedic astrology. hehe 🙂 You will implode.