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Understanding the 12 Houses of Your Birth Chart: A Complete Guide

Writer's picture: Silvia Silvia

Updated: Jan 8


A complete guide to the 12 astrological houses in your birth chart.
A complete guide to the 12 astrological houses in your birth chart.

The first time I looked at my birth chart, I was overwhelmed by all the glyphs and numbers, lines and colour! Where do I even begin? The the 12 divided pies in the wheel caught my eye. They were the 12 natal houses which represent the different areas of our life.

 

Abraham Maslow came up with the 5 hierarchy of needs that each of us human seek and elevate in life. The chart begins from physiological needs for basic survival, then safety needs, love and belonging, esteem and finally ends at the top of the pyramid, self-actualisation.

 

While this theory brilliantly depicted our needs evolution, it also created the perceived notion that all of us start from the bottom and ends at the top. Life, unfortunately does not work one way. The shape of a rotating wheel illustrates better the prominent circle of life that all of us experience. When a cycle ends, another begins.

 

The astrological birth chart is drawn to resemble a clock, with 12 segments, except that we read the chart anti-clockwise instead. You will see that the first house starts right at the left side of the chart and goes one round towards the twelfth house which ends right next on top to the first.


Each of these houses represent a primary aspect of our life experience but they do not standalone. As we go deeper into the chart study, we will also learn the intertwining relationships between the houses.

 

 

Below is a quick description of each house.

 

 

House 1 - House of Self. This is where it all begin - our true self identity that we were born with but  we are all challenged by keeping its authenticity as we begin to receive education, responses and judgements from external forces starting from our own parents. Whether you are someone who carries great self-assurance or is constantly struggling with self-esteem - this house is where all is happening. 

 

 

House 2 - House of Possessions. The second house is what we have in terms of material needs such as money, assets and resources. Generally, a "well-placed" house 2 indicates a materialistically abundant and comfortable life but be careful here as any self undoing in other houses may just destory it all. Symbolically, house 2 also represents our sense of self-worthiness. For those who is working on the self-love slogan of "I am enough", this is the house you will need to investigate what is limiting you in the first place.

 


House 3 - House of Communication. As we come to the third house, you are beginning to step out and engage with the outside world. Communication is everywhere in our living experience, you will see some of us who are great speakers and communicators of ideas, and some of us who had so much difficulties in self-expressions. This is the house where that is influencing our thoughts and words. The third house also reveals our life aspects in terms of siblings relationships and our behaviours and attitudes in sharing possessions.

 

 

House 4 - House of Home & Family. The first humans that we contact is none other than our biological parents. They define our sense of belonging, provide the nurturing that all baby child needs and also shape the values and mindsets towards life in general. A difficult placement or hard aspects found in this house says a lot about a tough childhood and family issues which you will see being manifested into other houses as the child evolve in life. For those coming from a broken and dysfunctional family, the insights from this house will help in resolving the inner child wounds.

 

 

House 5 - House of Pleasure. The next step of evolvement is learning how to play and experience joys of life. This is where we began exploring and discovering our hobbies, passions, entertainment and creativity. You can often find celebrities and sports athletes having significant placements in this house. Since it is about playfulness, house 5 is also about children, both your own children and the inner child within you.

 

 

House 6 - House of Work, Service and Health. After the playing, comes serious work. This is where we began to understand that life requires structure, discipline and serving others. And it cannot be all free flowing all day, everyday. Routine has to set in to create the rhythm of livelihood required to survive. This house is where your work experiences happen and as you can see, it is also the house of health where the state of wellbeing can be assessed here

 

 

House 7 - House of Marriage and Partnership. We have just completed half of the chart and established the necessary maturity of growing up. This is when we then enter intimate and serious relationship with another person. This house relates to marriage but also business partnerships, as long as the relationship carries a binding notion within. "Will I get married? Will my marriage be blissful?" all these burning questions from the ladies out there, here is the house that will give you a glimpse into your wedded life.

 

House 8 - House of Sex, Power and Inheritance. As dark as this house may sound, it is the inevitable phase that all of us will enter as long as we began to expose ourself to deeper relationships. Sexual attraction, power play, taking someone else's possessions - they all come into play that rock our lives. Someone with a cluttered house 8 will feel this more intensely compared to a house that is untenanted. Vladmir Putin has an intense house 8 - I think it illustrates the best how this house shapes a character, his lifestyle, his actions and decisions.

 

 

House 9 - House of Higher Education, Religions and Philosophy. Most people overlooked this house when they feel they are the least interested in these areas and hence rendered this house irrelevant. The truth is, this house is the foundation of living a bigger life. The key difference between those who succeed and those who fail is all in the horizons of their minds. Our society may have convinced you that you do not have affiliations to these higher minds but don't believe it until you have investigated your own birthchart. You might just be able to unlock the reason why you often felt suppressed and meaningless living in this life.

 

 

House 10 - House of Career. We have came to the final quadrant, last three houses of our birth chart. I am sure this is one of the hottest topic that everyone is most concerned with. This house speaks literally of one's career path and achievement. When we combine various birth chart element to interpret this house, we will be able to gather the direction of the right career to pursue for our best satisfaction

 

 

House 11 - House of World. Sometimes also called house of hopes and friendships. This house is our network in life, our aspiration for the human community and our desire to do great and serve our purpose. Someone with a well-placed house 11 will see themselves involved in careers and vocations that create impact. And this is not limited to just humanitarian work. Entertainers, actors, actresses, politicians, teachers, all fall into this category of expression. Again, if you are looking at what will rewrite the meaning of your life, check out your house 11.

 

 

House 12 - House of Secrets. Finally, the last house of our birth chart. Are you surprised by the name? Sometimes it is also called house of spirituality. Once we conquer our body and the material world, our soul will inevitably seek out to explore the unseen realms of life. This is where we began our inward journey to our inner minds, fantasies, illusions and spiritual purpose. As dangerous as the name sound, this house can swing both ways. For those who are conscious, this house elevates you to bliss and enlightenment. For those who are addicted to delusions, here is where darkness can consume the soul. This house also represents large institutions such as prisons, hospitals and mental institutes. 

 

 

 

Learning about these 12 houses is perhaps the most difficult part of birthchart discovery because to totally understand them, you need to understand the complexity of LIFE! If we are going to simply look at the houses by standalone definitions, we will only scratch the surface of our birth chart insights. The art and mastery will come later as you advance in astrology, how these life areas intertwined with each other, delivering meaningful themes and karmic lessons.

 

Afterall, the mastery of our birth chart is not meant to just answer one mundane question in life - will I get rich? Will I get married? How many kids will I have?

 

The power of birth chart discovery lies in the ability to guide you in narrating your life story and henceforth, empower you to take back ownership and navigate through life better and stronger.

 


 

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