The 12 houses in astrology
The houses divide the sky into twelve sections based on the horizon at the moment of birth. Signs answer “how”, planets answer “what”, and houses answer “where”. To calculate the houses, you need to know your birth time.
House of self
identity, outward appearance, first impression · Aries
House of values and resources
income, material resources, values · Taurus
House of communication
communication, siblings, neighbors · Gemini
House of home and roots
home, family, roots · Cancer
House of creativity and pleasure
creativity, romance, children · Leo
House of daily routine and health
daily routine, work, health habits · Virgo
House of relationships
marriage, partnerships, one-to-one relationships · Libra
House of transformation
shared resources, transformation, intimacy · Scorpio
House of philosophy and higher learning
higher education, philosophy, beliefs · Sagittarius
House of career and public standing
career, reputation, public standing · Capricorn
House of community and hopes
friends, communities, hopes · Aquarius
House of the subconscious and hidden matters
subconscious, solitude, hidden matters · Pisces
House systems
Placidus
Placidus is the most widely used house system in Western astrology. It is named after Placidus de Titis, a 17th-century Italian mathematician. The system calculates the house cusps by dividing the rising of the signs and their movement across the horizon by time; as a result, the houses are not equal in size and become more uneven as latitude increases. The Ascendant and Midheaven are used directly as house cusps. At latitudes near the polar circles (roughly 66° and above), some houses cannot be calculated, so other systems are preferred at these latitudes.
Equal house
In the equal house system, the exact degree of the Ascendant is taken as the cusp of the 1st house, and the following houses are laid out in equal 30-degree segments. Each house is 30 degrees wide, and the calculation is simple. In this system the Midheaven (MC) often does not coincide with the 10th house cusp and falls at a different degree within the 10th house. Because it works without problems at high latitudes too, some astrologers prefer it.
Whole sign
In the whole sign system, the entire rising sign counts as the 1st house, the next sign becomes the 2nd house, and so on, with each sign forming one house. The house cusps are the beginnings of the signs, and each house is exactly 30 degrees wide. The system goes back to Hellenistic astrology and has become popular again in recent years among astrologers reviving traditional astrology. A similar approach to houses is used in Indian astrology. The Ascendant degree still matters in interpretation, but because the houses are defined by sign boundaries, house placements can come out differently than in other systems.
Porphyry
In the Porphyry system, the house cusps are found by dividing each of the four arcs between the chart's four angles (Ascendant, IC, Descendant and MC) into three equal parts. The houses are not equal in size, but the calculation is geometrically simple and easy to explain. The system takes its name from its attribution to the Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry. Because it also gives results at high latitudes where Placidus cannot be calculated, some astrologers use it as an alternative.