House (astrology)

(Revision as of 08:38, 3 Mar 2005)

Houses

Astrological houses are spatial divisions of the zodiacal band, typically measured out from the point where the ecliptic crosses the local horizon. Most traditions of astrology currently practiced utilize 12 houses, although several ancient Greek writers refer also to a system of 8 houses, and the earliest astrologers did not use houses. Houses appear to have been a Greek or Egyptian invention; they are not used in the earliest Mesopotamian horoscopes. Even today, some astrologers, most notably those who practice the Hamburg School of astrology, do not use houses at all. In standard practice, houses represent general topics or departments of life. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as topical or mundane houses.

House Systems

There are many methods in use for dividing the zodiac into houses. These methods are referred to as house systems. In most house systems, the first house is a zone of the zodiac starting where the ecliptic crosses the local horizon and extending for some distance below the horizon counter-clockwise (toward the North). The second through sixth houses fill the space between the first house and the western horizon, and the seventh through twelfth houses extend from the Western horizon to the South, and back to the Eastern horizon. So as planets rise in the sky, they enter the twelfth house and go numerically backward through the houses as the day progresses. The time a planet takes to move through one house depends on various factors including where it is in the zodiac and how many degrees of space the house occupies, but on average, planets change houses roughly every two hours. On the zodiacal wheel, the ascendant is usually placed on the left side, and the houses appear as pie-shaped wedges numbered 1 through 12 running counter-clockwise.