What do the Houses Mean in Astrology?

Working with house topics is one of my favorite astrology techniques because it very clearly shows us how astrological movements impact our daily lives.

It can feel really abstract to talk about full moons and Mercury retrogrades, but knowing how to ground these transits into your birth chart will give you so much context for what you can tangibly expect in your life as the planets move through the sky.

Using house topics can also help to illuminate your birth chart by identifying which life topics are most activated for you throughout your life based on your planetary placements.

What are the 12 Houses in an Astrology Chart?

Just as we split the zodiac into 12 signs, astrologers also divide charts into 12 different houses that each contain a multitude of life topics. Below is a visual of many of the most common life topics that are placed in the 12 houses, but this graphic is not exclusive.

To ground this chart into your birth chart, place your rising sign in the 1st house. Then, each house after that is ruled by the subsequent zodiac sign. So if you're a Virgo rising, you have a Virgo 1st house, Libra 2nd house, Scorpio 3rd house etc. etc. This is called the whole sign house system and is a really simple and accessible way to split up the houses. There are many different ways to divide houses in astrology, though, so if you use a different system that is totally fine.

Your birth chart represents your entire life as a whole, while your first house is focused on YOU...which is why rising signs are so important and so commonly talked about.

Some of the topics that are placed together can seem relatively dissimilar because there are so many life topics and only 12 houses to place them in. The third house, for example, contains everything from your neighborhood to social media to moon-based ritual magic... it's one of my favorite houses because of its diversity!

If you have a transit through a house or a concentration of planetary placements in a house in your birth chart, some of the life topics may be activated while others may not feel so significant. For example, one person with a super full 8th house may be a tax specialist while another person with a strong 8th house may tend more towards a psychological outlook on life while another 8th house person may live off a family member's inheritance.

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An Easy Way to Work with House Topics

If you know that a planet is about to transit through Taurus (for example), find the house ruled by Taurus in your birth chart to see what life topics will be activated by this transit. If you're a Scorpio rising, then a New Moon in your Taurus 7th house would be a time of planting seeds and incubating new beginnings for your romantic relationships, working with clients, and general relationships with others. In contrast, a Virgo rising would experience a Taurus transit in their 9th house as activating for their relationship to divinity, pursuit of higher knowledge, and/or travel and interactions with foreigners.

You can also use this technique to make more sense out of your natal birth chart. If you know that you have a bunch of planets in a certain sign, figuring out what house is ruled by that sign can help illuminate where there's extra energy and attention in your life.

For example, Leo risings with a lot of Gemini planets may be particularly focused on their friends and being involved in community groups with their Gemini 11th house. Capricorn risings with several Gemini planets may be healers, spend a lot of time tending to their body due to health issues, and/or care a lot about pets and small animals with their lit up Gemini 6th house.

Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Being able to ground transits and natal birth chart placements in the twelve houses is such a simple way to add dimension to our astrological understandings. If you want more personalized guidance for what your birth chart says about important life topics like relationships, work, health and more, I offer Life Topic Astrology Consultations where we dig into all this and more to give you tangible life guidance grounded in the wisdom of the cosmos.

This blog post is just the tip of the iceberg for all the amazing ways to work with house topics in astrology and it's a great place to start if this is a new concept for you. But there's a LOT more we can do when working with houses in astrology. For an in-depth overview of some juicy techniques from ancient Greece, head to my blog post "How to Work With the Ruler of a House in Astrology."

About the Author

Alicia Cielle Heiser is an herbal astrologer who helps folks navigate their lives with the wisdom of the stars and plants. She offers astrology consultations, teaches workshops, and has a podcast called Conversations with the Planets. Alicia's practice is focused on facilitating a greater understanding of life's cycles through encouraging empowerment, safety, and helping folks deepen their relationship with themselves and the more-than-human world.