The houses of the Zodiac are the 12 "slices" (or "wedges" in my vocabulary) of the chart: the psychological mandela of Life Experiences and Lessons Encountered. They function like a Classroom of Life, each with its own course of study and purpose. They also follow the natural 1-12 cycle of the signs, starting with Aries on the 1st house, Taurus on the 2nd, Gemini on the 3rd, and so on.
They show where your life story is being played, and what kind of "outward-or-inward" dynamic of the psyche is being taught. (An outward "strong visibility" wedge is like a fancy theater. An inward "quiet-and-internal" wedge is like a small school play.) Wedges go in a pattern of "outward" and "inward" from house #1. Each "house" has its own dynamic for presentation of YOUR life experience and expression.) The houses show what area of your life is being cast in the spotlight:
- personality-self-identity (early childhood); how the world sees us.
- self-value and earning power; ownership issues
- communicating and thinking; relations with siblings
- home life and foundation of Self ; "mothering" issues
- creativity and romantic nature; children and views toward them
- day-to-day tasks, activities and health; service to society
- relationships (business and personal)
- ability to adapt to the values of others: death-rebirth-sex
- philosophical, religious and educational values; foreign cultural influences
- career goals and emphasis of status; "fathering" issues and authority figures
- friends, associations and wishes; groups and affiliations
- and need for privacy and retreat, limitations, self-undoing, and personal fears.
In each of our unique charts, planets and signs are performing there in the respective houses that are designed by the patterns formed by your birthday, latitude/longitude, and time of your birth. It’s like cable tv, with a different show on each channel.
At our birth, the time, place, and location "spin" the chart so that it matches the mathematical calibrations that work in the astrological system of choice. No matter which one is used (and there are several, including a Vedic (or Hindu) astrological system), all the respective planets fall in the proper "locations" on the chart.
It's sort of like watching an opening break on a game of billiards as the balls fall into the pockets--but each planet goes into a house that is part of the 360-degree balance according to specific geometry and measurement within astrological plans.
Each house also has a natural "sponsor" that follows the pattern of the traditional zodiac from Aries to Pisces. The qualities of each respective wedge will take on the dynamics of the "sponsor" regardless of which sign is positioned on the cusp ("doorway") when our birth chart (or other chart, depending on purpose) is prepared.
In this way, no matter what planets are placed in our chart, the natural "sponsor" adds something of its own qualities to the activities whether or not the wedge is occupied or not. For this reason, it's all right to have "empty" houses or wedges in a chart; it simply means that the individual is not dealing with those specific lessons in this lifetime.
(c) MDLOP8 2010
