the places of the chart
The twelve houses
Houses divide the local sky into twelve places. They describe areas of life, not kinds of energy; the planet tells what acts, while the house tells where its action becomes concrete.
The lists below follow William Lilly's Christian Astrology (1647), Book I, chapter VII. His examples come from a working astrologer's world of lawsuits, inheritances, journeys, servants and civic offices. They are historical descriptions, not a claim that one house or placement can settle a life by itself. A house has no fixed sign: its cusp depends on the actual time, place and house system used for the figure. Read Lilly's chapter ↗
- 1 Self and embodimentThe body, temperament and manner of entering situations.
- 2 Resources and livelihoodMoney, movable possessions, sustenance and the means by which life is supported.
- 3 Siblings and local movementSiblings, neighbours, short journeys, messages and the familiar environment.
- 4 Home, ancestry and foundationsHome, parents, land, ancestry and the conditions from which a matter grows or finally settles.
- 5 Children, pleasure and creationChildren, delight, courtship, games and works made for their own expressive pleasure.
- 6 Illness, labour and serviceIllness, daily labour, servants, small animals and the maintenance work life requires.
- 7 Partners and open opponentsMarriage, contracts, one-to-one alliances, rivals and adversaries who can be named.
- 8 Shared goods, fear and deathOther people’s money, debts, inheritances, loss, fear and encounters with mortality.
- 9 Long journeys and beliefReligion, divination, higher learning, dreams, publishing and travel beyond familiar bounds.
- 10 Office, reputation and actionPublic standing, vocation, command, achievement and the judgement of those with authority.
- 11 Friends, allies and hopesFriends, patrons, collective support, benefactors and hopes that depend on cooperation.
- 12 Confinement and hidden adversityIsolation, confinement, secret enemies, self-undoing and conditions difficult to see directly.