Houses
The twelve houses are life-topic sectors in a natal-chart. Unlike zodiac-signs, which are fixed 30° slices of the ecliptic, house boundaries depend on birth time and latitude. The ascendant opens the 1st house; cusps proceed counter-clockwise on the natal-wheel.
House systems (Placidus, Whole Sign, Equal, etc.) differ in cusp math but share the same topical sequence — see houses for calculation.
Angular, succedent, cadent
| Group | Houses | Rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| Angular | 1, 4, 7, 10 | Visible, initiating — mirrors cardinal modalities |
| Succedent | 2, 5, 8, 11 | Stabilizing — mirrors fixed signs |
| Cadent | 3, 6, 9, 12 | Adaptive, mental — mirrors mutable signs |
The twelve houses
| House | Domain | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Self, body, approach | house-1 |
| 2nd | Resources, values | house-2 |
| 3rd | Communication, siblings | house-3 |
| 4th | Home, roots | house-4 |
| 5th | Creativity, children, play | house-5 |
| 6th | Health, service, routine | house-6 |
| 7th | Partnership, contracts | house-7 |
| 8th | Shared assets, intimacy, change | house-8 |
| 9th | Belief, travel, study | house-9 |
| 10th | Career, reputation | house-10 — midheaven cusp |
| 11th | Friends, hopes | house-11 |
| 12th | Retreat, unconscious | house-12 |
A planet’s house can shift expression more than a sign change for the same longitude. Balance diagnostics: hemispheres, quadrants.