Topics of the 12 Houses

I want to share these posters of the basic topics and qualities of the 12 Houses that I made for the class I'm teaching this semester at Kepler College called Telling the Houses: Building Narrative with House Delineation.  All of the text is adapted from Demetra George's Ancient Astrology Vol 2 ., so only modern significations that have historical relevance are mentioned.

FIRST HOUSE :: Horoskopos, Pneuma/Spirit, Helm angular (strong) / most favorable / joy of Mercury 

body, appearance, physical constitution, vital life force, character/temperment, the beginning of all actions (modern: individuality, identity, image, personality, persona)

SECOND HOUSE :: Gates of Hades

succeedent (mid strength) / unfavorable (averse AC)

money, livelihood, possessions, resources used to maintain manner of life, wealth & poverty, expectations of prosperity, fears of financial lack, earning, saving, substance (modern: self-worth, values, desire & attachment)

THIRD HOUSE :: Goddess (Thea) 

cadent (weak) / mixed favorability (sextile AC) / joy of the moon

siblings, relatives, close friends, neighbors, short journeys and local travel, communications, writing, languages, learning, media, sacred rites, dreams and divination

FOURTH HOUSE :: The Subterranean Place (hupogeion)

angular (strong) / favorable (square AC)

family and parents (especially the father), home and hearth, household goods, land/property, real estate, foundations, buildings, ancestors and graves, hidden treasures, mining, nationalism and homeland, conditions at the end of life, the end of the matter

FIFTH HOUSE :: Good Fortune (Agathe Tuchē) 

succedent (mid strength) / favorable (trine AC) / joy of Venus

children, pleasurable pursuits, romance & sexuality, creative arts, good fortune, gifts

SIXTH HOUSE :: Bad Fortune (Kakē Tuchē)

cadent (weak) / unfavorable (averse AC) / joy of Mars

misfortunes, troubles, bad luck, illness & disease, accidents & injuries, servitude, slavery, jobs, bondage and oppression (and revolts against it), enemies & insurrections, daily regimen/habits, small animals

SEVENTH HOUSE :: Setting (Dusis)

angular (strong) and favorable

marriage and spouse, intercourse with spouse, business partners/collaborators, all contractual relationships (business, therapist, roommate), open enemies and opponents, “the other party” (criminal on trial, buyer in a purchase), conditions of death (w/4th and 8th)

EIGHTH HOUSE :: The Idle Place (Argos)

succedent (mid strength) / unfavorable (averse AC)

death (causes, nature, and timing of death); violent deaths / lethal poisoning; wills, legacies, inheritances; occupations of death (undertaker, mortician, hospice, butchers, surgeons, mediums, executors, homicide detectives, death doulas); other people’s money (debt, common funds, trust funds); lawsuits; taxes; spouse’s or business partner’s money, poverty; beggars; crime; fears, anxieties, horror; mental illness, anguish; weakness and inactivity 

NINTH HOUSE :: God (Theos) 

cadent (weak) / favorable (trine AC)

religion and spirituality, higher knowledge, wisdom, philosophy, long journeys, foreign places, multiculturalism, international affairs, visions/divination, prophets, astrologers, universities and law

TENTH HOUSE :: Midheaven (Mesouranēma) 

angular (strong) / very favorable (square AC)

reputation, honor, rank, social status, public role in society, profession/occupation/vocation, mastery of skills, ambition, achievement, advancement, desire for recognition, relationship to authority/authority figures

ELEVENTH HOUSE :: Good Daimon (Agathos Daimōn)

succedent (mid strength) / favorable (sextile AC) / joy of Jupiter 

friends, friendship, companions, their nature and characteristics, alliances, benefactors, social acquaintances, prospe rity, good fortune, hopes/wishes/expectations, participation in groups/clubs/teams/societies/political and spiritual affiliations, group identity

TWELFTH HOUSE :: Bad Daimon (Kakos Daimōn)

cadent (weak) / unfavorable (averse AC) / joy of Saturn 

hidden enemies, misfortunes, imprisonment, illnesses, sorrows/suffering/tribulations, isolation and retreat (prisons, hospitals, psych wards, convents & monasteries, hermitages, spiritual or creative retreats), occultism and the spiritual dimension, spiritual transcendence, mysticism, self-undoing/inner demons, the collective unconscious (modern)

[[Some artists whose work is included in the collages: 1:Daisy Collingridge; 5: Sunny Allis; 8:Ana Mendietta; 9: Photos by Fadescha. Also a bunch of warped classical painting and an AI-distortion of Titian's Sisyphus.]]