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THE earth revolving upon its own axis once in twenty-four hours causes the sun to be viewed from the earth in various positions from sunrise to sunset; and in order to obtain a clear conception of the twelve houses it will be convenient to treat the matter, for the moment, as though the earth were the centre instead of the sun, although we know very well that the Sun is really the centre of our planetary system.

DIAGRAM No. 1

Adopting this course of regarding the earth as the centre for our present purpose, we will imagine the sun at daybreak rising on the eastern horizon, or, as we say, upon the Ascendant; with the earth’s revolution, as the day wears on, at noon the sun will arrive at the zenith or what is called the Mid-heaven; and as the earth continues to revolve the sun will be carried to the western horizon at sunset. These three important positions in apparent time and space are produced by the sun’s rising, culminating, and setting, and they mark the three cardinal points through which pass the cusps of the first, tenth and seventh houses. (See fuller explanation given in pp. 5 to to of What is a Horoscope?)

At midnight the sun will be directly under the earth at the furthest or lowest cardinal point, the whole making the four cardinal points or ‘angles,’ as they are termed. These four successive positions of the Sun. making the four quarters of the day, are shown in Diagram 1; they realy due, of course, to the rotation of the earth on its axis in the direction indicated by the arrow. Out of these angles all the other divisions are obtained.

DIAGRAM No. 2. DAWN

When the sun rises, the chord of the solar arc will pass through the earth to what is known as the ‘cusp’ of the seventh house or western angle. The solar rays will also form a triangulum, and each side of this triangle will measure 120° of the circle, which is a third of the whole 360°. The Divine Archer takes his bow and shoots what we have termed the ‘chord’ may be called His arrow of light and the ‘triangulum’ the bent string of His bow, quivering with the impulse. The rays of this triangle will pass over and under the earth, the lower ray marking off the cusp of the fifth division or the Fifth House, and the upper the ninth division or Ninth House, as illustrated in Diagram No. 2, in which roman numerals indicate the house cusps.

DIAGRAM No. 3. SUNSET

Each of the cardinal points will, in a similar way, be connected with the other divisions, the two ‘chords’ together forming the Mundane Cross which squares the circle, forming an aspect of opposition and discord, whereas each triangle forms the trine, an aspect of peace and harmony.

The divisions formed from the First House or ASCENDANT are of the nature of the Fiery triplicity, the first house being of the nature of the vital heat, the fifth the generative fire, the ninth the mental or spiritual fire. The whole key to the nature of the twelve houses and indeed to the twelve signs as well, is beautifully expressed in this symbology.

At noon the solar chord passes directly to the northern angle, the cusp of the fourth house, and the triangle is formed in the second and sixth houses. This triangle is related to the Earthy triplicity, denoting hereditary honour, fame, worldly position, finance and service (Diagram 4).

The chord from the western angle unites with the chord from the ascendant and the triangle is formed in the third and eleventh houses. This angle is of the nature of the airy triplicity, the seventh house denoting relation, such as marriage and partnership, brethren and kindred, friends and acquaintances. (See Diagram 3, facing Diagram 2.)

DIAGRAM No 4. NOON

The fourth angle returns the chord to the mid-heaven, and the triangles are formed in the eighth and twelfth houses. This triangle is of the nature of the Watery triplicity, the fourth house denoting the psychic conditions, and that which has to do with the end of life, also death and the withdrawal from the material world. (See Diagram 5.)

It will be seen by the foregoing that the whole of the twelve houses have a symbolical basis, the succedent and cadent houses having their root in the cross of the four angles, representing what are known in the East as the three ‘Gunas’—Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva—interpreted as Stability, Activity and Rhythm respectively. If these four diagrams are carefully traced or copied out on thin tracing paper and then superposed. the manner in which this cross is formed, and the inter-relationship of the Twelve Houses, will be shown in a very striking manner.

DIAGRAM No. 5. MIDNIGHT

Every nation in the past has held the cross in the highest reverence. It is the geometrical basis of religious symbolism in connection with all the great world saviours. On the cross of matter spirit is crucified.* The cross in motion forms a wheel, or circle, called the Svastika; from the centre of the cross the sacred fire or Fohat crosses the circle horizontally and vertically, like two lines of flame. The Sun at the centre of the solar system represents the spiritual point in the universe to which all humanity is being drawn, the denser matter, or the physical, being farthest removed as it circles round the Sun. But regarding the earth as the centre for astrological purposes, humanity is shown as chained to the cross of matter until the spirit of the Christ is born within, which entirely reverses the spheres.

To understand the mysteries hidden behind astrological symbology, not only purity of life but great depth of thought is required, for in it is concealed the history of the races of this globe, and in fact the whole history of our earth as a planet; but for the purpose of more clearly understanding the nature of the twelve houses we may see in its geometrical symbology three great activities connected with human destiny, as we will now explain.

Kama, Kama-Manas, and Manas are three Sanskrit words which denote the character of the three angles connected with the first, tenth and seventh houses.

Kama presides over the first house or ascendant, being concerned with the birth of the animal man, his desire nature, love of life and physical conditions.

Kama-Manas, presiding over the tenth house or meridian, denotes the blending of the mind with the desire nature, the animal with the god, thus representing the animal-human soul.

Manas, ruling over the seventh house, denotes the pure mind or reason and the clear intellect of the human soul.

The first angle, corresponding to sunrise, suggests spirit, life and force made subject to matter, the circle under the cross; consciousness blinded by matter.

The second angle, corresponding to the culmination of the Sun upon the meridian, suggests the native balanced half way between spirit and matter, neither wholly one or the other, the cross over the half circle; self-consciousness.

The third angle, corresponding to the setting of the Sun, denotes the triumph of the spirit over matter, the union of the life of the separated one with the consciousness of the spirit, the circle over the cross; super-consciousness.

The fourth angle is the great mystery, the occult centre in which all the forces are gathered together for work in the unseen worlds.

From each of these angles the other houses receive their value, the cardinal points denoting the root of the life to be expressed.

The ASCENDANT or First House shows the quality of the life forces, the material brought to the front, so to speak. The personality with the desires are shown by this house. The Fifth House will find its expression through the stream of natural fire coming from the first, and so governs offspring, enterprise and emotional impulses. The Ninth House shows the life forces running upward toward the highest thought of which the nature is capable, and signifies all matters connected with science, philosophy and religion. From the idea of the mind being able to transmit itself away from the brain limitation this has come to be the house of travel, dreams, and metaphysics, also of thought-transference, etc.

The Tenth House or MID-HEAVEN, or Upper Meridian, the apex of the earthy triangle, denotes the fame and honour and worldly status of the native, the parentage and hereditary tendencies, and governs all matters connected with profession, business, employment, and worldly occupation. The Second House shows the outcome of the labour or profession in financial advantage, remuneration and monetary condition generally. The Sixth House shows the service required, and governs all matters connected with servants and helpers and those who are often inferiors. It is the house of employment and ceremonial magic.

The Seventh House or DESCENDANT denotes relation. All partnerships and unions of every kind are shown by this house, and thus it is the house of marriage, and of the Individuality. The Third House denotes relatives and kindred arising from unions, and also the expression through the brain of the union with the subjective and objective mind. It has also come to have some relation to short journeys, owing to its connection with the concrete or brain mind, which cannot travel far from the objects with which it is connected. The Eleventh House denotes the friends and acquaintances arising from unions, etc. Hopes and wishes are also indicated by this house.

The Fourth House, or NADIR, or Lower Meridian, denotes the environment, the life of the householder, also hidden and secret matters either connected with parentage or domestic affairs, and shows the conditions at the close of life. The Eighth House denotes death, and all matters connected with dissolution, and indicates the nature of the death the native will meet, and all expectations connected with the death of others; also re-generation or re-birth, or the raising of any faculty signified to a ‘higher octave.’ The Twelfth House is the house of confinement, or matters that, having their root in the fourth, spring out of parentage, inheritance and unseen affairs connected with the inner or psychic life; it is therefore called the house of occultism and (physical) ‘self-undoing.’

The Cardinal or ‘Angular’ houses or angles show all things that must be expressed outwardly, such as physical matters connected with the external life; (Rajas—activity). The Fixed or Succedent,’ i.e., second, fifth, eighth and eleventh houses, indicate matters connected with the feelings and emotions, not yet ripe for physical expression, but maturing for future development; (Tamas—stability). The Mutable or ‘Cadent,’ i.e., third, sixth, ninth and twelfth, show all matters latent in the mind and affairs brought over from past lives and not yet ready for final expression in the physical world; (Sattva—rhythm).

In the reverse order of the above, the Cadent, Succedent and Cardinal divisions may be said to represent thought, feeling and action, or spirit, soul and body.

The houses to the left of the meridian are called oriental, easterly or rising; those on the right are called occidental or descending. They represent respectively the objective and subjective. The six houses above the horizon, 7th to 12th, correspond to the ‘life’ side of the universe: the six below, 1st to 6th, correspond to its ‘form’ side.

Having partially explained the rationale of the twelve divisions, tech house will now be seen to have a definite meaning, out of which a greater number of minor influences will arise.

The following is the general nature of each house:—

I. First House.—Personality, natural disposition, worldly outlook generally, Physical experiences as obtained through the five senses. The parts of the body denoted are the head and face.

II. Second House.—Finance, monetary prospects. Desires caused by tenth-house influence affecting moral growth. The parts of the body denoted are the throat and ears.

III. Third House.—Relatives and kindred, travelling, intellect derived from education and study, and minor impressions made upon the physical brain. The parts of the body denoted are the neck, arms and shoulders and the lungs.

IV. Fourth House.—Hereditary tendencies; home and domestic life; parentage, environment, and the general state of things at the close of life. The parts of the body denoted are the beasts, stomach and digestive organs.

V. Fifth House.—Offspring; generative powers, sensations and pleasurable emotions arising from the senses, worldly enterprise and energy. The parts of the body denoted are the loins, heart and back.

VI. Sixth House.—Service and attachments arising from the expression of the tenth house, therefore servants and inferiors in social rank. This house also denotes sickness arising from worry and anxiety. It is also the house of phenomenal magic arising from the powers of the southern angle. The parts of the body denoted are the bowels and solar plexus.

VII. Seventh House.—Unions, marriage, partnerships, individual character and humane tendencies. The parts of the body denoted are the veins and kidneys.

VIII. Eighth House.—Death, all matters pertaining to legacies or affairs connected with death. It is also what is termed an occult house, owing to its relation to the fourth, which denotes the psychic tendencies. The parts of the body denoted are the secret parts and the generative system.

IX. Ninth House.—Higher mentality, scientific, philosophic and religious tendencies. It also denotes long journeys, dreams and the image-making power. The parts of the body denoted are the thighs and hams.

X. Tenth Houss.—Profession, business ability, fame, honour and material reputation. All worldly activities and moral responsibilities are shown by this house. The parts of the body denoted are the knees.

XI. Eleventh House.—Friends, acquaintances, hopes, wishes and aspirations. The parts of the body denoted are the legs and ankles.

XII. Twelfth House.—Occult tendencies. Its connection with the fourth house shows the psychic thought inheritance from the past and the result as either joy or sorrow. This may be said to be the most critical house of the twelve. The parts of the body denoted are the feet and toes.

These twelve houses or divisions are like spokes of a great wheel running from the hub at the centre, which represents the nucleus of the experiences gained from each of the twelve houses. The nature of the particular experience will be shown by the sign of the zodiac occupying each house, and the quality of these signs we will study in the next chapter; but the nature of each house should be understood apart from the signs, and then it will not be difficult to comprehend what follows.

When the mind has retained a clear picture of the nature of each house the student may endeavour to imagine a line running from each of the twelve divisions or houses to the centre of the map, endeavouring to think of the native as remaining in the centre with all these forces playing around him, with a natural tendency always to be drawn more toward the first house and grasp at this spoke of the wheel more than any of the others, while at the same time being drawn in other directions and influenced by the outside conditions affecting each spoke of the great wheel.

It must be understood that the manner of describing the formation of the Twelve Houses which has been adopted in this chapter is symbolical or figurative. It has been chosen because the Sun exerts a special influence when at each of the four angles of the heavens related to the four quarters of the day, an influence specially related to that of the houses concerned. But the Twelve Houses are always simultaneously present, and exert their several influences according to the signs and planets which occupy them, whatever may be the hour of the day or night, no matter whether the Sun is upon an angle or not, though of course the presence of the Sun in any house will accentuate the influence of that house.

It should also be thoroughly grasped that there exists the most intimate correspondence between the signs and the houses, between Aries and the First House, Taurus and the Second House, and so on. Hence the influence of a planet in Aries will correspond to that of the same planet in the First House—will correspond to it, though it will not be exactly the same. Perhaps a hint as to the difference may be given in the suggestion that the houses relate to physical matter, and the signs to astral matter. But it must be kept in mind that the influence of the signs is greater than that of the houses, and that the former will overbear the latter.

Thus spring ‘corresponds’ to sunrise, for it is the dawn of the year, even as sunrise is the dawn of the day. But there are many days during the year.

* In mystic writings, Enoch, the representative of the spiritual and physical or dual nature in man, is the centre of the astronomical cross: at the upper point or apex of the triangle is the Eagle, at the base of the lower angle on the left stands the Lion and on the right the Bull, these being the four fixed signs .