WTF are the Zodiac Houses & Who Lives There?

If you’ve been getting to know me, you know that I like to keep things short, sweet, and to the point. Today we’re chatting about the Zodiac Houses and I thought it would be both fun and easy to understand each house if I personified them!

Keep in mind that the houses often have several encompassing meanings but I will touch upon the most common ones here. Please consider each of the examples as general assessments.

Lastly, keep in mind that the houses are just ONE way to understand your chart. There are many aspects to think about. If you haven’t already, read the basic overview of WTF is Astrology? Blog post here!

Let’s talk about each of the houses… and who lives there!

1st House - YOU

• The First house represents you, so YOU live there! This is your personality, how people view you, and your individual destiny.
• The Zodiac Sign at the beginning of this house is your Rising Sign so this will play a big significance in your chart along with your Sun & Moon signs.
• Any planetary bodies in the 1st House will greatly affect your personality. They play big factors of who you are at your very core.
• Example: With Sagittarius as my Rising, people see that I am bright, full of energy, and open hearted. I also have my Moon in the 1st house/Sagittarius. This means that my internal self-image is often dependent on how other people view me. I also have a very strong imagination and VERY moody. I also have Uranus in my 1st house which is how I assert my freedom and independence. I rely on my big brain! It's a big part of who I am.

2nd House - The Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

• The CFO manages our money and material possessions. They help us figure out where we place our values and desires.
• The zodiac sign that rules this on your chart, and any planetary bodies, will give you a better idea of what exactly you value.
• Ex: Mercury in Capricorn in 2nd House
  Represents a strong connection between inner awareness and values, or resources available at the time.
• Ex: Aquarius in 2nd House (without placements)
  Represents frequent changes in what they find valuable. The only constant will be their family and friends.

3rd house - The Marketer

• The Marketer helps you communicate with others. They help you understand how you give and receive information.
• In business astrology, this is considered the house of Social Media. Hmm, I wonder why? 🤔
• Planets in this house indicate how you communicate and operate mentally.
• Ex: North Node in Pisces in 3rd house
  This represents unusually clear and direct communication skills. Being practical is important but also expanding knowledge spiritually as well.
• Ex: Pisces in 3rd House (without placements)
  This represents a deeper understanding of your spirituality. Emotions rule you, but you allow yourself to process information internally first before you communicate with others.

4th house - The Homemaker | The Ancestor

• The homemaker loves to take care of their home. They help you feel safe in your environment and give you an idea of how you’ll build your family.
• The Homemaker can also be The Ancestor! They are the roots that build your tree of life. They have formed the foundations of the home environment you seek. You are your ancestors' wildest dreams!
• Planets in the 4th House tend to reflect your family orientation and your roots of your very being.
• Ex: Venus in 4th House in Capricorn
  You’re the “Soccer Parent” in this situation. You want to see your family succeed and go above their dreams. This transit is the person who has a positive attitude about their home environment.
• Ex: Aries in 4th house (without placements)
  This shows that family matters. You’ll do what you need to make sure your family is happy and well taken care of. You tend to be the head of the household.

5th house - The Muse

• The Muse inspires us. They give us the spark to create and express ourselves. The Muse gives us meaning and beautiful purpose!
• The Muse is also Passionate! The 5th House represents how we approach romance and affection.
• Planets in the 5th house explain how you express yourself, display affection, and create within your life.
• Ex: Mars in Taurus in the 5th House
  Drama, drama, drama! This transit brings someone who is dramatic, ambitious, and proud. They are persistent and stubborn to the point they can get a little possessive. They have a magnetism to them! Creativity is their ultimate outlet.
• Ex: Leo in the 5th House (without placements)
  Leo rules the 5th house and even without transits, this house means a lot to this sign. It brings someone who is bright and sunny about their creativity. They LOVE to create and by any means necessary. They find passion and self expression through their creative works.

6th house - The Physician

• The Physician helps you with your health. They provide you with the diagnosis of your situation and prescribe you a plan to fix it.
• The 6th house also relates to discipleship and mastery, and the overcoming of obstacles.
• Planets in this house can manifest challenges to your well-being. It can also indicate a profession of service to others dependent on other transits and aspects.
• Ex: Jupiter in Taurus in the 6th House
  Professionally, this person can be someone who works with the public. They can be optimistic about their impact. Health issues are important to them. They take the time to figure out how to put together preventative medical care.
• Ex: Scorpio in 6th house (without placements)
  Professionally if they are to work with the public, they’d most likely have the ability to make big changes in their community. When it comes to health, they can be a bit stubborn and refuse to see a doctor if they feel like they can find a holistic alternative they can figure out on their own.

7th house - The Therapist

• The Therapist helps us understand ourselves and how we fit in the world of others. They help us understand our relationships and partnerships better.
• The Therapist is also a great marriage counselor in that they help us understand how we can best manage marriage or long term relationships.
• Planets in this house will give you a better idea of how you manage relationships around you and how they affect you most.
• Ex: Chiron in Cancer in the 7th House
  With this placement, Chiron shows the wounds that someone can suffer in the 7th house. Cancer brings out intuition and our emotions. When you add in Chiron in Cancer in 7th house, there is a desire to relate with others on a very deep level. However, trust takes a long time to come due to childhood or past trauma.
• Ex: Virgo in 7th House (without placements)
  Virgo is the sign of organization and structure. When you place Virgo in the 7th house, you find someone who is pretty consistent with their relationships and partnerships. They desire to connect with others on a logical level. Intimacy may not come quick to those with Virgo in their 7th house, however, when they make friends, they are friends for life.

8th house - The Sexual One | The Destroyer

• The Sexual One is the part of us that drives our sexuality. It represents how we express ourselves sexually and this goes for any sexuality type.
• This house represents the fruits of relationships (The 7th House). This includes the power to change due to new understanding made possible by no longer acting solely as an individual.
• The 8th House also represents The Destroyer. Pluto rules this house and represents death, rebirth, and transformation. Aspects in this house will also give you an idea of how you process death, handle rebirths, and go through transformation.
• Planets in this house can be difficult to interpret. However, they can help you understand how sexuality is manifested in your life and what lessons you need to learn in order to grow and change.
• Ex: Mars in Cancer in 8th House
  There is a duality with this placement. You have a strong need to be creative and to exert dominance, but at the same time you don’t trust others and are afraid of being hurt. Sexually, you might come into your awakening later on in life but when you do, it’ll blow your socks off. You are constantly in a cycle of rebirth because of your creative nature. You may feel a sense of doom a lot, almost as if you assume death or something bad is behind every corner.
• Ex: Cancer in 8th House (without placements)
  Cancer being ruled by the moon means that this placement has a lot of emotional value on sexual needs and the process of transformation. You are deeply intuitive and accepting of your sexuality. There is a fluidity that comes to you and it makes it easy to adapt to changes. Death is not something you fear because you know that rebirth and the cycle of Karma is possible.

9th house - The Philosopher

• The Philosopher takes education and philosophy very seriously. It is the basis of who they are! They love to travel so that they can see all that they can learn.
• The 9th house represents our philosophies, what we choose to educate ourselves in, and how we view the world. It is all about expanding your horizons; mental, physical, and spiritual.
• Ex: Pluto in Scorpio in 9th House
  Scorpio is at home in Pluto and is all about sexual revelation, intense transformation, and death/rebirth. This means in the 9th house, this placement represents the need to educate yourself in radical ideologies and how to effectively change the world. People with this placement tend to be radical with their philosophies and beliefs. They are world travelers, or desire to be. Education by experience is necessary for them.
• Ex: Virgo in 9th House (without placements)
  Education has to be learned in a logical environment. People with this placement tend to believe that the best source of education is found in higher education or university. Philosophy means a lot to them and they enjoy learning from others as much as they want to teach. Travel is only necessary if it is to further their knowledge, otherwise it doesn’t feel important to them. They tend to have several books on many topics that interest them.

10th house - The CEO

• The CEO enjoys their career and strives to continue that excellence. They find authority in their career and are looked at as leaders. Public life may be important to them, as they want others to respect them.
• While we don’t all have to be CEOs in the career sense, we should strive to be the CEO of our own lives. The 10th house gives us direction on what careers might work for us best. It also lets us know what challenges we may experience. It is the culmination of who we’ve been striving to be when we started in House 4.
• The 10th house is also known as the Medium Coeli (MC) or Midheaven. It is on the cusp between 9th/10th houses. It is another important component of your personality, just as your Rising Sign is. The Midheaven emphasizes your individuality and the outward expression of your energies. It is also known as our Ego identity and has a strong connection with our public life and career.
• Ex: Neptune in Aries in 10th House
  This placement shows that the ideal career path is in the works of spirituality and/or religion in a radical or forward thinking way. With Aries, you have the fire in your belly to be passionate about the work that you do. It is important that other people know the work you do and acknowledge you for it. There may be issues or barriers to your work if you’re too cocky about it.
• Ex: Cancer in 10th house (without placements)
  Because Cancer works through emotions and is ruled by the Moon, a career in therapy or counseling might be best for you. The heart of the matter is important to you and you like to give others advice. Working in the community may also be a good career choice as it will allow you to serve the public in an authoritative manner. Imposter syndrome and the belief that you don’t deserve this position may serve as barriers to your work.

11th house - The Friend

• The friend is the one that is by our sides. They join us in communion and form another type of family. Our friends help form our community!
• Taking what we learned in the 10th house and how we work in society, we find and create community with those like us. This house shows us what activities can prove fruitful and connect us with others.
• Planets in this house can help you understand your visions for the future and how group associations and friends will operate in your life.
• Ex: Pluto in Scorpio in 11th House
  With this placement most people have an intense focus on friendships and associations. You like to be liked! Your sense of self will often change in relation to your friends and associates. There’s an intuitive part to how you relate to others and build your community. You are often driven toward memberships and communities by a need you don’t understand. You follow your gut and attempt to make conscious decisions in these areas.
• Ex: Capricorn in 11th House (without placements)
  Capricorn is all about social responsibility. You will find that you connect with others who also see this as a quality to have. Linking up with activists and community leaders is most likely going to help you feel fulfilled in life. Public achievement is important so you might find yourself striving to be in professional memberships and boards.

12th house - The Anointed One

• The Anointed One is the one who is spiritual and sees beyond the physical limitations on Earth. They often are willing to sacrifice themselves or allow themselves to be confined in order to test their spiritual limitations.
• This house is also known as the house of Karma. This house represents that which is hidden in our subconscious but we are in need of figuring out.
• Planets in this house indicate what is hidden in our subconscious and how they are expressed spiritually or through self-sacrifice.
• Ex: Mars in Scorpio in 12th House
  Mars represents how we function creatively and pursue our passions. Scorpio represents how we transform and learn our lessons. With these in the 12th house, spirituality is not only a path of intense transformation, but a way to express your creativity. Hidden in your subconscious is a way to allow transformation in your life. You may think that you cannot go through “the Change”. With this placement, most people feel that their Karmic Debt is to stay where they are because they don’t deserve to move forward. 
• Ex: Leo in 12th House (without placements)
  Leo represents how we can be assertive, honest, and courageous. When it is in the 12th house, that assertiveness is hidden deep within your subconscious. People with Leo in the 12th house may not feel very confident in their ability to stand up for themselves. They are often the ones who put aside arguments because it’s easier that way. This can be expressed as being “pious” or religiously (or spiritually) devout without question.

Whew! You made it to the bottom!

Leave a comment and let me know what you've learned and found most useful! What do you want to learn more about?

Stay tuned! Zodiac Signs and Aspects are next!