In a previous post I introduced the building blocks of a Birth Chart using the analogy of a theatrical play. If the Planets are the actors, the Signs their scripts and costumes/props, the Houses are the stages – those different realms of the human psyche where the dramas take place.
We all have all twelve Houses on our Birth Charts. The 1st House is where we establish that sense of “Me” – where we create our individual identity (and incidentally, where one’s Ascendant or Rising Sign is located). But if you have Aries in your 1st House, your sense of self – especially in social situations (as a confident, independent go-getter, for example) – is going to be very different than if Libra is your 1st House Sign (in which case you’ve probably learned that you’re the fairness-prioritizing peacekeeper in groups).
The 5th House is classically called the House of Children and the 11th House, the House of Friends… though those single words are extremely inadequate definitions! Creativity, play, the “birthing of creations uniquely one’s own” is a much fuller (but still nowhere near complete) description of the 5th House. You might have no interest at all in those little humans we call children, but spend decades building one successive start-up business after another – a beautiful 5th House expression. And 11th House is where your astrologer might look to answer your questions about how you fit into / contribute to / reap benefits from a particular community – which may be one that’s entirely online, for example.
Each of us play out our rich and full lives on all twelve stages of the human psyche. But what that looks like is infinite in its possibilities, given all the various Planet – Sign – House combinations. Keeping our focus here on the Houses, we can say that for each of us some stages/realms of life are more “important” or “carry more weight” than others in this particular lifetime.
Does it seem that you are always having to “deal with” issues related to work, while your partner sails along smoothly throughout their career without care? Does your best friend feel compelled to focus entirely on – and perhaps thoroughly enjoy – raising a family, while for you that’s never been an interest whatsoever?
Looking at the Birth Chart leads to insights. As it turns out, your 6th House (arena of work and daily life) may be in the Sign of Capricorn with a whole gathering of Planets all congregated there. No wonder you’re constantly dealing with challenging work issues! When we have lots of Planets / Points grouped in a certain house, this shows that our Soul really wanted that area of life to be a main focus in this lifetime.
These are very generalized and broad-sweeping examples. But I hope they illustrate how no one is playing out their life on only one stage; the spotlights are pointed differently for each of us.
And most importantly, that no placement is “right” or “wrong,” or “good” or “bad.” Those notions are silly 3D human social constructs. When we remember to keep a higher perspective, tuned in to the choices our Soul made before we incarnated, the theatrical play of life can be so much more enthralling. Maybe not feeling 100% enjoyable all the time, but when we approach those challenging/scary acts of the play with curiosity – asking, “What am I meant to learn here?” – we will surely feel more empowered as we play out our parts.
It can be fascinatingly illuminating – and in many cases, incredibly validating – to come to an understanding of which Houses are more “active” in your Birth Chart, and therefore why some areas are so much more important to you than others.
Want to learn more about your Birth Chart? Book a reading with me HERE!
Image by Soul Map Mandalas
###