Zodiacal Systems - House Systems

The House systems used in astrology are a way to divide the circle of the sky into twelve sections. They represent the band of the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the sky) that appears to surround the earth. The center point of the chart is the earth. The upper six houses represent the visible sky in the location for which the chart was cast. The Midheaven is the top of the chart and is considered the to be South (in the Northern Hemisphere). The lower six houses represent the side of the heavens that is not visible, being the visible sky on the opposite side of the earth, and so not visible from the location for which the chart was cast. The Nadir is the bottom of the chart, and is considered to be North (in the Northern Hemisphere). The left side of the chart, in the Northern Hemisphere, is East. The center left is the Ascendant (or rising sign) and is the eastern horizon. The right side of the chart is West, in the Northern Hemisphere, and the center West is the descendant, the western horizon.

 The individual houses are counted from the center left (the Eastern horizon - the first house cusp) and move down and counter clockwise. The earth is actually moving in that counter clockwise direction, and so the sky appears to move around the earth in a clockwise motion. That is an illusion, as it is the earth moving, and not the sky. Each house is assigned rulership of various aspects of life. Naturally, various styles of astrology assigns different meanings to the various houses.

The first house is the ascendant or rising sign, the fourth house is the nadir or home, the seventh house is the descendant and the 10th house is the midheaven. These four houses (the angles) are the most important in almost all charts. There are many ways to calculate the houses and so there are many house systems used in astrology. Some astrological systems associate each house with a specific sign and planet. Different systems use different associations. While I do think that some of the traditional, inner planets have some affinity for certain houses, I don't see a direct correlation between specific houses and specific signs. For instance, modern astrology would equate the 1st house and Aries as, basically, being the same thing. Like the traditional astrologers, I don't think that is accurate, and it confuses the differences between the houses and the signs. 

 I see the houses as markers of the hours of the day, and their relevance is determined by the levels of light and darkness that the hours of day and night imply. I do use houses and find them valuable and workable. I tend to use two main systems of houses; Placidus house divisions, which assign the houses their own number of degrees, and Whole Signs, which puts an entire sign in each house, starting at 0 degrees and ending with the 29th degree of that sign. I like to look at the Tropical Zodiacal system in both Placidus and Whole Sign houses, then look at the Sidereal Zodiac in Whole Sign houses, then look at the True Constellation Sidereal Zodiac in Placidus houses, as the thirteen uneven constellations of the TCS zodiac makes Whole Sign houses problematic.
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