I have a piece on Astrological House Division in the current issue of The Evolving Astrologer (formerly known as the Career Astrologer). This magazine is published by the Organization for Professional Astrology (OPA). It is directed at all those interested in Astrology, newcomers and professionals alike.
Click here to download a PDF version of the magazine. My article appears on page 48-55.
Rhys gives a Zoom talk at AFAN on Saturday, 1 April
For your ticket and Zoom codes, click here.
Saturday, 1 April at:
- 10AM EDT (East coast-USA),
- -3PM (Ireland, UK, Portugal),
- 4PM (Amsterdam, Berlin, Oslo, Paris, Rome).
Rhys Chatham explains how the major house division systems are calculated in a way that does not require any math.
Rather than advocate the use of one house system over another, we will simply compare them and look at the various celestial circles they are based on, reflecting upon the symbolic implications of each of them and how they might impact on chart interpretation. We’ll discuss what distinguishes one house system from another, allowing you to make informed choices on which ones to use, for what, and when.
In this talk we will cover the ecliptic-based (whole sign, equal and Porphyry), space-based (Meridian, Regiomontanus, Campanus), and time-based houses (Alcabitius, Koch and Placidus).
It’s free! If you would like to attend, click on the site (below) to register and get your ticket and Zoom codes.
House division systems are based on different celestial circles. After a quick review of the astronomy, we’ll discuss those differences and look at how they might affect chart delineation on both symbolic and practical levels.
Wm Lilly on 3rd House questions (Is the Rumour True?)
Lilly on 3rd house questions:
Christian Astrology (CA) pp. 188-192
Brethren:
Lilly says that while there are many demands which may be made concerning questions to the 3rd House, the principle ones concern:
- The querent’s brethren, brothers/sisters/close relatives that aren’t parents. Is the relationship between the querent and them harmonious or not?
- What of a brother or sister who is absent? Are they alive or dead? Are they prosperous or not? Are they happy? When is the querent likely to have news of them? Are they likely to come back home, and if so, when?
- Another question covered is whether the querent will have brothers and sisters. And if so, will he get along with them?
How to judge these questions:
- If the question concerns brethren, look at L1 for the querent and L3 for the quesited. Look at the condition of both of the lords and see what condition they are in. See if there is an aspect between them and if there is, is it good or bad? In this way, one can answer the above questions.
- Also look at the concerned houses, e.g. if a malefic or the south node is places in the 1st House, it shows there are problems with the querent. If they are in the third house, then the kindred is the problem.
- To learn more about the condition of the kindred, turn the houses so that the third house represents the kindred and becomes the Ascendant or 1st house. So the radical 5th House becomes the turned or derived 2nd house, etc.
Rumors:
On another topic, on CA page 192-194 we cover the topic of whether a rumor be true or false.
While rumors are attributed to the third house and its Lord or Lady, Lilly has us consider the angles, the Moon and Mercury among other things; the rules are a bit complicated and often involves bringing other houses into the picture.
Reports, News, Intelligence or Fears? Are they true or false? Do they signify good or evil? (CA pg 192)
- Lilly found that during a time of war that the rumor was true IF the Moon in either H1, H3, H10, or H11 separates by a benevolent aspect from any planet, and then applying by sextile, trine or conjunction to the Lord of the Ascendant.
- However, if the Moon applied to L7 by any good aspect, enemies would have the victory.
- If the Moon was void of course, the rumor would come to nothing or be a lie or false.
- If both Moon and Mercury were square or in opposition to each other, and neither of them cast a sextile or trine to L1, the news was false.
Also, from CA page 193:
If at any time you hear some news and want to know if it is prejudicial to you…
It will not be detrimental to you if:
- Jupiter or Venus is in the Ascendant
- Or if the Moon or Mercury be in their essential dignities and in trine or sextile to L11
It will be detrimental to you (or to whom the news concerns) if:
- L6, L8, or L12 is in the first house or in bad aspect to L1.
- Or if Mars or Saturn is retrograde in H1, or in hard aspect with L1, or casting a square or opposition to the Ascendant degree.
- If Saturn signifies the mischief: country friends have been plundered, cattle stolen
- If Mars, someone has been cut off (“straggling parties”)
- Mercury: letters have miscarried.
- Jupiter or Venus (involved gentlefolk)
- Lilly says to use common sense.
If counsel or advice given is good or evil? CA pg 194
If the rumors be true or false according to the ancients:
The rumors are true if:
- Consider L1 and the Moon, if they are in an angle,
- or if the dispositor of the Moon is in an angle and in a fixed sign,
- or if any of these be in a succedent house and fixed sign,
- or in good aspect with a fortunate planet i.e. sextile or trine with Jupiter, Venus or the Sun
Judge to the contrary if:
- L1 is afflicted by Infortunes
- Or in a cadent house
even if strong in sign (essentially strong.)
Pg 194 – Rumors are for the most part true when:
- Angles in figure are in fixed signs, separating from Infortunes and applying to any fortunate planet, placed in any angle. Moon and mercury in fixed signs separating from Infortunes and in an angle.
If the Angles of H4 & H10 be fixed and the Moon received in them (i.e. the Moon is in one of those houses?)
Rumors of evil will be false or turn into good things if:
- If one hears evil or bad news yet one of the fortunes is in H1 or the Moon be unfortunate, it is a strong argument that the rumor is false, and they will turn to good rather than evil.
- If Mercury is retrograde or in any other way afflicted, or of that planet to whom the Moon applies (that it be retrograde?), or to whom Mercury applies, esp. if either of those two are lords of the Ascendant.
If L1 is under the beams of the Sun the matter shall be kept secret and few will ever know the truth of it.
Of counsel given, whether it be for good or evil.
Counsel is given with an honest heart if:
- Fortunate planet at MC or in H10 i.e. Sun, Jupiter, Venus or North node, otherwise Moon applying to L1
Counsel is given with malintent if:
- Saturn, Mars or south node in in H10.
- Also, if the Ascendant is moveable (cardinal), the person giving the counsel is deceitful or treacherous.
Short Journeys:
- By this Lilly means journey that only takes a day or so.
- Is it a good idea to take the journey?
Other third house topics:
- Neighbors and our local neighborhood.
- Travel made on a regular basis.
- Letters, rumors, reports, messages, communications generally.
- Contracts, deeds,.
- Speeches and debates.
- An afflicted 3rd House in relationship questions suggests communication problems or mental incompatibility. In business questions it indicates contractual problems. Mars in H3 and indicate arguments, Saturn an inability to communicate.
Ecliptic-based house division: Porphyry.
This article on ecliptic-based house division is Part 3 of a three part series. To start at the beginning , click here.
Porphyry is a quadrant house system. In quadrant house systems, the ascendant defines the first house cusp, and the MC defines the tenth house cusp. This creates four sectors or zones within the circle of the ecliptic, otherwise known as quadrants.
Named after the third century Neo-Platonist philosopher and astrologer, Porphyry, this system was used from the earliest days of horoscopic astrology and was described by Vettius Valens in Book 1 of Anthology, his astrological textbook.
In the Porphyry system, the span of the ecliptic between the horizon and midheaven is trisected to produce three houses. This makes the houses very easy to calculate, you can practically do it in your head! Because the number of degrees between the ascendant and MC vary according to location, time of day and season, the quadrants are rarely of equal size.
The advantage of Porphyry houses is that the first house cusp starts at the degree of the Ascendant, and the degree of the MC defines the 10th house cusp, thus underlining the importance of angularity in horoscopic astrology. In doing this, Porphyry anchors houses to the earth in that it is the local horizon that defines the start of the first house, and the local meridian that defines the 10th house cusp and MC.
One reason astrologers use quadrant house systems is for the same reason that they use the tropical zodiac: because they are tied to what’s going on in the sublunar world. Just as the tropical zodiac is tied to the earth’s seasons, quadrant houses are tied in profound ways to the physical earth itself. The idea behind using quadrant houses is that they better reflect what is happening in the terrestrial world as opposed to the sidereal world.
Furthermore, with Porphyry, we distinguish and underline the difference between a planet being domiciled in a sign and a planet being in an astrological house.
An astrological house represents things that are linked to the Earth that we live on, the domiciles are in the heavens. For example, we could have two planets domiciled in Aquarius, with Mercury in Aquarius in the 12th House and Saturn in Aquarius in the 1st House (see chart below).
Left: Porphyry Houses (quadrant system) – Right: Whole Sign Houses
We lose this symbolism in Whole Sign houses (see chart above), but we get it back in quadrant systems and in systems where the 1st House starts with the Ascendant, which is one reason why ancient astrologers used quadrant house systems in addition to WSH cusps.
Granted that the Porphyry system is more anchored to the earth and that it is a quadrant system, it is still based primarily on the ecliptic. So, after a time, astrologers began entertaining the idea of basing the houses on celestial circles other than the ecliptic, perhaps ones that were more linked to the earth, such as the celestial equator and/or the prime vertical. This would bring us to a discussion of the space-based houses, which we will save for a future blog. For now, let’s move on to our conclusions of what we’ve covered so far…
We’ve been discussing the ecliptic-based house systems: Whole Sign Houses (WSH), Equal and Quadrant Houses. Which house system should we use?
Which one to use depends on what system of astrological praxis one is following. If you’re following Project Hindsight (Robert Schmidt, Robert Hand) and its followers, you’ll probably want to use mainly WSH, using equal and perhaps quadrant houses for planetary strength and length-of-life. However, later scholars who reviewed the same material as Project Hindsight have recently arrived at alternative interpretations regarding Hellenistic house doctrine. Some seem to think that degree-based quadrant houses were used by the ancients for topics, in addition to planet-strength and length of life. These scholars conclude that the ancients (Dorotheus, Ptolemy, Valens, et. al) used quadrant houses for more precise readings, when the exact birth time was available. Exact birth times often were not easily come by in ancient Greece, in which case WSH were used.
This undoubtedly was most often the case (no exact birth-time) resulting in a highly developed Hellenistic technique of using sign-based aspects and houses for delineating a chart. Also, it made casting a chart less time consuming (no computers in ancient times), so it makes sense that degree-based houses and aspects were used only when a birth time was available and when a high degree of accuracy was called for.
However the ancient Greek astrologers may have calculated their house cusps, my policy with respect to these new scholastic findings is to keep an open mind and not fall into the trap of turning previous interpretations of the ancient Greek authors into dogma. On a practical level, my personal choice is to use both WSH and quadrant houses for topics in the context of natal readings.
Modern astrologers, of course, feel free to pick and choose whatever techniques work for them. If you fall into this category, I would highly recommend basing your choice on the celestial circles that we have been discussing. Keep in mind their symbolism, and use whichever house system corresponds best to the goals of your astrological tradition (ancient, classical, humanistic, psychological, evolutionary, etc.)
As we have seen, each house system is based on a different set of celestial circles, which render varying house cusps and sometimes put planets in different houses. Let’s say that this happens when using whole sign houses and Porphyry on the same natal chart (see example above).
Saturn jumped from the 12th House to the 1st House, oh dear! What do we do?!?! Which chart do we use? Which one is “right”?
The answer to this question is that both charts are right; the only thing that is happening is that we are seeing the same native from different perspectives! It is not a question of choosing between one or the other. Both must be interpreted.
So, when looking at a natal chart, I have found it is always best to try putting it in more than one house system to see if any of the planets change houses. When they do, I look at the changes with interest and delineate both.
Working simultaneously with two house systems often yields interesting information. For example, if I’m using WSH and Porphyry or some other quadrant system, when I see a planet move from one house to another, I interpret both and see what resonates with the client. With clients who are past their second Saturn return, I have found that both usually resonate, representing different aspects or periods of their lives. For younger clients this is not always the case, because it may be that the symbolism represented in one of the charts has simply not happened yet.
Another thing to keep in mind is which house system we use depends on what we are attempting to do.
For example, if we are focused on prediction, we might use one house system, in horary we might favor another, in natal analysis another. Ideally, the house systems we use would be based on which celestial circles are used to determine the house cusps, and how the symbolism of those circles relates to what we’re trying to accomplish. For example, what is prediction? It is a form of fate. Where does fate come from? One way of putting it is that it is in the hands of the universe. It might make sense to use whole signs in that case, since the house cusps in whole signs are based in the heavens, rather than where we live on the planet Earth. On the other hand, if we are looking for a lost object, we might want to use a space-based system like Regiomontanus. We’ll talk about space-based systems in another article.
Moving on, in conclusion, I’d like to say that all the symbolism I’ve mentioned up to now are just ideas to get the conversation going amoung present day astrologers: traditional and modern. Rather than arguing in favor of one house system over another, it might make more sense to focus our research on which house system is best for which astrological technique based on the celestial circles that come into play.
I look forward to this discussion!