LESSON 8

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PLANETS IN THE HOUSES

          Studying the placement of your planets within your houses adds depth to your understanding of self.  As mentioned earlier, each of the 12 houses represent the various areas of your life expression.  Dane Rudhyar states in his book entitled The Astrological Houses:  “The basic function of astrology is to bring a sense of order and harmonious rhythmic unfolding to human beings … as they are today with all their emotional, mental, and social problems.” 

          The houses grant a sense of order to your life as you progress from the 1^st house counterclockwise to the 12^th house.  Let’s review the meanings of each house.

          Your Soul’s goal is to grow holistically as you move through each of the house experiences during one incarnation, just as the goal is that you spiral upward in consciousness as you live consecutive incarnations in the 12 zodiac sign influences. As you can see, each house and each zodiac sign energy presents particular lessons for you to learn enabling you to become self-empowered as the unique individual you truly are.    

ASSIGNMENT  #1- The house cusps & planets in YOUR NATAL CHART: 

          1.  Using the empty chart below, carefully copy the location of each of your natal chart  house cusps on it.  Be sure to make note of intercepted sign energies and bracket them.

          2.  Carefully copy your natal chart planets into the houses.  Be sure to encase all intercepted planets. 

SEE LESSON 3

FOR A REVIEW OF INTERCEPTED SIGNS

          3.  Make note of your retrograde  planets.

          My repeated suggestions to copy your natal chart onto an empty chart are for three reasons:

          1.  Copying can help in memorizing the sign and planet symbols.

          2.  You will find that copying your chart allows intuitive insights to emerge regarding the particular segments on which you are working.  When you have  an insight, be sure to write it down immediately.  If you wait to record the insight, it will be gone because your intellect will take over and muddle it.  

                   In astrology, you must focus on the “tree and the forest.”  As you study one house at a time, along with the planets in it, you will intuitively begin to grasp an overall understanding of who you are. 

          3.  Copying your chart at this stage also prepares for the Lesson on Aspects.

          You will find that viewing your chart in segments makes it much easier to interpret.  Otherwise, your chart can look like a maze.  However in Lesson 9, you will look at the forest and the trees of your chart.

WORK CHART

Be sure to place your name in the circle.

ASSIGNMENT #2 – Study each Planet in its house location by:

          1.  Moving counterclockwise, list the planet/planets in each of your 12 houses.  Be sure to indicate that the planet is retrograde and/or intercepted if that is the case.

                   1^st House –

                   2^nd House –

                   3^rd House –

                   4^th House –

                   5^th House –

                   6^th House –

                   7^th House –

                   8^th House –

                   9^th House –

                   10^th House –

                   11^th House –

                   12^th House –

          2.  Study one house at a time, taking into consideration the following:

                   a)  REFER BACK TO LESSON 4

                             Note what each planet signifies.  For example:  your Sun represents your Soul or inner character, your Venus stands for your love nature.

                             Scroll down in Lesson 4 past the Precession of the Ages.  Note how each planet expresses within its house location.  For example:  Your Sun will highlight the activities involved with its house location. 

                   SUN –

                   MOON –

                   MERCURY –

                   VENUS –

                   MARS –

                   JUPITER –

                   SATURN –

                   URANUS –

                   NEPTUNE –

                   PLUTO –

          3.  Using your chart on the house meanings, ask yourself the house question, then study that house.  For example:  The 1^st house question is:  Who am I?  In our Sample Chart, the Ascendant is Gemini, indicating that this person is one who possesses the capacity to communicate, perhaps in a variety of languages.  Within the Sample Chart, the Sun in Gemini in the 1^st house is highlighting this individual’s capacity to communicate well with others.  Also in the 1^st house is Uranus in Gemini, adding a strong capacity to use the intuitive powers, to be innovative, and to communicate with inspired messages.  With both Sun and Uranus in Gemini in the 1^st house, this individual possesses the potential to demonstrate genius in her outlook on the world.  Note that I am making my interpretation by combining the following:  1) the house question, 2) the zodiac energy on the cusp and in which the planet is located, 3) what area of your life the planet represents and what it means in the its house location. 

                   There may be planets in one or more of your houses that are located in a different zodiac energy than is on the cusp.  The Tropical Placidus Natal Chart contains uneven houses, even though each zodiac sign always consists of 30 degrees. 

                   For example:  In our Sample Chart, the 3^rd house has Cancer on the cusp with 3 planets and the Part of Fortune in Leo.  In this case, you would need to consider the basic meaning of Cancer on the 3^rd house cusp, then add in the meaning of the 3 planets in Leo in answering the house question:  “How may I best use “what is mine” (2^nd house question) in relating to my immediate environment and extended family (3^rd house question)? 

          REMEMBER:  As you go through the houses in a counterclockwise fashion, you are telling the story of your life. 

          The aspects will add another dimension to how the planets are expressing in your life.  We’ll study the aspects in Lesson 9.

          In our Sample Chart, we see the zodiac energy of Gemini being strongly emphasized in the 1^st house.  We see it again in the 3^rd house.  Why?  Because the Natural Ruler of the 3^rd house is Gemini and there are 3 planets and the Part of Fortune in the 3^rd house, indicating that the 3^rd house of communications with the immediate environment will consume a major portion of this individaul’s life expression. 

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The PART OF FORTUNE indicates in which area of life you will most easily succeed and find your joy.  The Part of Fortune, like Jupiter, blesses its house location with abundant self fulfillment. 

          Here is a good example of what appear to be contradictory influences.  Also in the 3^rd house are three planets indicating changes are to be made in the manner by which the individual communicates.  The Moon reveals a karmic debt relating to communication with the extended family; Saturn signifies self-discipline lessons to be learned in the area of communications; and Pluto indicates a transformation process is to take place.  Since these 3 planets are all within the span of 6 degrees, the lessons involved can be intense.  However, once the lessons are learned, the promise of Part of Fortune ‘s joy waits in the house wings.  In the end there is no contradiction.

          The symbol for Part of Fortune is a circle with the fixed cross in it.  (Example of the symbol is in the 3^rd house of our Sample Chart.)  Fixed Cross = the cusps of the Fixed Houses—2^nd, 5^th, 8^th, & 11^th houses.  Not to be confused with the symbol for EARTH, which is a circle with the cardinal cross in it.   The Cardinal Cross = the cusps of the Cardinal Houses—1^st, 4^th, 7^th, & 10^th houses. 

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NOW, PRACTICE INTERPRETING THE MEANING OF YOUR PLANETS IN:

                   Your 1^st house –

                   Your 2^nd house –

                   Your 3^rd house –  

                   Your 4^th house –

                   Your 5^th house –

                   Your 6^th house –

                   Your 7^th house –

                   Your 8^th house –

                   Your 9^th house –

                   Your 10^th house –

                   Your 11^th house –

                   Your 12^th house –

REMINDER:  An empty house indicates no real problems with that area of life, unless they are within the trine of empty houses contained within the Locomotive Type or an Intercepted Zodiac Energy is in the house.  With these two exceptions, you will need to study the houses more closely.  ASK:  What areas of my life are having trouble expressing smoothly?

          There is no limit to the amount of information you can glean from studying each house.  One choice you have is to purchase one or more astrology books and read how others would interpret your chart.  I recommend the books I have used in this course.

          Above all, sitting with your chart and allowing your intuition to guide you will offer you the greatest insights, simply because you are the one who knows your life intimately.  

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          If you enjoy symbols, an in-depth way to study your natal chart is to use Dane Rudyhar’s AN ASTROLOGICAL MANDALA:  The Cycle of Transformations & its 360 Symbolic Phases.  Rudhyar offers “a re-interpretation of the SABIAN SYMBOLS, presenting them as a contemporary American I CHING.”

USING RUDHYAR’S INTERPRETATION OF THE SABIAN SYMBOLS

WITH YOUR NATAL CHART

          If you choose to purchase Rudhyar’s book and use it with your natal chart, make a list of each degree within the 360 degrees circle that are activated by the presence of one of your house cusp and the planets, non-planets.  You will find that approximately 26 degrees, out of the 360 degrees circle will tell the story of this incarnation.  Of course, using the Sabian Symbols means another layer of interpretation to be done. 

          EXAMPLE:  In our Sample Chart, the Ascendant (or 1^st house cusp) is located—and thus, activates—the 9^th degree of Gemini.  The Sabian Symbol for the 9^th degree of Gemini is:  A Quiver Filled With Arrows.  The Keynote is:  “Man’s aggressive relationship to natural life, as a basis for survival and conquest.”  According to Rudhyar, arrows signify the ability of the mind to pierce through the obstacle toward which they are aimed.  At the soul-personality centered level, the obstacle is the personality level ego and the action is the piercing of the lower self in preparation to merge with the Higher Self/Soul.  A quiver of arrows = the “archetypal symbol of Man, the Conqueror.  It may be a conquest of outer nature, or that of instinctual drives and of the limiting power of the ego.  It is always CONQUEST.”   

          ADD TO RUDYHAR’S INTERPRETATION OF THE SYMBOL:  The Ascendant reveals how the public sees you and how you view the public.  In our Sample Chart, the individual sees a public that needs to be conquered—in one form or another.  The public will view this individual as one who sets out to conquer the world.  Because this person’s Sun and Uranus in Gemini are present within the 1^st house, this conquest of the public, the ego, the instinctual desires of the lower self, etc. will be highlighted.  Uranus’ will ensure that changes—and they may be sudden—take place. 

          TO TAKE THE INTERPRETATION FURTHER:  In our Sample Chart, the Sun is activating the 20^th degree of Gemini in the 1^st house.  The Sun = the Soul.  The Sabian Symbol for this degree is:  “A Modern Cafeteria displays an abundance of food, products of various regions.”  The keynote is:  “The ASSIMILATION of multifarious knowledge through the synthesizing power of the mind.”  This individual’s Soul Mission (Sun = the Soul) is the assimilation of knowledge from all over the world and developing the capacity to discern truth from non-truth – symbolized by the gathering of foodstuffs on a global basis.  The individual must discern whether or not the foodstuffs will strengthen the body or cause indigestion.  This gathering of global foodstuffs results in a planetary consciousness.

          To complete the Sabian Symbol interpretation of the Sample Chart’s 1^st house, Uranus is on the 25^th degree of Gemini in the 1^st house.  The Sabian Symbol for this degree is:  “A Gardener Trimming Large Palm Trees.”  The Keynote is:  “Bringing under control nature’s power of expansion.”  According to Rudhyar, the “intellect is a tropical plant in that it tends to expand ‘wildly’ in many directions, seeking contact with the Sun’s rays.”  This tendency to expand wildly is typical for Gemini energy, in that it wants to experience variety and often skims a topic rather than delving deeply into it.  Therefore, the intellectual energies require constant PRUNING.  Because Uranus—the planet of your Intuition—is the planet activating this degree, we can carry the interpretation further. 

          SABIAN SYMBOL REVELATION OF THE FIRST HOUSE:  This individual CONQUEROR is to conquer the lower mind—intellect—by PRUNING its gathering of global foodstuffs (multifarious knowledge) and ascending to the level of the Intuitive Mind, where TRUTH IS KNOWN.

          In order to complete this Sabian Symbol interpretation of your chart, take the degree on the 2^nd house cusp and the planets within the 2^nd house and interpret them in the same fashion.  This process continues counterclockwise to the 12^th and final house.

          Once more, you have told the STORY OF YOUR LIFE.

END OF LESSON 8