Astrological Houses,

page 1

Astrological houses are the twelve divisions of the visible sky, fixed from the local
horizon. There's six houses above the horizon, six below. Stand out of doors and
point straight up. That's the 10th house cusp (more or less). Point to the eastern
horizon. That's the Ascendant, or first house cusp. It extends down into the
ground. The sky immediately above it is part of the 12th house. Somewhere
between the 10th and 1st houses are the 11th and 12th house boundaries
(cusps). These boundaries, one about every 30 degrees, stay in the same place
all day with respect to the horizon. They're fixed. As the earth turns around its
axis, the sun and planets, rising in the east and setting in the west, appear to
wander through them during the course of the day. These twelve sections of the
daily sky color the planets as they pass through them. This will not be surprising
to those who know the difference between the colors of sunrise and sunset.
Indicates a book on our Top Ten list. If you would like to find more books like it,
click on the star.

THE HOUSE CONNECTION: How to read the houses in an

astrological chart - Karen Hamaker-Zondag, $18.95
Contents:
List of charts & figures
Astrological signs & symbols
Foreword
Part 1: Theory:
1. Types of ruler
2. House connections
3. Important houses
4. House rulers in aspect
5. The role of house ruler in complex interpretation
Part 2: House connections:

6. How house connections work

Bibliography
Index
About the author
Comment:
Of this book, Karen herself has this to say, from the Foreword:
I have been working with house connections ever since I began my
astrological studies, and this book is the distillate of my findings.
Nothing could persuade me to omit this particular facet of
interpretation, and I am in full agreement with the spontaneous
comment of a student who once said, "If you overlooked the house
rulers & house connections or did not know how to deal with them,
you would not be able to derive one quarter of the information from
the chart you derive from it now." (page xiii)
Hamaker-Zondag was inspired by the (rather sketchy) accounts she
found in Morin. Karen says says we had to wait until the advent of
psychology before astrological house interpretation could be fully
developed. I am of the opinion the delay was due to the earlier
inadequate house systems, a problem that Placidus solved, but
quite by accident. (He was hoping to find an easy way to calculate
Primary Directions.) As a result, the potential of the Placidian
house system remained unrealized until quite recently, i.e., until
Karen's book. I am making this dogmatic statement because, many
years ago, I used to make informal rectifications using the house
tables I had available, and with good success. I once tried the same
thing with Koch houses, only to discover that Koch would not
rectify a chart. Ever since then, I have had a healthy respect for the
different things that different house systems can do, and an awe of
Placidus. For her part, all the charts in this book are set in Placidus,
which Karen does not note, I presume because she, like so many of
us, has never tried any other system.
But enough preamble. The premise of the book is that the planets
which rule the signs on the various house cusps, also rule the
houses concerned. Crucially, these planets rule by means of their
sign and house placements. The ruling planets bring the sign and
house they are posited in, to the houses they rule. As Robson
remarked, the ruling planet is the landlord of the house he rules.
Planets in the house are tenants. The ruling planet sets the
scene. He has control. He is the ultimate authority. Even

though, in the majority of cases, he will not be physically present in

the house itself. Nor will he necessarily have any formal aspect to
the cusp, or to the planets residing in his house. (The ruler is even
stronger when he does, of course.) But, regardless, the house, and
all planets in it, are subordinate to him. This is Hamaker-Zondag's
House Connection theory, as clearly as I can state it. (The author
herself puts a psychological gloss on it.)
There are several significant extensions to this theory. In chapter 3,
Important Houses, Karen traces the chain of dispositors around
the chart:
For example, we could discover the following chain: the ruler of 1 is
in 7, the ruler of 7 is in 9, the ruler of 9 is in 2, the ruler of 2 is in 11,
the ruler of 11 is in 7. This series provides us with an insight into a
reaction pattern that, for this person, is related to the 1st house (we
always begin with the 1st house). (pg. 27)
What this particular example also means, as I have learned from
experience, is that when an individual, long single, gets married, he
becomes a radically different person as a result. This is also true of
chains that include the Sun with the 7th. Karen goes on to the
"natural wheel", in other words, that the first house always relates
to Aries & Mars, the second to Taurus & Venus. Myself, I dislike all
things that muddle houses with signs. I find the angular houses (1,
4, 7, 10), like cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), to be
active; succedent houses (2, 5, 8, 11), like fixed signs (Taurus, Leo,
Scorpio, Aquarius), to be conservative; and cadent houses (3, 6, 9,
12) to be like mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces), in
other words, to be areas over which we have little control. I also find
that signs are subordinate to houses, in other words, a majority
of planets in cardinal signs but in cadent houses leads to a life of
uncontrolled chaos, the cardinal signs acting powerfully (cardinal) in
uncontrolled (cadent) ways. I am this way myself, with fixed signs in
cadent houses. Interpretation? I'm just trying to hang on! How about
mutable signs on angular houses? That would be someone who
never knows what's going on around him.
Back in the mid 1990's, I glanced at this book (as is my wont) long
enough to understand the basic concept. I have been running with it
ever since. In Part 2, Hamaker-Zondag gives cookbook delineations.
Ruler of the first in the first, ruler of the first in the second, ruler of
the fourth in the eleventh, etc. Her unstated baseline for her
delineations is the Sun, since "Mars ruler of the third in the 12th"

would make for far too large a book.

It is therefore important that you take Karen's wonderful theory &
apply what you know to it. To do this, you will need to generate a
basic list of keywords for the various planets & houses. Sun/life,
Moon/moods, Mercury/communication, etc. When you do this with
the houses, you will, perforce, expand your ideas about them. The
third house, for example, goes from "reading & writing & schoolwork
& brothers & sisters & errands, etc.," to, "being busy around town",
which incorporates all of the above. When we do this, we sometimes
end up with 3rd houses as B.M.O.C., i.e., Big Man Around Town
(originally: On Campus). Regrettably, and to my surprise, Karen's
grasp of houses is not great.
What fascinates me about The House Connection theory is that it
can be expanded almost forever. After you've mastered the sign on
the cusp & the sign of the ruling planet, you go back to the sign on
the cusp & start all over again. Is the sign cardinal, fixed or
mutable? Is it fire, air, earth or water? Is the degree early or late? Is
the ruler direct or retrograde? It turns out that everything you
learned about astrology, every single thing suddenly takes on new
life, new meaning. A mutable sign on the second house cusp throws
his money away. A fixed sign won't let go of it. A water sign on the
second takes his possessions personally. An air sign on two has no
idea what he possesses. An early degree means that one is just
getting started & has a long way to go in that particular house. A
late degree means it's done & over & too late, etc. Which is nothing
more than plugging horary ideas into your natal delineations. This
stuff is that powerful.
Hamaker-Zondag has a strongly psychological orientation, which I
myself do not care for. She somehow manages to miss planets in
mutual reception, which I have found to tie the two houses together,
as if the houses themselves had actually merged. Debilitated
planets, another area that Karen misses, are quite fascinating.
Debilitated planets, by definition, rule the sign, and therefore the
house, opposite to themselves. We can see this quite clearly in the
chart of former US President Bill Clinton. He has Saturn debilitated in
Leo in 11. That Saturn wants to be in 5 in Aquarius, where it has, his
entire life, got him in trouble every time he so much as looked at a
girl. Another case, also of a debilitated Saturn in Leo, was Adolf
Hitler, who had it in the 10th. The classic shorthand says that Saturn
in 10 always fails. The full story is that Saturn in 10, when
debilitated or retrograde, compulsively takes on responsibilities until

it collapses from the sheer weight of it all. Which, whatever you

think of him, was certainly true of Mr. Hitler. In his case, Saturn's
rulership of his 4th drove him to settle his country's territorial (4th
house) matters. Which, as Saturn was debilitated, came to precisely
the same end as Mr. Clinton's affairs. Note that this debilitated
concept also applies to all those, like myself, who have Sun in
Aquarius. We'd really all rather be somewhere, anywhere, as far
away as we can get.
Even with its flaws, how important is this book? When it went out of
print a few years ago, I emailed the author & asked for permission to
reprint. She pointed me in the direction of her Dutch publisher, who
had the rights. Which led to Weiser, which had become RedWheel,
who had the rights to the translation. Who never got back to me.
Who have now reprinted this book.
After you've bought your basic chart interpretation textbook, after
you've bought a good ephemeris & a table of houses, after you've
got your feet wet, this is the very next book. It's that fundamental.
RedWheel / Weiser, 255 pages.
Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5) would
you give this book? Tell us!

THE HOUSES: Temples of the Sky - Deborah Houlding,

$25.00
Contents: Foreward by Robert Hand; Introduction: Wheels & signs:
theories on house division; Preliminary guide to divisions of the
celestial sphere
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Introducing the houses: An historical overview

The angles: Significance of Egyptian solar philosophy
Aspects & gates: The 2nd/8th house axis
Planetary joys: 5th/11th house axis
The king & queen: The 3rd/9th house axis
Cadency & decline: The 6th/12th house axis
House rulerships in practice

8. Technical basis & the inherent difficulties of house division

9. Ptolemy's powerful places
Appendices:
A. Glossary of traditional & technical terms
B. The planetary hours
C. Al Biruni's advice on finding the hour of your birth
Works cited; General index; House rulership index.
Comment: From the back cover:
The astrological circle of houses is perceived as a wheel of life,
covering the full spectrum of human experience from formation of
character through to death. Why did the ancient astrologers devise
the scheme in such a way that it does not seem to follow the
natural order of life? Where do the meanings of each house come
from and how have they been adapted over the centuries - more
importantly, why? Other books have attempted to resolve these
issues, but none have provided adequate answers. In The
Houses: Temples of the Sky Deborah Houlding's clear narrative
& original research into the history & development of house
meanings explores the symbolic threads that are embedded into
the philosophy of houses, strengthing our understanding of their
use in practical application.
The book starts with a refreshing statement of principles: Houses
are not signs, signs are not houses. (They have very little in
common, actually.) Nor do the houses suceed each other in
anything like a logical fashion: The pregnant 5th precedes
marriage of the 7th, death in the 8th comes before worldly success
in the 10th.
The chapters on opposing houses are an excellent analysis.
Chapter 7, House Rulerships In Practice, gives a house-by-house
delineations for Main rulerships, Horary astrology, Mundane
astrology, Lawsuits, Events, Medical, Commerce, Colour, Qualities,
Directions, Associated planets & signs, and, finally, Names.
She follows this with chapters on how various systems calculate
houses, and what Ptolemy really said - and meant - about houses
in Tetrabiblos.

All in all, by far the best book I have seen on houses.

Wessex Astrologer, 186 pages.

HOUSES OF THE HOROSCOPE - Bill Herbst, $24.95

Contents:
Part 1: Theory & technique:
Preface to Part 1
1. The logic of houses 2. The twelve areas of experience:
Individual house qualities, traditional meanings, contemporary
meanings
3. Using the houses
4. Other ways to use houses
5. Technical vs: human issues
Part 2: Interpretations
Preface to Part 2
6. First house
7. Second house
8. Third house
9. 4th house
10. 5th house
11. 6th house
12. 7th house
13. 8th house
14. 9th house
15. 10th house
16. 11th house
17. 12th house
About the author
Comment: The late Neil Michelsen first published this book,
back in 1988. At the time I thought it to be the best book on
houses I had ever seen. In the ACS edition, each possible

combination of planet & house got its own full page. Sun in the
third, a full page. Mercury in the 12th, full page. Jupiter in the
second, full page, etc. All the same text is here in the new
edition, but the slightly smaller format means the individual
delineations no longer fit neatly on a single page.
What do I think now?
Well, if you need a good, basic book on what planets mean
when they fall in specific houses, this book will do. Herbst
understands that houses are not the same as signs, though his
grasp of houses is not as strong as I would like. In places theory
gets in the way of a good delineation. Here is part of Mars in the
4th:
"inner link" parent
Here we see a contradiction, a masculine symbol in the
mother's area. It can indicate a number of distinctly different
possibilities. If your mother was feminine on the surface, you
still felt her masculinity assert itself often. She might have been
a woman of high energies, the natural ruler of the roost,
someone who could easily have moved her talents into the
external world of cultural power. On the other hand, your father
may have taken over some of the classical duties of
motherhood. Or you could have imprinted on the urgency of
your relationship for him, with desire spilling over into
interaction. This placement sometimes indicates long-standing
disagreement or bitterness with parents, often resulting from a
conflict in the parent-child roles. However, even when that is
the case, there is a sense of strength that pervades the
imprints. (pgs. 243-4)
And here, for contrast, is Alan Oken:
Mars in the Fourth House as a constant undertone of highstrung emotions, irritability, or the urge to dominate. A poorly
aspected Mars in this position can ofen indicate strife in the
domestic sphere, an overly dominant parent, or certain
difficulties surrounding the changing of residences. (Alan
Oken's Complete Astrology, pg. 327)
Oken has the better grasp, but you have to hunt through his
book to find it.
Here are some of Herbst's rules for judging houses:
In an EMPTY house, the sign in which the planetary ruler is

placed accounts for approximately 60% of the experience of an

empty house, while the sign on the cusp contributes only about
40% of the meaning.
In an OCCUPIED house, those proportions of interpretation by
sign vary according to the number & weight of planets that
occupy the house and that are found on the cusp. (pg. 114)
An occupied house is an area of your life that contains a
spiritual challenge.
The ruled house is the area where you see the results of how
you're dealing with that challenge. (pg. 116)
Ruled houses are the psychic barometer of our progress in the
challenging experiences of occupied houses. (pg. 118)
You sort of wish he would just write about planets in houses &
leave the metaphysics aside. In this book Herbst ascribes
dreams as a contemporary meaning of the twelfth house. He
overlooks, or does not know, that dreams were traditionally
given to the ninth house.
To each house, Herbst assigns a ruling planet. These are the
planets which are normally associated with the signs of the
natural wheel, where Aries = first house, etc. From pg. 40: ....
there is the natural linkage of planets with houses. This is
analogous to the concept of planetary rulership in the zodiacal
signs. The planet Mars bears a certain tonal similarity to the
first sign of the zodiac, Aries. Therefore, it carries that same
similarity in its emphasized relationship to the 1st house. This
is, in fact, incorrect. Planets have no natural or accidental
affinity to houses, only to signs. Failure to understand this key
point cripples the ability to work with cuspal dispositors, as one
is constantly applying planetary energies (Mars to the first,
Venus to the second, Mercury to the third, etc.) which do not
exist in the chart under study. Unless, of course, that chart
actually has Aries rising.
On pgs 90-2, Herbst has a section entitled, houses are not
signs, but with planets=houses already established, he cannot
get beyond simple mechanical differences between houses and
signs. If your astrological theory says that planets rule both
houses as well as signs, then it will consequently be hard to
distinguish houses from signs, try though you might. Towards

the end of this section, he remarks, The literature of astrology

is pock-marked with disgracefully shoddy writing and
dangerously subjective content that is widely accepted as truth.
(pg. 92) Ah, well !
Serendipity Press, 439 pages.

HOUSES, WHICH & WHEN - Emma Belle Donath, $16.00

If you've ever been puzzled why there's so many different ways to
divide the sky into twelve sections (houses), get this book and find
out how the different methods compare. Discussed are Equal,
Porphyry, Campanus, Regiomontanus (Rational), Morinus, Placidus,
Solar Equilibrium, Hamburg 6 house system, Octoscopes (systems of
8 houses), Topocentric & Koch. Find out how your customary house
division system compares. Appendix: birth data for examples. 111
pages including bibliography. AFA, paper.

10

THE 8TH HOUSE: Powers of the Soul, Sex & Money - Marc
Robertson, $14.00
Contents:
In this book there is no table of contents, but there are pages with
big printing on them. So I have adapted some to fit the bill:
Out of the darkness of self
Simple transits for timing investments
The signs of business
The soul & 8th house mysteries
Dying a little
Powers of 8 in transit activation & development
Becoming an individual through sex
Comment:
Once you get past the crude, distracting HEY LOOK AT ME!!!
typesetting, you will find this to be an amazingly good book. Vasty
better than Haydn Paul's effort (immediately below). Robertson
starts with investment - 8th house. He then looks at transcendence,
ie, the ability to change the purely physical into the wholly spiritual,
which is 8th house. Robertson fudges the 8th house & death (well,
wouldn't we all like to fudge just a bit right about here?) but he does
say you won't get through the 8th house unscathed, nor should you.
Robertson says he always feared September, but was always
grateful when October came round. As the author died some years
ago, I took the time to find his date of death: September 26, 1984.
He was found nine days later, which, true to form, was October.
Always a better month!
The final section, Becoming an Individual Through Sex, is exactly
right. Sex for the sake of amusement is 5th house. Sex as something
that changes you forever, that's 8th house, and the concept is
brilliant. Here, Robertson delineates signs on the cusp, and pairs
them with the complimentary signs on the 2nd.
A book full of ideas & insights.
AFA, 76 pages.

11

GATE OF REBIRTH: Astrology, regeneration & 8th house

mysteries - Haydn Paul, $29.95
Contents:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

The underworld of the 8th house

Myths of rebirth, renewal & regeneration
Personal & planetary values - shared resources
Power, manipulation, compulsion, obsession
Sexual & emotional union - crisis & catharsis
Raising the dark side - repression & taboo
Planetary guides & inner contacts
The initiation of death - the process of renewal
The wounded healer

Bibliography
Index
Comment:
This blast from the past was first published in 1993, and is now
(2009) again in print.
The book deals with 8th house issues from a psychological and new
age point of view. The 8th house is broken down into varius
categories, as you can see by the table of contents, above. In each,
a general discussion of the topic, followed by the effects of the
various planets (signs) in the house. In the fifth chapter, on sex, the
introductory remarks are extensive, followed by extensive remarks
on each of the planets, and then discreet delineations of the twelve
signs. Sex is the primary focus of the book as a whole. This is true,
even in chapter 8, on death, where the format changes a bit & we
are now given delineations of transiting planets in the 8th house.
Transiting Saturn, among other things, limits our ability to have sex,
though the author is not quite so blunt as that.
I regret to say there is nothing at all in this book about your
partner's fiances, nor is there any serious mention of physical death
(far less, any discussion of it), and only passing remarks as to 8th
house psychism.
Here is an excerpt: Capricorn, from chapter 5, on sex:
Passion & Capricorn are uncomfortable companions, and you may
feel vulnerable to emotional involvement, as indicated by inner

12

shields against Eros' arrows of love. While there can be an

earthiness & physicality about your sexuality, engaging feelings can
instigate withdrawl & fear, marked by self-repression, passivity, and
restrained caution in affairs of love. The qualities of this Capricorn
influence are more easily displayed in worldly matters - by
rationality, discipline, and organization - and these fail when faced
with uncontrollable emotions. If permanent relationships become
committed & legalized, then you easily give loyalty & fidelity, as
marriage conforms to acceptable social behavior; the main difficulty
can lie in the approach to deeper levels of intimacy. (pg. 204)
The complete text on Capricorn in this chapter is five times as long,
this is only the beginning. We can see the author's writing is
abstract, and often formalistic. I could wish for better.
Weiser, 314 pages.
Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5) would
you give this book? Tell us!

INTERCEPTIONS, CYCLES OF SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT - Duke

DeFaria, $10.95
Contents: In the beginning; The interception; Cycles of interception;
The rebirth; The illumination phase; The ascending periods; Major
cycles and the interception; The delay factor; Intercepted planetary
sign rulers; Intercepted solar returns; Placidus and Koch house
interceptions; The soul experience and the interception; The higher
self; Intercepted signs, houses, planets; Linked houses; Case studies.
Appendix: intercepted- planets, north lunar nodes, sign axis, house
axis. 151 pages including references. Kosmic Press, paper.

13

EQUAL HOUSES - Beth Koch, $15.00

From the introduction: "What sets the Equal House system apart
from other methods of creating the ring of houses is: 1) its basic
nature (equal houses are drawn from their relationship to the
Ascendant alone).... 2) each house is indeed equal (there are no
intercepted signs and the same degree of each successive sign
appears on each successive cusp).... 3) the Imum Coeli/Midheaven
axis does not usually align with the fourth house/tenth house cusps."
Contents: Creating an equal house chart; Reading the equal house
chart; More on the midheaven; More on the ascendant; Example in
the equal house system; Transits through the equal house chart. 69
pages including bibliography. AFA, paper.

The Twelve Houses: A Deeper Look - John Willner, $8.00

Contents: Foreword; Objectives; A new way of looking at the 12
houses (or domains) adds clarity of meaning; Zodiac sign
boundaries have been observed to be absolute; Conclusions.
Comment: This book is a useful aid in rectifying horoscopes. Among
other observations, Angular houses (1, 4, 7, 10) represent the
present; Succedent houses (2, 5, 8, 11) represent the future; Cadent
houses (3, 6, 9, 12) represent the past. Planets in pairs of houses,
contrasted (eg, 1 & 2, 2 & 3, 3 & 4, etc.). This is useful in rectifying
charts when one is trying to determine if Jupiter (for example)
should be in the 5th or 6th house. There is a section describing the
effects of each of the 12 signs on each of the house cusps. A small
but useful book. AFA, 51 pages, comb-bound.

INTERPRETING EMPTY HOUSES - Ana Ruiz, $19.95

Contents: Introduction
First house; Second house; Third house; Fourth house; Fifth house; Sixth
house; Seventh house; Eighth house; Ninth house; Tenth house; Eleventh
house; Twelfth house.
Comment: I suspect a lot of you will buy this, because there is so little
available about houses, they form such a large part of astrology, and there
14

are so many empty houses. When I read charts, I suck a lot of meaning from
empty houses, but it seems I am fated to not write the definitive book on the
subject. Since Ruiz has, or has attempted to do so, I only wish the AFA had
held her feet to the fire & made her finish what amounts to a promising start.
Only the first house does Ruiz treat in a comprehensive fashion: Empty Aries
first house, ruler Mars in each of the twelve houses, empty Taurus first
house, ruler Venus in each of the twelve houses, etc. For the remaining
eleven houses, she is sketchy. Empty second house with Aries on the cusp: A
note that one is likely to be an impulse spender, and, oh, by the way, if Mars
is in the 11th, or is aspecting Neptune, this or that situation may arise. This
is hardly more than a tease. Regrettably, this is how she treats empty houses
2-12. She also fails to note the obvious: If Aries is on the cusp of the second,
then the 11th house Mars may well be exalted in Capricorn, adding its
Saturnine flavor to the mix. She uses Uranus as ruler of Aquarius, Neptune of
Pisces, Pluto of Scorpio. On the other hand,
Maybe the limitations of this book will encourage you to do the work & figure
it out for yourself. Back in the mid-1990's, I did. Now I amaze people with
what I can tell them about their "empty" houses. They are a fascinating
study.
AFA, 201 pages.

THE HOUSES OF THE ZODIAC - Alex Wise, $12.00

Contents: Preface;
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The

twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve
twelve

houses
houses
houses
houses
houses
houses
houses
houses
houses
houses
houses

of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of

Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius

15

The twelve houses of Pisces

Comment: Disappointed with Ruiz's book on empty houses
(above), I found this one in the AFA's backlist. Published in 1980 (a
year after the author's death, in 1979), these are delineations of
each of the signs, on each of the twelve house cusps, organized,
not by house, but by sign.
So the first chapter is Aries on the first, Aries on the second, Aries
on the third, etc. To read an individual chart, your own, for
example, you must go from chapter to chapter. For nearly all the
144 combinations, he gives examples of people who had that
placement. And though he could have limited himself to only a
dozen different nativities (one for each of the rising signs), he in
fact has a hundred or more examples. You will find in this book
many people with house cusps similar to yours, in other words.
The writing is uneven. Some good, some not quite.
AFA, 92 pages.

Houses, page 2

UNLOCKING INTERCEPTIONS - Helen Adams Garrett, $12.95

Contents:
Different House Systems
Interceptions Through the Houses
First/seventh houses
Second/eighth houses
Third/ninth houses
Fourth/tenth houses
Fifth/eleventh houses
Sixth/twelfth houses
Multiple Interceptions
Ten signs intercepted in two houses
More on Interceptions
Summary of Interpretation Method.

16

Comment:
Garrett is the first (and only) author I have found who understood
the mechanics of interceptions, which gives her small book a great
advantage over all others.
Going chapter by chapter, the first chapter, on house systems, is a
typical, and unsatisfying, survey of various house methods. Garrett,
like most, has no concept of individual house systems, they are all
just pretty faces in a crowd. This is a pity, because not only do
interceptions change from house system to house system (mine
change from Placidus to Koch), but interceptions also change when
charts are rectified. These points Garrett does not cover. Instead, we
are told, again and again, that almost all house systems fail above
66 degrees north latitude (also beyond 66 degrees south latitude),
but are never told there are very few people born at such latitudes,
virtually no significant events which happen at such latitudes, and
that the peoples who live in these extreme places rarely venture
very far south and so are virtually unknown to the rest of us. (Few
people, small towns, no transportation, etc.) Why there is such fuss
made about 66 north I do not know. Back when I ran charts for a
living (some 10,000 charts over four years, 1986-90, in New York),
there was precisely one person who had this problem. She was
Norwegian, I remember her well. She was a frequent customer, I had
to set all her charts in Equal. In Garrett's list of Interception/House
System Facts on pgs. 4 - 5, of the 12 points, four of the points deal
only with extremely rare polar charts.
In chapter 2, we get rules. Here, Garrett shines. Interceptions are
things that are, well, intercepted. Instead of the quarterback passing
the ball to the wide receiver, his pass is intercepted by the opposing
team. The result is interruption, interference, misdirection. Garrett's
rules are simple & direct:
What areas of life, in other words, what houses have the
interceptions?
What signs are intercepted? These are what are missing in your life.
Where are the rulers of the intercepted signs? This tells who or what
are responsible (from pgs. 10-11)
Garrett then hits on two very important points: When the ruler of the
intercepted sign is itself intercepted, and when the ruler of the
intercepted sign is found in one of the pairs houses which have
duplicate signs on them. Garrett's basic concept is that intercepted
signs "come to light" when the house cusps behind them, by

17

progression, catch up and change signs. Thus, if you have an

intercepted sign in the first house, you fundamentally changed
when the ascendant progressed into the next sign. Some "hidden
part" of you became apparent at that time.
Every chart with a pair of intercepted signs also has two pair of
houses with the same signs on them, square (more or less) to the
intercepted signs. So if you have Aries & Libra intercepted, you will
have the signs of Cancer & Capricorn each claiming two houses.
Garrett says the rulers of the duplicated houses (Cancer &
Capricorn, in this case), will unlock the intercepted Aries & Libra. I'm
not sure how this would work.
Includes many chart examples to illustrate her practical ideas. A
common-sense approach to one of the mysteries of chart
construction.
Garrett makes a good start. I would add the following:
If interceptions "unlock" when the house cusp progresses to meet
them (1 degree a year, more or less), then by the age of ten all
interceptions will be unlocked, as the house cusps in question are
invariably 25 degrees or greater. But this is only potential.
Subsequently there must be some sort of progressed aspect, either
to the progressed cusp itself, or to the ruler of the sign, to trigger
awareness of the underlying change. This would usually be done via
the progressed Moon. This is, in fact, how one becomes aware his
retrograde Mercury, retrograde at birth, has gone direct by
progression. First it goes direct. Awareness of the fact comes some
time later, when the progressed Moon makes an aspect to it. This
happened to a friend of mine with a natal Mercury retrograde in 10.
He was shy until two or three years after it went direct by
progression (in his late 20's), when he suddenly discovered not only
an ability to speak before the public, but an actual pleasure in doing
so.
Such is what I would guess would be the case with interceptions, but
the fact that I am still wondering, age 59, about my intercepted 11th
house with intercepted Jupiter smack in the middle of it (where are
my friends???), means this theory, while logical, cannot be relied
upon.
Interceptions can be ranked. Some are more important than others. I
am of the opinion that intercepted signs that have no planets in

18

them can be ignored. No planet means no weight, means no interest

in the affairs of the sign, so why bother?
If the Sun or Moon are in intercepted signs, the affairs of the houses
they rule are blocked. Specifically, the adjoining houses with Leo
and Cancer on the cusps are stranded. As nature abhors a vacuum, I
would expect the affairs of the opposite houses, the ones with
Capricorn and Aquarius on the cusps, to dominate them, as
expressed by the house & sign of their ruler, Saturn.
If the ruler of the ascendant is in an intercepted sign, I would expect
such a person to be unknown and not a little mysterious. Normally
the house and sign of the ruler of the ascendant tells us how he
expresses his ascendant. When the chart ruler is intercepted, we are
denied that.
As I have remarked elsewhere my own private work suggests that
intercepted signs, with planets in them, are areas of life which
were not under our direct control as of the end of the previous life.
Which is why they are now "intercepted". By the end of our previous
life, we had needlessly thrown the ball to the opposing team and, in
this life, they are now running with it. We must struggle to reassert
control. The houses ruled by intercepted planets are those areas of
life, the interceptions themselves are the means by which they
gained control. If those houses (the ones ruled by intercepted
planets) themselves have planets in them, the result can be quite
complicated. This is not a theory that can be easily proven one way
or the other, but Garrett does give this entrancing hint:
There is no indication that an interception is forever. It is only
interrupted or taken away for a while after the team lost its ball to
the other team. We have to wait for the proper time to earn the right
for what the interceptions represents. Interceptions are karmic. (pg.
9)
Helen Adams Garrett died in 2002. I am surprised, and pleased, to
see expanded versions of her books.
AFA, 75 pages.
Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5) would
you give this book? Tell us!

19

20

RULERS OF THE HOROSCOPE: Finding your way through

the labyrinth - Alan Oken, $19.95
Contents:
List of example horoscopes
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
1. Peeling the onion:
Planets, signs, houses, aspects, qualities, elements, gender,
summary
2. Planetary dispositors defined:
Hidden rulers revealed; Planetary mutual reception; Determining
the relative strengths of planets in mutual reception; Effects of
aspects between planets in mutual reception; Multiple mutual
reception; Final dispositor; Planets as final dispositors in the natal
chart.
3. House dispositors & planetary rulers:
Overview; Mutual reception by house; Linkages by same house
rulership; Natural & natal house relationships; Strengths &
weaknesses of planets when posited in their houses of honor or
dishonor; Aspects between house rulers.
4. The ruler of the horoscope & its dispositor:
Determining the ruler of the natal chart; The sign on the ascendant
& the delineation of the ruler; Intent & theme of the ascendant;
Essential meaning of the ruling planet & its effects on the
horoscope; Ruling planet by sign; Ruling planet by house; Ruling
planets in the houses; Secondary dispositorship.
5. The ruler of the horoscope & its aspects:
When the ruler of the horoscope is a planet conjunct the
ascendant; When the planet conjunct the ascendant is the ruler of
the sign on the ascendant; Final dispositor & the planetary ruler;
Assessing the affinities between ruler of the horoscope & its
dispositor; Assessing the effects of other aspecting planets to the
ruler of the horoscope.

21

6. Summary of rulership & planetary compatibilities:

Leo rising (Sun); Cancer rising (Moon); Gemini or Virgo rising
(Mercury); Taurus or Libra rising (Venus); Aries or Scorpio rising
(Mars); Aries rising (Mars); Scorpio rising (Mars); Scorpio rising
(Pluto); Sagittarius rising (Jupiter); Capricorn rising (Saturn);
Aquarius rising (Uranus); Pisces rising (Neptune).
7. The placement of the rulers in the astrological houses:
Summary of astrological keywords & phrases; The nature of the
second house; The nature of the third house; The nature of the
fourth house; The nature of the fifth house; The nature of the sixth
house; The nature of the seventh house; The nature of the eighth
house; The nature of the ninth house; The nature of the tenth
house; The nature of the eleventh house; The nature of the tenth
house.
Recommended reading list
Index
Comment This book tells how signs relate to each other by means
of the planets that rule them. This is accomplished by an
understanding of planetary dispositors. In other words, this sign is
disposed by that planet in that sign. In other words, Venus in
Scorpio can make a mess of Taurus. Oken does this part very well.
When he tries to add houses, he stumbles, as he does not have a
clear understanding of them. Which surprised me, frankly, as I
know how brilliant he is. He lists keywords for planets, signs &
houses. His house keywords are sign-based, and excessively
simplistic. Here are his keywords for the third:
The Houses - from a more Socially Evolved Perspective
... Third What I think & seek to communicate to others (pg. 193)
On the next page we have:
The Houses - from a More Traditional, Astrological
Perspective
... Third method of communication, early education &
environment, brothers & sisters, close friends (pg. 194)
Oken then proceeds to use the socially evolved perspective as if it
was the only one. Here is the start of Ruler of the second in the
third:
...the nature of one's self-worth or actual substance of value
(money, for example) has to be communicated. The need to
connect with people or with life situations that amplify one's

22

opportunities is essential. Any planet found in the Third House is

used to make connections. When it is the ruler of the Second, then
such connections are sought that may increase the potential uses
of one's personal talents & resources. If that planet is afflicted,
then there is a limitation or difficulty with the connection-making
process.... (pgs 196-7)
Yes, all of this is true, but, well, yes, houses two & three are more
than this and, yet, less than this, too. Which means that Oken
understands his socially evolved keywords, but, by what he does
not say, seems not to understand those of the traditional
astrological perspective.
In this book are a great many useful ideas & techniques that are
grounded in astrological basics. Things you always knew but never
knew what to do with, at least, not like this. Study of this book will
be rewarding, up to the point where one grows frustrated with
Oken's rather limited grasp of the houses, which undergirds his
topic. At that point, this becomes the most excellent of all excellent
books: One that forces you to go beyond what the author has
written.
Ibis/Nicholas Hays/Weiser/Redwheel, 317 pages.

THE TWELVE HOUSES: Exploring the houses of the

horoscope - Howard Sasportas, $37.00
Contents:
Foreword by Liz Green (2007)
Foreword by Liz Green (1985)
Introduction
Part 1:The landscape of life:
1. Basic premises
2. Space, time & boundaries
Part 2: Mapping the journey:
3. The ascendant & the first house
4. The second house
5. The third house

23

6. The Imum Coeli & the fourth house

7. The fifth house
8. The sixth house
9. The descendant & the seventh house
10. The eighth house
11. The ninth house
12. The midheaven & the tenth house
13. The eleventh house
14. The twelfth house
15. Grouping the houses

Part 3: A guide to life's possibilities:

16. General guidelines: The planets & signs through the houses
17. Ascendant types
18. The Sun & Leo through the houses
19. The Moon & Cancer through the houses
20. Mercury, Gemini & Virgo through the houses
21. Venus, Taurus & Libra through the houses
22. Mars & Aries through the houses
23. Jupiter & Sagittarius through the houses
24. Saturn & Capricorn through the houses
25. Uranus & Aquarius through the houses
26. Neptune & Pisces through the houses
27. Pluto & Scorpio through the houses
28. The Moon's nodes through the houses
29. The possible effects of Chiron through the houses
30. A case study
Concluding thoughts
Appendices:
1. The twelve houses: A summary of key concepts
2. The question of house division
Notes
Suggested reading
Sources for chart references
New in the Flare edition
Remembering Howard Sasportas:
Darby Costello
Laura Boomer-Trent

24

Erin Sullivan
Melanie Reinhart
Index
Comment:
This is one of the longest books ever written on houses. Sasportas
overlays psychology onto the usual planet/sign pairings (Mercury,
Gemini & Virgo all being about the same, for example, see the list
of contents, above), as well as the usual "first house is sort of like
Aries, the second is kinda like Taurus, the third must be like
Gemini", etc. Specifically, we are born, take our first breath on the
ascendant & forever after, that is how we see the world, through
our ascendant. (Isn't that backwards? Isn't the ascendant how
others see us? Nevermind.) The second house is when the
newborn infant discovers it has a body, the third is when it learns
to walk. The fourth is home. The fifth is fun. The sixth is a reaction
to the fifth, the seventh is a contrast to the first, the eighth is
what we share with a partner, the ninth is our reward for putting
up with the eighth, the tenth is the ninth brought down to earth
(?), or what we want to be known for, or maybe how we packge
our career. The 11th is the Uranian/Aquarian house where we
want to be bigger than ourselves. It is full of invisible organizing
fields, and, oh, yes, friends. The twelfth is God & the Womb,
which takes us back to where we started, ie, the ascendant (the
ending of Kubrick's 2001, anybody?) And karma & reincarnation &
all of that. Such are Sasportas's fundamental view of the twelve
houses, in brief.
A good example of Sasportas's point of view comes in chapter 15,
Grouping the Houses.
The 2nd - 5th square:
A number of conflicts can be stirred if planets in the 2nd square
planets in the 5th. The need for security & a regular income (2nd)
could interfere with time spent on more creative & recreational
activities (5th). Conversely, the struggling artist or 'resting' actor
(5th) often suffers from the lack of a stable income (2nd). Some
people with squares between the 2nd & the 5th derive their sense
of power, worth & importance (5th) solely through what they own
& possess (2nd). Children (5th) might be treated as possessions
(2nd) or experienced as a drain on resources. (pg. 93)
All of this may be true, but first we need to determine the specific

25

signs which are in square to one another, and then consider the
planets forming the square. In chapter 15 we also learn that
houses 1, 5 & 9 are fire, houses 2, 6 & 10 are earth, houses 3, 7 &
11 are air, and 4, 8 & 12 are water. Which is the "houses as signs"
parallel.
The final section of the book, giving delineations of each of the
planets through each of the houses, is reasonably good. When
Sasportas attempts to delineate signs on the cusps, the results
are largely unsatisfactory. Sakoian & Acker do a better job of
that. The problem with planet-in-house delineations, in general, is
that they are only a fragment, a frustrating fragment, of the
whole. On pages 109-110, Sasportas covers my own personal
method of reading houses, but does so in a cursory fashion, as if
he had never actually tried the technique. For example,
In the example chart, the sixth house is empty. Following the
three steps outlined above, much can be learned about that
house. Sagittarius is on the cusp of the 6th house: on one level,
this could mean that Elliot should develop skills (6th) of a
Sagittarian nature - techniques for expanding or broadening the
vision of other people, for instance. The ruler of Sagittarius is
Jupiter, which is placed in the 11th house of groups. The group
setting could be an appropriate place to employ his skills (ruler of
the 6th in the 11th). Since Jupiter is in Taurus & conjunct Mars, his
temperament is suited to leading (Mars) the groups he might
establish (Taurus). But we mustn't forget that Capricorn is also in
the 6th house. Therefore Saturn's position in the chart will exert
influence in relation to the 6th house as well.... (pg. 110)
If Howard had ever actually tried this technique, he would have
discovered it to work rather well. He would have discovered, for
example, that the tiny fragment of Capricorn in the 6th (the last
11 degrees) has no significant effect, at least, so far as the 6th is
concerned. But he also would have been writing actual
delineations, which, from the books of his that I've looked at, he
rarely attempts. Sagittarius, for example, is first of all about
enthusiasm. Ruler in the 11th, Elliot takes his enthusiasm for
foreign foods & new medical techniques & shares them with his
many friends. Or tries to, as Mars, debilitated in Taurus, hammers
ceaselessly on frontal attack: You must like this new dish! A flaw
which Jupiter, only one degree away, magnifies to Elliot's
detriment. Howard uses this as an example of how to read an
empty house. To me, Elliot's chart is more interesting for the
mutual reception between Mars, in Taurus, and Venus, in Aries.
Watch out for mutual receptions between those two!

26

In sum, this book reminds me of Dane Rudhyar, in that you will

find all manner of things, many of them useful, if you read the
book through.
Flare Publications, 323 pages.
Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5)
would you give this book? Tell us!

YOUR HIDDEN POWERS: Intercepted Signs & Retrograde

Planets - Joan Wickenburg, $20.00
Contents:
To the reader
Intercepted Signs: Environment versus destiny
Introduction to intercepted signs
1. What's it all about? House systems
2. Getting started
3. Polarity of the signs
4. Rulerships & retrogrades
5. Duplicated signs or intercepted houses
6. Are you out of your element?
7. Planets (in intercepted signs)
8. Aspects & phases
9. Relocation charts
10. Transits & interceptions: Inner planets; Outer planets
11. Environment vs: destiny charts
12. Interceptions in review
Retrograde planets: Your hidden powers
Introduction to retrograde planets

27

13.
14.
15.
16.

How planets retrograde

The retrograde dilemma
Eight stages of cyclic unfoldment
The planets:
Mercury - Mercury's retrograde transit
Venus - Venus' retrograde transit
Trans-Earth planets
Mars - Mars' retrograde transit
Jupiter
Saturn
Collective planets
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto - Retrograde transit of trans-personal planets
Progressions

Conclusion
Appendix: Retrograde ephemeris, 1920-1999
Comment: December, 2008: A customer brought this book to
my attention a few days ago. Here are my notes on intercepted
signs:
My view of intercepted signs is that they are house-based. You
have one way of dealing with the house from the sign on the
cusp. But for unclear reasons this doesn't work all that well &
so, perhaps in your teens or early 20's, you found a workaround, by means of the sign intercepted inside that house. You
are then unaware you have two different ways of dealing with
matters of that pair of houses.
Wickenburg is grasping:
However, when signs are intercepted, instead of providing
constructive feedback and encouraging you to investigate the
needs of your intercepted signs ... to delve more deeply into the
experiences available through your intercepted signs ... to
uncover the hidden potentials they define ... the environment
challenges you to move on to the next obvious step in life (the
experiences of the next house). The environment simply does
not see, or understand, the degree of complexity involved with
finding fulfillment in the areas of life shown by the houses

28

containing intercepted signs. Due to lack of encouragement,

feedback or role models offered by the outside world, the needs
of these signs are often hidden until later in life when some
crisis (brought on by transits) brings them to the surface. The
needs & potentials of intercepted signs, and the powers of
intercepted planets, are sometimes delayed in expression
because of lack of external stimuli." - (pg. 18, emphasis &
ellipses in original.)
This is a nice idea, but only half thought through. She's saying
that a house with an intercepted sign inside it won't work all
that well, and I agree. She then says affairs of this house will be
ignored, and here I disagree. There are only twelve houses.
Intercepted signs come in pairs. One of them might possibly be
ignored. One of them cannot be. All you need do is consider the
six possible pairs. 1 & 7 ? Try to ignore the first!
It may be that one is unaware of the difficulties with the
intercepted sign until it is touched off by some transit, but it
may also be the intercepted sign is a long-running sore that
never quite goes away. I do not think that resolution of this
problem waits until one is 50 or 60. The problem is solved much
earlier, but awareness of that solution may not come until
much, much later.
In my case, Libra & Aries, in houses 5 & 11, are intercepted.
Saturn sits in Libra, Jupiter in Aries. I was aware of 5th house
problems, I was aware of a Saturnian influence in it, before I
was 15. (Decades before I knew anything about Saturn or
astrology.) My first efforts to work with the sign on the cusp of
5, Virgo, did not happen until I was in my 40's. I did not become
aware of the true situation, ie, the dual nature of the house,
until my 50's. I have still not figured out what is going on with
Aries in 11.
Wickenburg's notes on intercepted houses (pgs. 52 - 58) are
theoretical. In theory, houses with the same signs on them
would be linked in some fashion, but we need to find the ruling
planet & note the house & sign it is in, as well as any tight
aspects it may have. Robert Blaschke has tightly linked 2nd &
3rd houses, by means of dispositors in mutual reception (his
chart is published), which, for him, means the harder he works
(3rd house) the more money he makes (2nd). (Read his book on
the self-employed astrologer.) I have the same signs on 2 & 3
(Cancer), but I am not so driven (3rd), nor do I get rewarded
(2nd) when I am. In my case, the ruler, the Moon, is in

29

opposition to the Sun, which disposes it. The polarity between

the Sun's house & the Moon's house, fueled by the luminaries
themselves, dominates the entire chart.
Wickenburg's retrograde theory is that the first of the two signs
a planet rules is its primary. The second is its "retrograde"
position. Mercury is naturally Gemini. When it is retrograde, it
functions more like Virgo. Saturn is just fine as far as Capricorn
is concerned, but if you have it retrogarde, you have to deal
with Aquarian issues. Uranus, when direct, functions like
Aquarius. When retrograde, like Capricorn. (Would this not make
Uranus the higher octave of Saturn?) Direct Neptune is Piscean,
retrograde, Sagittarian. Direct Pluto is Scorpionic. Retrograde,
Pluto functions in an Aries fashion. This is a novel theory.
The author covers the eight stages of retrograde. Which are:
1. Solar conjunction (superior) to retrograde zone
2. Pre-retrograde to retrograde station
3. Retrograde station
4. First half of retrograde phase
5. The solar opposition or (Mercury/Venus) inferior conjunction
6. Second half of retrograde phase
7. Stationary direct
8. Stationary direct to solar (superior) conjunction
(pg. 131)
Wickenburg's writing on the various planets when retrograde is
quite good, and almost completely free of mythical references,
which I found a welcome relief. The retrograde appendix gives
the dates/locations the planets enter their retrograde zone (ie,
area of the sky they are about to back over), the dates/locations
of the retrograde station, the solar conjunction/opposition, the
date the planet goes direct, and the dates/locations the planets
left the retrograde zone. All of which will help you to focus more
clearly on retrogrades.
AFA, 223 pages, paper.

30

UNDERSTANDING INTERCEPTIONS, A Key to Unlocking the

Door - I.I. Chris McRae, $22.00
Interceptions are what happens when you have the same sign of the
zodiac on two house cusps, and elsewhere in the chart, two
opposing signs missing. The further your birth from the equator, the
more common this becomes. This excellent new book examines this
in detail. Contents: Value & effect of interceptions; Effect of house
systems; How much of the chart is affected; Effect on signs,
Strength of ruler; Interceptions developed by transit & progression;
Interpretation of intercepted (missing) signs in pairs (eg, Aries/Libra,
Taurus/Scorpio, etc); Interpretation of repeated signs, in pairs;
Intercepted planets; Elements (air, fire, water, earth) & modes
(cardinal, fixed, mutable); Horary & electional applications. 206
pages including bibliography. AFA, paper.

FROM ONE HOUSE TO ANOTHER - Sophia Mason, $11.95

Contents:
Introduction
First house
Second house
Third house
Fourth house
Fifth house
Sixth house
Seventh house
Eighth house
Ninth house
Tenth house
Eleventh house
Twelfth house
Sample charts
Comment: From the introduction: "New astrologers often anticipate
a certain transiting aspect to a natal planet, only to have it pass
without any noticeable effect. Then, after a few days or weeks have
passed, favorable news is heard regarding a family member or
friend. If the individual were to reexamine the natal chart and
correctly apply the transiting aspect to its proper house, it would be

31

viewed with a different perspective."

This book tell how transits to your natal houses effect those in your
environment. Ie, synastric use of transiting planets in houses. If you
never thought to ask yourself this, well, maybe you should. The
introduction continues:
There are no explanations as to why natal & transiting planets are
able to reveal the affairs of others through one's own horoscope; we
know only that it works with amazing accuracy.
The slower moving planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune &
Pluto) are more apt to influence the affairs of others, than are the
faster planets. This is due to the many aspects that the slower
planets are likely to receive during their prolonged stay in one
house. Using transiting Neptune in Sagittarius as an example,
suppose it were transiting through your second house of money. To a
certain extent Neptune will have an illusive effect on finances during
its fourteen year stay in 5the second house. On the negative side,
you must guard against possible theft, deception, confusion & being
easily led or influenced financially. On the positive side, Neptune will
introduce a new and unique way of earning money. You may, for one
reason or another, have to keep personal finances a secret.
To determine the illusive energy of Neptune's affect on the rest of
the chart:
First, determine which individuals are governed by each house.
Second, find the section of each chapter entitled, "Your second
house is their..." and read it from the perspective of the individual in
question.
For example, after reading the ninth house section, one notes that
in-laws and grandchildren are listed. Your second house is their sixth
house of health & work. It is possible that Neptune's stay in your
second house will bring into view an illusion that is difficult to
diagnose or a hospital stay for either or perhaps both of these
individuals. (pgs. vii-viii)
Which makes this book an example of chart-turning, for those of you
who use that technique.
AFA, paper, 74 pages.

32

PLANETS IN HOUSES, Experiencing Your Environment Robert Pelletier, $24.95

Contents:
Foreword, by Michael Munkasey
Introduction
First house
Second house
Third house
Fourth house
Fifth house
Sixth house
Seventh house
Eighth house
Ninth house
Tenth house
Eleventh house
Twelfth house
Appendix: Thoughts on the use of house systems, by Michael
Munkasey
Comment: From the back cover: "He discusses the meaning of
each planet in each house as derived by counting from each of
the other eleven houses, and he discusses the meaning of each
house position in relation to the other houses with which it forms
trines, sextiles, squares and oppositions, inconjuncts and sextiles.
In each chapter, wheel symbols graphically show the seventeen
different house relationships delineated for each planet. Finally,
Pelletier delineates the Sun-Moon polarities in terms of the wheel
of houses....The introductory material includes a discussion of
such topics as hemispheres and quadrants, empty houses, planets
transiting houses, the planetary ruler of the sign on the cusp of a
house, direct and retrograde planets in houses, and the meaning
of houses in circumstances, character and purpose in life."
I am trying, again, to understand this book. Here is the author's
explanation of how houses work:

33

The ruler of the house - the planet ruling the sign on the house
cusp - has authority over the affairs of that house, whether the
house is empty or occupied, and is an active extension on those
affairs. Since each planet rules one or two houses, the affairs of
the ruled house are necessarily implicated in the affairs of the
house occupied by the planets. If a planet is not in the house it
rules, it must adapt to the circumstances of the house it is in,
which modifies what it can do. For example, if the Sun is in the
twelfth house, the solar energy is modified, and the individual
must make certain adjustments in his or her self-expression. If the
Sun is the ruler of the seventh house, then a person's selfexpression relates to the welfare of others.
The more planets that there are in one house, the more complex
are the circumstances. On the other hand, when there are no
planets in a house, the circumstances represented by that house
require less direct attention than the areas of activity indicated by
the houses that do contain planets. The affairs of the unoccupied
houses are woven into those of the occupied houses through the
planets ruling the empty houses. Any activity that relates to an
unoccupied house is integrated into the activity of the house in
which the ruler is located. (pg. 4)
In my view, this is backwards, and muddled as well. Which is why
I never understood the book, and maybe why nobody else ever
has, either. The first problem is that planets do not rule houses,
they rule signs. This is fundamental. A planet does not adapt to
the house it is in, as much as it dominates the house(s) that bear
the sign(s) which it rules. It dominates by means of the sign
(primary) and house (secondary) in which the ruler is placed. By
means of its rulership, it displaces whatever planets may be in the
house(s) it rules. (Which, of course, find themselves occupied with
the signs/houses which they rule.) In the case of stelliums, the
affairs of the houses ruled by the stellium are dominated by the
sign (primary) and house (secondary) where the rulers are
located. Which is why stelliums are so powerful. Most of the chart
can find itself wrapped into a single house. That can be intense.
In Pelletier's example, if the Sun is in the 12th & ruling the 7th,
the seventh house has Leo on the cusp, which puts the Sun in
Capricorn in 12. If this is a female nativity, her husband (or
partner) works (Capricorn) quietly behind the scenes (12th), as
the Sun in a female chart represents the men in her life. If it is a
male nativity, his domineering (Leo) wife (7th house) must put up
with his own self-imposed obscurity (12th) & the work (Capricorn)

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which he finds there. Perhaps she rescues him from institutional

life, or maybe she joins him there. (Let keywords be your guide.
Shuffle them about until they make a story.)
But you want to hear it from Pelletier. So be it. From Seventh
House Sequence: Pluto:
2nd to the 6th: You generally know how to convince people of
your skills, and you have the promotional ability to win their
patronage for your services. But remember that without
customers, you're out of business, so be sure to give them
everything they pay for. (pg. 206)
Huh?
February, 2011: I had a look at the Sun-Moon polarities. Each
chapter ends with Sun in that house, Moon in each of the other
houses. Since most of us have Sun here & Moon there, it makes it
a snap to look up one's own Sun/Moon polarity. So I looked up
mine, Sun in 9, Moon in 3. Here is what I read. Pelletier is in italics,
my comments are in regular type:
Your faith in your ability to succeed is a strong point in your
favor. . . - The polarity in this case is about raw knowledge. 9 & 3
are cadent. Cadent houses are the least likely to succeed.
but it does not completely override your anxiety about being
ready when an opportunity is presented.. Anxiety would be an
aspect from Saturn. Not an opposition from the Moon, as
oppositions are always objective, ie, certain. Squares can produce
anxiety. Opportunity comes from angular houses, not cadent ones.
Cadent houses get dragged willy-nilly.
Consequently you strive to improve your qualifications by finding
additional ways to use your creative ideas.. Qualifications are
angular. Cadent houses don't have qualifications, they just try to
hang on as best they can. Moreover, cadent houses don't "use"
anything very much. These two particular houses (3 & 9) produce
ideas. They have no idea how to use them.
To do this, you might form associations. [which is 11th house, not
3/9] with people [3/9 are not people houses. 3 is kin, but that's a
restricted use of "people"] who are already involved in fields that
interest you, so you have access to the means for promoting your

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ideas in the future.. - This again confuses 3/9 with 1/10.

You may also have to cope with powerful parental
conditioning . . .. Well, NO. And now the problem has become
clear. Pelletier is subordinating the house to the planet which is in
it. Sun & Moon = Daddy & Mommy. I really wish that would get
thrown out. A lot of other folks say that Saturn is Daddy. Can
Daddy be both Sun & Saturn, or are we grasping at straws?
Planets are qualities. They are never persons, nor things
nor places nor anything concrete. The Sun is authority. The
Moon is receptivity. Put the Sun in 9 and, other things being equal,
if you make an effort you will become an authority on religion, or
philosphy, or foreigners, or travel - or astrology, etc. If your Sun is
in 9, these topics will occupy a lot of your time. But the Sun in 9
as a description of your father & what he expects of you? No. My
father left school in the 9th grade. So far as I can tell, he was only
semi-literate. He was born, raised and died Catholic. His one big
trip in life was to move from Minnesota to Kansas shortly after he
got married. Where he stayed. He never visited me while I studied
at university, where I spent five years. He had no interest in
languages, nor foreigners, nor did he ever meet any, so far as I
am aware.
Houses are concrete areas of life. People, places and
things. Daddy has a house. Traditional astrologers think it's the
4th. Moderns think it's the 10th, as they have a simplistic
understanding of the subject. In my case, as it happens, my 9th
house Sun rules my 4th. So shouldn't this have resulted in a home
envirionment (4th house) that had a pervasively 9th house flavor?
Philosophy, religion, dreams, higher education, travel, foreigners,
etc.? This takes us beyond the scope of Pelletier's cookbook, but
bear with me.
No, unfortunately, and for several reasons. First, my Sun is in
Aquarius, which means it is debilitated. Dave's Rule says
debilitated planets want to be in the house opposite (which would
be the 3rd, not the 4th), but Dave's rule does not work when the
sign the debilitated planet seeks is not actually on the opposite
house cusp. House cusps function as planetary "anchors", so if
Leo is not on the cusp opposite, then the Sun has nothing to grab
on to. Secondly, the house the Sun is in, and the house it rules,
the house with Leo on the cusp, are inconjunct, 9 to 4. Inconjunct
literally means, "no aspect". No aspect means no influence. In this

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case, the Sun's anchor sign, Leo, is beyond the Sun's grasp. Third,
the sign on the cusp of the 9th is Capricorn, not Aquarius. Which
means the sign my Sun is in does not control the house the Sun is
in. Which further strands the Sun. Capricorn on 9 is not
compatible with Sun in Aquarius. In this case, the cusp will not let
the planets in its house get comfortable. Except for cadent
houses, I say that planets in this situation want to be in the next
house, are "running to get into" the next house, in this case the
house with Aquarius on the cusp, but this does not work with
cadent houses and angles. The angles of the chart are walls.
You're either in the angular house, or you're not. When planets in
cadent houses are not in the same sign as what is on the cusp (3,
6, 9, 12), they are stranded: Little power in the house they are in,
no power in the nearby angular house. This is unique to the
cadents, it's what the angles steal from them in order to be
angles.
The net effect, in my personal case, is that I've never really felt
"at home" (4th house), but, Sun debilitated - and stranded - in 9,
the Sun could never quite manage to find a life abroad, either. YES
YOU CAN read this level of detail in a chart. In fact you should be
unsatisfied if you cannot.
Pelletier's book is from 1978. To think what he wrote was the best
that could be done makes me sad. Judging by the books I see on
my shelves, I'm not certain we've come very far since. For some
years now I have been trying to find the concepts which will make
this clear to you.
Whitford, 366 pages, paper.

HOUSES OF THE HOROSCOPE, An Introduction - Alan Oken,

$15.95
Contents:
Introduction
What are the houses of the horoscope?
A house divided
The name, address & quality of a house

37

The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The

first house: I am myself

second house: I am my values & resources
third house: I am my mind
fourth house: I am my family
fifth house: I am my creativity
sixth house: I am my health & work
seventh house: I am myself with you
eighth house: I amtransformed
ninth house: I am my beliefs
tenth house: I am my profession
eleventh house: I am my aspirations
twelfth house: I am the universe

The secondary meanings of the houses

Reference guide
Comment:
The word, "Introduction" in the title fairly sums up the book. First
published in 1999, this is essentially an expanded treatment of
what the author had previously published in the early 1970's, as
part of Alan Oken's Complete Astrology. And while that's one of
my top picks for introductory astrology books, in a specialized
book, such as this, from an author twenty years more experienced,
I expect something more than a warmed-over presentation of old
material.
Even excusing the dated materials & limited scope, this is not
among the best books on houses, and this despite the fact that
Alan Oken is one of the very few astrologers to have impressed me
with his wit & sheer brilliance. In addition to delineating the various
planets in the various houses (lifted, with little change, from his
earlier book), he also gives delineations of the various signs on the
various cusps. Alas, in this Oken is bettered by Sakoian & Acker's
Rising Sign Overlays in their Astrologer's Handbook (another of
my top picks).
The chapter on secondary meanings is, I regret to say, merely the
keywords that Oken used in the earlier chapters, ie, he presents
nothing new. While Oken says that everything in the world can be
found in one house or another - which is true, by the way, the
houses are much richer than Oken's meager descriptions.

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Ibis, 191 pages.

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