In astrology, a birth chart is divided into 12 slices. These 12 slices are called houses, and each rules a specific area of life. The house system makes the planetary influence concrete by answering "where does this fall in life?" While a planet's sign tells you how it behaves, its house tells you where it shows up.
What the House System Is
Your house system depends on your rising sign. The point where your rising begins is the cusp of the 1st house, and the 12 houses follow counterclockwise. That is why a birth time is needed to know the houses.
The 12 houses are classically grouped. The first three speak to personal identity and the close environment. The next three form the home-family-creativity axis. The 7-8-9 are the houses of partnership, transformation and meaning. The 10-11-12 are the houses of career, the collective and the hidden.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd
The 1st house is you. Physical appearance, outer shell, your first move. Your rising sign begins here. A planet in the 1st house leaves a mark on your personality.
The 2nd house is material possessions and values. Money, real estate, income, but also what you find valuable, the value you give yourself.
The 3rd house is communication, siblings, short journeys. Speaking, writing, primary and secondary education, the neighbourhood, the daily environment. The natural house of Mercury.
The 4th, 5th and 6th
The 4th house is home, family, roots. The mother figure, the ancestral line, the physical home, the shelter. The "bottom" point of the chart.
The 5th house is creativity, children, romantic love. What you create, what entertains you, which stage you step onto. Leo's natural house.
The 6th house is health, daily routine, the workplace. How your body works, how your daily order runs, the climate of your work and your service relationships.
The 7th, 8th and 9th
The 7th house is partnership, marriage. It sits exactly opposite the 1st. Where the 1st says "I," the 7th says "we." Romantic partner, business partner, even an open enemy live in the 7th.
The 8th house is transformation, shared resources, crisis. Sexuality, inheritance, the partner's money, deep psychological transformation, the threshold between death and birth. One of astrology's most intense houses.
The 9th house is philosophy, long journeys, meaning, higher education. Making sense of the world, foreign culture, law, university, religious-philosophical belief. Sagittarius's natural house.
The 10th, 11th and 12th
The 10th house is career, recognition, public face. The top point of the chart. What you are recognised for, your position of authority, your status.
The 11th house is groups, friendship, future goals. Community, team, social network, ideals, expectation. Aquarius's natural house.
The 12th house is the unconscious, solitude, what is hidden. Hospital, prison, monastery, dream, the therapy process. The most difficult house to read, but wisdom comes from here. Pisces's natural house.
Angular and Cadent Houses
The 12 houses split into another threefold grouping. The angular houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th, the strongest, the structural pillars of life. The succedent houses are the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th, the houses of value and resource. The cadent houses are the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th, the houses of transition and service.
A planet in an angular house comes forward more; a planet in a cadent house works more inwardly.
An Empty House Is Not Bad
When most people first open their chart, they panic: "I have no planet in this house, so this area is weak." Wrong. An empty house does not mean "this area does not exist." The theme is read through the ruler of the sign on the cusp. If your 7th house starts in Scorpio, Pluto (or classically Mars) governs the 7th house theme; you read it through where that planet sits, in what condition.
On average, a chart has planets in 5 to 7 houses, and the rest are empty. This is entirely normal.
A Practical Reading Order
To read the houses of a chart, you start from the house that begins with the rising sign. The 7th (your partner), the 4th (your home), the 10th (your career), the 1st (yourself), these four angular houses are the skeleton of the chart. Next, the houses with planets, then the rulers of empty houses.
The article on how to read your birth chart lays out this methodology in order. The house, the planet and the sign together start a personal reading.
Where the Sun tells you who you are and the Moon how you heal, the houses tell you in which area of life you are living what. If you know your birth time, you can see all 12 houses in seconds with our free birth chart tool.