It’s All in the HOUSES by Eric Francis Coppolino

hen you look up an en- one location advances, the most notice- syntax of the reading: how to frame a cyclopedia or dictionary able thing that changes is the pattern of question; how to know where the action W defnition of astrology, the houses. might be in a client’s life; how a planet you usually get something like “the The houses are the most specifc in your own chart manifests. When study of the positions of the planets and most useful tool in the chart, pro- doing horary astrology, houses are in- as they infuence affairs on Earth.” viding the context for the reading. They dispensable, due to the refned topical That’s quite a leap. How we get also provide an organizational framework nature of such readings. from the “positions of the planets” for understanding all of astrology by sub- Most discussions about the houses to “affairs on Earth” is to under- ject area. By all means, study the planets, are not about how to use them, but stand the houses. The houses focus the aspects, and the signs. Then, when rather are debates about the supposedly the topics of astrology into something you want to interpret, you will depend on right system and, more lately, the feud coherent. Sometimes described as rep- what you know about the houses in order between the Whole Sign houses camp resenting the departments of life, the to deliver a relevant reading. and the quadrant houses (Placidus- or houses are a practical matter. There’s The houses are the equivalent of Koch-type houses) camp. I’ve followed nothing cosmic or mystical about them, the positions in a Tarot spread. You can these discussions for a long time. They except for a hint of poetry that refects know what all the cards mean, but the tend to be as ridiculous as the 13th-sign human existence. way you extract that meaning is by un- hoax, and about as intellectually satis- Patric Walker, one of the great as- derstanding the positions they land in. fying. I’ll come back to that supposed trologers and horoscope writers of the Think of the planets, aspects, and signs controversy, since it holds a key to un- 20th century, once remarked to his col- as the Tarot cards themselves, and the derstanding how houses work and how league Jonathan Cainer that “it’s all in houses as the placements within the to read them. the houses.” He meant that the secret spread. The Magician card suggests Using the Tarot metaphor again, to reading a chart is reading the houses. one thing as the frst card (the signifca- we rarely hear arguments among Tarot Walker was a master of timing, but even tor) and another thing in the position of readers about what’s the best deck or better at getting the topic correct. The negative feelings, or the outcome. Any the best spread. The discussion is how way you do that is to know what house given card represents one idea as a past to understand your cards and how to you’re writing about. factor, and another as a future factor. read the spread you work with. Sea- In the simplest terms, the houses Looking only at the card itself, you get soned Tarot readers can read any project the zodiac onto the Earth, where half of the meaning. Looking at where spread, or make up a new one. They astrology actually happens. They are a it lands, you get the rest of the meaning can read any deck, including playing local affair; if you cast a chart for the and can deduce the wider context from cards. As long as you know what the same date and time for cities around the the cards around it. positions in the spread mean, the mes- globe, what changes is the confguration As with the positions in the Tarot sage will be legible. Astrologers would of the houses. Similarly, if the time at spread, the houses provide the basic beneft from adopting this viewpoint.

34 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER stand the houses. If you want to do co- always to the east, just above the hori- herent readings, understand the houses. zon. The 10th house is always at the top The houses project It’s easy, and it’s fun — fun like riding a of the chart and slightly to the east; the bike instead of just looking at one. 9th house is at the top and slightly to the the zodiac onto west. From any place on Earth, at any the Earth, where Technical: Houses and Signs time of day or night, you can point to The Earth orbits the Sun, and it also the approximate position of the houses astrology actually rotates within the zodiac. The zodiac we without the use of an ephemeris, a table use is centered around the Earth. Yet ob- of houses, or a computer. It’s true that happens. They are jects move through the signs relatively the house cusps wiggle in their positions, a local affair. slowly. When we talk about the houses, based on the time of day and the time of we’re talking about that rotation, the year, but the house is always located in rapid spinning of the Earth on its axis. the same general direction. This is how, during the course of the day, This reminds you that the houses Applying the idea of a Tarot spread all 12 signs cross the horizon and in- are a mundane affair, associated with to astrology, let’s say there’s a conjunc- deed occupy each of the houses at some existence on our home planet. All the tion of Venus and Mars in a chart. If time. When someone asks why the time planets follow the course of the Sun that conjunction is in the 1st house of a of birth is important, it is because of the through the day; they rise, culminate, natal chart, it will suggest one meaning speed of the Earth’s rotation. A differ- and set. If you cast a chart for any given (for example, the person might identify ence of fve minutes can change a chart as bisexual), while the same conjunction radically — and this is about the houses. in the same sign, but placed in the 10th Imagine that the Sun is in Aries. At house, will suggest something different sunrise, the Sun will be in the east, and During the course (perhaps a power partnership between Aries will be the rising sign or Ascendant. a man and a woman). It’s the same con- At noon, the Sun will be high in the sky, of the day, all 12 junction in the same sign. The house and Aries will be on the Midheaven. At signs cross the placement is what provides the context sunset, the Sun will be in the west, and and therefore the meaning of the con- Aries will be the setting sign or Descen- horizon and indeed junction. There are other contexts, such dant. The Sun, Moon, and planets move as aspects, but those still gain their slowly, and they follow the signs as the occupy each of the relevance based on what house the world turns. houses at some time. planets occupy. The houses don’t move much. The I’m here to offer you a simple idea: If 1st house is always to the east, just be- you want to understand astrology, under- low the horizon. The 12th house is

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 35 problem that way. Someone with Taurus vide clues when deciphering the mean- All in the Houses on the 4th will either have a lot less gear ing of a house. (and it will have wood cabinets), or they’ll It is true that Mercury rules Gemini moment, the rotation of the Earth is want the cables tucked into the walls and and, therefore in a specifc chart, what- stopped, and the various planets and ceilings where they don’t have to look at ever house Gemini happens to occupy. signs fall into the context of the houses. them — the cables are just tacky. When reading a house, you look at If you’re new to astrology, understand- That is an interpretation. How did what’s in the house and where the ruler ing this one idea will save you years of we get there? As Debbi-Kempton Smith of the sign connected to that house lands puzzlement and frustration. says in Secrets from a Stargazer’s in the chart. Someone might have Leo House cusps do not exist physically. Notebook, the house represents the on the 3rd-house cusp (which covers They are imaginary lines extending from topic, and the sign represents the style writing) and the Sun in the 10th (which the Earth, which intersect the various of expression of the topic. covers reputation), and be a well-known signs. That meeting of a house cusp Some of the houses have planets and respected writer. The houses take and a sign is the frst step to reading associated with them, though it’s not on the tone or style of the signs that the houses. That’s the primary context. as simple as “Mercury rules the 6th occupy them. It’s the intersection of Most astrology theories agree that the house because Virgo is ruled by Mer- houses and signs that makes astrology 4th house represents one’s home. What cury.” There’s another very old set of comprehensible. kind of home will someone have? Well, associations called the “joys.” The 6th The signs of the tropical zodiac are it’ll be one kind with Taurus on the 4th, house is said to be the place where each 30 degrees wide. They are the di- and a very different kind with Aquarius Mars has its joy. The joys, which come vision of the wheel of the heavens into on the 4th. from ancient astrology, cover fve plan- 12 equal slices. The houses (except for We might speculate and say that ets and the two luminaries. (Mercury’s Whole Sign and Equal houses) will be someone with Aquarius on the 4th will joy is the 1st house, the Moon gets the of varying sizes. In one chart, the 8th be content having all the cables for their 3rd, Venus gets the 5th, the Sun gets house might be 15 degrees across, while electronic gear exposed; it’s easier to ar- the 9th, Jupiter gets the 11th, and the 11th house is 45 degrees across. range your stuff and to troubleshoot a Saturn gets the 12th.) These can pro- This will vary with the time of year, the

HOUSE KEYS “that which is being discussed is also arising.” Appearances (both A Basic Introduction to the 12 Places innate and contrived), names and identity, how you present your- by Eric Francis Coppolino self, what you call yourself, and what you identify with are covered here, with many clues elsewhere. Gender identity and sexual ori- estern astrology pretty well agrees on the basic mean- entation have a role. The phenomenon of “it becomes what you W ings of the houses, but the nuances and application of call it” is a 1st-house thing. the ideas differ from astrologer to astrologer. The delineations below are based on my 22 years of practice in several areas: 2ND HOUSE consulting astrology, forensic astrology as a news reporter, and This house covers value, things of value, available cash, and writing horoscope columns. self-esteem. The 2nd is about what you have, and whether and The meaning of the houses evolves over time. There were how you value it. It’s a direct extension of the 1st, taking things no telephones the frst time someone delineated the 3rd house, to a deeper or more established level. The 2nd is one of the most but we need a place to ft this modern invention. So, that would reliable sources of information and questions about how a person go with the nearest approximation by topic and functionality of feels about herself. It describes the sensation of lack or of abun- the thing or event. dance; how hard you think you have to work for what you want; Think of the houses as “the game of life.” There’s nothing your idea of what you don’t have; and what personal assets as- abstract, astrophysical, or mathematical here. The houses are sist or limit you. The relationship of money to self-esteem is an about us, living our lives on Earth — often in a house. important keynote of this house, under the general rubric of “the resources that you’re working with.” Any planet placed in this 1ST HOUSE house, particularly close to the cusp, can describe a challenge to Also called the Ascendant, this is your personal boundary: self-esteem, which would be addressed in the style of that planet what distinguishes you from the rest of the world. Sometimes (and its sign). called the house of self-concept, it goes deeper: One must aspire to become and master one’s Ascendant, in a kind of quest for in- 3RD HOUSE carnation. As the beginning of the chart, it’s a personal boundary This is a local zone, such as your neighborhood, village, or or entrance to self. The precursor would be the 12th, which has stomping ground, and who shows up (or whom you discover) the feeling of gestation, subconscious or unconscious; one should there. Neighbors, siblings, and what they say to one another give become fully aware, alert, and breathing in the 1st. So, in essence, the house its theme of communication. Also covered are messages one is born into this house, and when it’s working well, it has that and the devices that convey them (starting with notes, postcards, sensation more or less ongoing. There’s the sense of questing, and and letters), though generally, distribution is to an audience of

36 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER Astrologers must have access to all their The frst is seeing the relationship tools, which include different approaches between the themes that authors de- The house represents to the houses. scribe. The second is identifying the Play around with your astrology physical places that a house represents the topic, and the software using different places on Earth and knowing when you’re in one of sign represents the for the same date and time, and you’ll those places. The third is understand- see what I mean. If you cast a chart, ing the human relationships described style of expression using Koch houses, for the winter sol- by a house. stice in Panama City, which is right near Initially, the various meanings of of the topic. the equator, you get a chart with nearly a house can seem to be an abstract or equal houses. random pastiche of themes. Astrology place on Earth, and, to a lesser extent, students try to memorize them and then the time of day. To give an extreme ex- How You Know You match situations to keywords. Let’s ample, if you cast a chart for Iceland on Understand a House see, the 8th house represents shared the winter solstice using Koch houses, An intellectual key that would be fnances, spouses, funeral homes, and the 2nd and 8th houses come out to 92 helpful to astrology is epistemology. really intense sex. The 5th house rep- degrees each! In that chart, the 4th and That’s the study of how you know what resents gambling, artists and art studios, 10th houses are about six degrees each. you think you know. It’s the philosoph- children, and sex. The 11th house rep- If you cast a chart for the same data ical equivalent of fact-checking. When a resents hopes and dreams, your friends, using Placidus houses, the 7th house reporter writing an article states a fact, and professional income. This all makes comes out to 120 degrees, intercepting the editor has a right to ask, “How do perfect sense if you’re on mushrooms. three full signs and containing part of you know that?” Astrology needs this The key to understanding the two more. This is where Equal houses concept rather desperately, and I’d like houses involves study and experience — or Whole Sign houses could come in to introduce it today, as it relates to the lots of study, meaning reading diverse handy as a practical tool, though they houses, by offering three keys to know- viewpoints by different authors from are obviously not the only game in town. ing when you understand a house. different eras of astrology, and then

one or a few. The daily routine activities of the household are cov- cliff. For some, the thrill of unprotected sex obviates the notion of ered here. This house represents the childhood phase when you’re rearing a child for the next few decades. crawling around and bumping into things. The 3rd and its rulers de- In her book Astrology: A Cosmic Science, Isabel Hickey refer- scribe talent for writing and communication. The 3rd, particularly ences Theosophical literature describing the 5th as the house of late in the house, can also describe the unresolved psychological “esoteric karma.” This implies that there’s a deeper undercurrent issues of the father. to this house — for example, being lured in by spontaneous sex and getting pregnant, or going to Las Vegas to gamble and losing every- 4TH HOUSE thing. That aside, think of the 5th as the art studio, the playroom, The 4th describes the emotional response of the child to the practice room, the rock wall, or any recreational space, what’s the early environment, which is then carried forward as imprint- done there, and whom it’s done with. It’s okay to get paint on the ing that manifests in the adult experience. The 4th represents art studio couch, and it’s a great place to fuck. Herein lies a clue to the structure and grounds of the ancestral home, out to the gar- the origin of the universe. den wall. In one sense, it expands the 3rd (where one bumps into people’s legs under the table), and in another sense, it’s a little 6TH HOUSE smaller and even more local than the 3rd (the household set This is the house of “Ritual de lo Habitual” — important ev- within the village). The 4th, particularly the IC and its ruler, often eryday things that must be done mindfully, such as the work you describes the father’s lineage, homestead, estate, and so on. The do and how you feel about it. Sickness, health, healing, and recov- overall result is a house that describes one’s feeling of safety ery are described here. Commitment to service or to “the process” (or lack thereof) in one’s physical dwelling, physical body, and is a meta-theme. The ideal nature of the work environment is also emotional body. It’s the house of secrets that are confined to described, particularly by the sign on the cusp. Collegial relation- the household or immediate family. ships are included and, to some extent, supervisory ones, such as sergeant-level (lieutenants, captains, and generals are in the 10th). 5TH HOUSE Relationships to healers, physicians, and health practitioners of all All things exciting, entertaining, and a little risky — like art, stripes will be described by occupants of the house, ruling planets, rock music, teenage-style sex, and the babies that come from free and aspects to these. The 6th describes one’s relationship to one’s and spontaneous sexual activity — belong to this house. The 5th health and wellbeing, and will provide clues to how the notion “ is fun, but it always runs the risk of things getting serious (such as psychosomatic” manifests. Qualities of wellness, of weaknesses, pregnancy), though risk itself is much of the allure of this dimen- and of points of healing can be read here as well. Wellbeing means sion. So, the 5th is about more than fun: 5th-house fun needs an a positive relationship to life and how one spends one’s days. edgy quality. Some can get this from sculpting boldly or scaling a

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 37 form of psychological astrology, it helps and astrology as we know it has been All in the Houses to put the issue onto the ground and around for 2,400 years and counting. learn to see the specifcs. So, there will be more and more things reading charts: both natal and mun- Let’s take the frst key, seeing and to include in a house, while the meta- dane. While you’re studying, I suggest understanding the confuence of themes theme of the house that weaves them casting a chart for everything that has a represented by a house. We can start together remains more or less the same. time, such as when you read a news ar- with the premise that the themes are in- The 3rd house is the house of brethren, ticle, and then trying to fnd the event deed related — they’re not randomly neighbors, gossip, and postcards. It also in the chart. tossed into the house. It’s true that they includes modern personal communica- One of the faws of modern astrol- collect over time. There are 12 houses, tion devices like telephones and iPads. ogy is its overemphasis on psychology The meta-theme is communication de- and its de-emphasis on understanding vices, used on a relatively small scale. events. Robert Hand once remarked in Understanding the Understanding the confuence of a personal conversation that “all mod- themes (or meta-theme) of a house takes ern astrology is psychological astrology.” confuence of themes some study, some imagination, and lots What’s interesting is how little I read (or meta-theme) of practice reading charts. Study would in astrology articles that references the include looking at modern defnitions of many brilliant psychologists we have to of a house the houses, and then tracing that history learn from; many astrologers are typi- back through older books to see some cally playing psychologist, without much takes some study, of the seed ideas. training in the feld. Lacking such train- some imagination, For the early historic meaning, I ing, psychological astrology, such as suggest going back as far as William inquiry into someone’s motives, is specu- and lots of practice Lilly in a book called Christian As- lative by defnition. A news event is a trology. This was the frst astrology tangible, usually understandable thing in reading charts. textbook published in the English lan- the world. Even when you’re doing some guage. Yes, it’s fun to dive into ancient

7TH HOUSE event charts, this house can point to the “nature and cause of death.” Relationships and projections, meaning your connection point I think of the 8th as the house of the secrets that one shares with oth- to others, whether real or imagined, are covered by this house. You ers, if only in whispers. might think of it as a holographic mirror that reflects your reality back to you by way of the external world and the people who show up in 9TH HOUSE your life. Understanding the contrast between projection and reality The first of the “wide world” houses, this is the region of religion, is essential to understanding the 7th (and why it can be so confusing). international affairs and travel, and all things exotic. This is the house It’s not quite accurate to say that everything that happens in the 7th of one’s personal ethics. Themes of the 9th center around the church is merely a figment of the mind, but how we perceive things certainly and its officials, which expands into beliefs and belief systems, philos- is, and that’s almost always a matter of projection. Traditionally, this ophies, theories, and the ideas one lives by (and one’s life vision). The house is about relationships, partnerships, marriage partners, and 9th describes one’s relationship to higher learning and professors. open enemies. Because the 7th cusp is on the horizon, this house can Think of it as a meta-3rd, with a worldly feeling rather than a small- serve as an “event horizon,” describing what is manifesting or devel- town feeling. Instead of the communication being local, gossipy, or oping and will soon have a direct influence. The 7th covers the local individual, the 9th is about wide-scale publishing and broadcasting, in- courts, which would mediate between individuals or handle cases in- cluding to a global audience. The 9th covers national and international volving individuals. law, maritime law, and the higher courts in general (specifically, fed- eral and appellate courts). The worldliness of this house expands into 8TH HOUSE cosmic or universal consciousness when someone is doing their spir- This is the 2nd house of the 7th — hence, it covers shared fi- itual work. The 9th, particularly leaning up against the 10th, can peer nances and resources, mutually agreed or contested values, matters into the unresolved psychological material of the mother. of inheritance and dowry, and thus sex as a property right. In prac- tice rather than theory, this house describes the sex one needs the 10TH HOUSE most and is willing to do the most to have. Strong placements here If the 9th is about the church, the 10th is about the government can make someone appealing to a shocking degree, someone who is and the corporation, which is a feudal form of government. It de- followed home from school by the guy in the slow-moving car, and so scribes one’s relationship to government and corporate authority on. The death element, which enters initially through the concept of as a direct derivative of parental authority. It can describe whether inheritance, describes relationship to orgasm as well as attitudes to- one will be part of the official establishment. Structurally, the 10th ward death. Many shades of ego transformation, surrender to the represents high command, officers, the board, the president, the other, and what one lives and dies for can be read here. In horary and admiralty, and anything that goes “all the way to the top.” In every-

38 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER Greece and go exploring with the guys mentaries rather than as gospel truth. Still, it can seem abstract to connect in togas. It helps to contemplate the joys For the purpose of this article, a house questions of sickness with servitude. The of the planets, which are apparently is simply a house. 6th house is where one refers for infor- sourced in very early Greek astrology. mation about the length of an illness, However, reading Lilly, a British astrol- The 6th House: the diagnosis, and the healing process. oger from the 17th century, we start to Doctor’s Office, Barnyard, The relationship might be that we must, hear a familiar voice and see a world Everyday Life in a sense, live in service or servitude that we recognize: cases involving some- In a modern context, the 6th is of both sickness and wellness. We live one fguring out where the shipment of about health and wellbeing. It’s also in service of the body, as it serves us — fsh went, trying to locate a dead body, about service, in terms of servitude, slav- more mutuality. determining whether the client will in- ery, and being an employee. There’s the The gradual (and still ongoing) herit money, whether a marriage will “small animals” aspect of the 6th, and translation from serving sickness to serv- last, and various questions that real peo- there’s the military service aspect. It has ing wellness is an interesting evolution ple ask astrologers to the present day. also been described as the house of ev- of ideas, refective of society at large. Let’s look at two house examples eryday affairs, though it would seem to Wellness and health maintenance are somewhat thoroughly. I cannot explore share this role with the 3rd. still nascent concepts in our society. The all 12 houses at length for this article, If we refer to Lilly’s take on the 6th, 6th can indeed provide clues to both: so these are intended as models to help he sums it up as “Of Sickness, Servants, Neptune in the 6th by transit or natal train your thinking. Note that there are Small Cattle.” Small animals ft the pic- placement cautions of diffculty making different kinds of houses: angular (1st, ture because they’re a kind of employee a frm diagnosis, for example. Neptune 4th, 7th, and 10th), succedent (2nd, that serves its master. Sheep, goats, in the 6th might also describe someone 5th, 8th, and 11th), and cadent (3rd, donkeys, and dogs all work for a living, who has challenges keeping a job. 6th, 9th, and 12th). There are many the- and their health is important to the fam- The maintenance factor applies to ories that attempt to sum up how these ily homestead. In a sense, humans serve taking care of animals, taking care of types of houses work. I suggest that you them as much as they serve us. This hints one’s job responsibilities, and, for a mil- read published ideas about them as com- at a mutual service theme of the 6th. itary person, maintaining their skills and

day practice, it’s about one’s highest aspirations, one’s reputation, to accumulate karma, on the basis of “out of sight, out of mind.” What being known for one’s work, and what one must do to get there. ends up there is often left unresolved, hence karma accumulates. Tenth-house effort involves establishing one’s reputation through You can think of it as the ancestral attic, or the secret room be- sustained effort and cultivation of relationships, talent, and integrity. hind the drawing room bookshelf. (Everyone loves secret rooms, and Whatever happens in the 10th can be subjected to special scrutiny, you have one!) exposure, and public evaluation. There must be an attitude of In the artistic sense, we can be transported to another dimension noblesse oblige, of example-setting, and of mentorship. through this house; for example, the magical experience of a movie seeming real is a perfect 12th-house experience. It’s also the house 11TH HOUSE that describes one’s relationship with the nonphysical realm. In the The 11th is one’s personal public, one’s friends and acquain- most practical sense, what’s located in the 12th can have the feeling tances, one’s client base, and an audience out to a countable number of having gone missing. Planets there can represent cloaked, veiled, of people. Borrowing from Alice A. Bailey, it represents the group or hidden elements of one’s psyche, including missing people and rather than the mass. As the 2nd house of the 10th, the 11th de- things. In physical space, old books say it describes overwhelming in- scribes income and benefits from one’s professional activities (which stitutions, such as the government of New York City, a large hotel or often accrue as a result of cooperation and popularity, both being resort, or any space so big that it takes weeks, months, or years to ex- functions of this house). The 11th is described in some books as the plore it. house of hopes and dreams, which you might think of as a positive vi- Vedic astrologers say this house is about the pleasures of the sion for life. It’s the space into which one expands oneself; the house bed, which can manifest as an alternate reality that can be vividly real opposite it is the 5th, the creative studio, so you can think of the 11th and then vanish into another dimension, sometimes barely memora- as the gallery space or performance area (though smaller than a sta- ble, by the time daylight arrives. The 12th is the most encompassing dium). Anyone who has not done the work of the 9th (cultivating and cosmic of houses, where the difference between truth and illu- ethics and a vision) and the 10th (working to earn one’s reputation) sion is blurred. Twelfth-house events are recognizable by their system may feel brittle and insecure in the 11th. of internal logic (like dream logic) that doesn’t hold up outside of the space where it originated. It’s one of the houses associated with se- 12TH HOUSE crets — to wit, the secrets you wouldn’t dream of telling other people This house represents existence in any parallel dimension: in and that you might even keep from yourself. utero (before birth), dreams, the creative imagination, astral projec- tion, hallucinations, drug trips, and related experiences. It has been called the “dustbin of the zodiac” because the 12th is a common place

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 39 money, and not care much about what the feeling of purpose, order, and produc- All in the Houses they do as long as it pays — though that tivity (a bit Virgo-ish and a bit Mars-y). would add the “servitude” theme. I think But the particular style of the space equipment. Indeed, for most people, of the 6th as describing attitudes and val- or activity and the specifc interpretation maintaining their lives takes up most of ues toward work itself, and the 10th as of that house in a particular chart are the day with routine activity. The 6th is describing aspirations and ambitions. Ide- also dependent on the sign on the cusp. where we spend much of our time. Do- ally, we would get the two houses into For example, someone with Libra ing it well takes motivation and mastery. harmony and integrate their themes. on the natal 6th needs a beautiful and If we refer to the joys, Mars having its joy appealing workplace, with light and in the 6th references the military service plants and decent furniture, where peo- aspect of this house, but also the need ple get along. Someone with Sagittarius for motivation applied to everything we I think of the 6th on the 6th might travel for work, or work do in this house. as describing across international lines. Someone with In Chiron: Rainbow Bridge be- Sagittarius on the 6th also needs a lot of tween the Inner & Outer Planets, attitudes and space to work, to spread out their vari- Barbara Hand Clow described the ideal ous diverse and undoubtedly interesting mental state of the 6th as getting lost in values toward projects. They should probably design a one’s work. It’s the feeling of embarking work itself, and the space with the bookshelves built in. on a task, then looking up and notic- Relationships of the 6th house tend ing that three hours have gone by, but 10th as describing to be work relationships. These include it seems like a few minutes. When that colleagues, co-workers, supervisors, and happens, you know you’re fully involved aspirations and clients. While the 7th house is usually in what you’re doing. Sadly, plenty of ambitions. considered the house of relationships, people experience boredom at work. it’s interesting to note how many of That “fully involved” feeling of time go- those relationships originate in the 6th. ing by in an instant means you have a For people who spend as much time at job you love. Boredom means you don’t . Physical spaces described by the work as most of us do in Western soci- love what you’re doing; Gestalt therapy 6th are one’s offce, study, workshop, ety, the 6th is an important source of suggests that the underlying feeling is or work area; the healing room, the social contact, which frequently morphs anger (a reference to toxic Mars). doctor’s offce, or the small medical cen- into 7th-house–type partnerships and Because the 6th is about work, we ter (as opposed to a hospital); the barn marriages. Note that there’s a progres- might mistake that for career. There are and it surroundings; and the base camp sive step from the 6th to the 7th in this indeed people whose professional ambi- or training camp for a military operation. regard. People who meet as co-workers tions are located in the 6th: They might In prior eras, people spent much more could collaborate on an idea and be- want to do a job they like, and go home. of their time in the latter two kinds of come business partners, or fall in love Or they might just need to work for places. Physical locations of the 6th have and become marriage partners.

SUMMER SCHOOL EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD, ENGLAND 18TH - 25TH AUGUST 2017

Guest Tutors: Darby Costello, Bernard Eccles, Rob Hand, Robin Heath, Michael Lutin & Melanie Reinhart Faculty Tutors: Cat Cox, Sue Farebrother, Kim Farley, Stevi Gaydon, Lindsay Gladstone, Deborah Morgan, Glòria Roca & Carole Taylor

For more information www.astrology.org.uk [email protected]

Raising the standard of astrological education since 1948

40 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER The 5th House: now, at least with the relative privileges tion. With the 5th, there is the feeling of Children, Sex, Games of Chance, of Western society, we have the option doing something for its own sake, rather and Art to procreate as people who create our than because you have to. Let’s look at a neighboring house lives. This includes co-creating in rela- However, the service aspect of the for a second example. Contemporary tionships. Yet success is not guaranteed; 6th also has that quality of doing things astrologers seem to associate the 5th one must take a risk to live in this way, for their own sake — only you’re usually house with art and creativity, with chil- and that risk has the feeling of a game doing whatever that is for someone else. dren, and with gambling, which I’ve of chance, or what some describe as Art must always be in service of the art always found amusing. This is less ran- speculation. and the artist frst, and if others like it, dom a collection than it may seem at To embark on a life path as an art- all the better. You could make a lot of frst. The meta-theme of the house is ist is to gamble or speculate on your own money as a painter, but it’s not guaran- the relationship between pleasure, cre- creativity. If you go to school to be an teed: That’s the element of speculation ativity, and risk. Or, paraphrasing Jesus, accountant or lawyer, you’re a lot more or risk. Another is the “happy accident” it’s the house where we become as little likely to get a job than if you embark quality of art. Many artists will tell you children, or make them. Children are on a career as a bass player. That said, that one key to their work is honoring often unafraid of risks; there’s no way many people with professional degrees mistakes or unexpected outcomes as to grow without taking some chances — are now fnding themselves in a position hidden intention. and that’s the essence of the 5th. where they need to put some real cre- Brian Eno, the consummate artist — Lilly devotes nearly all of his chapter ativity into fnding satisfying work. musician, painter, programmer, producer, on the 5th house to questions of preg- Unlike those who live in the 6th philosopher, and midwife to the careers nancy, childbirth, and whether a woman house, where service and duty are nec- of many talented artists — is depicted will have children and how many. In essary, an artist who lives in the 5th will in a famous portrait with dice in front horary, one would look to the 5th for de- often live in a way that’s pleasurable and of him. (It’s called “Portrait of Eno with termining whether a woman is pregnant, fun, in order to maintain the creative Allusions,” by Peter Schmidt.) Schmidt how long since a woman has conceived, fow. There is indeed something childlike and Eno invented a method of creative what time the birth will be, whether it will about many artists; they are motivated by self-guidance called Oblique Strategies, be a day or night birth, or whether the intentions different from those of people a 101-card deck of creative advice, from child will be male or female. As medi- who see their role as to perform a func- which the artist draws cards randomly cal science has caught up with most of these matters, we’re free to take a wider view of this house. The 5th is a good example of how the meaning of houses develops as society evolves. One of my teachers once said that procreating does not necessarily mean epler ollege making children. It can include that, but K C est. 1992

A pioneer in online astrological education, Kepler College offers:

self-directed courses community webinars short workshops full intensives & in-depth courses leading to a Professional Diploma in Astrology (kpda)

Deepen your knowledge of the historical, philosophical, & cultural contexts of astrology. Scholarships are available.

www.kepler.edu [email protected] | 425-673-4292

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 41 Transition Zones: All in the Houses Brackish Estuaries of Astrology Now that we’ve delineated two example houses, let’s for a bit of advice. The deck offers such ideas as “tidy up,” introduce a new concept: the transition zone between houses. “switch instruments,” “take a break,” or “honor the error as There is a quirk of the astrological chart that causes a distor- hidden intention.” In true 5th-house style, Eno has combined tion. The houses are visually separated by a line, while the divination with art, to great success. signs don’t get a line; you read the degree number for confr- Let’s consider the sexual aspects of the 5th house, which mation of where the new sign begins. This creates the illusion are distinct from any other house. (Many houses describe sex, that houses have distinct beginnings and endings, and that the though the 5th has a special favor.) Clearly, since sex some- signs blend into one another. I often notice astrology students times makes babies, that theme originates from the 5th-house trying to be sticklers about what house a planet is in. questions, issues, and themes around pregnancy and childbirth. A house cusp is a like a brackish estuary. Where a body However, we now live in a time when pregnancy is optional, of saltwater meets a body of freshwater, there’s an exchange when we just might admit that sex is for fun and that procre- of the two types of water, which meet at what’s called the “salt ation is not just about making babies. front” — the place where mostly salty water transitions into Sex in the style of the 5th is like a spontaneous encoun- ter on the art studio couch. It might be risky. It may involve the chance meeting, echoing the “games of chance” theme of the 5th. It might be sex in the back seat of a car or in the supply Not only are the house cusps room. It’s the sex that happens spontaneously, in the style of permeable, but they also represent teenagers, or of adults still in possession of their volition and in- dividuality. It’s not the marriage bed. There’s no sense of duty distinct transition areas, in with 5th-house sex, there does not have to be a shared bank account, and it may never happen again. Sex in the style of the astrology and human society. 5th is creative, passionate, and experimental, just like art. And that’s why it’s so much fun. Places associated with the 5th house are art studios, re- mostly fresh water. The salt front can move up or down the cording studios, anywhere games of any kind are played (from estuary, depending on the tides, the weather, and the time of casinos to climbing walls to Off-Track Betting), art supply year. Unusual kinds of creatures live in brackish estuaries, and stores, playrooms, adult play spaces, and the recreational area these are delicate ecosystems. of a house (the man cave — whereas the family room would be In my experience, the signs are the elements with the part of the 4th). clear beginning and end, and the houses are the elements that The relationships of the 5th house include artist–model, blend into one another, like saltwater and freshwater mixing. artist–assistant, creative collaborators of any kind, bandmates, William Lilly references this in his fve-degree rule: Anything passionate lovers, young lovers, dealer–player relationships, coming within fve degrees of the house cusp can count as friendly competitive relationships, and playmates of any stripe. being part of the next house.

42 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER Signs do not really have cusps. They begin and end, of the 5th. There are professional bakers and caterers who rather than transition. I recognize that there are other view- work out of their homes; you might look for symbols of their points; for example, some people born in late Libra feel like workplace where the 4th and 5th houses meet. Look for plan- they’re part Scorpio, though that may be due to having in- ets that straddle the cusp; study anything unusual about the ner planets placed in Scorpio. The sign division is signifcant meeting zone. for many reasons, especially when considering rulerships. Each of the houses has a transition area on either end. Libra is ruled by Venus, and Scorpio is ruled by Mars. That’s You can delineate them using our three-step guide: confuence a clear distinction. Sign divisions make aspects to the Aries of themes, physical spaces, and relationships. Point, another clear metric. The state of mind associated with the house also counts. Yet I suggest experimenting with the idea that not only For example, the 12th house is associated with dreams and are the house cusps permeable, but they also represent dis- trancelike states. The 1st house is associated with some tan- tinct transition areas, in astrology and human society. The gible notion of identity and physical reality. Yet many people houses are about existence on Earth, where there are many walk around all day long in a mild (or deep) trance state, lead- transition areas and people who serve in blended roles, and ing one astrologer I’ve read to somewhat humorously defne sometimes these are represented as house cusps. the 12th house as representing “normal waking conscious- Let’s use the 5th and 6th houses as an example. If the ness.” This perplexed me a bit; I’ve considered this idea many 5th house represents the art studio and the 6th house rep- times over the years, and it’s an interesting rubric for the 12th. resents the offce, we have a little zone that talks about The flm Waking Life describes lucid dreaming, and the spaces that serve both purposes and people who work both action morphs back and forth over the 1st/12th line. The flm aspects of life at once. Imagine a place that serves as both addresses the question of what it means to be dreaming versus studio and offce. An herbalist’s workshop, where the practi- what it means to be awake. This is the inherent question of the tioner is part artist and part clinician, would also count. 1st/12th line. I once visited a prominent literary agent living in the Se- Seen another way, the 1st house is who we think and attle area. She had an offce built into her custom-designed say we are, and the 12th house is who we know we are but kitchen. It was like a fully functional desk nested in right next would never (or rarely) reveal. I consider the 12th house that to the oven and kitchen counter. This is a little like the 4th of unspeakable secrets. (Contrast this with the 8th, the secrets house (home, kitchen) blending into the 6th house. The cre- we love to tell others, and the 1st house, which is more like a ative work she did at her desk bridged the gap with the favor press release.)

MODERN DAY MYSTERY SCHOOL

UY UW

OFFERING ONLINE CLASSES - HOME STUDY COURSE HOROSCOPE PROGRAM© SOFTWARE ASTROLOGICAL SERVICES AND DISCUSSION GROUPS IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA 505-247-1338 | WWW.LIGHT.ORG WWW.CHURCHOFLIGHT.TV

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 43 chart must drive toward some provable reading the wrong kind of chart, news- All in the Houses resolution of the question. paper astrologers were using Whole However, astrology is never prov- Sign houses as part of their busy trade. As another example, the 10th, able; it is at best demonstrable. Reading They call them “solar houses,” meaning 11th, and 12th houses all have a public a chart is always based on value judg- houses counted from the Sun’s sign po- quality, though it expands from house ments, and it’s always subjective. sition, with the frst degree of the Sun’s to house. The 10th is about one’s rep- Understanding what houses mean to sign counting as the 1st-house cusp. utation, the 11th is about groups where you helps you orient a little more objec- When someone knows how to read us- the number of people is countable (the tively. You must go through a conscious ing this method, you can get stunning small public), and the 12th is very large process to assign a specifc topic of a relevance and accuracy without any na- audiences (the general public, a mass reading to a specifc house. tal data at all. With the houses, it’s not readership, and so forth). This works There are lots of astrology books the system you use but rather how you as a gradient, with the house cusps de- and articles and theories. In truth, no use it. It’s necessary to be fexible and scribing the transition areas as the size chart you will read as part of your ac- be open to as many sources of informa- of the audience or public increases. Fol- tual work as an astrologer will be in one tion as possible. low that pattern through the 12th and of those books or articles. You’re al- Then came the monograph Whole into the 1st, and we could say, “It all most always reading a chart that has not Sign Houses by Rob Hand, which is comes back to you.” been written about or that no other as- on my short list of books I would bring In order to read a chart, it’s nec- trologer has ever seen. Therefore, you to another planet. Rob is a philoso- essary to loosen up your thinking and must bring your own interpretative skills pher who takes a circumspect view of not be as rigid as many modern theo- and your own fresh — and informed the matter, which I would recommend. ries of astrology strive to be. Astrology — perspective. This is not a question of right and requires imagination, observation, and wrong; rather, it’s a matter of Whole experience as well as study of its vari- The Whole Sign House Sign houses adding an extra layer to the ous theories and supposed orthodoxies. Non-Controversy chart. While I don’t have space to give a I recognize that the classical astrology Long before Project Hindsight told detailed chart example, we can illustrate movement, in its many forms, often us about Whole Sign houses, and way an idea using a random chart cast for pressures students into thinking there before astrologers started dividing up the moment I’m writing this article. (See are absolutes, or that the reading of a into camps accusing one another of Diagram, following page.)

44 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER Diagram: 7th/8th-house chart segment This diagram (using Koch houses) shows the 7th and 8th houses of a chart. Using Whole Sign houses, we would say that the 7th house actually begins at 1° Aquarius rather than at 26° Aquarius. Under this approach, all of those Pisces planets would count as being in the 8th house. The 8th cusp (using quadrant houses of some kind, such as Koch or Placidus) — in this chart, 24° Pisces — would do what a cusp is really supposed to do: indicate a peak of energy within the Whole Sign 8th house itself. This method inherently blends Whole Sign houses and quadrant houses. There are other ways to look at this. For example, you can view all the Pisces in the 7th as a wide zone where

American Federation of Astrologers t
"TUSPMPHJDBM
$FSUJöDBUJPO t
4VQFS4UBS
$PVSTF
JO
"TUSPMPHZ t
"EWBODFE
DPVSTFT
JO
IPSBSZ
SFMBUJPOTIJQT
BOE
BTUFSPJET t
)VOESFET
PG
BTUSPMPHZ
UJUMFT
BU
UIF
"TUSPMPHZ
4UPSF t
-BSHF
TFMFDUJPO
PG
FCPPLT
UISPVHI
"NB[PODPN AFA members receive: t

EJTDPVOU
PO
NPTU
UJUMFT t
.POUIMZ
KPVSOBM t
%JTDPVOUT
PO
"'"
DPOGFSFODFT t
"DDFTT
UP
UIF
"'"
MJCSBSZ
POF
PG
UIF
MBSHFTU
JO
UIF
XPSME



t

5PMM
'SFF
 
4
3VSBM
3E

t

5FNQF
";
 JOGP!BTUSPMPHFSTDPN

t

XXXBTUSPMPHFSTDPN

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 45 Astrology is a living system. Its meaning, purpose, prac- All in the Houses tices, and customs are redefned many times by each new generation of astrologers. Rather than being strictly adherent the themes of the 7th and 8th houses overlap. The overlay to history, it’s wise to know where you’re coming from, and widens the transition zone in the approach that I described pay attention to where you are and where you’re heading. above. It’s true that the themes of the 7th and 8th have a lot Houses are a tool — granted, an important tool for in common (the 8th formalizes and monetizes the relationship reading a chart. What they teach is not law but rather guide- commitments of the 7th), and this chart emphasizes that fact. line, similar to the relationship between music theory and For example, the Moon is in the transition zone between the music itself. Like music, astrology is part art, part craft. It’s 7th and 8th. Neptune inherently has a wide orb of infuence, both technical and intuitive, rooted in tradition and also a which expands the effect, and so on. facet of the modern world. If you honor both sides of these various equations, and offer some curiosity and passion, you will bring elegance and originality to your work.

With the houses, © 2017 Eric Francis Coppolino – all rights reserved it’s not the system Eric Francis Coppolino has been a consulting astrologer for 22 years, you use but rather writing newspaper and magazine horoscopes all along the way. He’s the astrologer for the New York Daily News and the Omega Institute, and hosts how you use it. Planet Waves FM for the Pacifca Radio Network. He offers online courses, including one called “It’s All in the Houses.” For more information, you It’s necessary to be fexible. may contact him at [email protected]

Rather than debating what house system is right, why not look at the situation you’re reading for, then look at the chart and ask how you would best describe the scenario astrologi- cally. Just embarking on that questioning process will help to loosen up your thinking. If you think of the chart as a sketch with some interesting details, rather than as a concrete map of reality, your approach to reading will become more fexible, and you’ll give yourself room to experiment. As astrologers, we must mediate a dialogue between the subject matter and the chart. Or, as Melanie Reinhart describes the process, it’s a metalogue: That which is being discussed is arising.

46 — THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER How to Order Digital-Only Back Issues of TMA: 2007–2015

If you are relatively new to The Mountain Astrologer, you have missed many years of great astrological articles. Although we still have printed copies of most back issues going back to 2001 (which can be perused and ordered online), this is the frst time we have digital back issues available for purchase.

Individual digital issues are not available for purchase; they are available only in yearly and multi-year packages. Order them online at: http://members.mountainastrologer.com/dbi

Accessing any of these digital back issues requires registering for our TMA Digital Edition site, so after purchasing a package online, you will be taken directly to a registration screen, where you can set up a user name and password (if you are not already registered for TMA Digital) and then get quick access to those issues. If you are already registered and using TMA’s Digital Edition, your digital back issues will be added to the very end of your library of TMA issues, so as to keep all issues is reverse chronological order.

Digital-Only Back Issue Packages http://members.mountainastrologer.com/dbi

9 years of digital back issues, 2007 through 2015: $124 (best value: $2.17 per issue) This is a total of 57 issues of TMA and includes three bonus issues from 2005 and 2006.

5 years (30 issues) of digital back issues, 2011 through 2015: $79 ($2.63 per issue)

4+ years (27 issues) of digital back issues, 2007 through 2010, including three bonus issues from 2005 and 2006: $59 ($2.19 per issue)

6 digital issues (online fipbooks) from 2015: $22 6 digital issues (online fipbooks) from 2014: $19 6 digital issues (online fipbooks) from 2013: $16 6 digital issues (online fipbooks) from 2012: $16 6 digital issues (a mix of pdfs and fipbooks) from 2011: $16 6 digital issues (pdfs) from 2010: $16 6 digital issues (pdfs) from 2009: $16 6 digital issues (pdfs) from 2008: $16 6 digital issues (pdfs) from 2007: $16

Questions? contact our circulation manager, at [email protected]

Or call her at (800) 287-4828, Mon.–Fri. between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Pacifc Time.

AUG. / SEPT. 2017 — 47