Conjunct
Together on one spot, the two act as one. Strong, for good or hard.
Mira Costa's Pluto · Tomás Reyes's VenusWhat are whole-sign houses?
Whole-sign houses split your birth chart into twelve houses, one for each zodiac sign. The first house is the sign that was rising in the east when you were born. It's the oldest way to divide a chart. Every house is the same size, wherever you were born.
Pick a rising sign
Your rising sign is the one that was coming up over the eastern horizon at the minute you were born. With whole-sign houses, that whole sign is your 1st house (self), the next sign is your 2nd (money), and so on around the wheel.
Pick a sign to turn the zodiac to it. The houses don't move. They're counted from the east downward, so every sign lands in a new house. This ring only shows how the houses work. It has no planets on it.
On a real chart
When Audrey Hepburn was born, Aquarius was rising, so Aquarius is her 1st house (self), Pisces her 2nd (money), and so on around the wheel. Her Sun is in Taurus, the 4th sign from Aquarius, so it sits in her 4th house (home).
A planet's house is the sign it's in, counted from the rising sign, so you can check every house by hand.
Audrey Hepburn's birth time comes from her public birth record (Astro-Databank, Rodden AA). Stars Decoded has no connection to her family or estate.
How her houses are counted
Here is the same idea on Audrey Hepburn's chart. First the sky turns until her rising sign is in the east. Then each house lights up in turn.
Houses start at the rising sign
The horizon stays flat. The sky turns under it. The sign rising in the east at birth becomes the 1st house.
The sky turns under the flat horizon. Aquarius was rising when Audrey Hepburn was born, so Aquarius is her 1st house. Pisces is her 2nd, Aries her 3rd… Twelve signs, twelve houses, counted from her rising sign.
Each house is one part of life
Money, home, work, love, friends. Twelve parts, twelve houses.
The 1st (self): you, your body and the way you go about things. The 2nd (money): money and the things you own. The 3rd (mind): talking, learning, brothers and sisters. The 4th (home): home, family, your roots. The 5th (play): fun, making things, love, children. The 6th (work): daily work, habits, health. The 7th (partnership): partners and the people you face one to one. The 8th (depth): what you share, what's passed down. The 9th (belief): long trips, big ideas, what you believe. The 10th (career): your work and what you're known for. The 11th (friends): friends, groups, shared hopes. The 12th (solitude): rest, time alone, what goes on out of sight.
The twelve houses
Each house is one part of life. These are the names our reports use.
| House | Name | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Self | You, your body and the way you go about things |
| 2nd | Money | Money and the things you own |
| 3rd | Mind | Talking, learning, brothers and sisters |
| 4th | Home | Home, family, your roots |
| 5th | Play | Fun, making things, love, children |
| 6th | Work | Daily work, habits, health |
| 7th | Partnership | Partners and the people you face one to one |
| 8th | Depth | What you share, what's passed down |
| 9th | Belief | Long trips, big ideas, what you believe |
| 10th | Career | Your work and what you're known for |
| 11th | Friends | Friends, groups, shared hopes |
| 12th | Solitude | Rest, time alone, what goes on out of sight |
The six house pairs
Each house sits across the wheel from another house. Together they make a pair. Learn the six pairs and you know all twelve houses.
- 1st and 7thSelf · PartnershipMe · the other person
- 2nd and 8thMoney · DepthMine · shared
- 3rd and 9thMind · BeliefEveryday · big picture
- 4th and 10thHome · CareerPrivate · public
- 5th and 11thPlay · FriendsMy joy · our hopes
- 6th and 12thWork · SolitudeDoing · resting
Every house has a planet in charge
Each sign has a planet in charge of it. A house's planet in charge is the planet of the sign the house is in.
That planet speaks for the house, wherever it sits in the chart. So even a house with no planets in it still says something about you.
- Aries
- Mars
- Taurus
- Venus
- Gemini
- Mercury
- Cancer
- Moon
- Leo
- Sun
- Virgo
- Mercury
- Libra
- Venus
- Scorpio
- Mars
- Sagittarius
- Jupiter
- Capricorn
- Saturn
- Aquarius
- Saturn
- Pisces
- Jupiter
On her chart
A house lights up. A line runs to the planet in charge of it.
Virgo is on her 8th (depth). Virgo's planet is Mercury, and her Mercury sits in her 5th (play). Libra is on her 9th (belief). Libra's planet is Venus, and her Venus sits in her 3rd (mind). Sagittarius is on her 11th (friends). Sagittarius's planet is Jupiter, and her Jupiter sits in her 4th (home).
At home, or least at ease
A planet works more easily in some signs than in others. In its own signs it's at home. In the signs across the wheel from those, it's least at ease.
Least at ease doesn't mean bad. The planet still works there. It just takes more effort.
The table covers the seven planets you can see without a telescope. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were found much later, so the old table has no place for them.
On her chart
Where Venus is at home, where it's least at ease, and where her Venus is.
Venus is how you love and get on with people. In Taurus and Libra, Venus is at home. Love comes easily there. In Aries and Scorpio, Venus is least at ease. Love is still strong, but it takes more effort. Her Venus is in Aries, so it's least at ease. Venus wants ease and peace. Aries and Scorpio want intensity or a win.
PlanetAt home inLeast at ease inWhy, in one line
Sun
At home inLeo
Least at ease inAquarius
Wants to stand out on its own. Aquarius puts the group first.
Moon
At home inCancer
Least at ease inCapricorn
Wants comfort. Capricorn says feelings can wait.
Mercury
At home inGemini, Virgo
Least at ease inSagittarius, Pisces
Wants the details. These two go for the big picture.
Venus
At home inTaurus, Libra
Least at ease inScorpio, Aries
Wants ease and peace. These two want intensity or a win.
Mars
At home inAries, Scorpio
Least at ease inLibra, Taurus
Wants to act now. These two want peace or to stay put.
Jupiter
At home inSagittarius, Pisces
Least at ease inGemini, Virgo
Wants the big picture. These two get lost in details.
Saturn
At home inCapricorn, Aquarius
Least at ease inCancer, Leo
Wants rules and distance. These two want feelings or attention.
How two planets meet
Houses say where in life something happens. The angle between two planets says how they get on. These are the five angles, shown on two made-up people, Mira Costa and Tomás Reyes. Their charts are worked out from their birth details.
Sextile
An easy angle. They help each other with a little effort.
Mira Costa's Uranus · Tomás Reyes's PlutoSquare
A sharp angle. They push on each other, and you learn from the friction.
Mira Costa's Mercury · Tomás Reyes's UranusTrine
The easiest angle. They support each other without trying.
Mira Costa's Sun · Tomás Reyes's VenusOpposite
Across the circle. They pull two ways, and can balance out.
Mira Costa's Sun · Tomás Reyes's Mercury
How is it different from Placidus?
Placidus is the system many astrology websites use by default. It divides the chart by the time of day, so its houses differ in size and can start partway through a sign. Far north or south, some houses stretch across several signs, and close to the poles Placidus can't be worked out at all.
| Whole-sign houses | Placidus houses | |
|---|---|---|
| Each house is | One whole sign, 30° | A slice cut by the time of day, of different sizes |
| Starts from | The rising sign | The exact rising degree |
| Near the poles | Works the same | Can't be worked out above about 66° north or south |
| If the time is a little off | Houses rarely change | Every house boundary moves |
Why does Stars Decoded use whole-sign houses?
Stars Decoded uses whole-sign houses because they're simple to check and work anywhere on Earth. They're also the oldest system we know of. In Hellenistic Astrology (2017), Chris Brennan describes them as the main way the first Greek-language astrologers divided a chart, about 2,000 years ago.
They also still work if your birth time is a little off. Your houses only change when your rising sign does, which happens every two hours on average.