wtf is a house

an introduction to the astrological houses

One of the goals of my research is to develop a primer for houses. House division is a contested topic in astrology, and everyone has their preferences. I just want to organize my thoughts on the topic.

A house is a subdivision of a chart. I will stick to a circle chart and the tropical zodiac, because that’s what I practice! The tropical zodiac is aligned with the seasons (equinoxes) rather than constellations. In tropical astrology, the astrological calendar begins with the spring equinox at 0º Aries.

According to Hellenistic Astrology, the subdivision of the sky into 12 parts can be traced back to Egypt. They kept track of time based on what stars were rising on the horizon, and built their calendar as such. Each different star, or cluster was linked to a 10 day week.

Houses and signs, or the zodiac, are different things. If the “hour marker” or ascendant, is 14º Capricorn, then the first house, or rising sign, is Capricorn. The first house is not always Aries.

In the 5th century Mesopotamians divided the ecliptic into equal segments of 30 degrees each, which the Greeks called the