Mansions Of The Soul

So far in this series we have discussed how your horoscope shows 'what' your prevailing energy is by way of the planets, and how this energy is expressed by way of the zodiac signs. Now, to determine where in your life experience these energetic dynamics are being played out, astrology divides your horoscope into 'slices' (like a pizza) with a system of 'houses'. There are many different house systems with most (in Western Astrology) creating twelve divisions or 'houses' in your chart. For example, I personally use the placidus house system and sometimes the equal house system, but there are many, many others.

House systems vary greatly and, depending on which one you use, your planets can end up in different houses! For example in my own chart Uranus is in the third house using the placidus system and 'moves' to the second house in the equal house system. However, house meanings do overlap, and flow into one another, so if you have a planet near the cusp of two houses you will probably have the experiences of both houses in your life, so it is worth studying the meaning of them both. (If you have had your chart drawn up by an astrologer, they will have already chosen a house system in preparing your chart, so you don't need to worry about different systems- just familiarise yourself with the meaning of each house below).

So we can see that, while the houses represent our earthly experience, they are also a more fluid, less clear-cut, facet of astrology. When interpreting horoscopes it is important that you develop a strong intuitive relationship with one house system, and keep that as your main system because in situations where the meaning is less obvious, it is your own intuition that will bring you the deepest meaning.

The houses can be one of the more challenging areas of astrology to understand, because you are not only looking at your energy field as a stand alone, but also you are bringing in an added layer of complexity by looking in what areas of life experience your energy is being expressed, how it might relate to and interact with other people, society, the environment, and the world around you, and what life experiences that will bring you, for your Soul's growth.

Mundane and Soul-Centered Meanings

In an earlier newsletter we explored how we are all on a journey of spiritual awakening which the Tibetan Master (in Esoteric Astrology) described as personality-soul fusion (also see Chapter 1 in my book, Soul Astrology). We will have different experiences of the houses depending upon our progress in this process of personality-soul fusion, and our level of consciousness. In Esoteric Astrology The Tibetan Master also described three levels of consciousness which he termed the mutable, fixed, and cardinal crosses:


If you are on the mutable cross in terms of your spiritual awakening, you may relate more to the mundane meaning of the houses, if you are on the fixed cross you may relate to both, and if you are on the cardinal cross the Soul-centered interpretations may be more meaningful to you.

On a mundane (worldly) level the houses will show in which areas of life experience your energy is focused and/or drawn to (for example if you have a lack of planets in a house, rather than your own energy being focused there, sometimes you can find yourself drawing those experiences to you). Yet also, at the same time, the houses will indicate those life experiences that are opportunities for you to step into a higher awareness of your spiritual nature. For example on a mundane level, the house where Saturn is placed will indicate which life experiences are calling for you to be more responsible, authoritative, and/or bound by a sense of limitation. On a Soul level Saturn brings a spiritual 'reality check', so at the same time those very life experiences are pointing to higher truth, prompting you to ask, "what is really, REALLY, real?"

The journey to your Soul involves clearing, purifying and healing your personality. You could think of your personality as your individualised pathway to your Soul. With this in mind the houses then can indicate life experiences that bring you 'tests' or challenges along the way, that will support you in maturing and growing into your Soul alignment.

Psychological astrologer Dane Rudhyar described the Houses as Twelve ‘Tests’ or ‘experiences of existence'. Rather than 'tests' (which implies someone or something outside of ourselves is judging us) I prefer to think of the houses as fields of experience that we are unconsciously contributing to, and which therefore provide the causes and conditions for our spiritual awakening. Having said that, Rudhyar's keywords for the twelve houses are still very helpful in understanding the specific psychological and spiritual experiences each house offers:

1. Isolation
2. Ownership
3. Thought
4. Stability (emotions)
5. Purity (of motive… being ‘total’ uncontaminated by ‘ego-self’)
6. Suffering
7. Mutuality
8. Responsibility
9. Significance
10. Position
11. Discontent
12. Cloture

From “An Astrological Triptych” by Dane Rudhyar

Mundane: Personality; Self; Your physical body.

Soul awakening: Your core identity, your essential Self. The first house cusp is your Ascendant/Rising Sign or, from the Soul Astrology perspective: your Soul Sign. So the 1st house says a lot about the embodiment of your Soul and the purpose or motive for this specific incarnation. Your body as a vehicle for spiritual awakening.


2nd house

Mundane: What you have that is yours. Finances, income, possessions.

Soul awakening: Discovering your true inner value as a being. Your inner treasure. Your sense of self-worth. Your inner resources and how you value yourself. Your prana, or spiritual energy.


3rd house

Mundane: School, learning, communication, short-distance travel, siblings.

Soul awakening: Discovering Higher Mind. Awakening to the realization of the "Rainbow Bridge" between lower and Higher Mind. The development of higher mental capacities such as telepathy. Developing your capacity for clarity and awareness.


4th house

Mundane: house, home, mother, family of origin, current family.

Soul awakening: Your spiritual foundation. Where you can put down roots that will serve as a solid foundation for your spiritual path. Your ancestral connection to the Divine Mother. Your personal experiences can awaken you to the presence of Divine Motherly Love, which serves as the foundation for realizing that the Greatest Compassion lies within you.


5th house

Mundane: Creativity, gambling, luck, romance, children.

Soul awakening: Realizing the presence of Divine Will and the power and purpose of individuation. Merging Divine Will and personal will. Expressing Divine Will through individual creativity.



6th house

Mundane: Duty, service, work, pets, dependants.

Soul awakening: Realizing the distinction between service and servitude. Opportunities to be of service. The cultivation of skill-sets, "skilful means", in other words, the development of techniques that inspire, awaken, and enhance spiritual development in yourself and others.



7th house

Mundane: Overt relations with other, partnerships, marriage, projection, litigation.

Soul awakening: Recognition and deeper understanding of right relationship. This doesn't just mean human relations your relationship with Mother Earth and all her creatures. Experiences here can lead to the realization of Divine Union, or Oneness.



8th house

Mundane: Covert relations with others: Sex, joint finances, other people's money, debt, taxes, death.

Soul awakening: Personal transformation, healing and regeneration. Experiences here can lead to a recognition of what you need to let go of in your life, in order to heal, transform, and let your spirit soar.



9th house

Mundane: Higher education, religion, long-distance travel, foreigners and foreign lands.

Soul awakening: Higher wisdom. Where you seek (and find) higher knowledge. The higher wisdom teachings that are pure and free from dogma. Cosmic wisdom.



10th house

Mundane: Career, accomplishment, achievement, father, status, worldly position, authority figures.

Soul awakening: The nature of spiritual aspiration. The path and the result of your spiritual journey. The disciple and the path. The house of the Masters. Your spiritual lineage.



11th house

Mundane: Friends, groups, community, society, ideology and shared goals.

Soul awakening: Higher group consciousness. The higher collective consciousness of humanity. Your role within the brotherhood/sisterhood of humanity. Your greater contribution to the evolution of human consciousness.



12th house

Mundane: retreat or escape, institutions: hospitals, prisons, monasteries, movie-theatres, self-undoing.

Soul awakening: Your inner Self. There may be a remembering of past lives. Universal Love. Completion. The Tao; The Great Perfection. The realization that all is one and Love is All. Experiences here offer an opportunity to awaken completely, and step off the wheel of death and rebirth forever, or to 'fall' into greater illusion - beginning another cycle of reincarnation.


Remember, when interpreting horoscopes it is important that you develop a strong intuitive relationship with one house system, and keep that as your main system (although there may be circumstances when you use other systems) because in situations where the meaning is less obvious, it is your own intuition that will bring you the deepest meaning.

It can also be helpful to meditate on the meaning of each house, so that deeper insights can come to you.