Most people are familiar with the idea of zodiac signs and planets when it comes to astrology. However, there is another fundamental component to understanding a natal chart that does not get discussed as often because you need an exact birth time in order to calculate their position, and that is the concept of houses. Houses in astrology are where different topics in your life reside, or the places where different parts of your life happen. You could think of them as sectors if that is easier. For example, there is a personal finance sector and a higher education sector in everyone's chart that says something different about each of those areas of a person's life. Traditionally though, astrologers will refer to these different sectors or places as houses, so I will stick with that terminology here. 

There are a total of 12 houses. Here is a graphic that explains the topics of life that are contained within each of them: 

You might get a sense after reading through this graphic, that some houses have more positive connotations associated with them, than others. For example, the 2nd, 6th, 8th and 12th houses are considered "dark" houses because they embody parts of ourselves and our lives that may be hard to see or identify, and are often unpleasant or challenging to deal with. This is particularly true of the 12th house because its very nature is to contain the parts of our life that are hidden from ourselves. Our perpetual blindspot, sort of speak. Now imagine experiencing life from this liminal vantage point. That is what my new series, "Venus in the 12th" explores. 

"Reunion," acrylic on canvas, 2023.

It's easy to get into the weeds when explaining astrology, so I will simply leave you here with the concept of houses, and give you some time to take it in and absorb it, especially if it is new to you. Although if on the other hand you are eager to get into the weeds on this topic, then I encourage you to check out these two episodes of The Astrology Podcast that were dedicated to this topic. Here are the links to watch these episodes on Youtube:

Part 1: Significations of the Twelve Houses, Houses 1-6

Part 2: Significations of the Twelve Houses, Houses 7-12

Feel free as well to leave any questions you might have about houses in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them. That said, I do plan to build upon each astrological concept I introduce here in upcoming blog posts to help you better understand the ideas that I utilized in my new body of work. That is assuming that you are not already a professional astrologer! If that's not you, (but even if it is!) then I encourage you to stay tuned for more.