What are houses?

The twelve houses are the where of the chart. If the signs describe how a planet expresses itself, the houses show where that energy lands, the arena of life it fills. Each house covers a different domain, such as identity, money, communication, home, work, or career, and a planet sitting in a house pours its energy into that part of life. Venus in the second house brings its love of beauty to money and possessions, while Venus in the ninth brings it to travel and belief. The houses come from the horizon at the exact time and place of birth, which is why an accurate birth time matters so much. The first house begins at the Ascendant, the point rising on the eastern horizon, and the rest are numbered counter-clockwise from there. The sign on each house cusp, and any planet inside, colors how that area of life unfolds. A house with no planets still carries meaning, governed by the sign on its cusp. Together the twelve map the full territory of a life.