posted July 17, 2005 02:40 PM              

House Systems .... ( from book )
****
There are several systems for dividing the birthchart int houses. Astrologers still argue about which is the most accurate .. and the astronomical arguments for prefering one to another are extremely complicated. The two most commonly used in the UK and USA are the Equal House and Placidius House systems.
The Equal system is the simplest to operate since it divides the zodiac into houses of exactly 30 degrees .. starting from the degree of the ascendant. However it also alows the MC/IC axis ( midheaven / descendant ) .. to 'float' anywhere between the 8th / 2nd and 11th / 5th houses. Critics point out that given their signifigance as Angles .. the MC and IC should always mark the cusps of the 10th and 4th house respectively .
The Placidius system answers this criticism .. but in doing so raises another problem. Because it works out the house divisions according to the observed movement of the heavens .. calculations for latitudes near the Poles causes some houses to grow exceptionally large .. while others can disappear altogether .. and even where it does work the Placidius system creates houses of unequal size .. allowing planets to fall in houses different to those calculated using the Equal system ..
.. the only answer is to spend some time experimenting with both systems ..

posted July 17, 2005 04:44 PM              

The houses of the horoscope are shown in the chart wheel as "pie" shaped divisions.
The 12 houses in a chart are determined by the exact clock time of birth. The houses
represent a more physical plane area of of life, whereas the sign describes an approach.
For example: the 7th house is marriage and partners.
The sign Libra acts diplomatically and seeks fairness and justice.

There are at least a dozen or more house systems used by astrologers according to
personal preference. Given below are explanations for the most popular of these.
The following paragraphs are condensed explanations of the various house systems
offered at Sky View Zone.

Equal House System:

A simple, yet highly effective system, this was the method that the ancients used
before the various unequal houses systems developed. Any table of houses may be
used because once the ascendant degree is discovered, the divisions of the chart wheel
are equally divided with the same degree as the ascendant on each house cusp. The signs
on the cusps then follow in order around t he wheel beginning with the rising sign. There
are no intercepted signs in equal houses and therefore each sign is represented on a particular
house cusp. The Equal house system does not create very large or small houses that become
even more pronounced the higher the northern or southern latitudes used to calculate
the chart.

Placidus House System:

Developed by Placidus (c.1688) and long popular for it's intrinsic value, the Placidus house system
came into wide favor because for a long time the Placidean Tables of Houses was most easily obtainable.
Placidus is an unequal house system. Depending on the latitude used, a Placidus chart may have
entire signs contained in a house, known as intercepted signs. As with most unequal systems,
charts drawn for higher latitudes often have houses that are either very small or very large, with
houses being more "equal" in size, the closer to the equator the latitude for the chart is.

Koch House System:

A house system developed by Dr. Walter Koch that is considered by many unequal house
advocates to generate the most accurate house cusps, especially for forecast timing using
planet transits to the natal chart. First presented in 1964, Koch is one of the newest house
systems quickly gaining favor with astrologers. The same intercepted signs and unequal divisions
occur as with most unequal house systems. The difference between the various house systems is
mainly the actual degree and minute on the house cusps according to the Tables of Houses
used to generate the calculations.

Sun-on-the-ascendant:

This house system is used when the time of birth is unknown. Rather than just creating
a natural chart beginning with Aries on the Ascendant which is basically a futile exercise
chart-wise, the Sun-on-the-ascendant method simply uses the individual's Sun sign and
degree as the chart starting point; in other words the cusp of the first house. The rest of
the planets are then placed into the resulting houses as usual. The information derived,
is about 65% to 70% accurate with respect to the individual's life experience as far as the
planet in house interpretations. All other planet in sign and the aspects interpretations
remain the same as a regular chart reading as far as accuracy. The exact Moon sign and
house placement is most at risk for being "off" when the birth time is entirely unknown,
because the Moon is by far the fastest moving factor and it's quite possible that it may have
changed signs at some point on the date on birth. It is definitely better to use this system for
unknown birth times with an awareness of the drawbacks, rather than create a false chart using
one of the above house systems. The chart is then read mostly with an emphasis on the
characteristics of the Sun, since the Sun is considered to be such a major chart factor,
especially in western astrology.

posted July 18, 2005 08:52 AM              

Love

posted July 18, 2005 10:47 AM              

Below I quoted some statement I recently read that kinda make sense to me.

quote:

---

I cannot see how anyone can continue to use unequal houses after know about the trouble with Northern lattitudes. I think that the problem lies not with the astrology but with the person. You see most of the astrologers I know are not adventuress and have not traveled widely. They live in a small contained area and cannot think outside that area. Although I live in Australia which like the USA is a country full of immigrants most of the immigrants I know have lived here since before they started in astrology. Now Australia extends almost to the equator and so if these astrologers have only done charts for Australians then Placidus is very close to equal or can be. In most cases they have never even tried a chart for a Norwegian or Swedish person so they really have no contrasting examples. Most of them feel that Placidus works in most of the charts they have looked at so why should they change. They are not in many cases even adventuress mentally . That's my opinion in any case.

---

quote:

---

It shows a true picture of the sky at a certain moment, with the planets at the right distance from eachother (in length).

---

I've been told that part of the reason for its popularity is that it was the Placicus house system was being used when the printing press came out, also I read that it was being used by an astrologer that printed the first astrology magazines, thus just making it accepted.

posted July 18, 2005 01:45 PM              

Whats weird is somethings work out in equal and somethings work out better in placidus. So i have been confused at to which on to use consistently. When LaLaLinda looked at my chart, her words were "I'm cross eyed after looking at your chart" - LoL ... but not really LoL cause it leaves me confused as to which to use!?!?!?

My boyfriend was born in NJ and the Placidus seems to work out pretty good for him.