Those aren’t questions with a connection to specific planets: they’re house-based questions. You can’t have a house as the subject of a sentence in the language of astrology, so you turn to the planet that rules the house. That planet can become the subject of a sentence and answer questions about the affairs of the house. In terms of grammar, the planet is a virtual pronoun, standing in for the house itself. This creates a different context for your interpretation.
The nature of the planet itself fades into the background. If you have Capricorn on the cusp of your 2nd house, Saturn is in charge of your finances. When you explore questions relating to the 2nd house, Saturn will be the subject of those sentences; however, Saturn will act as an agent, representing the 2nd house. In the context of these sentences, Saturn represents your money and resources, not boundaries, limitations, responsibility, and authority.
This approach is the foundation of horary and electional astrology, but it also has practical value in natal chart interpretation. This approach is two-dimensional, however. It ignores the nature of the planet, and the effects of the sign it occupies, and focuses exclusively on the connections the planet makes with other houses.
For example:
- if the ruler of the 2nd house is in the 4th house, it shows a connection between your 2nd house money and resources and your 4th house. The 4th house is where you encounter your money, suggesting that your money may come from your family (4th house), or perhaps from involvement in real estate (also 4th house).
- If the ruler of the 2nd is in the 5th house, you might encounter your money through your creativity, or through investments, which are essentially a form of gambling.
- If the ruler of the 2nd is in the 7th house, you encounter your money and resources in your partnerships and one-to-one relationships, so it might encourage you to marry rich.
You can take them even further, and consider any connections between two planets, including aspects, or influence on the Board of Directors, to describe connections between the houses ruled by the planets. We’ll put this to practical use when considering the connections between the relationship houses (5th house casual romantic partners, 7th house marriage partner, 11th house friends) and career houses (2nd house money, 6th house job, 10th house career). None of this should be too difficult to grasp, but that’s because I haven’t gotten to the big concept yet. Viewing the chart from a flat, two-dimensional perspective can show you important connections, but it won’t give you the whole picture.
You can pretend that Saturn, as the ruler of your 2nd house, only represents your money and resources, but that’s not the case. A natal chart never stops being three-dimensional, and Saturn never stops being Saturn. When Saturn rules your 2nd house, it’s actually Saturn — and more precisely, the specific Saturn in your chart — that represents your finances. And Saturn ruling your 2nd house gives you a completely different experience of money than you would have if Jupiter ruled your 2nd house.
So here’s the big concept: The planet that rules a house is that house. Even though you appreciate the three-dimensional nature of the natal chart, you always view it from the same vantage point, so you don’t see the whole shape of it. A cube has six sides, but you can only see three of them at a time. When you consider the chart from the vantage point of the house rulers, you get a different view of the connections in the chart. The blueprint template sentences that define the relationship between a planet, sign, house ruled and house occupied favor a point of view that shows the connections from one perspective. They’re practical, and accurate, but they only show you three sides of the cube. Often, that will be enough. But it’s important to understand how to change your point of view, and consider the hidden faces.
Remember, the process of interpreting a natal chart is much like the process of painting a portrait. A portrait is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional subject. You have to pick a point of view, which determines what you will include in the portrait, and what you will leave out. Most portrait artists pick a front view of the subject that includes the face, but doesn’t include the back of the head. However, the artist has to understand that the back of the head exists, and draw it without showing it. You can do the same thing when interpreting a natal chart by considering the relationship between a planet and the house(s) it rules from both the front and the back.
For example, if you’re interpreting your Sun, and Leo is on the cusp of your 2nd house, then the Sun is the ruler of your 2nd house. The blueprint template sentence shows the front view, that you will always seek to express your authentic “Big S” Self (Sun) with your money (Sun rules 2nd). The house the sun occupies tells you where you seek to express your authentic “Big S” Self, and the element, modality and sign of the Sun tells you how and why. But if you view this from the back, and start with the fact that the Sun rules your 2nd house, it means that the Sun, your authentic “Big S” Self, is your money and resources. Money is how you seek to express your identity, and it’s how you want to be a hero. The sign, element, and modality of the Sun will describe your attitude towards money, and how it shapes your identity, and the house the Sun occupies tells you where you seek to discover and express your authentic “Big S” Self through the medium of your money and resources. If the Sun rules the 9th house, then the back view suggests that your beliefs and philosophies are the way you express your authentic “Big S” Self. Because the 9th house relates to experiences that are unfamiliar and far away, if your Sun rules your 9th house, you may look far outside of yourself to find yourself. Of course, the house the Sun occupies determines where you will seek out new information and unfamiliar experiences. If the Sun, the ruler of the 9th house, occupies your 4th house, you’ll stay close to home, and look for the truth about your identity in your family history and ancestry; but if the Sun occupies your 7th house, you will look to other individuals to guide you on your quest.
You don’t need to consider this for every planet, in every context. Sometimes, the two-dimensional approach to the house ruler is sufficient. But considering the back view can add depth and dimension to your interpretations.
Kevin B. Burk
