Part One: An Introduction to the 1st House & the Ascendant, First House Astrology Series
| September 22, 2011 | Filled under Astrology, 1st, Angles, Ascendant, Houses |
The first house is the house of self. It’s the house of Me, myself, and I Inc. What I want, what I can do on my own, what I might not see about myself (blind-spot) but others see. This house is attached to the angle called the Ascendant, ASC, or AC. This angle is our entrance into this world, how we make an – our entrance, first impressions, physical expression, how we look physically — facial expression, mannerisms, body shape, etc.
Unlike its opposite 7th house, the 1st house projects an image that the native may not readily accept, pay attention to, or recognize in themselves or others.
The first house is what the native puts out there, extroverts but doesn’t take back in (reflect back). The native doesn’t care whether you do their first house or not. Others are seen as separate and distinct. The native does what they do and others do what they do and while it could be the same, there’s no meshing in the native’s mind.
The ascendant protects the native. Once the native understands their chart, they can interact with others strategically and in a way that helps them succeed in life.
Going against one’s ascendant and sharing the Sun or Moon can set up the native for attacks, abuse, or misuse. This isn’t the seventh house, it’s the FIRST. However, it’s this astrologers opinion, that the ultimate goal is that the native blends their Sun, Moon, and Ascendant with discernment. And that all chart oppositions, in this case — the first and seventh houses are also blended.
On the other hand, without a solid understanding and activation of their ascendant, letting anyone into the inner world (from the first house) can prove unfortunate. This is why a harmonious trine aspect from the Sun & Moon to the Ascendant proves fortunate. Why? Because lets say the native is a Sun Gemini and their ascendant is a Libra. They are still exhibiting ‘air-like’ qualities and they are also exhibiting many of the inner Sun qualities without giving it all away.
So for protection and worldly success, think of the ascendant as a virtue, your chastity — abstinence from intimacy, imbuing civility, enacting temperance.
But if the goal is to be intimate with another / others, the native will want to release their inner self (Sun, Moon) if it’s disharmonious from their outer self (the ascendant) or if they haven’t managed to blend the 3 major parts of themselves with discernment. If they don’t share their inner self in this situation, down the road a lot of confusion or dislike from others feeling as if the native has misrepresented themselves is likely to occur. But remember it’s best that intimacy is shared in the 7th and not in the 1st. So the native will want to make a conscious decision on who they want to bring into their inner circle (the Sun being the center of the chart!) and it’s helpful if they do this on the sidelines, out of harm’s way.
About the 1st House.
- Ruled by Mars (Aries, Scorpio). An angular house.
- House Axis: 1 /7 Polarity
- Your Ascendant becomes your chart ruler and it touches everything, for better or worse, in your chart.
- Aspect / Planet – Sign: (Aries, Scorpio) Mars Opposition Venus (Libra, Taurus) The JMAD Swap: Mars Libra / Taurus ~ Venus Aries / Scorpio. In fall. Aries is in Sextile with Gemini (the 3rd house) and Aquarius (11th house) — detached friendships and separate communication. These houses stimulate and piggy-back off of each other. The 1st house is also in harmony (trine) with the 5th (non-committal dating and re/pro-creation) and 9th house (the higher mind, philosophy, etc.). Animals of Mars: Woodpecker and Wolf
- Everyone has 1st house themes. This is the House of Self or when house ownership is taken, it can be viewed as Self for Other.Â
- 1st House: Me, Self, I. Seventh House: You, Other, Us.Â
- House Themes: Outer Appearance, Initiative, Self-relationship, Self-development, Physical Expression, Physical Strength, Attracting & Winning.
1st House Themes
- House of Outer Appearance: Your act. What’s your act? What’s your outer modus operandi? How you look. What your energy or aura gives off. Your hair, face and body features. What you don’t or didn’t readily accept about yourself even though it is / was blatantly obvious to others. The first impression, first sparks fired. What you feel comfortable in showing even if you don’t want to. How you protect your love nature, soft side, inner core, inner self, vulnerabilities. This theme is also connected to the 2nd house.
- House of Initiative: Areas where you like to take initiative. What you can start on your own. How hard or easy it is for you to move forward and activate your desires. What you will fight for. The actions we take to cope and deal with what we perceive is our life.
- House of Self-Relationship: What you do for yourself and why. How you focus on and look after yourself. How you spend your time alone. What interests us. How self-interested you are. Your selfishness.
- House of Physical Expression: How you dress. The types of clothes or fashion styles you like. Your facial expression and body language.
- House of Physical Strength: Vitality. How one withstands pressures on one’s body. This theme is also connected to the 12th house and indicates how healthy you are, and were upon entrance into and your exit out of the world.
- House of Self-Development: What you do. The types of careers or employment that attracts you. What you concern yourself about. Behaviors used to work towards your Sun sign. What you need to move away from to reach wholeness. A caregiver’s Sun sign or element (especially as related to your chosen career, educational pursuits, or self-development) might be found in your rising sign. This theme is also connected to the 4th house.
- House of Winning & Attracting: Areas where you can succeed and can win with force or overwhelming action. What, how, and where you attract those you pursue. Dynamic and sparkling attributes you possess. This theme is also connected to the 10th house. What you need to act, and succeed.
Planned articles for the First:
- Elaboration of 1st house themes.
- Manifestation of 1st house themes within each sign, planet.
- Misunderstandings from self and other within the 1st house.
- How-to overcome 1st house challenges. (This was addressed a bit in the opening paragraphs. Idea: Ask to see their chart or what their Sun or Moon is in, for example, and check that against how they are presenting themselves in the world.)
What others say…
Molly Hall | Dana Gerdhardt | Ares, Greek God of War | Mars, Roman God of War | Yahoo Answers
Aries-Scorpio side note: “Mars’ festivals were held in March, the month named for him (Latin Martius), and in October, which began and ended the season for military campaigning and farming.” and “Mars was the son of Juno alone. Jupiter had usurped the mother’s function when he gave birth to Minerva ( Isabel Hickey alluded in her book, Cosmic Science, that Pluto could also be called Minerva “Pluto or Minerva, the Choice is Yours“. And apparently staff of the Flagstaff observatory suggested Cronus and Minerva in addition to Pluto) directly from his forehead (or mind); to restore the balance, Juno sought the advice of the goddess Flora on how to do the same. Flora obtained a magic flower (Latin flos, plural flores, a masculine word) and tested it on a heifer who became fecund at once. She then plucked a flower ritually using her thumb, touched Juno’s belly, and impregnated her. Juno withdrew to Thrace and the shore of Marmara for the birth.” and “The bird of Mars also guarded a woodland herb (paeonia) used for treatment of the digestive or female reproductive systems; those who sought to harvest it were advised to do so by night, lest the woodpecker jab out their eyes.”. Source. These points would indicate Aries ruled by Mars with Mars co-ruling Scorpio . 🙂
Questions: What’s in your first house? If nothing is in it, what is in your 1st house cusp? What have you experienced as 1st house themes? Anything else you want to share about the 1st house?
PERSONAL NOTES:
This post was very hard for me to write. It’s been in draft for awhile now, with me adding bits and pieces to it over the last month or so. I have an intercepted rising (1st house) in Capricorn but I feel like I have an Aquarius rising too. Chart ruler is Saturn and at times Uranus. And even though I have my Sun & Mars in Leo and therefore Aquarius does shine through those signs as well from time-to-time, I have an empty 11th house and only a Part of Fortune in Aquarius. Therefore, I feel confident that an intercepted sign acts similar to a sign or house cusp. So I have both Aquarius and Capricorn first house themes; however, I would say that Capricorn generally wins out.
My chart is Public Other so I have a bad habit of not thinking about myself enough and my own self-development as it relates to me. I have historically concerned myself with how I can better myself for others (Sun/Mars in the 7th). And how I can become more well-liked. With Sun Inconjunct Ascendant, my outer projection does not reflect my inner truth so that often leads to confusion and dislike when I attempt to share both. It’s not currently a good blend!
I’m learning to share less, more often until I sync up my stuff. Hopefully that will help and writing this article opened my eyes to what I was doing incorrectly. Also when I finished writing up my article, I was delighted to see the house that Dana G. had in her article. I had already picked mine months ago and it was a nice “on the right track” feeling. The Lighthouse is a good pick but after what I have learned contemplating this house more deeply, I wonder if there might be a better ‘house’ to represent the first house. Time will tell…
I’m sure I could and hopefully will write more about the first house after reading these three books dedicated to The Ascendant by Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant, Your Karmic Doorway by Martin Schulman, and The Rising Sign, Your Astrological Mask by Jeanne Avery. I look forward to being further inspired!
Update (not due to reading the above books) — October 4, 2011:
Having a discussion in a group about the ascendant. My ascendant is Capricorn.
For me… I now know I AM serious, hard-working, achievement oriented, and concerned about appearances (more-so before I accepted this about me) but these are not *preferred* ways of being. I did own my interest in business. Heck, I went to school for business and I’m the daughter of a business-man.
I have managed other people’s businesses and I have founded and operated my own. But I prefer being a happy, dappy, artsy Leo. When I worked corporate and I was heading off for a break or leaving to go home, people thought I was “just starting work”. I didn’t have the look of “off duty”. When I was younger, I looked older and now I look younger. When I was younger, my Sun shone through a lot more.
The problem is that my world (as an adult) doesn’t support my Sun — at least not right now. For example, if others wouldn’t think they could get away with things — then I wouldn’t have to pull the ‘strict’ card. Or if others would be responsible and not just think about themselves, I wouldn’t desire to enact some sort of ‘disciplinary’ action that I have the right (ie contract agreements) to enact.
I want others to self-manage, self-discipline, self-reflect, self-motivate, self-regulate, etc… but if they won’t… who do you think is going to take care of business? My warm, playful, inspirational Leo Sun or the strict, stern, business-minded Capricorn ascendant? 🙂
Of course, as I grow to accept and understand my ascendant more… I will hire and surround myself around more people who reflect my goals and desires — my ascendant, so I don’t have to DO my ascendant. And that’s one more reason why astrology rocks — the opportunity to *know* what’s going on and tools and knowledge to fix what isn’t working.
So I feel our ascendant is what we need or believe we need to survive and protect ourselves in this Saturnian world. Then again, my chart is Saturn ruled so I might have some bias here. But what most people see about me, IS correct — at least on the surface. It just wasn’t something I owned at some point, is not the whole truth, nor likely what I want to project.
To add, my Leo can be bossy and take the lead with confidence… in other words, I know how to tell people (those that have agreed to take direction from me) what to do and with ease (even if I rather not) but that isn’t the same as being strict and disciplinarian which is (in my mind) very much my Capricorn ascendant.
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