SECRETS OF THE FIRST HOUSE: THE ORIGINAL SELFIE PART 1
As an astrologer, I often cringe at the generalizations that people make about rising signs. When I met a woman at a party I told her I was a Scorpio moon and Scorpio rising. She started coming onto me as if I was going to be an exciting sexual conquest. To her disappointment, my Scorpio is more connected to its secondary ruler, Ketu and I am a monk at heart. People are complex strands of DNA and a good astrologer should be able to read this. We should not reduce people to stereotypical labels when they are highly gifted, complex and varied. There are many techniques to work with the rising sign to show this.
Many think the mind is in the 1st house but it is more like the intelligence or the operating system for the whole chart. The mind and its various aspects are all over the chart:
- The 1st house is the alert mind and the intelligence.
- The 3rd house is the lower or negative mind that expresses aggression, sexual urges and basic desires.
- The 4th house is the seat of happiness and the heart and our emotional nature.
- The 5th house is spiritual mind
- The 6th house is the unconscious mind
- The 8th and 12th houses are connected to the transcendent area of the mind that is part of our mystical realm.
One of the secrets of the 1st house is where the lord of the house is placed. The sign where the chart lord is place takes on a dominant energy. So my Scorpio Rising ruled by Ketu and Mars with Ketu in Gemini gives me more Gemini energy than Scorpio energy really. With my Mars in Aries, I really have more Aries qualities than Scorpio qualities. If you are Capricorn rising and Saturn in Cancer you may have more Cancer energy than you think but it may be distorted issues around security.
The first house is the physical body and its expression into the world. It is the operating system of the software. If it is strong and its owner is strong the intelligence can integrate and operate in the world. If it is weak, it is like owning Windows 2.0 then every new software and things that it encounters is more difficult to get working. Our appearance, personality and how we approach life are all seen from this house. As John Frawley in The Real Astrology says, it is “the title-page of the chart,” with all the other houses expanding and amplifying its text.
One of the secrets of the 1st house is that planets in the first house, particularly when they are strong may take over the ascendant and dominate the personality. Planets in houses are often more dominant than the ruler of the house—particularly if they are stronger.
PLANETS IN THE FIRST HOUSE:
SUN: People are usually attracted to Sun in the first house particularly if it has dignity in Pisces, Sagittarius or Leo or Scorpio. It gives one vitality, leadership, a healthy look and self-confidence. When the Sun is afflicted it can create a strong ego and overbearing nature that may burn people up. In Aries, it is too powerful and can overwhelm people with its power.
MOON: The moon in the first house thrusts people into the public and makes them a public figure. When having dignity connected to Jupiter or Venus or in Cancer, Taurus or Pisces or Sagittarius, it is gentle and loving. When afflicted in Scorpio or connected to Saturn it may be needy or lack confidence and be how. People with Moon in the 1st often have round and warm face and larger eyes. When afflicted they may spend too much time pleasing others. They may be too emotional and can get out of balance easily.
MARS: When Mars has dignity in Aries and Sagittarius and Leo, it is ambitious, competitive and energetic. When afflicted it will come off as pushy aggressive and selfish. Mars when afflicted in the first needs to stop hurrying and be more patient or they may run people over with their power. Still this position is good for passion and enthusiasm particularly in Taurus and Libra and Sagittarius. will usually be quite competitive.
MERCURY: Mercury gains strength in the first house because its located in the head to capable to bring out its intellectual capacity and deep curiosity about life. It will particularly do well in Gemini and Virgo and Libra and Taurus but will be too argumentative in Aries and Scorpio. In Pisces it may be too talkative and have too much intellectual energy and be too scattered to be in balance.
JUPITER: Also gains strength in the first house and make people ethical, interested in religion and spiritual philosophy and generally friendly and good with relationship. They tend to be optimistic and expansive. Cancer, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Leo and Aries are particularly strong but people with Jupiter in Libra, Taurus or Capricorn or Aquarius may be falsely optimistic and be unable to see fine details.
VENUS: Venus in the first house makes people charming and having pleasant manners and easily lovable. Particularly strong in Pisces, Libra, Taurus, Gemini and even Sagittarius. Still when afflicted in other signs it may be prone to laziness, sensual excess and comprising rather than standing up for what they believe.
SATURN is one of the more difficult positions to have in the 1st house as fear does not belong in the head and needs to be ground in the base chakra in Capricorn. If Saturn is poorly placed in Aries or Leo and Cancer or Scorpio, they native may be sullen, grouchy, fearful, hurried and anxious. Individuals may seem mature or older than they appear and may have prominent teeth. Still if there is dignity in Capricorn, Aquarius, Taurus or Libra, they may excel in administration and become more successful in later life. Jimmy Carter had Saturn and Libra and was successfully but never liked much which is one of the drawbacks of this difficult position. .
RAHU: Rahu in the 1st house with having dignity can make one charismatic and eccentric and be very self-centered and wanted to grab the lime-light and seek attention. I call it the rock-star syndrome in craving attention and desiring fame. Still with dignity in Taurus or Gemini or Libra it can lead to great self-knowledge but when lacking dignity in Scorpio or Sagittarius or Capricorn, it can be very unpredictable and have heavy psychological baggage which can lead to addictive behavior and being too radical and showing up as an outsider.
KETU: These people usually struggle with low self-esteem and low self-confidence and may seem invisible in a group. They are very self-deprecatory and aware of every one of their personality flaws and love to be lost in the crowd. With dignity in the signs of Scorpio, Sagittarius or Pisces they will be particularly spiritual and intuitive. Ketu in the 1st house can bring a quiet sense of composure and suggest a inner contemplative quality.
Transits of the above planets through the 1st house will also enliven many of the qualities above.
In Part 2 we will go into a deeper analysis of all the microscopic elements one should examine with the first house.
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR HIDDEN FLAWS AND UNCONSCIOUS PATTERN AS : HIDDEN PATTERNS AND BLOCKS
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Note: Peoples charts and transits are very individual and we write general articles that maybe useful to all our readers. In reality, Vedic astrology is very much like reading very specific strands of DNA.
Picture of me talking at United Astrology Conference on Friday.
