Houses Discussion-General

[Shatril]

What house system(s) do you and why?

Does anyone think that the number of house systems might discredit astrology in any way? What if a person gets a natal report from one astrologer who says he has the Sun in the 8th house, but another astrologer, using a different system, says his Sun is in the 9th house?

I myself think that the 4 degrees before and after a house cusp is a shady area where both houses are present. In other words, the boundaries between houses overlap. This can solve most differences with the various house systems. I'd like to know what you think.

This was originally posted by Eric, a new student of astrology here at MW, in another thread. I think it deserved a thread of its own, and is a good place to start the houses discussions. I would like to see what responses we get here.

[KEishin]

Eric, welcome to the board!

I absolutely agree with about the shady area around each cusp. Other than the angles (where I'm a lot more interested in precision) I do tend to give a little flex to planetary placements.

Personally I use Placidus, but I'm considering a switch to Regiomontanus in the near future. My reason for currently using Placidus is simple - I like how my chart looks there. I don't believe that switching my 11H Mercury to the 10H describes my personality more accurately. However the difference between a time-based and space-based system has been giving me some gourmet food for thought, plus with my recent studies into horary, Regio is looking pretty attractive. (Now to find a house of tables . . . )

[plumedsnake]

I personally only use the houses very broadly and very lightly. I don't read too much into them. I take the contents of the first house and any rising planets and rising signs more importantly than the other houses.

[Eric Orion]

First, thank you all for liking my questions. I have been studying astrology for a few years, and am glad to be a part of this community where our ideas can be shared.
I use Placidus house system. I have a chart heavy in 8th house Scorpio, and that fits my personality and my life experiences well. Other house systems can put my planets in the 9th house, and that interpretation does not sound like me. I have experimented with different systems using many charts. I've even looked into the sidereal zodiac system and that did not provide much that seemed accurate.
So, I wonder, do the other house systems (and the sidereal zodiac) have any use? Perhaps different house systems are used for different purposes. KEishin, you mentioned that your study of horary led you to Regio. Is that a system specifically designed for horary? If so, then would I be right in saying that, while Placidus works well for the natal chart, other systems would be more suited for electional astrology, for interpreting transits and progressions, for re-location, etc.?

[Shatril]

I use placidus, because that is the system that was originally taught to me. At my age, trying to get my arms around something else has given me fits. Actually astrology is a life long learning process, and I'm already half done with this. I did experiment with my natal chart and the Kock Houses, and this gave me a reading that just didn't feel like me.

I have not studied other systems to know how they feel. I can see where some people might become confused and suspicious of astrologers when there are so many systems to choose from. I do think that sometimes on house system may work better for some and another system for others.

Shatril

[KEishin]

I've heard a lot about using the different systems for different purposes - in fcat my horary teacher told me to not use Placidus when casting that type of chart because it would skew the results. It does, but not a lot. But that can still make a huge difference to some questions.

We've had a couple of discussions here about tropical vs sidereal, but my *personal* observation is that tropical works best for natal and sidereal has a lot more appeal for predictive work (especially returns). Neither system is bunk, otherwise nobody would use them.