System of Houses: Spheres of Life affected by Influences System of Houses: Spheres of Life System of Houses

The most important feature of the Birth Chart, is the calculation of astrological Houses. The planets provide with an influence, but the influence is directed towards a particular sphere of life. These spheres of life are indicated by houses, which are not named but numbered from 1 to 12.
 
The 12 Houses are introduced in the table below:

	House 1: Self
	The first house represents our "outer self", how we present ourselves to the world - the Ascendant, or the Rising Sign of an individual.
	House 2: Values and Possessions
	The second house (and its occupants) represents our acquisitive urge to material means, and how we deal with possessions - including our own body.
	House 3: Communication
	The third house (and its occupants) represents our manner of communication, and the relationships (like siblings) that represent our daily life.
	House 4: Roots and Origins
	The fourth house (and its occupants) represents our origin, the circumstances influencing childhood and youth, and how we relate to "family" and "hearth and home".
	House 5: Pleasure and Creativity
	The fifth house (and its occupants) represents our creative expression, sexuality and eroticism. It describes how we relate to children, pleasure and simple fun.
	House 6: Work and Routine
	The sixth house (and its occupants) represents the circumstances surrounding us in our daily lives, including the work environment and daily routine. Relation with subordinates, and bodily hygiene and care also belong here.
	House 7: Relating
	The seventh house (and its occupants) represents our selection of partners, and describes the partnerships and relationships we seek.
	House 8: Loss and Common Property
	The eighth house (and its occupants) represents our attitude to common goods, and how we deal with material loss. It has an affinity to death, which is the ultimate material loss.
	House 9: Philosophies and Far Countries
	The ninth house (and its occupants) represents our spiritual learning, philosophy of life, and views of the world - often influenced by journeys to foreign countries.
	House 10: Occupation and Calling
	The tenth house (and its occupants) represents our choice of profession, our sense of calling, and has an influence what we become.
	House 11: Friends and Acquaintances
	The eleventh house (and its occupants) represents how we relate to friends, benefactors and teachers - people who wish us well or from whom we can learn. This house also signifies our relation with the society we live in.
	House 12: Beyond the Personal
	The twelfth house (and its occupants) represents those spheres of life that is beyond our control, where we step back for a greater whole or lose ourselves in one. This house describes ourselves in hospitals, prisons, psychiatric institutions, monasteries and any other retreats.

 
The 4th House also signifies "motherly image", and our relation with our real mother; the 10th House also signifies "fatherly image", and our relation with our real father; while the 12th House also signifies our soul, and how we deal with our guilt and deep emotions.
 
There are many formulations for calculating the 12 astrological houses, based on different schools of thoughts - from equal divisions to varying degrees. The easiest to understand for basic learning is the equal division, starting from the Ascendant. For Sun Sign astrology, the Natal Sun is considered as the beginning of the 1st House.