The Twelve Houses
The third house governs siblings, short trips, how you talk and learn. Its natural sign is Gemini, but the sign on yours depends on your rising sign. Here is the full table, what a planet there does, and why an empty house is not a problem.
Houses are the part of astrology that needs a birth time, and the only part that does absolutely. Signs and planets can be worked out from a date. Houses cannot: they are built outward from the degree rising on the eastern horizon, which changes every four minutes. Without a birth time there are no houses at all, and a chart drawn without one will still show twelve of them, which is why so many people are reading houses that are not theirs.
In plain terms: communication and siblings. More fully, siblings, short trips, how you talk and learn.
Cadent houses are where things are processed and adapted. A planet here is less immediately obvious and often more interesting, because this is where a chart does its thinking. The third is cadent, so anything you have here operates that way.
This is the part that makes the house yours, and it is decided entirely by your rising sign. Find your rising sign in the table below and read across.
| If your rising sign is | Your 3rd house is | Which means |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | Gemini | Approaches communication and siblings the way Gemini does: curious and talkative |
| Taurus | Cancer | Approaches communication and siblings the way Cancer does: protective and intuitive |
| Gemini | Leo | Approaches communication and siblings the way Leo does: warm and generous |
| Cancer | Virgo | Approaches communication and siblings the way Virgo does: precise and helpful |
| Leo | Libra | Approaches communication and siblings the way Libra does: fair and charming |
| Virgo | Scorpio | Approaches communication and siblings the way Scorpio does: intense and private |
| Libra | Sagittarius | Approaches communication and siblings the way Sagittarius does: honest and adventurous |
| Scorpio | Capricorn | Approaches communication and siblings the way Capricorn does: responsible and ambitious |
| Sagittarius | Aquarius | Approaches communication and siblings the way Aquarius does: independent and inventive |
| Capricorn | Pisces | Approaches communication and siblings the way Pisces does: compassionate and imaginative |
| Aquarius | Aries | Approaches communication and siblings the way Aries does: direct and competitive |
| Pisces | Taurus | Approaches communication and siblings the way Taurus does: steady and sensual |
The planet that rules that sign becomes the ruler of your third house, and where that planet sits elsewhere in the chart is often more informative than anything inside the house itself. A third house ruler in the tenth, for example, connects communication and siblings to your public life.
Most houses in most charts are empty, and an empty house is not a missing part of a life. There are ten planets and twelve houses, so at least two are always empty and usually more. What a planet in a house does is give that department extra weight and a particular flavour.
| Planet | Governs | In the 3rd |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | identity and purpose | A life organised around communicating |
| Moon | feelings, needs and home | Needs conversation to feel settled |
| Mercury | thinking, speaking and learning | At home: this is Mercury's own house |
| Venus | love, beauty, money and worth | Charm in speech and writing |
| Mars | drive, anger and desire | Argues for sport, drives fast |
| Jupiter | growth, luck and belief | Learns constantly and talks a lot |
| Saturn | limits, work and maturity | Careful with words, often a slow start with reading or speech |
Gemini is called the natural ruler of the third house because the two describe the same territory: Gemini is an air sign in mutable mode, known for being curious, talkative, quick, and the third house is where communication and siblings happens. That correspondence is where the house's reputation comes from.
It is worth being clear that this does not mean your third house is Gemini. Only Gemini rising charts have Gemini on the first house and the natural order all the way round. For everybody else the houses are rotated. The natural association tells you what the house is about in general; the table above tells you how it works in your chart.
Two systems are in common use and they will give you different house positions for the same chart. Whole sign makes each house exactly one sign, which is what the table above uses and what most traditional practice uses. Placidus divides the sky unevenly by time, which means houses vary in size and a sign can be spread across two of them or skipped entirely.
Most apps default to Placidus without saying so. Neither is wrong, the argument is genuinely unresolved, and the practical advice is to pick one, learn it properly, and notice when a chart reads better in the other.
It governs siblings, short trips, how you talk and learn. Its natural sign is Gemini and it is a cadent house, which means it is where things are processed and adapted.
Nothing is wrong. There are ten planets and twelve houses, so empty houses are normal. The department is run by the sign on the house and by wherever that sign's ruler sits, rather than by a planet inside it.
It depends on your rising sign, not on your Sun sign. Using whole sign houses, count 2 signs forward from your rising sign. The table above lists all twelve.
Yes, and there is no way round it. Houses are built from the degree rising on the eastern horizon, which moves about one degree every four minutes. Without a birth time the houses in a chart are decoration.
The ninth house, which governs travel and belief. The two work as one axis and are usually read together.
RubyAstro writes about astrology for reflection and self-understanding. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice, and none of it is a prediction of events. Read our full disclaimer.
The Twelve HousesThe first house governs your appearance, your approach, your first move. Its natural sign is Aries, but the sign on yours depends on your rising sign. Here is the full table, what a planet there does, and why an empty house is not a problem.
The Twelve HousesThe second house governs money you earn, things you own, what you think you are worth. Its natural sign is Taurus, but the sign on yours depends on your rising sign. Here is the full table, what a planet there does, and why an empty house is not a problem.
The Twelve HousesThe fourth house governs home, family, the people who raised you. Its natural sign is Cancer, but the sign on yours depends on your rising sign. Here is the full table, what a planet there does, and why an empty house is not a problem.
Planets in HousesSun in the third house puts identity and purpose into the department of communication and siblings. Here is what it does, where it strains, and which sign that means for your rising sign.
Planets in HousesMoon in the third house puts feelings, needs and home into the department of communication and siblings. It is also the house Moon traditionally rejoices in. Here is what it does, where it strains, and which sign that means for your rising sign.
Planets in HousesMercury in the third house puts thinking, speaking and learning into the department of communication and siblings. Here is what it does, where it strains, and which sign that means for your rising sign.