First (1st) House
The First Place/House of Self (aka the 'Hour-marker'/the 'Helm')
Appearance and Vitality
“One’s personality, the way one appears to others, physical appearance. Physical body, health, vitality . Traditionally associated with life expectancy through planets placed in the 1st house and through the ruler of the rising sign.”
Related to both the Spirit and the Body
“The 1st house is the place where Mercury has its joy, because it is the place where the sky and earth unite, and thus Mercury brings together what are seen as contrasting or opposing realms. The upper hemisphere of the chart that contains the sky seems to have been generally associated with the realm of spirit, while the lower hemisphere of the chart seems to have been associated with matter and the physical realm… The first place is unique from this perspective because when using the whole sign house system, part of it will be above the horizon in the realm of spirit , and part of it will be below the horizon in the realm of matter. As a result of this, the first place takes on signification related to both the spirit and the body of the native.”
The Early Environment and our Unique Identity
“The Ascendant shows the exact degree of the zodiacal sign which is rising over the eastern horizon at the time of birth. Coincident with the first independent breath we take, the Ascendant and 1st house proclaim the beginning of a cycle, the initial step or stage in the process of Becoming.”
“The sign on the Ascendant or any planet near the cusp of the 1st house often describes the individual’s experience of his or her birth… or conversely the effect of ‘one’s arrival on the scene.’ ”
“The 1st house denotes something about the atmosphere in the early environment. We normally encounter the placements in the 1st house in the highly formative early years of life.”
“The signs and planets in the 1st house indicate the kinds of functions which will be most valuable in the process of realizing our own unique identity. These are the tasks that we need to fulfil in order to more wholly unravel who we are. We cannot be complete until we have recognized, explored and developed these qualities.”
Howard Sasportas The Twelve Houses p.31-p.34
Resources: (#Associate Links)
Forrest, Steven. (1982). The Inner Sky. 2012. Borrego Springs, CA: Seven Paws Press, Inc.
Hand, Robert. (1981). Horoscope Symbols. 1981.PA: Whitford Press.
Newberg, Enid. (2010). Natal Astrology: An Introduction to Astrological Symbolism. 2010. Seattle Washington: Kepler College.
