The best way to explain the use of the houses of astrology is that once you learn how to do a birth chart you'll see what these mean to you. But imagine a wheel divided into 12 segments, and place the first house in the nine o'clock position. The houses then go counter-clockwise around the wheel. So then the second house goes in the eight o'clock position and so on. You can figure out what the houses mean to you by placing your Rising Sign or Ascendant next to the first house and then going counter-clockwise write the signs that follow.

Kinds of Houses - Houses are also divided into groups of three and help us also to see a picture of ourselves. Such as Angular, Succedent,and Cadent, these are groups of three.

Angular Houses These are the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth houses.
Here you will find something in the world (ex. fortune, honor, self)

Succedent Houses These are the second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh houses.
Here you will find stability.

Cadent Houses These are the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth houses.
Here you will find communication.

1ST HOUSE
The 1st House coincides with spring and unfolding energy of Self. The 1st represents the development of our personality and radiating outwardly from our root-environment. It is an Angular House, so would be one demanding our attention, and the planets within the House are very important as are the aspects to the Ascendant which is the 1st House cusp. The 1st is the "I am" House. It is the House of Self, personality, temperament, appearance and health.

2ND HOUSE
The 2nd House is a House of strengthening, creation of form and preservation. This is a Succedent House, that indicates our potential future goals. Preservation and strengthening come from having security and faith in our earning capabilities, and for that we need personal resources. This is covered by the 2nd House. In the 2nd we find finance, possessions, ethical principles, and gain or loss in material items.

3RD HOUSE
The 3rd House represents our mental attitude, communication, and thought processes. It also represents our relationship with our immediate environment, including neighbors, relatives and those people we meet everyday. This is a Cadent House showing where we learn. The third house also governs education, journeys and writing.

4TH HOUSE
The 4th House represents our relationship with our parental home and roots. It is where we should feel comfortable. It shows how our family of origin contributes to our own Self. With the 4th, we have an Angular House, that shows an area of direct action on the emotional and depth of soul level. It is our most private area of the chart.

5TH HOUSE
The 5th House represents our attitude toward life itself, towards expression of Self. It is the House of children, speculation, creativity and risk. All things that are part of our self-expression. It is a Succedent House, dealing with identity and security, security being our own sense of well-being.

6TH HOUSE
The 6th House represents health and sickness. It also represents our ability to be of service in some way. It is associated with how we stabilize ourselves and fulfill our needs in the practical world. And it is also a Cadent House, where we may learn a lot about teamwork and cooperation.

7TH HOUSE
The 7th House represents unions and partnerships. It is where we may have to learn by learning how to balance our Self with others we may emotionally commit to in life. It is an Angular House, symbolizing action. Through unions we learn how to be fair, and maintain harmony. This isn't just a `marriage' House, it represents important people in our lives who we draw to us.

8TH HOUSE
The 8th House represents how we may struggle for survival, and how we endure and persevere. It deals with secret deals, sex, death, and inheritance. It is a Succedent House dealing with security issues and in this case part of that security involves joint holdings with others. Sometimes we enter this House, and struggle with important Self (emotional) issues, but emerge with a lot of emotional stability through the life lessons we endure here.

9TH HOUSE
The 9th House represents further education and travel, philosophies of life and our journey of the spiritual side of life. It is a Cadent House, so it is a learning one. In the 9th we are expanding our Self and our identity out into the world. We are learning who we are and in the process increasing our self-awareness.

10TH HOUSE
The 10th House represents achievement, profession, recognition and popularity and our image that goes out into the world, and higher. This is an Angular House calling for action, but also calling for attaining security on a material level. We do this through our career, or our vocation and we also do it by working hard. This is a serious House, that calls for a lot of endurance, patience and consciousness of objective.

11TH HOUSE
The 11th House represents our wishes and hopes. It is also a Succedent House, indicating security -- and in this case that may come with identity we build through our relationships or social interaction. The wishes and hopes that may provide security are involved with our own individual purpose. With this House, we may wait and see blossoming later in life to then fulfill those needs by following our own interests.

12TH HOUSE
The 12th House represents the Cadent learning on the emotional and soul level. Often this is the strongest learning we may do, because it involves solitude or inner receptivity. It is our gradual growth and awareness. We see lessons to overcome, dreams to grasp from our subconscious, illnesses to overcome, and hidden agendas. This `closet' House may be one of the most difficult to enter, but one of the most rewarding to understand.