Excerpts from my birthchart

“The Sky Within,” by Steven Forrest - Koch System of Interpretation
Astro.com birthchart – Placidus System
Astrology Revealed, by Paul Fenton – Koch System


Note:

The Koch System of Interpretation divides the Houses equally, while the Placidus system is based on unequal house divisions and degrees.

Due to this differing interpretive style, House positions for Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto vary, but sign placement is not effected. Since five of the nine planets are cusp, I have incorporated elements from each interpretation, as both interpretations are accurate. Information provided from “The Sky Within,” by Steven Forrest is in normal type, excerpts from Astrology Revealed, by Paul Fenton-Smith is in bold type, and information from Astro.com is italicized.

Sun, Capricorn, 1st House

“First House energies ‘act out’ a lot. They’re a visible, dramatic, well-developed part of your nature. For that reason, there is a part of your life where people think you have a real gift for leadership. They’re right—but it doesn’t always feel that way to you. How to get it right? Easy—trust your instincts. Be yourself. A good plot proceeds from a sound, coherent character.

With your Sun in the First House, there’s a lot of punch to your style. People tend to be impressed by you, to remember you. In fact, you sometimes have to make an effort to avoid overwhelming them. That charisma and apparent self-assurance masks the evolutionary issue you face: Creating a destiny. Because, unlike most people, you were born without one! The ‘hand of fate’ plays a minimal role in your life. There’s a frightening freedom built into this solar position. It all boils down to the words of St. Augustine, ‘Love God, and do what you will.’”

Moon, Cancer, 7th House

“There are two parts to understanding the Seventh House. The first is whatever energies you have in this part of your birth chart represent lessons you’re learning about empathy, trust, and commitment. The second is that those same planetary energies describe the people who’ll provide the lessons. They may be mates or lovers. They may be best friends. They may be colleagues of business associates. They may even be ‘worthy opponents.’

With the Moon in the Seventh House, you’ve shoved the most vulnerable part of your psychological self right into the hornet’s nest: The perilous world of intimacy! You bring tremendous empathy and caring into your love life; you also bring all your wounds and tender places.”
“The Moon, the Earth’s satellite, was found in the Seventh House at the time of your birth. Exciting romance may occur at an early stage of life. We must warn you, however, that unless modified by further interpretations, the marital partner has fluctuating affections. You’re also one of those who throughout marriage manifest a great variety of personality roles and who seldom shows in intimacy his real nature.”

Sun in Capricorn, Moon in Cancer

“This astrological combination indicates a sensitive individual who is vulnerable to external influences. Your general life outlook is one of economy and prudence. You find fulfillment in home life and there are good prospects for possessions, fame, and reputation. Emotionally, you tend to concentrate, conserve, and utilize energy, as well. You constantly relive experiences in an effort to organize your life and achieve a unity of will. The key to a more harmonious existence lies in heeding your individuality and just opinions.”

Ascendant, Capricorn, 1st House, Saturn in Second House

“There’s a privacy about Capricorn. A solitude. You need time to yourself. Too many social responsibilities wear you out, take away your ease. At the same time, you need to guard against locking yourself up inside a fortress of apparent self-sufficiency. That’s the road to loneliness.”

“Capricorn tends to a life full of difficulties, which forces you to exert all your resources in order to triumph. Because of your tact and prudence, you will be favored with the good will of important people. Your mind is egocentric, rational, and you have a natural tendency toward skepticism. Able to work hard, you will bear obstacles and frustrations with patience.


You will proceed with prudence in your love life and all other activities. You will seriously consider all of the ramifications of marriage, especially the aspects of your independence, and you will not marry until you are sure of your choice. After marriage however, there is a tendency to conduct a peaceful and quiet life. You are very economical in your daily activities, and if you do not exert some control over this trait, it could appear as rather mean.”


Sun conjunct Ascendant

“The Sun conjunct Ascendant shows you have a great desire for recognition and are creative in finding ways to gain attention. In general, you are uncompromising. You have great faith in your ability to rise above any of life’s negative circumstances. You know how to use your vast creative resources in a direct assault against any adversary, and you believe that eventually you will succeed. Most often you do, but when challenged by stiff competition, you will resort to brute force to demonstrate that you do not give in without a fight. You know how to win friends and influence people, and you use this talent effectively.”

Saturn, Pisces, 2nd House

“With Saturn here, you build faith in yourself brick by brick through taking on long-term, often solitary, projects that ask for everything you can do. Depending on the tone of the rest of your birth chart, that could mean anything from medical school to a solo trek across Greenland by dog sled. You weren’t born with a lot of faith in yourself, but you were born with the ability to earn it.”

Venus, Aquarius, 2nd and 1st House (Combined interpretation)

“Traditionally the Second House is the House of Money. That’s true, but the issues here are much broader. This is the House of Resources, and resources aren’t always financial. If you’re lost in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, at two in the morning, you’ll probably feel pretty insecure. If you have $1000 in your pocket, that’ll help; you’ll feel more legitimate. The money is a resource, and it produces the classic Second House effect: Helping you feel more confident. But speaking fluent Serbo-Croatian would do the same; knowing the language is a terrific resource, even though no one will give you a nickel for it.

Your Second House energies feel awkward, as if everyone is staring at them. Dignity and self-esteem are the issues here. The solution isn’t some ‘We all God’s chillin’’ formula for uncritical self-love. Instead, it’s a process of recognizing your deficiencies objectively and seeking to correct them: Proving yourself to yourself, in other words.

Venus is the part of your mental circuitry that’s concerned with releasing tension and maintaining harmony. Its focus is always peace, inwardly and outwardly. As such, it represents your aesthetic functions—your taste in colors, sounds, and forms. Why? Because the perception of beauty soothes the human heart. Venus is also tied to your affiliative functions—your romantic instincts, your sense of courtesy, and diplomacy, your taste in friends. Invariable, this planet has one goal; Sustaining your serenity in the face of life’s onslaughts.


Venus was passing through Aquarius. Thus, both your aesthetic sensitivity and your taste in partners are shaped by the rule-smashing spirit of the Exile. In the realm of beauty, whether natural or wrought by human hands, you have a taste for the unexpected, for the shocking—and a corresponding contempt for hackneyed themes. The same goes for friends and sexual partners—you appreciate independent individuals with spunk and novel perspectives, people who are willing to let you be yourself without fear of knee-jerk criticism.

With Venus in your Second House, you prove yourself to yourself in two basic ways. The first lies in trusting your creativity enough to invest in it. The second is to cultivate and refine your personal attractiveness—but there’s more to that than finding a new hair stylist! Be yourself in the most inspired way you can imagine…that’s the essence of it.”


(Venus, 1st House, Aquarius)

“Those with Venus in Aquarius can seem to be detached emotionally. They can feel more at home with a group of people than spending time solely with their partners. Freedom is of paramount importance for people with this placement. They resist being possessed and prefer partners who are also their friends. Friendships are more valuable to them at times than relationships.

Those with Venus in the first house tend to be friendly and outgoing, exuding the Venusian attractiveness and generosity. Others find these people attractive and easy to get along with, and are willing to help them achieve their goals."

Mars, 2nd and 1st House (Combined)

“The red planet symbolizes the power of the Will. Assertiveness. Courage. Without it, there’d be no fire in life. No spark. Where your Mars lies, you are challenged to find the Spiritual Warrior inside yourself, the part of you that’s brave and clear enough to claim your own path and follow it.

Mars is scrapping in Aquarius. This combination ties the belligerent, competitive energy of the Warrior to the independent, iconoclastic spirit of the Genius or the Exile. The result is that an instinct to question and challenge authority is woven into the logic of your psyche. Something in you cannot abide a boss! Spiritually, you are learning about the loneliness and social ostracism that so often are the price of a passionate dedication to truth. With the War-God occupying your Second House, you prove yourself to yourself through the rituals of adventure and assertiveness. You need to develop confidence in the legitimacy and prowess of the Warrior within you.”

(Mars, 1st House)

“Those with Mars in Aquarius tend to have sharp minds and can argue clearly and vigorously. However, they are more likely to fight for a cause than for themselves. This placement reduces the Mars competitiveness through the natural Aquarian sense of fair play. These people are often prepared to seek other cultures through travel and they experience a restlessness and a need to relocate from time to time
As the First House is the natural position for Mars, the placement increases the physical energy and the need for physical activity. Although natural organisers, those with Mars in the First House tend to be impatient with others and eventually insist on doing everything themselves. They are usually self-confident and have an air of purpose about them. They need to be careful about accidents to the head, or headaches.”

Mercury, Sagittarius, 12th House

“Intellectually you are curious, full of desire for wonder and amazement—and the urge to convert it into philosophical understanding. Spiritually you are learning about the soul’s absolute need for an endless, voracious diet of new experience.

With the traditional ‘Messenger of the Gods’ occupying your Twelfth House, your intelligence is much concerned with the investigation of consciousness itself. You trigger greater psychic sensitivity and spiritual awareness in yourself when you flood your senses with incongruous, surprising, stimulating information and questions…The trick here lies in using the intellect to trip the intellect.”

Jupiter, Gemini, 6th House

“When you need to boost your elemental faith in life, your answer lies in following the Way of the Witness or the Storyteller. What that means is that when you’re sad, the only cure is a big dose of amazement. Do something new. Take a chance. Learn something. Break up a routine. Have a fascinating conversation with an intriguing stranger. Almost invariably that will put the sparkle back in your eyes.”

Neptune, Scorpio, 11th and 10th House(s)

“Neptune, planet of transcendence, occupies the 11th House of your birthchart, where its mystical feelings are linked to the priorities which increasingly shape and dominate your life as you mature. If you get six out of every ten existential questions right by the time you’re old, you’ll be living a contemplative life, full of the prescience of God. Inevitably, down that road we see you surrounded by people who draw inspiration from you. The darker path, optional unless you fail to explore the spiritual dimensions of your life now, is that by the end of life you’ll be totally dedicated to keeping yourself anesthetized..."

(10th House)

“Neptune in the Tenth House can assist with career success if these people have a career in the psychic sciences, nursing, or in a charity organization. These people are idealistic and attracted to a career that improves the lives of others. Neptune in the Tenth House is about dissolving past attitudes to career and the importance of gaining a reputation in the eyes of others. It encourages the devotion of energy towards showing others that beyond material needs there is a spiritual purpose which offers everyone the peace and fulfillment they seek.”

Uranus, Pluto, Virgo, 9th and 8th House(s)

“Your birth chart shows still another area where planets congregate: the Ninth. By combining forces, Uranus and Pluto emphasize that department of your life almost as powerfully as the Sun or Moon would.

The House of Long Journeys over Water—that’s the old name for this part of the birth chart. Since you have energy focused here, a fortune teller would say ‘I see travel in your stars.’ True enough, although a deeper way of expressing the same notion is that immersing yourself in cultures outside the one into which you were born is a pivotal spiritual catalyst for you.

Ultimately, in the Ninth House, you weave a grand scheme of life’s meaning and purpose, at least your own version of it…Uranus is your teacher here and the lessons can be summarized this way: To find your true individuality, you must undertake a quest. That quest probably contains an element of travel—the mythical journey ‘to seek your fortune.’ But it also involves a broad process of learning and stretching your philosophical views…

At the moment of your birth, Pluto gleamed in the Ninth House…a part of the natal chart concerned with expansive adventures, and with philosophy. It is essential that you make contact, however brief or long term, with ‘foreign’ cultures. Through the act of committing yourself to such a quest, a transformation occurs in your being—and the capacity to fulfill your transpersonal mission arises. What is that mission? To forcefully encourage people to consider their lives from the viewpoint of meaning and purpose. This is the Path of the Preacher; follow it, but be wary of the pitfalls of self-righteousness and certainty.”

Uranus, Pluto, 8th House

(Uranus in Virgo) “…increases the scientific and mechanical mind of Virgo, and these people have keen business abilities. They are capable of presenting realistic solutions to problems and prefer to rethink their ideas before proceeding. These people can improve accepted methods and procedures with their practical inventions and solutions. They have an interest in natural healing and psychic healing, and they need to guard against hypochondriacs if Uranus is negatively aspected.”

Those with Uranus in the Eighth House usually have a deep interest in the occult (hidden knowledge) and intuitive dreams at night. They have an unusual approach to sex, and are likely to die suddenly rather that the result of a prolonged illness.”

“Those with Pluto in the Eighth House are usually intuitive, with the ability to penetrate to the core of a person or situation. This is the natural house placement for Pluto, and this placement makes for very intense people, as they combine Pluto’s need to transform and the Eighth House desire to strip away that which is superfluous in life. They can be ‘all or nothing’ people, who throw themselves into situations or ignore their surroundings. They make good investigators and can intuitively understand people quickly and accurately.

These people seek out intense experiences in life—where most of us (would) hold back because of the risks involved, they walk boldly into the fire. When pushed, these people can be vindictive and unrelenting in seeking personal justice. They can be dogmatic and stubborn and emotionally manipulative through emotional withdrawal. When they seek answers they leave no stone unturned and they are capable of facing the darkest parts of themselves with courage and determination. They can also be very secretive.

The lesson with this placement involves stripping away all the layers of conditioning to reveal the essence within. To find and nurture that spiritual essence or core is of paramount importance for spiritual growth and development for these people.”