Equal House System

[Guest guest]

At 01:26 AM 3/23/06 -0000, Bliss wrote:

>Dear All,

>Wetting my feet in the waters of sidereal astrology,it is hard not

to

>notice the widespread use of Equal House System.

>(...)

>For instance, my Asc is 24 degrees Gem. Is it really a good

>approximation to treat the entire first house as Gemini?

 

Hi Bliss,

 

The sign-as-house system is used in Jyotish, but the western sidereal

system generally uses the Campanus house system. (Equal House refers

to 30 degree houses measured from the Asc degree, not signs.) No, I

don't think it's a good idea to always use sign-as-house. I use an

old Indian system which places the degree on the ascendant at the

*center* of each house. The equal cusps are used to identify the

ruling planet of each house, but the planets actually *in* the house

would be 15 degrees on either side of the cusp. Equal house cusp

rulers are very important in Indian yogas.

 

The grandfather of Indian astrologers, B.V. Raman, states in one of

his books that after much experimentation, this old house system

(equal cusp at center of house) seemed the most accurate to him.

There are some good uses for sign-as-house, but when looking at

planets actually in the house I've found the cusp as house center to

give the best results.

 

>That becomes more important since my Saturn is at 11 degrees Gem.

>Would it be better to consider this Saturn in 12th house instead of

>1st?

 

If 24 Gemini is on the cusp of the first house, your Saturn is still

in the first (though weakly so). The sandhi (boundary) between the

two houses would be 9 Gemini. Most quadrant systems such as Campanus

would have your Saturn in the 12th however.

 

It IS important, I believe, whether a 1st or 7th house planet is

above or below the horizon. I think we'll find that planets in these

positions act in different ways. A number of presidents have had the

Sun above the horizon in the 12th (such as Bush and Clinton), but I

don't know if there's a president who has had the sun below the

horizon in the 1st.

 

Of course, house systems are hotly debated today by astrologers.

Everyone has a favorite opinion.

 

Therese