The Seventh House: Introduction
The Seventh House in Astrology is where we pair up. Traditionally we associate this house with relationships and marriage, but it’s about much more than that. Partnerships of all kinds are found here – and some of them are personal, some less so. And it goes without saying that some of those relationships will be more enjoyable than others. We make out commitments here – and we break them too. You’re as likely to find divorce and lawsuits here as say ‘I do’.
So, in this section, I’m going to set out all you need to know about this house in your astrological chart. If you have the Sun, Moon, Chart Ruler or a stellium of planets in this house, you will have a life where seventh house associations are an intrinsic part of your astrological make up and will feature throughout your life.
However, even if this house is not prominent in your natal chart, some of you may find yourselves living here from time to time. Planets may transit and station in your seventh house. You may experience a seventh house emphasis in your Solar Returns or Transits. Solar and Lunar Eclipses may take place in this house, thus highlighting the affairs of this house when they do.
So, I’m also going to explain how this house functions in both natal and predictive astrological charts and provide you with the essential keywords associated with the seventh house to help you make your own chart analysis a little easier. However, I’m going to start with the basics to give this beloved astrological house some context.
The Seventh House: Key Qualities
Angular
The seventh house is an angular house and the angular houses form the cornerstones of our lives – self, family, relationships and status. They are the first houses in each quadrant of the chart and are where action takes place to move our lives forward. This house is where we form relationships with significant others and discover we are not alone – life is better with other people in it. It’s no surprise, therefore, that this house is where we leave the known quantity of our private life and emerge into the public sphere.
Air
Air houses are often the communicators of the zodiac as they are concerned with how we relate in the social world. The seventh house is where we seek to grow the connections we made in the third house. Associated with the sign of Libra, the seventh house is where we negotiate our relationships with others, seek agreement, balance, weigh arguments and opinions and discover the advantages of team work. We hold the mirror up to ourselves in the seventh house – and there is no guarantee that we will like what we see. That’s why projection can be a big issue in this house.
The Seventh House: Rulership
The Seventh house is ruled by Venus, the goddess of love, and it’s no surprise as we associate this house with marriage and romantic partnerships. Air Venus is collaborative in this house and likes people to get together and connecting with others can be a priority for those who have an emphasis on this house. Air Venus also seeks commitment and security, so partnerships made here are official and conducted in the public realm. Balance, equality and fairness are as important as love to Venus here – perhaps even more so.
The Seventh House: Natal Astrology
With a seventh house emphasis in your natal chart, relationships can be everything to you, and you will have a heightened sense of commitment – and that involves all commitments that are contractual in nature. This house is about our attitudes towards those commitments and how we define ourselves through our associations with other people – whether that’s in the context of a personal relationship or wider society. This is because the seventh house is the first of the ‘public houses’, the space where we see ourselves (and are seen) in the context of something bigger than ourselves.
If the seventh house defines how we relate, and highlights relational issues we need to address, then this is due in no small part to our habit of projecting our faults and flaws onto the partner – or those groups of people we designate as the ‘other’. This is a key issue in this house as it defines the key message of the seventh house and it is this. To relate effectively to others, the person you need to relate to best of all, is yourself. The seventh house holds the mirror to your soul – what we are unwilling to see in ourselves, we often perceive in others.
As an angular house, the seventh house can be literal in its interpretation. The sign and planetary placements in this house may describe your partner, as well as the nature of the partnership itself. Astrology works by symbolism and though the pattern that is set in this house will govern our relationships in this lifetime – it is our responsibility to understand how the dynamics of our relationships work – particularly if we seem to encounter the same relational issues time after time.
The lesson carried within this house is, therefore, one of learning about ourselves through the medium of our relationships with others. That may be marriages, business relationships, legal contracts, all kinds of negotiations and involvements with those with whom we have a formalised relationship. This includes agents and intermediaries of all kinds. In the seventh house we need to appreciate the reasons why we enter into the relationships we do – and what those relationships do for us in turn.
The Seventh House: Predictive Astrology
The seventh house in predictive astrology shares the fundamental qualities of the natal seventh house, However, there are essential differences you need to be aware of when analysing a predictive chart. These usually fall into two categories. First, predictive charts and the issues they raise are often temporary. Second, those who are dealing with seventh house issues in a predictive chart are not necessarily natal seventh house subjects and will not necessarily possess the traits associated with this house.
With a seventh house emphasis in a predictive chart, you will be dealing with relationship issues during the period covered by the chart. An outer planet transit through your seventh house will usually indicate personal growth which occurs through the medium of your relationships – and of course there may be challenging relational issues you need to deal with during this time. In a solar return chart, you are dealing with relationship matters over a much shorter timescale – so they may be more intense.
In a solar return chart, a seventh hose emphasis can bring about new relationships and end old ones. Not everyone will divorce or marry during the year – you may begin (or end) a business partnership or engage the services of an agent of some kind (real estate for example), or appoint someone to handle business or legal affairs on your behalf – or that of your partner. Therapeutic relationships are also found in this house and you may have experience of such a relationship during the year.
The Seventh House: Keywords
Agents, Agreements, Alliances, Attitude to partnerships, Business contracts, Clients, Co-operation, Collaboration, Contracts, Divorce, Grandparents, Husband, Intermediaries, Lawsuits, Legal contracts, Markets, Marriage, Mate, Mates, Mediation, Marriages (quality and quantity), Negotiation, Open enemies, Other people, Partners, Partnerships, Projection, Public dealings, Rivals, Separation, Wife.
Next: 8th House | 9th House | 10th House | 11th House | 12th House | 1st House | 2nd House | 3rd House | 4th House | 5th House | 6th House
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@ Sara Shipman