The Natural House System
The Natural House system in astrology is really easy to understand. It also happens to be great for prediction. You will see it used on this website, as the preferred choice for a birth or natal chart.
The Natural House System Starts With Aries 0
The Natural House system starts with Aries 0 degrees on the cusp of the First House and follows round.
In other house systems like Koch, Equal, Placidus you put your Ascendant or Rising Sign and degree on the cusp of the First House.
Not so with this one. In fact, your angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, Immum Coeli) will end up in their own houses. That’s radically different but it works.
The Diana Natal Chart
The late Princess of Wales, Diana, gave two different birth times to her two astrologers. She was certainly born on 1st July 1961 in Sandringham, but Debbie Frank was given 7.45pm and Penny Thornton was given 2.00pm.
This takes us into the realm of ‘astrology as divination’ according to Geoffrey Cornelius and Maggie Hyde. Cornelius in particular has always been interested in wrong birth times and right results. In fact, both charts work – for different reasons – but here is Penny’s 2.00pm version of Diana.
There is a T-Square with Salacia at 16 Capricorn, the DS (Descendant) at 17 Aries and the AS (Ascendant) at 17 Libra in this chart. This is such a staggering portrait of Diana and her life that it has to be taken seriously. Salacia is Neptune’s wife in astrology. She shows how one exists in two different worlds at the same time. Two different non-realities. Diana certainly did that. Salacia is in Capricorn. That was Diana’s career.
The Natal Chart of Diana, Princess of Wales
Your Appearance and the Ascendant Complex
The Ascendant is not your appearance. It is part of your appearance. Your face, body type and shape are the result of your genes. So, the way you appear to the world is a cross between your Ascendant (which has traditionally ruled the exterior person) and also your MC or Midheaven; where you come from in terms of the family tree.
Diana’s Ascendant is 17 Libra (she presents as a Libran type – she was made famous by her marriage and divorce, and her other affairs). A Libra ascendant woman often looks bridal, even as a teenager. She can present as a romantic heroine. A bridesmaid.
Diana’s IC or Immum Coeli is 23 Capricorn. She inherits Capricorn traits and part of her appearance, from an ancestor. From an ambitious branch of the family tree. Upwardly mobile.
The Natural House System Follows the Natural Zodiac
I hope you can see that the Natural House System follows the natural zodiac. Aries 0 is on the cusp of the First House. Taurus 0 is on the cusp of the Second House. Gemini 0 is on the cusp of the Third House, and so on, until we we arrive at Pisces 0 on the cusp of the Twelfth House.
Looking for Packed Houses
Using the Natural House System (and asteroids, which as a Premium Member you can see instantly in your chart) it is possible to eyeball your horoscope and find out who you are. Which houses are packed?
Diana has a whopping Cancer pattern in her Fourth House. So that’s family, town and country, household. She was a Sun Cancer woman who was heavily Cancerian.
In this way, using the Natural House system (AstroGold software provides this, as does my website, when you order a birth chart) – you can see what’s what. What matters most. Who is this person? Who are you? The stelliums tell you.
Diana also has a stellium in Leo, the sign of royalty. It’s in her Fifth House, which rules courtship, the bedroom, heirs, spares and pretenders to the throne. Her son Harry titled his autobiography, Spare. When you start putting the chart together, it’s all about relationships.
Transits in Packed Houses
The events which make us who we are, tend to happen when there are transits in these packed houses.
So, using Diana as an example once again, her marriage to Prince Charles took place over the height of the British summer, when the Sun was passing through Cancer (her Fourth House, in July) and into Leo (her Fifth House, in August). It was across this time that she married into the royal family, became the future Queen of her country and began the path to motherhood.
If you look at your packed houses, it should not take you long to figure out that every year, when the Sun goes through Cancer, Leo or whatever, it is in those months that defining events take place.
If you have a packed Leo house like Diana, for example, it will be when the Sun passes through Leo from the final week of July to the third week of August that your connection to lovers, babies or the world of children – or young people – is shaped. For better or worse, that time of year will define who you are.
It’s easy to find out when the Sun is passing through any particular zodiac sign – the birth dates given in any horoscope column will tell you. Scorpio people are born from the last week of October to the third week of November. That’s when the Sun is in Scorpio.
Natural Houses and Other House Systems
You can use Natural Houses with the Solar Chart or Solar House System very easily, and this will give you two perspectives on yourself and your destiny.
You might also want to try the Natural House system alongside Koch, Placidus, Equal or whatever. All house systems work. They are a personal preference of the astrologer.
I like Natural Houses because they are so good for pinpoint accuracy with prediction. They are also ‘clean’ in that they don’t owe anything, to any particular person. Placidus houses were popularised by a monk called Placidus, living many centuries before us.
As you can see from the Comments section on this website, very few of my readers are monks! That’s why I like a house system that is – well – natural. I gave Placidus house system charts the sack when I spent many years as the astrologer for Cosmopolitan magazine in Britain. Those readers had sex. Placidus the monk didn’t.
Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven (MC) and Immum Coeli (IC)
The Natural House system horrifies some astrologers who cannot believe that you can put an angle like the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven or Immum Coeli into a house. Yet – it works.
Thinking about your Ascendant or Rising Sign, for example, if you read your profile, role or public face through the ‘windows’ of that house, you will see how its concerns and themes are a reflection of how people view you, for better or worse.
Similarly, your Midheaven or MC, once placed in a house, will show you which themes and stories in your life, suggest your true calling or vocation. It may have nothing to do with work.
Experiment with the Natural House system now. If you are a Premium Member, your astrological birth chart will automatically be drawn, using this method. It is sometimes called Aries 0 Rising or Aries 0 Ascendant, but actually, as the houses follow the natural order of the zodiac, it really is natural!
First published on 12th November 2017.
Photographs, chart and story updated on 9th May 2024.
22 Responses
Hi Jessica,
Can you please help me with this as i’ve always found this a bit confusing? My ascendant, descendant, IC and Midheaven would be houses 1, 7, 4 and 10? If the sun is in scorpio then why is it considered to impact my 4th house and not 8th?
thank you.
Your Ascendant is Aries and MC or Midheaven is Capricorn. Your Descendant or DC is Cancer and your IC or Immum Coeli is Cancer. I’m using the solar chart/sun sign house system for the information about the Fourth House.
Hi Jessica
Thanks for explaining the Natural House system so clearly!
Looking at my chart I immediately noticed that my MC is in the sign of my husband, Leo, the ASC is in the sign of my son , Sagittarius and the DESC is in the sign of my daughter, Gemini!
Can you explain a little more how this plays out?
I would say my life has definitely been about my family and looking after them through their illnesses, even though I have always worked outside the home.
Many thanks
Maria
Thank you Maria. The explanation for your husband, son and daughter all having chart patterns that tally with yours is that you go through the same things together – specifically, moving or travelling together or dealing with nationality/citizenship issues (Sagittarius-Gemini) and of course, Leo rules children.
HI Jessica. Just wanted to say a quick thank you for your ‘scopes. Through time, I’ve found yours to be the most practical and far-reaching as far as me being mindful about the things going on (and coming up) with my life. =)
Thank you very much, waving to you from Manchester, England.
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for the explanation on your system, I think any book I’ve read previously has used placidus but I much prefer the accuracy of your horoscopes! Are there any books you would recommend on the natural house system? Also I’ve often wondered about my chart not having anything in Virgo or the sixth house using your system. Is this significant? Thank you
Thank you. I stopped using Placidus many years ago because my poor Cosmopolitan readers were fed up with having their sex lives analysed with a house system popularised by a celibate old monk! There are no books on the Natural House system but if you remain a Premium Member in 2018 I am taking an online two-month crash course in that system, and also the asteroids. If you happen to be in London, you can come to the real-time classes at The Astrological Lodge, just off Baker Street.
Hi dear Jessica,
I dont get it, i feel a bit dumb now. How do i use the natural house system?
Thank you for reading this.
You have a lot of factors in Leo if you look at your birth chart. If you then look at the ‘clock face’ of your round personal horoscope you will see all those factors in Leo together, in one section. That is your Fifth House. It rules lovers and the world of babies, children and younger people. You express a lot of your personality through those areas of life, for better or worse. The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Minerva and Apollo are all in Leo so that is a big, complicated, interesting story which you will ‘write’ your whole life. If you were using a different house system, those factors would be in a totally different house, or life area. I prefer to use this one, because I have found it’s so accurate. Here is one way to test. Ask yourself who or what defines you. Is it godchildren? Your paid or unpaid work on behalf of younger people? Your lovers? I often see this pattern turn up with school teachers who have two children who are also very important to them – and those sons or daughters are also ‘taught’. Here is another way to check. Whenever the Sun goes through Leo from the final week of July to the third week of August, every year, it will highlight and spotlight your Leo qualities and also your Fifth House concerns. So, for example, you might have a pregnancy confirmed in your world then, or you might break up with a lover. I hope that helps explain how this house system works a little better. For more, hit Search and look up Leo and Fifth House.
Hey Jessica,
Thank you for this article! I still don’t really understand much yet about the houses :)), but I’ve been reading many of your articles lately and I find mylsef more and more interested in astrology! Thanks for all the helpful articles!
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for always putting in such good effort and intent in answering our comments! I have a question after reading this article. Did I already have my Saturn return or is it coming up soon? I’ve read on other websites and other astrologers that my Saturn return in coming up in December, but my natal Saturn is in Scorpio based on the natural house system. I ask because I’ve been struggling a lot this year, and am bracing myself that things don’t get worse of I have a Saturn return. Can you please clarify this for me? When will things get better?
Thank you very much, Jessica!
You have Saturn at 13 Scorpio in the Eighth House of finance and property. You are not having your Saturn Return at all – Saturn ‘returns’ when it moves to the same sign and degree where it originally sat in your birth chart. Saturn is now in Sagittarius, moving to Capricorn, so you completed your Saturn Return in Scorpio in the Eighth House years ago, now.
Thank you Jessica You’re awesome! I’m so glad you clarified because I have several others telling me that Saturn return is coming up since Capricorn is my asecendant sign. This clears things up!
Dear Jessica,
I am interested in getting my 2018 birth chart read for the year. I would love a private reading. I am feeling really discouraged. I need some encouragement, some reasons to get up in the morning. Can you let me know about this?
Thank you again,
E
The waiting list for 2018 personal birth charts has closed, unfortunately, though there may be some cancellations, which you will hear about first as a Premium Member. I will look at your chart, E, as you sound depressed to me. Tiredness is often a symptom of depression. In the first instance you need to see a doctor. This is an illness and you are being affected by it. Please do not mistake it for your personality, or indeed your life, as depression is like any other medical condition – it needs treatment. Okay, let’s have a look at what is going on with your horoscope. With the Sun, Mercury and Venus in Aquarius in the Eleventh House you need a group. It may be a yoga class or a book club, or a support group online, but you would benefit from plugging into the community. This would be a first step when you are not feeling so tired. You are a natural ‘friend’ to others and although the friendships may always be at a distance, and not too close or complicated, they would help you feel more like yourself. Groups also need you! The other thing I can see in your chart is a big Pisces signature in the Twelfth House. Keeping a diary would also help you. Rip it up once you have written it, if you like. Or – keep a progress journal. You have a great need to be alone, just as you also need to be part of a group. You can do both things at once, if you balance them. The trick is balance, as strongly Piscean people like you can sometimes drift off into their own private worlds and this is not very good for you, if it goes on too long and for too often. As Pisces is about privacy and the inner world, a diary is often a very useful thing. You can get your fears out of your head and onto the page. You are extremely unlikely to be homeless, as you fear. There is nothing in your chart to suggest that at all! What you need to know is that California is not enough for you. Once Jupiter (opportunity, growth, expansion, improvement) moves into Sagittarius in November 2018 you could easily move or travel quite ambitiously. That sounds a long way off but by 2019 you could easily and happily be in a different place, but for the right reasons – to explore it – and to have adventures. For the moment, please focus on your health, as you also have a very close conjunction between Uranus at 18 Virgo and Pluto at 17 Virgo and that is a classic hallmark of the mind, body and spirit connection dominating the life. In other words, what you might assume is about your head, or about astrology, is actually about your physical, medical condition and you absolutely must address that first. Once you are feeling more normal, please look at plugging into a group (or more than one group) as Aquarius is the water-bearer who feeds the community with what it needs. You also would most certainly benefit from pouring your heart out into a diary or journal and perhaps explore ‘journalling’ as a way of self-therapy, to help you move forward. Never, ever spend too much time alone, please. I hope you get the help you need, as you have the chart of someone who is an asset to the planet. Truly.
Hi Jessica
I was wondering is the ceres pluto quincunx of june 4 somehow pointing to the new roles that will be carved after Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle?
Pardon my question if it is disinteresting. A newbie who is enjoying learning astrology here. (Bacchus in sag!)
Can you help me decipher what can it mean for me as I have a 19 degree sacred geometry:
19 proserpina aquarius (solar 4th house)
19 apollo virgo (solar 11th)
19 fortuna scorpio (solar 1st)
Thankyou and gratitude for allowing us all to learn.
Thank you – I just wrote a piece on Harry and Meghan for Elle magazine so let’s see! You might find that using the Natural House system works better for you. This puts Proserpina in your Eleventh House of friends and groups. Apollo in your Sixth House of work and unpaid work. Fortuna in your Eighth House of finance and property. They are all connected so you’ll find that you repeatedly end up in contractual situations or other agreements with groups, clubs, teams, networks – usually involving a friend – where you are the go-between (Proserpina) who connects others. Apollo gives you a leadership role and Fortuna describes how you affect the situation financially. Any time you get transits at 19 degrees from planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and so on, the whole thing starts up. When you get to 2018 watch transiting Jupiter slowly get to 19 Scorpio as this will sit right on Fortuna and at that point there will be a substantial, welcome episode involving the money, house, charity, business, apartment or possessions – and no doubt, some kind of group.
Hi jessica!
I have to agree with this article on the natural house system (at least as it applies to natal chart as opposed to transiting planets). According to my birth chart using the natural house system, I have a stellium in Libra, Cancer, Scorpio and Leo which in short places an importance in relationships and marriage, which is true in my life, but using Placidus house system, I have pretty much zero in any of these houses. The majority of my Placidus house stellium fall under 9th and 12th, which I am not even quite sure if this even applies to me in my everyday life. What I have found accurate regarding planetary transits is that for both Natural House system and Placidus works for my sun sign (for example, transiting Uranus in Aries and Saturn in Sadge has been causing havoc in my work and career). In short, I think the Natural House system is more accurate for me in my natal chart. Placidus has it’s place for transiting planets, but I do think that for determining your personality and life’s purpose, the Natural House system is more reliable and easier to use! Thanks for all you do!!!
Thank you. I sacked the Placidus house system many years ago when I first started working for Cosmopolitan magazine, because I realised it was so wrong for young women in relationships. Placidus, of course, was a celibate old monk who shunned the world of women! You’d know it, if you were heavily Libra-Scorpio, particularly at the moment as Jupiter passing through both these signs would have stepped up the importance of love and sex in your life…
how does the natural house system deal with interception and duplication? or does it… do these phenomena in other systems simply not exist in the aries in first house configuration? the problems of interception and duplication wouldn’t merely go away would they? and, while we’re at it, a tutorial on i/d would be awesome — if relevant, of course.
There is no interception in Natural House. No mess or muddle! No need for a tutorial, either. Try it. You can figure out who you are using your Premium Member chart, which is Natural House. Try it for prediction too!