Your First House

Who are you at your most instinctive and natural? Not who you think you are, or who you believe others see you, but who are you really?

To look at this question of personality and persona, we need to look at the first house and its cusp, the ascendant. In birth chart interpretation, any astrological house reveals the area of life where life lessons will be learned, or an area where certain themes are explored until they’re mastered. If a planet shows what is happening in your life, the astrological signs show the way it is happening, and the houses are the area in your life where it’s happening.

All about you
The first house is the house of “you” – your personality, the self that you’re born with, your temperament, your disposition, your public face and your psychical appearance. It’s so much a part of you, so natural to you, that we often can’t perceive it ’til we’re older and have some distance from ourselves.

Health
The first house is the area of your life that rules your vitality and health, your facial features, your body shape. It also shapes the style of which you present yourself – from how you speak to your general vibe and personal tastes.

For example, if you’re born with Sagittarius on the cusp of your first house, the Ascendant, you’ll see life as an adventure, as boundless opportunities, while someone born with Capricorn on the cusp will see only possible failures and risks. This first cusp shows the astrological sign on the Eastern horizon at the moment of your birth, and from that moment on it “colors” everything we see.

First impressions
It is also the house that others “read” when making a first impression. Yet, it can be an area of real discord when your idea of yourself and what you project into the world are not in sync. For example, someone may imagine themself to be kind and considerate when they are perceived as controlling and invasive. In other words, the first house can reveal the difference between how we see ourselves and how others view us.

If your first house is well aspected, you’ll feel in control of your life and be confident. You will also be content with how you conduct yourself and how others perceive you. If your first house is badly aspected, you may feel out of control, can waste your valuable potential dreaming rather than doing, and there may also be a rift between what you project to the world and who you truly are.

To know more about your astrological strengths and weaknesses, and how you can make them work to your advantage, have a professional interpret your chart.