I find a lot of value in both modern and traditional astrology so I spend a lot of time pondering things that either overlap or contradict between the two systems. Modern astrology tends to be much more optimistic and depending on who you ask, may tell you about your past lives and your soul’s evolution. Traditional astrology tends to be more fatalistic and does not really sugar coat pending doom and gloom.

I honestly do not believe that all birth charts are created equal. I think some people are born to much more difficult charts. However, I think that our souls do choose our charts and sometimes we choose that more difficult chart for a reason. Whether those souls are older, and want more of a challenging life so that they can overcome it and be inspirational to others, or whether those souls may have martyred themselves for the advancement of the collective. I do think we all sign up for what we experience.

What are the Bad Houses

In traditional astrology it is explained that these are the houses that do not form an aspect with the Ascendent and therefor do not receive any light from it or cannot “see” it. This is also true of the 2nd house, however it is not seen as one of the “bad places”, perhaps because it is next to rise up over the horizon after the first house. So are these houses really as bad as traditional astrology would have you believe? Or are modern astrologers right in that they are no worse than any other house? Before trying to answer these questions, let’s talk about what these houses symbolize in the life.

The 6th House

This is the house that describes our method of getting the necessary things in our lives done. Necessary things are obviously not always fun. This is our work (think job, not career), cleaning routines, workout and eating habits, and any other routine things that you must do to have your life run smoothly. This is a house of service, to ourselves and to others. Challenging planets falling in this house can lead to major problems. Pluto could signify obsessive thoughts and/or actions relating to any of the above mentioned things. Uranus could trigger sudden changes to our routines. Neptune could show delusion to how one thinks things can or should get done, and Saturn could show control (some times too much) and discipline in this area. We can start to see how the 6th house can relate to mental health.

The 8th House

This is the house of transformation and intimacy. It is about extreme vulnerability and being open enough with another person to bear your soul. Not everyone can do that nor are they willing. It is easy to see how this can be a very challenging house. Fighting that intimacy and vulnerability will stunt your growth in this area and can lead any planets here to cause you extra troubles. What ever planets fall here need to be open and ready to work on themselves because they will face death and rebirth your entire life. Every time that planet is triggered it will need to evolve. If you have an 8th house stellium like me, you better be ready for life to open up your eyes over and over again. If you’re not ready to do this work, there is an unbearable loneliness that comes along with it. How can anyone ever really know you if you refuse to open up? How can you ever feel truly seen or loved? Their is a fear of exposing yourself, and with that comes ingrained secrecy. The feeling that can develop, is that no one could ever understand you, and if people really knew you–deeply, they would leave. This makes you feel lonely in a crowded room. This house is clearly also related to mental health.

The 12th House

This is the place of exile. It exists between realms–like your soul waiting its turn to be incarnated. It is post death and pre life. It is a fog of human subconsciousness which is untouchable but also lacks any boundaries. Planets in the 12th house can tend to get lost. They can feel unavailable to you or difficult to tap into. The sun or moon in this house can show an absent or emotionally unavailable parent. Mars in the 12th house can cause you to lack ambition and drive in life. Planets here can also cause you to struggle with setting boundaries with other people especially when it comes to feeling other people’s emotions. This house is also said to be tied to experiencing spirits and being a medium because of the lack of boundaries. You can see how rejecting this part of yourself can lead to mental illness or how in the past people who saw spirits could be labeled as mentally ill and be institutionalized.

So How Bad is it?

I can see how in the past, having planets in the 6th, 8th, and 12th houses could be a very very bad thing, even detrimental. Now days I think it can still be extremely challenging but we have many more resources to help with these things and a growing worldwide acceptance of peoples natural differences. Spirituality and the spiritual community can help people with self love and building communities. Obviously things are very bad in parts of the world but for most of those reading this article, you could get help if you wanted to. That is, if you were willing to be vulnerable. We need to learn to accept all parts of ourselves, even the parts that are hard for us to like. Keeping things in the dark, being fearful of them gives them power. It keeps them in control and hiding just under the surface, waiting to be triggered.

I fully believe in free will. I think our birth charts show us our connection to the divine (and each other) but that planetary energies can be used to our advantage in life. If we respect the planets and what they are trying to teach us or to help us with, we will have a much better time in life. I think that when we refuse to learn from a situation, that same situation will keep occurring, in slightly different ways. We need to wake up to our conditioning and our repeating reactive behaviors. We also need to stop trying to “win” situations and to not put our egos first. Our goal should alway be to learn and to do better. We need to not look at how we used to be with shame, but to love and accept all versions of ourselves.

Astrology is such a beautiful tool to use to get to know ourselves. There are parts of ourselves that we try to eliminate because we cannot bear to look at them. Those parts need love too and they will not go away. Only by accepting them will they begin to transmute into positive expressions. Also our flaws make us relatable and honestly lovable. Please start the journey to loving all parts of yourself. Embrace vulnerability. I would love to be a safe space for anyone ready to start opening up and uncovering all parts of themselves. Please reach out to book a reading. Know that I am a safe space and that I would never judge you, or any of the parts of you.