I have been at a mental road block when it has come to writing articles. The biggest problem that I have encountered has been how to explain things from the lense of *BOTH* Placidus and Whole Sign Houses because I genuinely believe in them both. It was explained to me once, and it has stuck with me, that different house systems are like different perspectives. Each system is like a different person telling you the same story in a different language. They will use different turns of phrase and color the story slightly differently but they explain the same thing. I truly believe that you gain such a wealth of knowledge by looking at a birth chart with both Placidus *AND* Whole Sign Houses.

When I look at my own chart I cannot deny the truth that either house system has brought to me. This is why for so long I really wanted to look at my clients charts using both house systems. I wanted to share that gift with them of seeing their chart through two different lenses, as it has really helped me to understand myself. Well, this turns out to be just as confusing as me telling someone a story while switching between two different languages that the listener can barely understand. When it comes to teaching complex ideas in astrology, going back and forth to explain it in two different house systems just adds confusion.

So what is the difference between the two systems: as explained to someone who has little astrology background? In a birth chart drawn with Placidus houses, the 1st house starts at the degree of the Ascendent. So in the case of my birth chart my 1st house starts at 28 degrees of Taurus and continues until 23 degrees of Gemini. In a Whole Sign chart Taurus becomes the entire 1st house, and Gemini becomes the entire 2nd house. You can continue to fill in the houses by going in normal Zodiacal order. The other way that i like to describe it, is that in Placidus Houses the pizza crusts (houses) do not match the pizza slices (signs) and in Whole Sigh Houses they do match up.

I am not simply choosing Whole Sign Houses because they are easier to understand (and for me to explain). Placidus placements, at least how I've experienced them in my own chart, seem to be the more surface level explanations. This may also make them easier for someone to accept what they find in their birth chart without doing any shadow work. However the biggest gift that astrology gives you is the opportunity to accomplish your shadow work. In my own experience I intuitively *FEEL* my Whole Sigh Houses placements so much deeper than my Placidus Placements.

I started learning astrology with Placidus Houses, like so many other astrologers, because it is the default setting on many free online chart calculators. Because it is the more complicated system, it naturally feels like Placidus *MUST* be worth more value. And while I would never deny the truth of my own Placidus placements, or try to take those placements away from anyone else, from this point forward I am committing myself to using WSH for client readings and blog articles. I don’t feel confined or restricted by this decision, in fact I feel set free and like I can finally start to get the words out of my mouth (or rather my fingertips in this case) and begin to share my gift with others on a larger scale!