The Whole House System

The Zodiac as a Landscape of Becoming

Most of us are familiar with our Sun sign, and more recently, astrology has taken off to become more widely understood to be so much deeper than that. Learning about your natal chart can unravel the wisdom the stars hold for you, reveal the beliefs that shape your life, and heal parts of you holding limits you may never have noticed before. 

The wisdom found in your Moon sign helps you navigate emotions, as the Moon rules our inner tides. Your Rising sign, however, holds the most influence in your chart; it shows how you are perceived and how you instinctively move through the world. It even lays out the navigation system for your entire chart. 

Just as physical maps help us orient ourselves on Earth, the birth chart helps us navigate the soul’s journey. The houses are what allow us to locate different aspects of our lived experience within that map.

The Sky’s Map, Your Soul’s Path

In astrology, the sky is divided into twelve sections, like slices of a cosmic pie. We work within the lineage of Hellenistic Astrology using the Whole Sign house system. In this ancient approach, each sign occupies its full 30 degrees of our sky, and each sign represents a house. This creates a clean, elegant framework for understanding the chart’s landscape. When we look at a birth chart (or the election chart for a talisman or event), these houses help us understand where planetary energies will most likely express themselves.

The house system is anchored by the Ascendant (Rising sign), which is the zodiac sign found rising on the easternmost horizon at the exact moment of creation. Due to Earth’s constant rotation, the Ascendant changes approximately every two hours. This is why exact birth time is so important in astrology, and why precise timing is essential in talismanic creation. Your Ascendant determines not only the Rising sign, but the entire organization and interpretation of the sky.

For example:

• Someone with Sagittarius rising will have Capricorn as their 2nd house, Aquarius as their 3rd, and so on.
• Someone with Pisces rising will have Aries as their 2nd house, Taurus as their 3rd, etc.

This system makes it easy to see how planets and signs interact across the different realms of your life, creating a clearer narrative for spiritual and magical work when interpreting personal transits. This is crucial when creating astrological talismans.

A Glimpse of the Twelve Houses

First House – Self, identity, physical body, how others see you
Second House – Values, money and personal resources, self-worth
Third House – Communication, siblings, learning, short travel
Fourth House – Home, parents, roots, ancestry, inner emotional life
Fifth House – Creativity, romance, pleasure, children
Sixth House – Health, routines, service, daily work
Seventh House – Relationships, partnerships, contracts
Eighth House – Transformation, intimacy, shared resources, death/rebirth, other people’s money
Ninth House – Astrology, philosophy, higher learning, travel, belief systems
Tenth House – Career, public image, reputation, life path
Eleventh House – Community, friendship, collective goals
Twelfth House – The unconscious, solitude, hidden realms, restriction, endings

The Significance

By understanding the house system, we begin to see how the energies of the sky come alive.  The system shows us how the entire zodiacal wheel contributes to our wholeness.

When creating talismans, we look at both planetary energies and the houses they occupy, revealing where their blessings will shine brightest. Every piece is crafted with this cosmic map in mind, carrying intention through both time and space.

We choose an auspicious moment to begin creation. 

Your intuition chooses the Talisman. 

Your unique chart reveals where our Talismans can illuminate your personal power.

Unsure of where to begin? Reach out; we’re happy to guide you.

Check out our creations here!