In my previous blog posts about the astrological houses I briefly mentioned the difference between traditional and modern astrology. Traditional astrology is much more literal while modern astrology is based on psychological principles that reflect the inner workings of the personality. It can be easy to forget that only a few hundred years ago people, in general, were not versed in today’s modern language of self-help, individual potential, or following one’s bliss. Questions and concerns were more practical in nature and often those who sought astrological advice didn’t need to know more than if a lost cow would return, a spouse would recover from an illness, or an investment would provide a generous return.
It’s in the astrological fifth house that we can begin to see the split between the traditional and modern styles of interpretation more clearly. Since my proclivities lean towards the traditional I’ll first mention the modern meaning of the fifth house briefly.
In modern astrology the fifth house is the house of creativity, legacy, and entertainment. Here we find those things one does in order to show the world what he or she is capable of; and to create something that will live on beyond oneself.
While the traditional definitions aren’t drastically different the idea of being creative in order to express one’s unique sense of self is a bit of a stretch. Traditionally, the fifth house represents children, pregnancy, ambassadors, taverns (places of entertainment and fun), and money/inheritance gained (or lost) though property or the family (the fourth house).
Modern astrology would put ambassadors in the ninth house (as the ninth is the house of foreign places), however, just as the second house from any angle represents the profit (or loss) from that angle, so does the second house from an angle represent the allies or those who speak on behalf (e.g. external resources) of that house. The fourth house is our “homeland” and therefore the fifth house is the allies of the homeland.
Modern astrology would also assign any kind of money that’s no our own to the eighth house, but again this is incorrect. Inheritance is not an 8th house matter. A dowry (that is, money from the spouse) is an 8th house matter. Inheritance from my own family (4th house) is the second from the fourth- i.e. the 5th house. This is based on the concept of derivative houses, which will be discussed in another blog post.
The fifth house is a succedent house.
In horary astrology the fifth house represents children, pregnancy, taverns, gambling, and other forms of recreation.
In medical astrology the fifth house represents the stomach, liver, heart, sides and back.
In mundane astrology the fifth house represents the ammunitions of a town under attack, ambassadors and diplomats, and public places of recreation like parks and national museums.
Venus finds it joy in the fifth house.
See a listing of blogs posts for all of The Houses
[...] Written on November 18, 2011 by Ron in Articles & Resources, Educational, The Houses In my last blog post about the fifth house I talked about how modern and traditional astrology differ in their interpretation of the various [...]