Reference Page

Houses Glossary & Keywords

A distilled reference for understanding each astrological house’s domain, function,
and lived expression. This glossary gathers the essential vocabulary for all twelve
houses — organized into four simple parts: Names, Core Functions, Keywords, and
Archetypal Roles. Use these as quick anchors for interpretation across planets,
signs, transits, and aspects.

Overview

House keywords offer a direct way to understand each house’s terrain, themes,
and experiential focus. These entries are intentionally simple — four compact
sections that help you recognize what each house governs and how it functions
within the chart. Use this glossary as a quick‑reference tool when exploring
natal charts, transits, synastry, or any interpretive work within the ASTROFIX
system.

1ST HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Self
The Ascendant / Rising Sign
The Persona
The Personal Threshold of Self

CORE FUNCTIONS

Self-presentation
Embodiment
Orientation to life
How you take initiative
How you show up
Your immediate impact

KEYWORDS

Identity
Aura
Force of personality
Your effect on others

Appearance
Demeanor
Mannerisms
Approach

First impressions
First focus
Immediate pressure
Immediate environment
Right in front of your face

Emergence
Initiation
Instinct
Self-direction

ROLES

The Self
The Initiator
The Embodied Presence
The Leader
The First Mover

Yourself, leading the charge
The One Who Puts Themselves Out There
The One Taking the First Step on a New Path

People who are right up in your face
People begging for your attention

2ND HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Resources
The House of Value
The House of Worth
The House of Possessions
The House of Personal Assets

CORE FUNCTIONS

Stability-building
Value-setting
Material cultivation
Self-sustainability
Feeding yourself
Grounding and inhabiting your body

KEYWORDS

Security
Comfort
Resources
Assets and what you have to give
Bank balance and sources of income
Earning power and spending habits

How deep are your pockets?
How heavy is your load?
The weight of what you carry
Is your collection vast enough to control the market?

Nest egg
Personal resources
Saving for a rainy day
Rainy day funds

Self-esteem and getting paid what you’re worth
Survival skills
Talents and skills people are willing to pay for
Values and priorities

Who has control over your body?
What do you actually own and what is it worth?

ROLES

The Builder
The Steward
The Stabilizer
Vault Keeper

Appraiser
Banker
Bank-teller
Cashier
Collector
Coupon clipper
Penny-saver
Penny-pincher
Bulk buyer
Wholesaler
Stockist
Personal shopper
Retail sales
B2B seller

People who control entire markets (monopolists)
Wealthy
Gold digger
Hoarder
Ebenezer Scrooge
Wolf of Wall Street / Gordon Gecko

Secretary of the Treasury
Treasurer of the club

3RD HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Communication
The House of Mind
The House of Local Mind
The House of Siblings and Neighbors

CORE FUNCTIONS

Information exchange
Learning
Local connection
Daily interactions and conversations
Observation and perception
Mental activity and daily processing power

KEYWORDS

Communication
Curiosity
Reading and writing
Speech and hearing
Teaching
Journaling

Classes, teachers, and education
Dexterity and manual skills
Instruments through which you choose to communicate

Environment
Local language and culture
Neighbors and gossip
Siblings and adjacent relationships
The neighborhood hum

Connecting and spreading information

ROLES

The Messenger
The Student
The Connector
The Observer

Boy-next-door
Girl-next-door
Locals
Local yokels
Man on the street
The regulars
Neighbor
Sibling
Adjacent relationships

Courier
Deliverer
Driver
Livery service

Mechanic
Reporter
Educator
Messenger
Tinker
Wheeler and dealer

4TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Home
The House of Roots
The House of Foundations
The Base of Operation
The Seat of Power

CORE FUNCTIONS

Nurturing
Emotional grounding
Inner security
Establishing roots
Foundation-building
Retreating from public view

KEYWORDS

Home and family
Private self and what you’re comfortable with
Roots and country of origin
Foundation

Do you have any ground to stand on?
Seat of power / throne

Real estate and construction
Retirement and end of life

ROLES

The Caretaker
The Root-Keeper
The Inner Guardian

Ancestry
Blood
Bloodline
Brood
Descendent
Descent
Dynasty
Empire
Extraction
Family
Family tree
Genealogy
Heredity
Line
Lineage
Origin
Parentage
Parents
Pedigree
Relatives
Succession
Tribe

Compatriot
Dominion
House
Household
Kin
Kindred
Kinfolk
Kith
People
Reign
Stock
Strain

5TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Creativity
The House of Pleasure
The House of Self-Expression
The House of the Inner Child

CORE FUNCTIONS

Creation
Play
Self-expression
Romantic exploration
Joy-seeking
Risk-taking

KEYWORDS

Children and your inner child
Creativity and playtime
Creative projects
Drama and personal self-expression

Romance, flirting, and affairs of the heart
Roll around in the hay
“So, what do you do for fun?”
Entertainment

Hobbies
Sports and heart-pounding activities
Gambling and risky behavior

Theater and theatre
The heart’s joy

Vacations and partying
What makes life worth living
Your capacity to play hard

ROLES

The Creator
The Muse
The Flirt
The Performer
The Lover

Artist
Athlete
Child
DJ
Extreme sports enthusiast
Gambler
Gamer

Party people
Pregnant people

6TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Work
The House of Devotion
The House of Service
The House of Health
The House of Maintenance

CORE FUNCTIONS

Maintenance
Improvement
Daily function
Apprenticeship and training
Efficiency
The regulation of work vs. energy vs. time
Mind-body integration

KEYWORDS

Work, labor, production, and manufacturing
Service, private servants, and public servants
Employees and co-workers
Unglamorous work

Maintenance and repair
Systems that should be running efficiently and without interference
Efficiency
The engine room of the chart

Apprenticeship and training
The daily grind and mundane routine
Chores and practice
Making lifestyle choices and creating a lifestyle

Health, wellness, and mind-body integration
Diet and exercise

Small pets and small responsibilities
Animal rescue
Behavioral training (do you train your cat, or does your cat train you?)

Being “in the trenches,” shoulder-to-shoulder with people who are like you
Working in the “guts” of an enterprise

ROLES

The Helper
The Apprentice
The Caretaker of Systems

Coworkers
Maintenance workers
Production partners
Union members
Engineers

Doctor
Nurse

Dog walker
Pet sitter

7TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Partnership
The House of Others
The House of Agreements
The House of Marriage and Contracts

CORE FUNCTIONS

Relating
Balancing
Mutuality
Negotiation

Meeting someone halfway
Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes
Your willingness to let someone else take the lead
How much you let your partner influence you

KEYWORDS

Marriage and committed relationships
Equal partnerships and seeing eye-to-eye
Business and contractual relationships

Your best friends and direct competition (but we’re so much alike!)
Meeting your match

Open enemies, nemeses, and lawsuits

Negotiations and face-to-face meetings
Cooperation vs. competition

Your ability to meet someone halfway
Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes
Your willingness to let someone else take the lead
How much you let your partner influence you

ROLES

The Partner
The Mirror
The Diplomat

Committed partner
Marriage partner
Husband
Wife
Business partner

Lawyer
Negotiator
Clients

Best friends
The Other
Open enemies

8TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Shared Resources
The House of Transformation
The House of Depth
The House of the Taboo

CORE FUNCTIONS

Bonding
Exchange of power
Regeneration
Deep sharing
Psychological merging
Managing shared assets

KEYWORDS

Atonement
Death and funerary
Legacies, inheritances, trusts, and estates
Your partner’s assets and the results of marriage

Debts, credits, and taxes
Fundraising, financial support, and insurance
Joint assets
Sharing what you have
What you have (2nd house) versus what you want or desire (8th house)

Personal trust and privacy
Psychology and psychological assets
Sex, intimacy, and deep sharing

Intrusive interactions
Nosiness
Salacious things
Scandalous things
The occult, forbidden, and taboo

ROLES

The Alchemist
The Intimate
The Transformer

Busybody
Nosy, intrusive, prying people
Snoops
Paparazzi

Debt collector
Insurance agent
IRS agent
Loan shark
Repo man

Detective
Psychic
Researcher
Tell-all memoir writers

9TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Meaning
The House of Philosophy
The House of Long Journeys
The House of Higher Learning

CORE FUNCTIONS

Expansion
Understanding
Exploration
Abstract thinking
Seeking truth
Developing a worldview

KEYWORDS

Abstract thinking and metaphysics
Philosophy, ethics, and morality
Opinions and schools of thought
Religion, dogma, and codified spirituality

Gurus and professors
Higher education and academics
Publishing and spreading “the word”

Foreign places and cultures
Long journeys

ROLES

The Seeker
The Teacher
The Explorer

Philosopher
Professor
Physicist / mathematician
Gurus
Hierophant
Cleric
Priestess / priest
Prophet

Anthropologist
Archaeologist
Cultural elite
Journalist
Publisher
Philanthropist

Location scout
Travel agent
World traveler

10TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Career
The House of Public Life
The House of Reputation
The House of Authority

CORE FUNCTIONS

Achievement
Responsibility
Public contribution
Building reputation
Becoming an authority figure
Shaping your public image

KEYWORDS

Authorities
Career and vocation
Honors and awards
Public exposure (including humiliation and infamy)
Public life and public office
Reputation
Status and social position
The brightest light casts the darkest shadow
What kinds of people you look up to
Why people look up to you (role model potential)
Your influence (the shadow you cast)
Your life, on public display

ROLES

The Leader
The Professional
The Architect of Legacy
Boss
People in a position of authority
People who can help you up the career ladder
Role models

11TH HOUSE

NAMES

The House of Community
The House of Networks
The House of Future Vision
The House of Groups and Alliances

CORE FUNCTIONS

Connection
Collaboration
Ideals
Long-term planning
Discovering common interests
Fulfilling your civic duty

KEYWORDS

- Dreams of the future, progress, and reform
- Results of your profession (2nd house from the 10th)
- Groups, clubs, gangs, alliances, and community
- Shared interests and creativity
- Humanitarian longings and endeavors
- Followers and fans (your audience)
- Popularity and likeability
- Surrounded

ROLES

- - The Visionary
  - The Collaborator
  - The Reformer
  - Affiliate
  - Alliance
  - Assembly
  - Association
  - Audience
  - Band
  - Batch
  - Board
  - Brigade
  - Brotherhood
  - Bunch
  - Cabal
  - Cabinet
  - Camp
  - Caravan
  - Cartel
  - Caucus
  - Circle
  - Clan
  - Clique
  - Clinic
  - Club
  - Cluster
  - Cohort
  - Collective
  - College
  - Committee
  - Commune
  - Community
  - Comrade
  - Conclave
  - Confederation
  - Conference
  - Congregation
  - Congress
  - Convention
  - Cooperative
  - Coterie
  - Council
  - Coven
  - Crew
  - Crowd
  - Cult
  - Faction
  - Fans
  - Federation
  - Fellowship
  - Followers
  - Fraternity
  - Friends
  - Gang
  - Gathering
  - Group
  - Guild
  - Herd
  - Horde
  - La Banda
  - League
  - Legion
  - Lot
  - Members
  - Mob
  - Network
  - Orchestra
  - Order
  - Organization
  - Pack
  - Party
  - Platoon
  - Posse
  - Rally
  - Ring
  - School
  - Sect
  - Seminar
  - Senate
  - Set
  - Sisterhood
  - Society
  - Sorority
  - Squad
  - Squadron
  - Stable
  - Summit
  - Swarm
  - Symposium
  - Syndicate
  - Team
  - Throng
  - Troupe
  - Union

12TH HOUSE

NAMES

- - The House of the Unconscious
  - The House of Retreat
  - The House of Mysteries
  - The House of Withdrawal

CORE FUNCTIONS

- - Dissolution
  - Release
  - Transcendence
  - Retreat and recovery
  - Spiritual development
  - Confronting fears and blind spots

KEYWORDS

- - Ancestral or past life vocational lineage
  - Blind spots and self-sabotage
  - Fears and phobias
  - Confinement, release, and escape
  - Institutions, hospitals, and prisons
  - Remote
  - Recluse
  - Withdrawal
  - Time spent alone
  - Hermit
  - Retreat, meditation, and sleep
  - Spiritual development and the vast unknown
  - Supernatural phenomena
  - Surrender
  - Secret enemies and skeletons in the family closet
  - The results of groups and alliances (2nd house from the 11th)
  - Great beasts
  - Uncontrollable forces
  - Wilderness

ROLES

- - The Mystic
  - The Dreamer
  - The Surrenderer
  - Angel
  - Ghost
  - Family skeleton
  - Hidden enemy
  - Snitch
  - Puppet
  - Feral people
  - Fugitive
  - Hitchhiker
  - Jailbird
  - Loner
  - Lost people
  - Outlaw
  - People in hiding
  - Recluse
  - Secret affair
  - Secret relative
  - Spiritual guide

House Vocabulary

Each astrological house describes a distinct arena of life — the setting, context, and
circumstances through which planetary energy expresses itself. This glossary distills
each house into its essential symbolic language: the names, functions, keywords, and
archetypal roles that form the backbone of the ASTROFIX interpretive system. Use this
drawer as a quick reference when reading charts, comparing houses, or exploring how
planets behave as they move through different areas of life.

What this glossary gives you:
• a distilled vocabulary for each house’s core domain
• a shared interpretive language used across the entire codex
• a modular reference system that supports deeper chart work
• archetypal anchors that help you recognize house themes in action

A shared house vocabulary strengthens every interpretation you make.

Cross‑Links

Explore more house‑based reference pages: