The 1st House (especially the Ascendant) defines our personality and, to some extent, appearance.
The Houses, unlike Signs, are not equal in terms of the power of influence on a person’s life. The corner Houses are stronger than all the rest combined, and the 1st House is stronger than all the other corner Houses. If there is a Planet in the First House, then its influence extends to the entire horoscope, that is: to the entire life. If there are two Planets in the 1st House, this person will never be bored, much like those around him: when he pays attention to them, they are completely delighted (or horrified, depending on the natal chart aspects and his mood at that moment).
The world seems to be very unfair, and people with a strong First House take the lion’s share of the attention and love (or hate) of those around them.
The cusps of Houses are the sensitive points of the horoscope. A Planet standing on the cusp of a House (within 2 degrees from the top on either side, so it may fall into the previous House), enhances this whole House (and gives it its own color). A Planet standing on the Ascendant strengthens not only the 1st House but the entire horoscope; such people are noticeable, even if they behave modestly (which usually don’t).
The Ascendant should be distinguished from the First House. The Ascendant defines the program of the subconscious, which is a filter at the entrance and exit from the subconscious – it is a thin film through which perception and self-expression pass. The First House is the surface layer of the subconscious programs. The Ascendant defines the impression you give in the first ten seconds, and the First House defines the image you produce in the first hour. The Ascendant and the First House determine the style of your behavior when you are taken by surprise (Ascendant – if you need to react within a second, First House – within a minute), for example:
- Aries – jump up and strike;
- Capricorn – be quiet and watch the further development of events;
- Leo – take over the situation;
- Cancer – withdraw into oneself.
The 1st House defines a set of roles and masks used by a person when interacting with the outside world; through these masks we also perceive ourselves. The undeveloped First House gives a person’s full identification with their social roles: this person looks at himself through the eyes of public opinion only.
The 1st House is active in any natal chart. If there are no Planets in it, this does not necessarily mean weakness. Check the Planet ruling its Sign: if it stands strong, this will affects the First House. Next, look if there are Planets on the cusp of the 1st House (the same 2-degree rule applies); if so, they strengthen this Sign (the ruler of the First House) and, therefore, the entire 1st House.
If there are no Planets in the ruler Sign, we look at the symbolic rulers: in this case, these are Mars and Aries. If one of them stands strongly, this also strengthens the 1st House, although to a lesser extent than the actual rulers (Planet and Sign).
The 1st House Personality
Each House, unless it is turned on, enters the Sign following its ruler Sign. For the 1st House, this means a two-dimensional personality: on the more superficial plane, the personality is formed under the influence of the Sign on the Ascendant, and on a deeper one – under the influence of the next Sign in order.
If the First House is included (it’s entirely within one Sign), this personality will be limited as perception and self-expression follow the style of the corresponding Sign. If the First House is widespread (it contains a whole Sign), a person has a potentially rich personality influenced by three Signs; but this requires some self-development work, otherwise, the Sign fully included in the First House will not be able to adequately express itself, and the person will feel a lack of expression, even though others may not believe it possible.
The 1st House largely determines the appearance, more precisely, the social perception of one’s appearance, which to a very large extent is determined by the social roles and masks used. It is not so much cosmetics that is important here but posture and psychological identification with the social image.
Working on the First House forms a developed personality with reliable subconscious programs that perform two main functions.
The first is the outward expression of the spiritual essence. Without a clear manifestation in the world, the inner spiritual life of a person remains indistinct for the person himself and invisible and incomprehensible to his environment. When developed, a strong First House gives a spiritual teacher: a person who, through his personality and its manifestations, broadcasts his spirit, literally performing miracles with the lost souls of his students: “When I come, all My disciples shall recognize Me.”
The second function is a deep perception of people and the world in general.
Strong First House
The unworked strong First House gives a loud fanfare. At an average level of development, this is a talented actor, for the sake of whom the audience will watch even bad movies. In fact, he plays himself, barely transforming, but his personality is rich enough, interesting, and brightly colors any role that he plays.
People with a strong First House are often dark teachers and manipulators. They are very charming (they do not need to turn on charm) and have great power of direct influence on others (it is difficult to refuse a beautiful and energetic person).
In our culture, it is believed that the study of the First House is needed by the artists, and the rest will manage anyway as the main thing is the inner content and material achievements. At the same time, a small emphasis on personality development and a rudimentary, limited set of masks and roles dramatically impoverishes both the perception and self-expression of a person, leading to enormous difficulties in life. In particular, it strictly regulates behavior in the vast majority of life situations, depriving a person of the opportunity to be creative in everyday life. Children’s home theater plays a much larger role than parents might think.
Weak First House
A weak 1st House means difficulties in personal self-expression: everything that comes from a person at first seems pale and uninteresting. On the other hand, the outside world seems to him gray and insipid. Compensation here goes through internal spiritual work or external activity, that is, a person either begins to deeply and intensively study and rebuild himself, or is actively involved in the external world, so that life is not so boring, and the results sometimes exceed all expectations.
Afflicted First House
When the First House is afflicted, a person will have complex mental defense mechanisms, several rigid masks, a strong distortion of external reality when entering the subconscious, and an equally strong distortion in personal self-expression. These are very dark glasses, both for the person and for those around him. At best, this is a deliberately rude expression of tender and kind feelings; at worst – constant anger and rudeness without warning and reason.
Such a person considers the world disgusting and people boring, disloyal, scoundrels, or losers (depending on the Sign of the 1st House ruler). But she can’t separate herself from the world (and neither does she want to) because affliction implies strength and a strong First House means that you are connected to the world with a thick pipe through which all sorts of things flow constantly.
For the afflicted First House, most of the things going through are negative, so such a person (even if she is extremely young) succeeds in developing powerful defense protocols to make up for her vulnerability. Very often it can be showy high self-esteem or the role of a jester; in both cases, a strong personal inferiority complex is possible, as well as difficult childhood which was erased from emotional memory (but not suppressed).
It is difficult to read such a person: she has strong compensatory mechanisms and a strong hypnotic effect on people. Most likely, she will speak seriously, objectively, and not at all pessimistically, so you may think she is completely fine. But a person with an affected First House is very unusual once you find a way to her intimate and vulnerable places. She may show a peculiarly distorted picture of the world hidden by silence or clownish behavior (depending on the Ascendant Sign, the ruler, and Planets of the 1st House and their aspects).
Harmonious First House
The world welcomes a person with a harmonious First House, and this feeling is mutual. If he smiles at you (and he smiles often), your heart will open towards him at least for a minute, even against your will. These people receive most of the external manifestations of love in the world, and, of course, they do not value it, but in vain: love is always a sign of the Divine attention and affection, but also an unobtrusively expressed request. If they do not overcome the temptations of selfish consumption of love and attention, they become charming parasites (that is, from an energetic point of view: socially, their behavior is usually acceptable).
The harmonious First House is characterized by double deception: on the one hand, the world and people seem more attractive than they are (everything unpleasant is forgotten very quickly), and on the other hand, the person shows the world his best effortlessly because the harmonious First House knows how to present itself. But conscience reaches consciousness with great difficulty and usually not for long. When love becomes a commodity and everything works out by itself, the true values are scorned.
The harmonious 1st House gives a touch of harmony to the whole natal chart. Here, evolutionary work gives a real flow of Cosmic love, which can make everyone around you happy, but for this, you need to take off your rose-colored glasses and learn to see other people’s suffering as they are.
Working on the 1st House
The keywords for the lower octave of the 1st House are “shady” and “showing off”. The work on the 1st House follows the path of awareness and necessary corrections of the surface subconscious programs. On this path, the following stages can be indicated:
- disidentification with your body (recognizing your psyche as the primary force in relation to the body);
- awareness of your thoughts and feelings as registered by consciousness, but not belonging to them (disidentification with the astral and mental bodies);
- feeling strong effects as induced by the outside and fighting them as external enemies;
- conscious management of emotional and mental planes.
The situation when the First House is fully turned on affects the person deeply. These are not only moments of external and internal reproaches, but also those of personal confession – in short, moments when a person talks about herself or finds herself in a reciprocal situation as a listener trying on the personality of somebody else.
