The 2nd House: Not Just Money

 

September 16, 2005

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/sept16.html

 

Dear Eric,

 

I was wondering if there is a less materialistic interpretation for the 2nd house. Yes, I do expect this to be a more fruitful year in the finance department than last year but I'm bored to tears reading about it everyday. It seems like all the astrologers out there are determined to talk about my bank account nonstop. And planetary action seems more exciting in almost any other house besides this one-dimensional 2nd house. Surely these people must be missing something -- or is life really going to be a bunch of deposit slips and bank runs this year?

 

Dottie

 

 

Dear Dottie,

 

I am with you. Part of being a modern astrologer is developing modern and creative interpretations for the houses. This is an ongoing process. The world is changing and the houses represent the world as we know it. The signs are the deeper energies; they are more stable; they are less subject to creative interpretation. Houses are local, here and now affairs; they are specific to individual cultures, because they represent your experience of life where you are standing on the ground or where you were born, including the time and the place.

 

The houses are like the rooms in God's mansion. Each has a specific purpose, feeling and décor. The houses are about our lives and our experiences. They are neither theoretical nor particularly cosmic. You could make a case that they are the most basic element of astrology.

 

Traditionally, the 2nd house is about one's personal resources. It all started with a cow (Taurus, the corresponding 2nd sign, is represented by a sigil that looks a little like a cow or bull). In the olden days and for many people today, when you have a cow, you have milk and you can plough the fields. From there, the modern (industrialized) world equivalent became the bank account, but the story ends here only if you're a really boring astrologer.

 

The opposite house, the 8th, is the house of "other people's resources." The 8th has a heck of a lot more meanings than any other house -- ideas I used to write about (in true 8th house style) obsessively.

 

The 2nd house is so important because in a sense it represents the poverty line; the eat/not eat, rent/no rent line. How we navigate this line is a BIG variable. Not everyone rich is born rich; not everyone with a college degree can stay off the streets; some people can get by on exceedingly little money and really make you wonder what the big deal about cash really is. These are 2nd house attributes, for the most part.

 

I view the 2nd house, the planets in it, their aspects, the ruling planet (that is, the ruler of the 2nd house cusp), and that planet's aspects, all as being significant of resources of every kind. As we know, "resources" are a lot more than money. There is also the quality of resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is like, okay, you have a computer, what do you do with it? You have a bit of land, what potential do you see and how do you use it? You have this brain and body, how do you work with them in the world?

 

If we look at the various 2nd house placements, we can get some information about how resourceful a person feels, how they relate to their resources, and how they express them.

 

But as Robert Hand (referencing him a second time in this article) once said, modern astrology is psychological astrology. Every house has what you might call a material expression and also a psychological expression. In this respect, the 2nd is just about the most important house, because it deals with self-esteem. That is to say, it deals with how we value and relate to ourselves.

 

The word "esteem" usually disappears into nothingness in the concept self-esteem; I usually use the term self-respect. But let's get a few definitions of esteem and see what the idea is about. Says Wikipedia: "Dignity in humans involves the earning or the expectation of personal respect or of esteem." So it's associated by this definition with the concept of dignity. Princeton's Web definition brings back, "The condition of being honored (esteemed or respected or well regarded); 'it is held in esteem'; 'a man who has earned high regard'."

 

So in essence self-esteem is about the regard in which we hold ourselves.

 

Now, to get to the bottom of a house, you have to do some detective work. But I have found the 2nd house to be worth the work, because it often reveals the true situation with the client. To do this work you need to first look at the house and see what planets it contains, if any. If there are none, don't worry; because the ruling planet is going to tell a story. But first, look at the planets IN that house and see what they are, how they feel and what they seem to imply. Then, look at the houses that those planets rule to tell you where the influence came FROM.

 

Next, look at the ruling planet of the sign on the house cusp. It may be in the 2nd house, it may be far away. But it will have a condition; it will tell a story. What is it saying? Is the planet happy where it is? Does it feel natural? You will start to get a picture. (You can use this basic method to analyze any house.)

 

The 2nd house has one last theme that I think is vital. If the 8th house is the sex we have with others, then the 2nd is the sex we have with ourselves. What I'll call the 2nd house sex phenomenon is a big one these days. There are many people who, by choice or by default, are their own lover. Perhaps this is a modern issue; perhaps it's been going on all along. But it's for sure something to check into when looking at or talking about the 2nd house.

 

Catch you next week with more questions and answers.

 

See you over at Planet Waves, where updates continue daily.