Systems of House Division
There are many systems of house division. In most the ecliptic is divided into houses and the ascendant (eastern horizon) marks the cusp, or beginning, of the first house, and the descendant (western horizon) marks the cusp of the seventh house. Many systems of house division called quadrant house systems also use the midheaven (medium coeli) as the cusp of the tenth house and the nadir (imum coeli) as the cusp of the fourth house. Some house systems divide the celestial equator and the prime vertical instead of the ecliptic.
The earliest systems (whole sign and equal house) linked the houses to the signs of the zodiac. The equal house system defines houses as 30-degree sectors of the ecliptic, so that the cusp of each house falls on the same degree of each zodiac sign. One outcome of this is that a varying angle occurs between the ascendant and midheaven in higher latitudes. Attempts to reconcile the concept of "quadrants" with the varying angle between midheaven and ascendant lead to more complicated house systems. These became more relevant as astrology spread from subtropical regions to higher latitudes.
Goals for a house system include ease of computation; agreement with the "quadrant" concept (ascendant on the first house cusp, nadir on the fourth, descendant on the seventh, and midheaven on the tenth); defined and meaningful behaviour in the polar regions; acceptable handling of heavenly bodies of high latitude (a distinct problem from high-latitude locations on the Earth's surface); and symbolic value. It is impossible for any system to satisfy all the criteria completely, so each one represents a different compromise. The extremely popular Placidus and Koch systems, in particular, can generate undefined results in the polar circles. Research and debate on the merits of different house systems is ongoing.
Read more about this topic: House (astrology)
Famous quotes containing the words systems of, systems, house and/or division:
“The geometry of landscape and situation seems to create its own systems of time, the sense of a dynamic element which is cinematising the events of the canvas, translating a posture or ceremony into dynamic terms. The greatest movie of the 20th century is the Mona Lisa, just as the greatest novel is Gray’s Anatomy.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“In my Father’s house are many mansions.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in John, 14:2.
“Imperialism is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capitalism is established; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed.”
—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924)