The twelve houses

What named, dated sources held each of the twelve houses to signify, kept separate from how the houses are divided and from any claim about a reader.

15 entries

Claudius PtolemyPersonHellenisticRomanIslamicateMedieval LatinRenaissance and early modern
The name attached to more of this site's material than any other, and the man underneath it, who names six of the twelve places and is silent about the rest.
Dorotheus of SidonPersonHellenisticIslamicate
The most-cited author on this site, whose Greek is lost, and whose ranking of the twelve places is assembled here from the entries that each hold one line.
Eighth HouseHouseHellenisticRenaissance and early modernModern
Named Beginning of Death in Hellenistic Greek and the sign of death by Dorotheus, an exact agreement across two independent lines of transmission.
Eleventh HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
The House of the Good Daemon in Ptolemy's own words, ranked third-best by Dorotheus, and Jupiter's joy since Firmicus and still in Lilly.
Fifth HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
Called Good Fortune in Hellenistic Greek and the house of the child by Dorotheus, who ranked it fourth of the twelve places by strength.
First HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
The place of the Ascendant itself, the Horoskopos that gave the word horoscope its name, and the one house nearly every named source ranks first.
Fourth HouseHouseHellenisticRenaissance and early modernModern
The lower midheaven and cardine of the earth, ranked sixth-best by Dorotheus, though Ptolemy's own method for parents never names it.
Ninth HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
Named God for the Sun in Hellenistic Greek, and the Sun's own joy from Firmicus through Lilly, thirteen centuries and one language apart.
Second HouseHouseHellenisticRenaissance and early modernModern
The house of livelihood and movable goods, named the Gate of Hades in Hellenistic Greek, a name Ptolemy records but does not himself use.
Seventh HouseHouseHellenisticRenaissance and early modernModern
The Occident, built on the Descendant, called the sign of marriage by Dorotheus and one of the few places Ptolemy's own prose names directly.
Sixth HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
Called Bad Fortune in Hellenistic Greek, ranked among the two weakest of the twelve places by Dorotheus, and given as Mars's joy since Firmicus.
Tenth HouseHouseHellenisticRenaissance and early modernModern
The Midheaven itself, ranked second-best of the twelve places by Dorotheus and, for Ptolemy, one of his few directly named technical terms.
The anglesConceptHellenisticMedieval LatinModern
The four points where the ecliptic crosses the horizon and the meridian, how fast they move, and the latitudes at which they stop existing.
Third HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
Named Goddess for the Moon in Hellenistic Greek and called her joy by Dorotheus, though Ptolemy's own method for siblings never mentions it.
Twelfth HouseHouseHellenisticRomanRenaissance and early modernModern
The House of the Bad Daemon, a place Ptolemy names only to say it should be disregarded, ranked worst of the twelve by Dorotheus and Saturn's own joy.