Derived Houses

Derived or "turned" houses are often used in Horary Astrology, but they have wider application for assigning house rulership to complex topics. Turned houses require a basic grasp of the topics ruled by different houses, according to the house numbers. The basic method is to determine which houses are the principal Rulers of the topics in question. Because compound topics apply to two or even more houses, the astrologer first determines which house is most fundamental to the topic. He then counts from that house the same number of houses as the next house number relevant to the topic, which ideally yields information about the matter in question. Essentially the method sets the initial relevant house equal to house number one. The counting starts with that house.

For example, suppose a client asks an astrologer about her husband's money. In a horoscope the husband is represented by the seventh house; and money, by the second house. Beginning with the seventh house as house number one, the astrologer counts two houses, arriving at house number eight in the chart. This method is actually the origin of the eighth house as the "house of shared resources," namely income from the marriage accessed by both spouses.

Derived houses can become more complex. If the client's sister is worried about her son's health, the sister is a third house matter, as it rules siblings. Children are a fifth house matter, so the sister's son (the client's nephew) is also a fifth house concern. The fifth house from the third house is the seventh house. Note that in this particular question, the seventh is no longer the "house of marriage" but the house of the nephew. The sixth house rules health, so to inquire about the nephew's health, we count six more houses, beginning with the seventh, arriving at the twelfth house of the horoscope.

When a derived house count goes past the 12th house, it continues around the chart through the first house. For example, a friend's child begins with the 11th "house of friends." The 5th house from the 11th is the third house, which should yield the desired information.

Bibliography

• Rex E. Bills, 1971, The Rulership Book, American Federation of Astrologers
• Robert Pelletier, 1978, Planets in Houses: Experiencing Your Environment, Para Research