The twelve houses acts as fields of experiences for the planets to express their significations. 9th House themes include:
- Travel
- Foreigners and far away places
- Higher education
- Publishing
- Religion
The ancients believed that as the Sun rode his chariot across the sky in diurnal motion, he was most powerful just after midday—in the 9th House—when his heat would be felt the strongest. The Sun has long standing associations as chief of the gods. It is for this reason that we give subjects such as divination, wisdom, prophecy, the quest for meaning and higher learning to this house. We include long distance travel as it broadens our perspective. In addition, the cadent houses (3, 6, 9, 12) in traditional astrology represented places that take us away from home.
Expressions
Planets in the 9th House express themselves by delving into the mysteries of life either on a spiritual, psychological, or philosophical level. We often see people who were raised in strict religious environments turn from the dogma they grew up with to carve their own spiritual path. People with significant 9th House planets or whose Midheaven falls in the 9th are naturally drawn to the divinatory arts such as astrology, tarot, and geomancy. Preachers, missionaries, gurus, inspirational speakers, spiritual coaches, teachers, professors, lawyers, publishers and philosophers all belong to this house. Folks with an energized 9th House activity are drawn to these professions.
Activations
Our 9th House comes online in a variety of ways:
- We have planets in the 9th and higher learning and/or spiritual questing is where they express themselves
- A transit or progression triggers the ruler of the 9th, the planet that rules the sign on the cusp of the 9th
- By progression: The progressed Moon or Sun enters the 9th House
- By profection: Profections is a traditional technique that elevates one house every birth year. We are in a 9th House profection when we are 8, 20, 32, 44, 56, 68, 80 and 92 years old. Here’s a chart. Note: the last newsletter gave incorrect years for an 8th House profection.
- The Lord of the Year is located in our 9th House in our Solar Return and/or we have a packed 9th House for our Solar Return.
When your 9th House is activated, you might:
- Travel internationally
- Decide to go back to school
- Take a comprehensive astrology class
- Hang up your shingle as a tarot reader, especially if your midheaven is in the 9th
- Be involved in the legal system
- Sign up for a spiritual course or certification
- Publish a book or your dissertation
- Go on a year long quest to find yourself
To me, the 9th House is the most expansive of the twelve. This Temple of the Sun finds us striving and yearning for the inspirational realms where we are closer to god, whatever that means to you.