The twelve houses acts as fields of experiences for the planets to express their significations. 3rd House themes include:
- Communication
- Journaling and writing
- Siblings
- Neighborhood
- Short journeys
After we’ve encountered ourselves in the 1st House and focused on resources needed to support us in the 2nd, we move on to our immediate environment, the 3rd House. We can think of a bird hatching out of her shell.
- She encounters herself as a distinct entity separate from her mother (1st).
- She then recognizes the nest as shelter and understands she requires food in order to survive (2nd).
- Soon after, she makes her first attempts at flying out of the nest to discover her neighborhood and augment her world view. This is the territory of the third 3rd House.
Learning
In the 3rd we learn by inputing more experiences into our growing minds. Our views begin to expand outside the nest into the classroom, the neighborhood, and in our immediate environments. We observe others, imprinting social rules and appropriate conduct through playtime. The 3rd House corresponds to our school years. We find our siblings in the 3rd and anyone who would sit at the little table (vs the grownup’s table) during family get togethers. Dana Gerhardt writes that the 3rd House “is not so much a house of things as it is a zone of activity. The way a plant reaches for light, in our 3rd house, we reach for the world with our minds.” This is the house where we keep our cosmic sponges to soak up our environment in order to lay down the tracks of our cognitive models. Not surprisingly, writers often have an active 3rd House as do podcasters or those of us who work in communication, including school teachers.
Communication & Self Expression
The sign on the cusp of the 3rd House tells us a little bit about how we communicate and process information. A person with Taurus on the 3rd—a fixed, Earth sign—appreciates practical information with a lot of examples. Not only will they communicate this way, but they can better absorb it as well. Gemini—mutable, Air—can switch conversations mid-stream, always circling back as if they have tracks of information all playing at once. Cancer—Cardinal water—is motivated to nourish and feel nourished through communication, appealing to the emotions.
Transits to the 3rd House and/or Solar Returns with a 3rd House emphasis will find us picking up a new interest, enthusiastically plunging into the deep end to learn everything we can about it. We keep our minds fresh and active by feeding this house.