The Third and Fourth houses

New Moon in Gemini
Living up to the demands of the new moon this month may not prove to be as simple as it might first seem. With the sun and moon coming together in charming, easygoing Gemini, one might expect a stimulating but ultimately relaxed vibe, with plenty going on but little stress. Gemini is all about communication and ideas, and natives of this air sign are known as the social butterflies of the zodiac, people who love to meet people but don’t hang around too long to get embroiled in their existential angst! This new moon however is receiving influences from all three of the outer planets, the “heavy hitters” of the universe, meaning we’ll have to dig a little deeper to make the best of the energy. Firstly, the new moon is opposed by Pluto, which demands truth, integrity and transformation whatever the price. This makes the month an ideal time to examine our closest relationships with an in-depth scrutiny which might at other times be quite difficult. Pluto wants us to get real about what aspects of our connections to others are positive and necessary, and which are holding us back. Old habits die hard, and this applies to relationships as well as any other area of life. The second heavy hitter chancing his arm is Uranus, planet of change, whose motto is “expect the unexpected”. Uranus is moving away from a challenging connection to the Sun and Moon, but this is still strong enough to be felt. So be warned – Uranus is here to tell us that the only thing that’s certain in life is change! Embrace change and try new things for a positive experience of Uranus. To add to the mix, Neptune is throwing in his hat with a flowing contact: taking the path of least resistance will be the easy, but not the wise route to go this month. Make the most of Neptune’s creative potentials by doing whatever it is that both feeds your soul and gives you spiritual direction along with high moral principles. In short, we’re being asked between now and the next new moon on 14th July to allow stimulation and intellectual exploration into our lives, to be open to new ideas and ways of thinking, and to make sure that we use the cues the universe sends us with integrity, honesty and imagination.

Sun into Cancer and Summer Solstice June 21st
This week sees the Sun move into Cancer. This sign is ruled by the Moon and is very closely linked to emotions, feelings and nurturing, in its positive expression. Once the intellectual exploration of new ideas stimulated by the new moon in Gemini has been completed, the Sun in Cancer asks us to apply those ideas and concepts pro-actively and compassionately. Also on the 21st we reach the summer solstice point. The solstices happen on the longest (June) and shortest (December) days of the year, or: “the times when the Sun reaches its greatest declination north or south of the celestial equator each year” according to my Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy! In simple terms, the Summer Solstice occurs because of the tilt of the earth and the fact that our hemisphere is at its closest distance to the sun, making the day the longest in the year.

Around the houses: the 3rd and 4th house
Continuing with our look at the houses in astrology, the new moon in Gemini and Sun moving into Cancer fit quite nicely with the third and fourth houses, as Gemini is the “natural” sign associated with the third house, and Cancer is associated with the fourth.

The 3rd House
This house represents a range of areas of life, including short journeys, local space and familiar people such as brothers, sisters, neighbours and teachers. Perhaps the most well known area it governs, though, is knowledge and communication, especially in the context of our childhood learning and how we communicate at a basic, maybe even instinctual level (as opposed to how we develop our ideas and communication skill sets, which is the realm of the opposite house, the 9th). People who are known for communication in some form are therefore usually blessed with a well populated 3rd house. For example, it’s quite common for singers to have a lot going on there, examples including Paul Weller, Lulu and Bono; Bono has the Sun, Mercury and Venus in the 3rd. Another communicator with a strong third house is the comedian Peter Cook, who has Mercury and the north node there, in outgoing and adventurous Sagittarius. We can look to the third house to discover more about our experience of early schooling. For example, if Uranus, planet of change and upheaval is there, we might expect that early schooling was interrupted, perhaps by the family moving around a lot during the person’s childhood.

The 4th House
The fourth house represents home, family and our experience of these things in early childhood as well as how we build our home in our adulthood. It can also indicate our ability to get nurturing, feel protected and safe, as well as what is at the root of us – our core beliefs, deep instinctual attitudes, and our ancestral heritage. This house can also represent mother or father, the jury being out among astrologers regarding which one of our parents lives at this address! As regular readers of New Moon Messenger will know, I’m always stressing that nothing in astrology is inherently good or bad, it depends entirely on how the individual experiences different planetary signatures in their lives and how (or indeed whether) they choose to deal with them. A tragic example of how a fourth house can become difficult is found in the chart of Paula Yates, the late wife of Sir Bob Geldof. She had the moon and Neptune in the fourth house and obviously longed for her home and family to be a sanctuary. Moon with Neptune in this case echoes a yearning for peace and unity, but instead it manifests through intense Scorpio with a true sting in the tail, via disillusionment, drugs and ultimately the desperate act of suicide. Conversely, pop star and champion of ecology Sting also has a strong fourth house, with the same planetary combination of moon and Neptune placed there in Libra. This combination seems be working in a much more positive way for the ex-Police-man! It seems to indicate that for him home and family is where he finds emotional fulfilment, the opportunity to become one with his family, in a balanced and harmonious way. This is no doubt greatly helped by his continued study of Yoga (a spiritual and therefore positive Neptunian practice) together with his wife Trudie Styler, Libra being the sign of partnership.

Don’t miss NMM next month for a look at The Fifth House, continuing our exploration of the series of 12!

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