I’ve been using placidus house system since I was an astro baby, solely getting my content from Co-Star (rolling my eyes) and random sun-sign astrology Instagram posts. This is mostly in part due to my lack of house system knowledge and the fact that this is the default for most astrology websites and apps these days.

I really liked placidus for a couple of reasons:

• everyone else seemed to be using it
• the house calculations are very accurate and precise
• I really liked where many of my natal planets were sitting in my chart

For example, I love where my natal Venus is placed. Venus sits in my eleventh house of friends, good spirit, and community. I love my friends so much. In fact, some of my best and most successful romantic relationships came from platonic friendships. In my opinion, the best relationships start with friendship, and Venus in the eleventh house would agree.

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So, recently I downloaded an astrology app that only uses whole sign houses and looked at my chart.

Venus in the twelfth… girrlllll was I in denial. I mean, this is the house of endings, losses, self-undoing, isolation, escape, karma, solitude, confinement, secrets, secret enemies, hidden talents, dreams, fantasies, idealism, etc. I think you get the picture.

After some reflection, I began realizing that maybe this house system really does have some truth to it – even if I didn’t want to accept it. This realization forced me to accept some truths about myself that maybe I wasn’t ready to admit before.

For example, I tend to be very idealistic (twelfth house) in romantic relationships (Venus), to a fault. It has often lead to unrealistic expectations and disillusionment in those relationships. They have always been kept secret from someone or other, but this brought isolation and feelings of being trapped. These relationships have all felt karmic in some way, always having something to teach me, and almost always painful. This is my reality of Venus in the twelfth. Relationships have consistently brought revelation through painful lessons.

However, having Venus in the twelfth house has granted me with deep and intense empathy for others, incredible intuition, and hidden talents that I have not even begun to explore. Perhaps a blessing and a curse, or maybe a blessing in disguise?

I like whole sign houses because of its simplicity and clarity. My rising sign is in a very late degree, giving me intercepted signs in the first and seventh houses when using placidus. This led to some confusion as it was often challenging to interpret transits in those houses.

Overall, I like using this system because:

• it aligns with traditional astrology, that of which I am currently studying
• the ease of timing predictions for transits, zodiacal releasing, and annual profections
• a clear ascendant and streamlined cusps
• offers a better holistic understanding of the chart, focusing on overall themes and the big picture
• it is the easiest, most user friendly house system for beginners

And not to mention, all of my favorite astrologers use it.

So, here’s to accepting the parts of myself (and my chart) that I cannot change, self-discovery, and continued learning and understanding.

I hope you all enjoyed today’s post. I’ll see you soon.

-Liza