An empty First House in your birth chart means that you don’t need planets present there in order to develop or assert your personality. It doesn’t mean that you won’t have a strong personality or that you will struggle in this area.
So are vacant houses something to worry about? What should you expect with your 1st House sitting empty?
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- You can still develop a great personality even with no planets present.
- The sign of your 1st House and its planetary ruler can offer insight into it.
- Planetary energy will still inhabit your empty 1st House through transits.
Table of Contents
- What does an empty 1st House in my chart mean?
- How do I read my empty 1st House?
- Will my empty First House always be empty?
What does an empty 1st House in my chart mean?
There are only ten planets many astrologers consider in a reading, but twelve houses in an astrological chart. You could have many empty houses in your birth chart, and your First House could be one of them.
So if one of the empty houses in your chart is your First House, what are some things you could expect?
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What does the 1st House mean?
Two names for the 1st House are the House of Personality and the House of Self.
This house helps to define how you express your personality and how others view you.
This cusp of this house also has another name, your Ascendant, and it is a very important angle in your chart and considered one of astrology’s “Big 3.”
Some describe this house as your social persona or the “mask” that you wear. It’s the person that you let others see. But, that’s not the whole story.
How others see you and interact with you is directly related to the way in which you see the world and this all falls into 1st House territory.
- Outward personality
- Sense of identity
- Control over yourself
- How you view the world
- How others react to you
What are empty houses in astrology?
A house with no planets inhabiting it is considered an empty house in astrology.
As with many things in astrology, not everyone will agree on the exact meaning of an empty house, but in the branch of astrology I prefer, Evolutionary Astrology, having an empty house just means that you didn’t need natal planets there to achieve what you came here to do.
In my opinion, an empty house doesn’t mean that you should immediately expect to struggle in those life areas. But I also don’t think you will automatically breeze through a vacant house, either.
Empty houses can still play an important role in your life.
What if my 1st house is empty?
With your First House sitting empty, in order to successfully develop your personality and have a healthy and effective view of life, you didn’t need a planet in your natal First House.
I don’t believe there aren’t any “bad” parts of your birth chart.
You came into this life equipped with all of the tools you need for personal growth and to fulfill what you came here to do.
Having an empty First House won’t prevent you from forming and asserting the identity that works best for you.
Just like with every part of life, that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to put work into it, of course, it just means that it is possible to develop an effective personality and a healthy view of the world with the chart you have.
With an empty First House, your planetary energy was required elsewhere in your chart.
But, even with no planets present, you aren’t left clueless when it comes to this important house. How can you still pull meaning from your First House, even if it sits empty?
How do I read my empty 1st House?
Just because there aren’t any planets to interpret in this house doesn’t mean that there is nothing there to read. Your natal chart offers a few ways to still gain insight into your empty 1st House.
1. Your First House sign
Check your chart to see which sign your First House lands in.
If you need a copy of your chart, draw one up at ChaniNicholas.com.
Because your First House is so important in your chart, this sign is given a special name in astrology, your rising sign.
In the example below, you can see that their rising sign is Taurus ♉︎.
The sign of the Zodiac your First House sits in will offer clues about the style in which you express this house. It will “flavor” the version of yourself that you present to others and the way in which you view the world.
2. Look up the ruling planet of your First House sign
Another way to get more information about your empty First House, is to look to the ruling planet of the sign your First House sits in.
Each sign of the Zodiac has a planetary ruler and some signs even have two.
Check the table below to find the planet that rules the sign of your First House.
| Zodiac Sign of Your First House | Zodiac Sign’s Ruling Planet or Planets |
| Aries | Mars |
| Taurus | Venus |
| Gemini | Mercury |
| Cancer | The Moon |
| Leo | The Sun |
| Virgo | Chiron (modern), Mercury (traditional) |
| Libra | Venus |
| Scorpio | Pluto (modern), Mars (traditional) |
| Sagittarius | Jupiter |
| Capricorn | Saturn |
| Aquarius | Uranus (modern), Saturn (traditional) |
| Pisces | Neptune (modern), Jupiter (traditional) |
3. Locate the planetary ruler of your First House sign
Next, find the location of the ruling planet of the sign of your First House.
Because the First House is so significant in astrology, the planetary ruler of your rising sign is given a special name, your chart ruler.
The Zodiac sign and house that this planet sits in can be used to add another layer of detail to how you may experience your empty First House.
The traits from the sign of this ruling planet’s placement can be mixed in with the characteristics of the sign of your 1st House, adding more complexity and detail to how you express your empty First House.
Whatever house this ruling planet sits in ties some of those life experiences to your First House, as well.
In the birth chart example below, you can see that their 1st House cusp is in Taurus. The planet ruling Taurus is Venus, which in their chart is found in Gemini 2nd House. This person’s outward identity will partly be shaped by Gemini’s traits and the areas of life defined by the 2nd House could be intermixed with their First House, as well.
4. Find Mars in your chart
One other way to learn more about your empty First House is to find Mars, the ruler of your First House, in your natal chart.
Its placement can also add additional details to how you may experience this empty house.
Will my empty First House always be empty?
The placements of your natal chart are fixed, frozen in time at the exact moment of your birth.
But, this doesn’t mean that no planetary energy will ever grace your First House because of the transiting planets.
The phrase “transiting planets” is used in astrology to describe the currently moving planets.
The movements of these planets in transit interact with your own natal chart, bringing their influence to the houses of your chart as they go.
In the example chart above, some transiting planets are shown. You can see that transiting Saturn is sitting in this person’s natal First House, adding some planetary energy to this otherwise empty house.
However, Saturn will eventually move on to the Second House, taking its influence along with it.
Your empty 1st House can still be a hotbed of activity when you take transiting planets into account.
Don’t forget to grab your empty 1st House worksheet, emailed to you FREE when you sign up!
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