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Each of the twelve houses are defined as angular (1st, 4th, 7th & 10th), succedent (2nd, 5th, 8th, & 11th) or cadent (3rd, 6th, 9th & 12th), as shown in the diagram above.

These characterisations remind us that the twelve houses are not equal in their strength and effect. If a planet is placed in an angular house, it is much more forceful in its effects than it would be in a cadent house. William Lilly discusses the prioritisation of house strength on p.48 of his Christian Astrology where he tells us:

Note that comment: "planets in angles do more forcibly show their effects". The astrological angles – ascendant, midheaven (MC), descendant and lower midheaven (IC) – are the most potent and influential areas in any chart. Any planet that is close to an angle will have a marked influence that resonates throughout the chart and greatly colours its overall meaning.

Because of their primary importance, the angles are often referred to as the ‘cardinal points’, and they relate directly to the cardinal directions east, south, west and north. (The word ‘cardinal’ comes from the Latin cardo meaning ‘hinge’, indicating something of central significance). Ancient astrologers viewed the cardinal points as the great axis that held the earth in position; as we find expressed in the Astronomica of Manilius, written around 10 AD:

The angular houses (1st, 4th, 7th & 10th - sometimes called cardinal houses) are those that have the cardinal angles on their cusps. When a planet is placed in an angular house, it is performing more powerfully. Whatever it represents will show its force in a swift and dynamic fashion.

The succedent houses (2nd, 5th, 8th & 11th) are so named because the planets within them succeed by the diurnal revolution of the sky to the cardinal position. These planets experience a position of mediocre strength.

The cadent houses (3rd, 6th, 9th & 12th) take their name from the Latin word cadens which means 'falling' or 'perishing' (it also forms the root of the word cadaver meaning corpse). A planet in a cadent house has been carried by diurnal revolution away from the cardinal position, symbolising something that has moved from a position of power into a condition of weakness, or a fall from grace/decline of strength.

In judicial astrology the angular houses represent 'seats of power', or places of familiarity and control. The further the distance between a planet and the angle, the less potency it possesses and the more alienation it experiences in its environment. Originally, all of the cadent houses had some representation over foreign places and situations. The lack of familiarity was not just a denial of strength, it was also indicative of fear and danger.

Throughout Christian Astrology Lilly refers his judgements to the fact that planets are angular, succedent and cadent. In the timing of events, angular planets bring about a swift result, succedent planets perform more slowly and cadent planets are so ineffective that often they don't perform at all, or they take so long that you would despair of the situation first.

Consider the relevancy of this in a chart set up to enquire whether a missing person will be found safe and well - if there is a good application from angular houses you can expect to hear positive news or to make a reunion very rapidly. If the planets are detrimented and the aspects are bad, the news may not be good but the situation will still resolve itself quickly. If the significators are cadent however, there might be a long period of feeling as if nothing is happening, or it may be that the querent is never able to fully resolve the situation.

In lost property charts significators in angular houses are a strong indication of recovery, in cadent houses it is likely that the object cannot be recovered.

Angular planets are powerful, so the people or matters that they signify are strong and attract a lot of attention. If representing a person, an angular planet would signify someone with the power to 'get things done'. If it is signifying a disease, the disease has the power to do damage, which is why in illness charts it is better to find the ruler of the 6th house cadent. In commercial charts, the 10th house indicates the success or profit to be made on a transaction, so if the 10th house ruler is angular, the price of the commodity will be high and attract a lot of interest, if it is cadent the price will be low.

The table below highlights some of the principles of angularity in horary judgments. Remember that these are general principles that only form one part of the overall judgement.

The Use of Angularity of Significators in Interpretation
	Angular	succedent	Cadent
Denoting strength in any situation	Powerful	Medium	Weak
Re: lost objects or missing persons	Indoors or very close to the querent	A further distance, but not too far away	A long way off
Likelihood of discovery	Strong	Medium	Little hope of recovery
In timing events (from application of significators)	Swift (days)	Not so soon (weeks)	Slow (months)
In matters of price	Good price	Fair price	Poor price
In matters of health/illness/death (for querent's significator)	Strong vitality, denies possibility of death	Reasonable, chance either way	Suggests a lack of vitality and argues in favour of illness or death