© Deborah Houlding, first published on this site April 2003; updated May 2024
The ‘planetary joys’ are the houses that each planet is said to ‘rejoice’ to be in.
This is a traditional arrangement for the seven visible planets, which associates the planets with the houses most suited to their natural expression. Note that Venus ‘rejoices’ in the 5th house of love affairs and procreation; its influence is strengthened by placement in a house that is fundamentally suitable to its essential character. Generous, benefic Jupiter rejoices in the 11th house of ‘good fortune, benefactors and friends’, so when placed here it becomes particularly expressive and strong. Mercury rejoices in the first house where it can have a marked effect on the intellect and the ability to express oneself with eloquence. The Moon, the traditional significator of messages, messengers and writers, rejoices in the 3rd house, which naturally governs those issues. The Sun, traditionally associated with prophecy, divination and the exposure of truth, rejoices in the 9th house of counsel, divination, guidance and religion. Malefic Saturn rejoices in the baleful 12th house, which supports its theme of limitation; and Mars rejoices in the 6th house which is generally considered unfortunate and oppressive through its connotations of illness and burdensome tasks.
The use of planetary joys is very ancient – it was a prominent consideration in classical astrology and remained a pertinent factor throughout historical texts. Manilius referred to a planet in its house of joy as being in its temple, illustrating the deep and profound relationship between the house and its associated planet. The German Renaissance astrologer Johannes Schoener (1477-1547), in his calculation of planetary strength by numerical point-scoring, awarded two points of dignity to a planet placed in its house of joy, equating its strength to that of a planet being in its own term. In my 1990s book, The Houses: Temples of the Sky, I proposed that some house meanings even developed as a result of the strong association between the themes of the planets and their associated houses of joy. (Although the expanded edition is not available online, the early version of the chapter exploring this theme can still be read online via the Internet Archive).
Planetary joys are used in horary as a strengthening factor that points to an emphasised effect, so it’s worth taking some time to reflect on them and commit them to memory. If you find a planet in its house of joy and that house is key to the enquiry, then you should give it a little more attention in your judgement, as if the volume of that planet has been slightly increased.
Note the ‘joy’ of the two malefic planets in the two most malefic houses: Saturn in the 12th house and Mars in the 6th. There are two strands of logic in this. The first is that the dark and generally destructive nature of these difficult houses is in keeping with the harsh effects of these two challenging planets. Another argument is that they are ideally placed in cadent houses so that their influence is not angular and forceful. For example, one of the key aims of electional astrology is to strengthen the benefic planets by making them angular, while forcing the malefic planets into the background by making them cadent. My own view is that the latter principle was sought in the arrangement of this scheme, but if a horary query concerns a 6th house matter and Mars is placed within it, then you want to recognise that the influence of Mars is less debilitated in the 6th house than it is in any other cadent house, because this is its house of joy which suits its nature so well.
For a deeper understanding of the symbolism employed in astrological houses it will be useful to read the archived version of chapter five of The Houses: Temples of the Sky, which explores the philosophical principles embedded in the arrangment of the houses of planetary joy. (This now updated and expanded commercial text is no longer available online, but early versions are still accessible through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine – the expanded print version is published by Wessex Astrologer).
This chapter discusses how planetary joys have contributed to our understanding of the rulerships of the 5th house and 11th house and also introduces the concept of planetary sect. Don’t be alarmed if you find it hard to follow all the arguments perfectly at this stage, since new concepts are being introduced that take time to settle. Planetary sect will be covered in a later addition to this series.
The main benefit of reading this chapter is that it will help to solidify your knowledge of practical rulerships concerning the 5th and 11th house axis. After you have read through the chapter and reviewed the ancient and traditional associations of those houses, take time to explore the following two pages which outline their practical significations:
