Let’s imagine that to enter this world there are twelve pathways. Each of them offers a set of qualities, which will shape our essential being during our experience in 3D. The door through which we enter is known as the rising sign, the one that begins the first house.

These twelve houses represent the process of individuation of the Self. Their structure overlaps the zodiac wheel. The beginning of the 1st house  and the subsequent houses are designated by the time and place of birth. While the signs of the zodiac represent specific qualities, the astrological houses show areas of life where these qualities are expressed. How we experience them depends on the positions of the planets, their aspects, and our free will.

1st House in Leo

The rising sign describes how we cope with life. It shows our natural way of presenting ourselves to others. Any planet in the first house will condition this behavior in one way or another. The sign that starts the 1st house will be the first thing others see of us.

The ascendant in Leo radiates warmth, generosity, dignity, passion. It is ruled by the sun. And as such, it is driven by the joy of living. With this ascendant we are very playful and our movements are somewhat theatrical. 

Leo in the first house has come into the world to express their true self, exactly as children do. The sun is the brightest object in our solar system. Anyone close to a Leo ascendant will feel their magnetism. Some will believe that it is Leo who wants to attract attention. The truth is… they really can’t help it. We cannot ask the Sun to measure its light just because it is too bright sometimes. The challenge of the first house is to honor our vital impulses. It will be the only way we can align ourselves with our potential. When Leo is our rising sign, our vital need is to express who we really are. This is a difficult task in this world … we are all educated to behave following models created by others. The ascendant in Leo calls us to live with integrity, otherwise we cannot be happy. But we must remember that this huge challenge is supported by the Sun. How can we achieve it? The position of the Sun and its aspects will give more details on this. The next eleven houses will also tell us about different qualities that, when we develop them, will allow us to reach the maximum potential of Leo rising.

2nd House – Virgo

The second house represents what gives us a sense of security. It also represents the qualities that are latent and that once we grow them, give us value and self-esteem. It also represents how we relate to the material world.

With Virgo in the second house, Leo ascendant benefits greatly from paying attention to detail. We might be interested in finding out how things work. We develop a pragmatic approach to resources. Knowing where to invest our energy, including money, can become one of our greatest qualities. We have a very realistic vision of how to generate resources. We will be interested in personal development. We can also value health and everything related to taking care of our body. The challenge of the second house is to give personal expression to our innate resources. With Virgo in this house we have the potential to discern what is useful, to know how to manage our resources and solve problems. This will create a sense of material security that will enhance our self-esteem.  

3rd House in Libra

The third house represents our intellect, communication, mental processes, conscious perception, our reasoning. In short, all these faculties speak to us of the relationship we make with our immediate environment.

The third house in Libra seeks harmony, balance, equity. We weigh the information. The mind is not polarized. We want to know about both aspects of an issue. We know that both sides contain truth. We take into account the opinions of others.  This is why people enjoy conversations with Leo rising. Libra in the third house speaks gracefully. They are very polite and can have a pleasant voice. They also enjoy beautiful surroundings. The challenge of the third house is to form a clear perception and communicate our ideas. With Libra in this house, we face this challenge by including all aspects of an issue and by reaching conclusions where everything we have observed is taken into account.

4th House Scorpio

The fourth house tells us about our emotional security, our inner world, our core self, our personal experience of the world. Having Scorpio in the fourth house tells us about people who live everything very intensely. With Scorpio here, we have the potential to immerse ourselves in our emotions and discover our limitations and strengths. At times, feelings can be overwhelming, but this intensity is a catalyst for self-discovery and transformation. We are very private with our feelings and very protective of our home and family. The challenge of the fourth house is to provide us with emotional security by discovering what our deepest needs are. With Scorpio in this house, we achieve this by making ourselves vulnerable to our darkest emotions, allowing them to flow freely within us in our inner world, facing them with total honesty, and like so, entering the path of self-knowledge.

5th House in Sagittarius

The fifth house shows our creative self-expression, how we seek pleasure, where we find joy, how we fall in love. Having Sagittarius in this house speaks to how expansive Leo rising is when expressing themselves, falling in love, exploring the world. We find great pleasure in studying other cultures, other philosophies. Leo on the ascendant finds joy in new experiences. We love doing things that we have never done before. In our creative endeavors, we will express optimism and do our best to make our principles clear. We enjoy adventures, nature. Big mountains… wide oceans. Witnessing the majesty of nature leaves us in awe. The challenge of the fifth house is to express ourselves through creativity and joy. With Sagittarius in this house, we go through this challenge by opening ourselves to the exploration of the diversity of life, travelling, learning new things, discovering other cultures, other philosophies, other religions, but always from “experience”, as a adventure, like explorers. Love and dating is also lived as an adventure. We jump on our heads at the possibility of a romance, wanting to explore every aspect of this new experience. Routine does not work for a Leo Ascendant with this fifth house. Joy is found through discovering new territories in all aspects of life. 

6th house in Capricorn

It is in the Sixth House where we find routine. This house tells us about how we polish our skills, how we solve problems, how we apply what we have learned in everyday life.

When the sixth house is in Capricorn, Leo rising become hard-working people who their responsibilities very seriously. We are reliable when it comes to the tasks that have been entrusted to us. We can work long hours and we may need to sleep a lot afterward, just to recharge our energy and keep going. Problems are solved with patience and self-discipline. Whatever happens, when we have Capricorn in the 6th House, we will achieve our goals, as long as they are relevant to what we have set out to do. The challenge of the sixth house is to take responsibility, especially when we develop our skills and when we put them at the service of others. With Capricorn here, we do it through discipline and dedication, and that is why we have the potential to be very good at what we do.

7th House in Aquarius

In the 7th House, we see how we relate to others. Very often, especially in the early stages of our social life, this house shows the projection that we make on others about those qualities that we want to develop in ourselves. With Aquarius in this house, we look for people who stand out for their individuality, in some way or another. Perhaps it is because Leo rising seeks to free themselves from the need to be appreciated by everyone, as this prevents them from expressing their true self. When we have Leo as the rising sign, we are attracted to those who dare to show their uniqueness unapologetically. Leo’s greatest commitment is to their ideals, and with Aquarius in the Seventh House, we will enjoy relating with individuals who are keenly aware of what it takes to improve society. The challenge of the seventh house is to realize that those with whom we form relationships are as special as we are. With Aquarius in this house, we go through this challenge discovering our own uniqueness by appreciating the uniqueness of all the people with whom we come into relationship. We learn to respect personal freedom of choice. Individuals with Aquarian characteristics will make Leo feel as special as anyone else, and this will help them, little by little, to feel part of something that transcends the Self. Transcending does not mean “denying”. Leo rising will slowly include the world in their own awareness. And for them, Self means “ all of us”. Of course, this can manifest as relationships that upset Leo rising from time to time, until Leo manage to love themselves for who they are, and not because how others others see them. When this occurs, Leo ascendant can form relationships with the highest octave Aquarius: unions based on equality, and especially friendship, where creativity, inventiveness and companionship go hand in hand.

8th House in Pisces

And this is when we find Pisces in the eighth house. The eighth house is about our instinctual responses, intimacy, sexuality, our vision of death, and the transformation that happens when our energies mix with those of others. With Pisces in this house, the heart of Leo seeks spiritual union with the other. The eighth house is said to be the one that shows how we really are when we enter into intimate relationships. The influence of Neptune, the ruler of Pisces, connects us with the most subtle energies of the universe. Leo has a strong sense of self. We have already said that the Sun is so magnetic and luminous, that Leo rising cannot really see beyond its own light. So the only way to enter in union with others is through the intangible energies of Pisces. They are energies full of gentleness and acceptance, which wash over Leo’s heart. When uniting with them, Leo rising goes through a mystical transmutation. For this reason, this position also gives the ability to connect with intangible worlds. This union can also manifest with music, mysticism, dreams. The challenge of the eighth house is to integrate death, transformation and intimacy – what is a kind of ego death through union- as part of Life. When we find Pisces in this house, we could tend to escape intimacy for fear of losing our own identity. But when we dare to free ourselves from mistrust towards what we cannot understand, we learn to explore new worlds… the world of our imagination and the mysteries of life.

9th House in Aries

The ninth house represents our personal philosophy, our search for truth, how we explore new territories and higher learning. Having Aries in the 9th house shows that Leo believes in independence. With Aries here, we likely won’t follow any leaders. We may prefer self-learning and we are independent thinkers. Our philosophies are related to action, so we could benefit from the teachings of martial arts and yoga, where physical activity is combined with spirituality. The ascendant in Leo will be very excited when an idea interests them, and when they believe in something worthwhile, they will defend their beliefs as true warriors. The challenge of the Ninth House is to evolve by exploring new concepts and developing principles that are representative of our true Self. With Aries in this house, Leo goes through this challenge creating their own philosophy, which is generally linked to leadership and freedom, especially when it requires individual action. 

10th House in Taurus

The Tenth House describes our reputation, it shows us what people who do not know us see about us … such as our personal achievements. This house also represents our destiny. To accomplish this, we must develop the traits described by the sign, the position of its ruling planet, its aspects and the planets found in the Tenth House. Taurus in the 10th House talks about the need for a stable life. Leo rising will gain a sense of achievement when is able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. We want to be seen as someone who is solid in all areas of life, someone who can take care of ourselves and our loved ones. Leo rising wants to give their personal values to society. The challenge of the Tenth House is to align ourselves with our own destiny. With Taurus here, we make it through determination. The goal is to sustain ourselves with the fruits of our personal talents.

11th House in Gemini

The 11th House describes our goals, the direction we want to give to our lives, associations or groups of like-minded people. Here we find the security that comes from achieving a sense of belonging.

With Gemini in the 11th House, the Leo ascendant will look for resourceful, intelligent, highly intellectual, and well-educated people. And through interaction with them, Leo will come up with new ideas. We will also use the Internet where we can find a large amount of information. We prefer associations with diverse groups where we can express different aspects of our personality. We exchange information as a way to expand our knowledge. If we have siblings, we’d love to talk to them. The 11th house challenge is to find direction in our life and join with others to manifest our ideals. With Geminis here, we get through it by gathering and sharing information and talking or writing about what inspires us.

12th House in Cancer

With Gemini in the 11th House, Leo ascendant will look for ingenious, intelligent, highly intellectual, and well-educated people. And through interaction with them, Leo will come up with new ideas. We will also use the Internet where we can find a plethora of information. We prefer associations with diverse groups where we can express different aspects of our personality. We exchange information as a way to expand our understanding.  The challenge of the 11th house is to find direction in our life and join with others to manifest our ideals. With Gemini here, we go through it by collecting and sharing information and by talking or writing about what inspires us.

The 12th House represents the universal womb, spiritual and psychic experiences, our unconscious, our prenatal memories. With Cancer in the 12th House, we unite with the collective through our emotions. We are very sensitive, and we will have a tendency to want to protect all living beings. We may not want to hurt others, even when they are hurting us. We are very empathetic. We can sacrifice our own emotions to protect those who are more vulnerable than us. We tend not to pay attention to our own emotions, although they are active in our unconscious. And this is why we can get in a bad mood and start complaining about anything without really knowing why. Or we express our emotions through dreams. With Cancer in the 12th house, dreams can help us bring to our awareness the emotions that are hidden deep in our unconscious. We may also have a hard time discerning our feelings from those of others. The challenge of the 12th house is the integration of all that we experience from the 1st to the 11th house. The life lesson of the ascendant in Leo is to achieve personal sovereignty. The movement through the houses is a spiralling upward movement that never stops. And with each turn, our personal sovereignty develops as we follow our hearts. This is living with integrity, and then, we begin to be able to feel clearly whose emotions we are feeling. With Cancer at 12, we have the potential to build a great emotional library that will allow us to empathise and feel like family everything that exists.