The Third House

The immediate environment-Habitual thought patterns-The ‘subjective mind’-Communication skills-Speech and writing-Relations with neighbours and relatives

Traditionally, the third house lumps together what on the surface appears to be a motely collection of unrelated activities: siblings, neighbours, short journeys and mental abilities. But there is an underlying theme to this house because it deals with all day those day-to-day affairs in our lives that could be best described as familiar.

In other words it represents all those areas of life with which we interact on a daily basis. Conscious thought. In this sense, for example, ‘short journeys’ represent any form of travel that does not involve dealing with unfamiliar settings or schedules; while siblings and neighbours refer to relationships that are part of our daily interactions.

At a fundamental level, this house shows how we develop our mental powers, particularly our ability to reason and analyse, and how we incorporate these into our everyday lives. In our dealings with others, these skills manifest as routine communications- both oral and written.

Because the ability to think and communicate develops at an early age, learning is also governed by the third house. Planets affecting this house will therefore reveal something about our early education, but, most important of all, they will show our basic ‘mindset’ – how our subconscious thinking shapes our experience of everyday reality.

Planets in the Third House
A concentration of planets in the third house suggests as active mind, which busily engages itself in the affairs of the immediate environment. Often, the level of engagement is not especially deep or challenging, although with the ‘active’ planets such as Mars and Uranus, there can be a great deal of physical and mental restlessness. However, the ‘watery’ planets-the Moon and Neptune – can create problems in this house as they tend to distort communications by creating confusion in the unconscious thought processes.

Reference: The Instant Astrologer: Felix Lyle and Bryan Aspland