With its growing popularity and a wealth of information online, astrology has never been more accessible to everyone. You don’t need advanced knowledge to glean a basic understanding of your birth chart, but you may find some elements confusing. What do those empty houses mean? Answering this question requires learning more about houses and debunking misconceptions.
How Horoscope Houses Work
Horoscope houses contain planets, points, and asteroids and comprise twelve sections in each natal chart. The first six houses on the chart’s bottom are personal houses, while the top six are interpersonal houses. The Astrocodex offers a detailed summary of each one’s meaning and focus. Yet Iordanus cautions against regarding the houses simply as “sectors of life.” Instead, the author describes them as expressions of the human psyche.
What Empty Houses Mean for You
Empty houses prompt anxious responses in some people. They may believe that a vacant tenth house signals a lack of career opportunities or that an empty third house points to communication or learning struggles. Experienced astrologists stress that unoccupied houses are no cause for concern. Most natal charts will have at least one or two houses with no objects inside them.
If an empty horoscope house isn’t a problem, then what does it actually mean? Some astrologers propose that vacant houses represent life aspects on which we may not focus as much. Perhaps an unoccupied tenth house means that career matters are a no-brainer. Alternatively, they could indicate areas that require a little more attention. An unfilled third house may suggest a need for exploration and development in matters of communication and learning.
These are just a few approaches, but you should remember that each house has energies of its own. Without objects inside them, house energies can manifest in their purer forms. However, the sign on or a planet near the beginning cusp of the vacant house may hold some clues. In our empty third house example, Gemini is positioned on the house’s cusp. Its ruling planet Mercury governs communication and thinking, so this could signal a quick-witted person who speaks and writes with relative ease.
Common Astrological Chart Shapes
When looking at a birth chart, it’s very common to see some houses containing objects while others are empty. Depending on the positions of objects at the time a person is born, they can form distinct patterns or shapes. AstroStyle discusses seven common chart shapes identified by twentieth-century astrologer Marc Edmund Jones:
- Seesaw: objects clustered into two groups at opposite ends of the chart
- Bowl: planets occupying only half of the chart
- Bucket: most planets sitting in half of the chart with one lone planet on the opposite end
- Splash: planets evenly scattered throughout most of the houses
- Bundle: objects concentrated together in only four houses
- Locomotive: objects occupying around two-thirds of the chart
- Splay: planets form tight clusters in a few different chart segments
According to Jones, each chart shape expresses a unique meaning. Seesaw charts may indicate a person pulled in two opposite life directions. Bowl shapes may point to areas of intense concentration while others remain unexplored. In a bucket chart, the planet by itself can indicate a specific life theme. Splash charts can signal a person with a wide range of interests, while bundle shapes may imply extreme focus on one specific life area. With a locomotive chart, the empty regions may require more attention and exploration. Finally, splay charts can signal several strong areas of interest or key strengths.
Unique Interpretation Holds the Key
Birth charts can reveal many details, but it’s easy to feel confused about their contents. Empty houses aren’t any cause for worry. Rather, they can reveal more about your strengths or present opportunities for personal growth. As with any other astrological features, the meaning often lies in subjective interpretation.