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The 7th house in astrology

The 7th house begins at the Descendant, the point setting in the west when you were born, directly opposite your Ascendant. Astrologers read it as the house of the other person: partners, marriage, close collaborators and open rivals.

Rules: Partnership, marriage and open rivals
Natural sign: ♎︎ Libra
Natural ruler: Venus
House type: Angular
Element of its sign: Air
Opposite house: 1st house
Place in the chart: Above the horizon, western half
Sun here at birth (Placidus): Born in the last third of the afternoon, up to sunset

What the 7th house rules

Everything that happens one to one belongs here. Marriage and committed relationships are the best known 7th house topics, but business partnerships, contracts, agreements and the people you negotiate with count too. Traditionally it also rules open enemies, the rivals and opponents who face you directly. Because it sits opposite the 1st house, astrologers often read the 7th as qualities you look for in others or meet through them. Planets here describe the partners you attract and how you behave in a close bond. A 7th house with no planets does not mean no relationships; the sign on the Descendant and its ruler still describe them.

Natural sign and ruler

In the natural zodiac the 7th house matches Libra and its ruler Venus. Libra is the sign of the scales, about balance, fairness and pairing up, which suits a house of partnership. The sign on your own Descendant is always opposite your rising sign: a Leo rising has Aquarius on the 7th house cusp.

An angular house

Angular houses (the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th) begin at the four angles of the chart: the Ascendant, the IC, the Descendant and the Midheaven. Astrologers read them as the strongest and most visible houses, where planets act openly. As an angular house, it is one of the four strongest places in the chart, and planets near the Descendant are prominent in relationships.

Planets in the 7th house

Venus here is a classic sign of a strong wish for partnership and harmony. Saturn is often read as commitment that comes later or with a serious, older partner. Jupiter suggests generous partners, Mars attraction to energetic people and some conflict. The Sun here can make relationships central to how you see yourself, and Uranus is linked with a need for space and unusual arrangements.

Your 7th house sign by rising sign

The sign on your 7th house cusp depends on your rising sign. It is always the sign opposite your rising sign in every house system, because the 7th house cusp is the Descendant.

Sign on the 7th house cusp for each rising sign
Rising sign	7th house sign	7th house ruler
♈︎ Aries rising	♎︎ Libra	Venus
♉︎ Taurus rising	♏︎ Scorpio	Mars (modern: Pluto)
♊︎ Gemini rising	♐︎ Sagittarius	Jupiter
♋︎ Cancer rising	♑︎ Capricorn	Saturn
♌︎ Leo rising	♒︎ Aquarius	Saturn (modern: Uranus)
♍︎ Virgo rising	♓︎ Pisces	Jupiter (modern: Neptune)
♎︎ Libra rising	♈︎ Aries	Mars
♏︎ Scorpio rising	♉︎ Taurus	Venus
♐︎ Sagittarius rising	♊︎ Gemini	Mercury
♑︎ Capricorn rising	♋︎ Cancer	The Moon
♒︎ Aquarius rising	♌︎ Leo	The Sun
♓︎ Pisces rising	♍︎ Virgo	Mercury

How big is the 7th house?

In Whole Sign and Equal houses every house spans exactly 30°. In Placidus, the system most software uses, house sizes change with your birth time and grow more uneven the further you were born from the equator. In New York the 7th house ranges from 20° to 48°; in London from 16° to 61°. When a house is wider than a sign, it can hold a whole sign that touches neither cusp, an intercepted sign, which some astrologers read as a theme that takes longer to express.

Size of the 7th house in Placidus houses over one full turn of the sky
Birthplace	Smallest	Largest	Share of birth times with an intercepted sign
Quito (0°N)	28°	33°	2%
Cairo (30°N)	22°	42°	8%
New York (40.7°N)	20°	48°	12%
London (51.5°N)	16°	61°	18%
Stockholm (59.3°N)	11°	82°	20%
Sydney (33.9°S)	21°	44°	9%

Calculated with the same house engine as our birth chart calculator, checked against the Swiss Ephemeris, sampling every half degree of sidereal time.

How to find your 7th house

You need your birth date, exact time and place. Enter them in the birth chart calculator and look at the house list: it shows the sign on the 7th house cusp and any planets inside it. Then find the planet that rules that sign and see which house it sits in. That planet, the 7th house ruler, is where astrologers say 7th house matters lead you.

Questions

What does the 7th house represent in astrology?

The 7th house represents partnership: marriage, committed relationships, business partners, contracts and open rivals. It begins at the Descendant, opposite the Ascendant. Astrologers read it for the kind of people you are drawn to and how you behave in one-to-one relationships.

What does an empty 7th house mean?

An empty 7th house is ordinary and does not mean you will stay single. With ten planets and twelve houses, every chart has empty houses. Astrologers then read the sign on the Descendant, its ruling planet and its position, along with Venus, for the story of your relationships.

Which planet rules the 7th house?

In the natural zodiac the 7th house is paired with Libra, so its natural ruler is Venus. In your own chart, the ruler of your 7th house is the planet that rules the sign on its cusp, and astrologers read where that planet sits to see where 7th house matters lead.

The other houses

All twelve houses in astrology