Treatises on Arabic Astrology

and amended. And the thing for which one asks the meaning, by which it is signified—whatever thing it may be, whether of good or of evil—which has occurred in this interrogationA specific question posed to an astrologer to be answered by casting a chart for the moment the question is asked. by the methods that the sages explained regarding the meaning of interrogations. And of things according to the substances of the twelve signs and the natures of the seven planets and the places from which things are taken, just as the planets have their own natures and meanings, as we shall arrange above by the pleasure of God.

The First House

The first house is the entire beginning place where one begins the quest, in the place of the interrogation or of the birth or of the beginning of any work. And it signifies life and death, for it is the ascendantThe degree of the zodiac rising over the eastern horizon at a specific moment. of the life of man. And it goes before life when he issues from the womb of the mother. (And this line is ascending from the lowest part of the earth to the highest; it goes from darkness to light. And likewise, the rising from the darkness of the womb to the light of this world, and from the narrowness of the womb to the largeness of the air. And he who makes the request shall put his interrogation from the secret of his heart into light and it shall be the manifestation of what was previously hidden.) Therefore, it signifies the body and life and every beginning and movement of the body, and whatever thing shall be held from any ascendant; and the beginning of every healthy thing or the outcome, and every movable or rational thing, and the beginnings of all things.

The Second House

The second house follows the ascendant and does not regardIn astrology, "regarding" or "beholding" refers to the geometric aspects or lines of sight between different parts of the zodiac. the ascending line; and it signifies the gathering of substance Refers to personal wealth, possessions, and material resources. and begins from life, and the following state, and the acceptance of promises and proximities or friendships.

The Third House

The third house is not entirely removed from the ascendant. And it signifies one's siblings and kindred, one's neighbors and relatives, their well-being, and such similar things. Also faith and religion, contention in letters, epistles, legacies, pilgrimages, and dreams.