Financial Astrology: The Second House

Last month, I gave a lecture for The Gathering For Financial Consciousness , an event put on by Dr. Dana Williams. It was a real pleasure to sit down and talk about these things because I think all too often- you talk to anyone who works in the metaphysical niche and money almost seems like a dirty word. The thing is, though, no matter who you are, there really are certain stigmas around money. Oh, we’ll call it abundance to hide the fact that we are still discussing how to earn more money, how to find that stability that frankly: you deserve and shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting.

In astrology, we refer to the 2nd house most frequently when it comes to money, at least at the start. Of course, there are more involved, in-depth things we look at, we discuss, and go into- but, what’s interesting to me is that so many practitioners, healers, seers and otherwise have a hard time with charging what they are worth, or at all. I see this manifested in those who don’t work in the new age field as well when I see people accepting jobs they hate, staying long term, and just constantly unhappy. Now, I am not one of those new age gurus who will say it’s easy, but it’s simple. Things that are simple don’t mean easy and to say otherwise conveys a bit of privilege that is a bit on the gross side. It’s not easy, and I know this from quite a bit of personal experience. A little bit of backstory- my family was homeless, got a sort of 11th hour save in someone being kind, and I was so fortunate to have that. To have that time to reflect and to think saved me, but more than that, it made me feel much stronger in moving forward in what I wanted and needed. Real life, running a household, an animal rescue, and trying to climb up in a surprisingly competitive niche- it’s tough. Even more so once you get your footing, and the rug gets yanked out rather suddenly, which happened to me last year. And yet, I still kept and keep going. I just wanted to say that I do understand what it’s like, feeling like you can’t be strong anymore, that you are tired of being strong- and seeing the odd mixed messages about financial freedom juxtaposed the “dirtiness” of money. Money, like anything else, is just a tool we use, whether we choose to use this to better things or not, that’s a choice. As is defining what using it for the better actually is.

I mention this because one particular contingent always stands out to me, the one that talks about how your thoughts manifest your reality- your abundance. While I would agree that we have a tendency towards programming our thoughts and our lives around that, I feel like this is always expressed a bit too glibly.

So, one of the biggest questions any astrologer ever gets asked is how they can get more money. Can they manifest it? I’m not even sure what that means. Can they win the lottery? Sometimes, but that’s a really scary investment strategy when you’re in a pinch- trust me, I have considered it.

Anyway, I could really go into a lot of detail about this, but the thing is, if you really want to get to the heart of your money concerns, you start with that 2nd house. Here’s where you look to find your fiscal status, the conditions at play that might work with you or against you, and more than that- you can often begin to look at the attitudes you have that you can work with in order to get your head right about money, which, tends to be the way towards being better able to obtain it. The thing is, this house isn’t just about money, though. It’s so much more, and that’s a wonderful thing.

See, the 2nd house is a succedent house, meaning- it follows one of those big, important houses most people look at first when doing a delineation of a natal chart. In this case, well, obviously, the 1st. The 1st house is all about you, really, and your identity and otherwise: I covered that a bit in the Astrology lesson on houses. Now, planets moving through your succedent houses aren’t going to make big, huge, crazy change- that happens when they go through the angular houses, which are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th. Transits that occur in the succedent houses tend to be a bit more of the longer term, slower change- and in this, they are really important. I think people often undervalue these houses because, well, it’s not the HUGE giant change many think of or hope for, or, worse, dread. I could make a reference to the Grand Canyon and how the Colorado River created this over a very long time, but I am pretty sure you get the idea. When it comes to 2nd house concerns, if you take a look at yourself, first- before you ever look at your chart, and you see those areas where you just feel trapped or otherwise out of control, often, you can bet you have something going on in that 2nd house. (I have other suggestions, too, but we’re talking about financial stability in particular. I actually have an empty 2nd house- and well, I can tell you, I have those areas of my life, too. They just don’t tend to be financial.)

Essentially if you look at the houses as action into reaction, well, the 2nd house is what happens with whatever you build with the 1st. This is one of the reasons I tell people to be a bit more mindful about the messages they send when talking about “financial abundance” and how that’s obtained. So, you get into that 1st; this is all about you coming into the world and what you brought along with you- and the second, well, that’s how you find how you’re supporting that existence. It’s a very important place where you’re working to stake your claim and build your foundation- but, it also improves that journey of understanding yourself you began in the first house. Think about it- the jobs you’ve had, the college courses you’ve taken to get jobs, training, and otherwise: these things probably changed your views and how you do things, quite a bit. Throughout the course of your life, you’re ever evolving, ever growing, and continually progressing- at least, well, you hope you are, right? In doing this, you are also either learning to value or undervalue yourself. The experiences we have tend to prod that along, for better or worse. Kicker is, making it for better- and that’s something you can course correct any time you like. That much is true. Undoing the damages done by time and experience tends to take some time and emotional or tangible investment: but, boy, it can often seem like doing those damages took but an instant. Thing is, 2nd house tells us that no, they did not. Think about it this way- you have had a wonderful life, rich in beautiful experiences and you fail one class in college. Does that experience ruin you? No. Now, flip the script- a lifetime of pain and struggle, one college course being aced won’t undo it, but, it just might give you the courage and just enough of a confidence boost to continue to strive for better. That’s what’s up with the 2nd house.

Now, I mentioned that this 2nd house is more than just the tangible- how it’s so much more than money and it is. This is the seat of not just those things you can get, but what you give. What you get, on a different level. Your value system, your talent, your self-worth, these things can be found to some degree here also. It makes sense, doesn’t it, to consider if you’re in a job you just cannot stand, you are bored by it, and it doesn’t satisfy you because you aren’t using your talents- that, well, whatever the ruling of your 2nd house is and whatever planets or signs happen to show here may indicate what those talents are, and even in some cases, how best to use them.

Now, like I said, not a flash change- not a sudden one. The 2nd house isn’t the grocery store where you go to buy the fixin’s for a salad- it’s the garden you grow them in. You must tend it well, in many different ways. Learning, adapting, growing, cutting back, all sorts of things to be considered: and these things take time and nurturing.

One of the things I would ask you, if you are reading this because you desire deep financial changes, is: What’s the condition of your 2nd house? If you know those things, what are you doing to nurture and help them grow? Are you doing things to hinder them, too? Think about it, and if you like, leave me a little feedback- we’ll talk about it a bit.