Do You Have 7th House Placements In Your Birth Chart? Here's What It Means

If you've ever taken a look at your birth chart, you'll notice it's divided up into 12 sections. Each of these sections or "houses" relate to different areas of our life, and if you have prominent 7th house placements, there are some things you'll want to keep in mind. Here's what to know, according to astrologers.

The 7th house is the portion of your birth chart that deals with all things partnership—romantic, business, or otherwise. As astrologer and author of Rise and Shine: An Astrological Guide to How You Should Up in the World, Christopher Renstrom, tells mindbodygreen, you can consider it the "spouse house," but also the house that rules business partnerships and even open enemies.

This house is on the opposite side of your chart as your ascendent (AKA rising sign) which kicks off your first house. "The 7th house is as far away from the ascendant as it can be, so it was known as the descendant," Renstrom says.

Further, according to the AstroTwins, the 7th house is "where we team up with others and get to know ourselves through our interactions and creating mutual give-and-take." As they previously wrote for mindbodygreen, creating a balance of two forces is the goal of this house.

And is marriage not the ultimate way to combine and balance two forces? As Renstrom explains, marrying for love wasn't even a concept until more recent, modern times. In the past, marriage was a contractual agreement that united two families.

"Marriages before our times were often arranged, and astrology has been around 2500 years—so the 7th house described who you were marrying because with marriage you sign a contract," he says, adding, "You're legally bound to one another—as opposed to a fifth house, which is love affairs and romance."

Then, suppose you get a divorce, that too is a theme of the 7th house, because not only do you have divorce papers to sign, but your ex then becomes your public enemy. Where the 12th house deals with secret enemies, Renstrom notes, the 7th deals with your enemies in plain sight.

But more often that not, he adds, whenever you see planets in the seventh house, "chances are that's describing your partner and not describing you."

If you look at your birth chart and don't see any planets in your 7th house, that doesn't mean you're never going to get married or sign a big contract, so have no fear.

According to Renstrom, even if the house is "empty" of planets, so to speak, the house itself will still have a particular planet ruling over it. "It doesn't matter if a house is empty, you always look to the planet that rules the cusp of the house," he explains.

For example, if you were a Gemini rising, your descendent is Sagittarius, making Jupiter the ruling planet of your 7th house (because Jupiter rules Sagittarius). As another example, a Libra rising's descendent is Aries, and since Mars rules Aries, Libra risings' 7th house ruler is Mars.

From your public enemies to who you're meant to marry, the 7th house is chockfull of juicy details into your life and relationships with others. Depending on which planet rules over this portion of your birth chart, you can use it to figure out what to look for in partnerships—and what to avoid.