Lesson 2: Design Your Dream Relationship
Planets in the Love Houses: Who’s in the House?
Looking at your chart, you may notice that you were born with planets positioned in your love houses (5th, 7th, and 8th). Or maybe those houses are totally empty. Relax! Neither configuration is inherently "better" or "worse." And no, you are not doomed to a solitary life if you have an empty love house! In fact, that can be a blessing in its own right.
When a planet lands in a house, it's like having a permanent resident or a heavy piece of furniture in a room. The planet fills the house with its energy and decorates with its specific tastes—for better or for worse. In this metaphor, Pluto might style a love house to look like a louche bordello with dim lights, red walls and a king-sized waterbed. Venus would create a well-appointed goddess palace, complete with luxe scented candles, Moroccan wedding pillows and rose petals scattered everywhere. As you come to understand the "factory settings" of your natal chart, you might realize the need for some serious renovations to bring that house into balance.
An empty love house, on the other hand, is like a freshly painted, furniture-free room that you can adorn however you wish. The only catch is that you have to remember to spend time in these quarters in order to give that area of your life the attention it needs to flourish.
Example: Scorpio Demi Moore has planets in two of the love houses, her 5th and 8th. With passionate Mars in her 5th house (in Leo), she romances by her own rules—dating and marrying Aquarius Ashton Kutcher, who was sixteen years her junior. With fiery Mars in her fifth house of fertility, Moore was the first celebrity to pose nude while pregnant. Her 1991 Vanity Fair cover, shot by Annie Leibovitz, created a new narrative of pride and sexiness for mothers—and has been remixed many times by pregnant celebrities.
Moore's 8th house of merging and sexuality is host to a pack of planets, including two love planets, the Sun and Venus. (This cluster is called a "stellium" in astrospeak.). It's little wonder this quadruple Scorpio plays for keeps. Despite doubts over their age gap, her marriage to Kutcher lasted ten years. Before that, she and Pisces ex-husband Bruce Willis became bonded for life through their three daughters, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah.
Note that Demi's 7th house of matrimony is empty—and yet, marriage has not eluded her. In fact, her first time walking the aisle was at age 17, with first husband Freddy Moore!
Let's take a look at your natal chart and see what planets, if any, are hanging out in the love houses!