Skyscript Astrology Forum

Hello,

Could anyone cite from any ancient texts where children are assigned to other than the fifth house? How many houses represent children? Do they differ? I have read in Mathesis that sometimes Firmicus delineates about children when he is taking about the 4th or the 10th house.

Thank you in advanced!

Hi Junaid

This comment from Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (IV.6: Robbins translation) will probably be relevant

6. Of Children.

As the topic of children follows upon that of marriage, we shall have to observe the planets that are in the mid?heaven or in aspect with it or with its succedent,? that is, the house of the Good Daemon,43 or, in default of such planets, those connected with the diametrically opposite places; and we must take the moon, Jupiter, and Venus to portend the giving of children, the sun, Mars, and Saturn to indicate few or no children. Mercury must be taken as common, with whichever group of planets he chances to be in aspect, and to give children when he is a morning star, and to take them away when he is an evening star.

The full text is on Bill Thayer's wonderful website:

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/R ... /home.html

Hello,

Thank you very much Deb!

Bonatti mentions childbearing planets (Jupiter, Venus, Moon) in good houses - 1st, 7th, 10th, 11th promise children.

Paulus reiterates Ptolemy, i.e. looking at the 10th, 11th, 4th, & 5th places. Also, Part of Children.

Again thank you all for the responses!

So, in terms of houses we have the the 4th, the 5th and their opposites. My questions:

1. Why is is t that in modern texts, as well as many traditional texts, they stress on the 5th only unlike parents where there are at least 2 camps who have oppositie houses for denoting each parent?

2. Are these houses indicative of just whether a native will have children or each of them represents children of the native? If they do represent children of the native, which then to use to govern children or is it that each house represent "different" children i.e. blood related or adopted?

3. What is the logic behind these houses? Why 5th is the prevailing and when do we decide that an afflicted 4th house represents children or parents. Firmicus seems to pick one over the other without apparent pattern e.g. when discussing the fourth house, he sometimes refer to parents and other times to children.

Thank you again and GBU!