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Here's Everything To Know About The Fifth House In Astrology — Including What Yours Means
If you've ever looked at your astrological birth chart, you may have noticed it's divided up into 12 equal sections. These sections are called the "houses" in astrology, and they each relate to different themes and areas of your life.
In the case of the fifth house, this is the part of your chart that deals with pleasure and joy, as well as creativity, play, expression, and fertility.
Here's the lowdown on the fifth house, plus how to understand yours.
What is the 5th house?
- Zodiac sign: Leo
- Ruling planet: Sun
- Key themes: Self-expression, creativity, play, romance, love, joy, fertility, drama, passion, the arts
As a refresher, there are 12 astrological houses that relate to different themes, each representing specific areas of our life. Your birth chart begins with the first house of self, which is determined by your rising sign. The houses then move counterclockwise around the zodiac wheel and into broader themes of family, relationships, community, and beyond.
The fifth house is all about expressing yourself and letting yourself shine. It influences how you experience joy and pleasure, as well as what you're attracted to. This house is all about creation, after all.
"This is a very fertile house in the sense that it rules the creation of all things—how we express ourselves in artistic and dramatic ways, as well as the literal creation of children," the AstroTwins previously wrote for mindbodygreen, adding, "This house governs attention, play, the joys of romance and love, and arts such as theater, music, and painting."
Creative expression
First and foremost, the fifth house rules creative expression. If you want to know how to best express yourself in your life, you'll want to understand what signs or planets are in your fifth house. And remember, creativity isn't always putting paint to canvas, it can also show up in how you approach life and all its problems.
Just like the sun gives us life force energy, shining down on us, the fifth house speaks to what lights us up from within. It represents what makes you tick and even what turns you on. It's how you want to be seen and what you look for in others.
As astrologer Kayse Budd, M.D., previously wrote for mindbodygreen, people who are naturally creative or artistically talented often have planets or the north node in the fifth house.
Celebration
The fifth house is also closely related to the good things in life: play, joy, pleasure, and celebration. Coming after your fourth house of home and family, the fifth house is where things lighten up once your personality has become somewhat established. It relates to how you experience joy and of course, what brings you joy in the first place.
Romance
Finally, the fifth house deals with romance, love, and even flirting. After all, this house is associated with Leo, and there's nothing Leo loves more than charming someone with their charisma and bold gestures of affection. From love-at-first-sight encounters to the joys of a great first date, that's all fifth house energy.
Understanding your 5th house
In order to understand your fifth house, you'll need to know exactly what time you were born—yes, down to the minute. That's because you need your exact birth time to know where your first house begins.
Here's our full guide to birth charts if you need to pull yours up.
Once you've got it, take a look at the section where nine to eight o'clock on a clock would be. That's your first house of self, and it should show your rising sign right above it. The house directly to the right, then, is your second house (remember we're moving counterclockwise), and so on until your fifth house.
In most cases, your fifth house will be ruled by the sign that comes five signs after your rising sign. For example, if you're an Aries rising, your fifth house would be ruled by Leo. If you're a Leo rising, your fifth house would be ruled by Sagittarius.
Planets in the 5th house
As you take a look at your fifth house, look for any planets there. It's best to consult a professional astrologer for a full explanation of your fifth house because there are so many different ways the planets can interact depending on your whole chart.
That said, here are some general themes for each planet to keep in mind:
- Sun in the fifth house: Ego, expression, creativity, passion, leadership
- Moon in the fifth house: Intuition, emotional needs and desires, nurturing
- Mercury in the fifth house: Communication, information, technology, thought patterns
- Venus in the fifth house: Relationships, pleasure, fashion, money, diplomacy
- Mars in the fifth house: Aggression, action, instincts, motivation
- Jupiter in the fifth house: Growth, luck, higher learning and education, expansion
- Saturn in the fifth house: Challenges, discipline, karma, boundaries
- Uranus in the fifth house: Radical change, revolution, originality, innovation
- Neptune in the fifth house: Dreams, spirituality, the subconscious, healing
- Pluto in the fifth house: Transformation, death and rebirth, the unconscious, power
- North node in the fifth house: Destiny, purpose, life's biggest lessons
- South node in the fifth house: Past life karma, the mastery you bring to this lifetime
If you have Saturn in the fifth house, for example, you might run into challenges or setbacks around your own self-expression or creativity. Or take Venus in the fifth house as another example: You might find you are naturally inclined to creativity and the arts because you're especially inclined to beautiful things.
What if you don't have planets in the 5th house?
If you don't have any planets in your fifth house, that does not mean you're never going to be happy, unlock your creativity, or have children.
In fact, having an "empty" fifth house could mean you experience joy in many different ways, or you might be more open when it comes to pleasure and sexuality.
Even if you don't have a planet in your fifth house, there will still be a sign ruling it. Not to mention, when a planet "transits" or moves through any one of your houses, that house will be activated.
For example, if Libra sits over your fifth house, it'll get revved up during Libra season, when the moon is in Libra, when Mercury is in Libra, etc.
Understanding the themes of the planets can help you understand how the transit will influence you (i.e., watching out for romantic troubles when Saturn is moving through your fifth house, or opportunities for celebration when Jupiter is there).
Signs in the 5th house
As aforementioned, the sign over your fifth house is important, even if you don't have planets there. In fact, the sign on your fifth house cusp (where the fifth house begins) can reveal something about what you're attracted to, or even how to express your creativity.
Here are some keywords to think about, depending on which sign rules your fifth house:
- Aries: Self-starter, independent, energetic, bold
- Taurus: Grounded, practical, value-driven, tradition
- Gemini: Communication, variety, technology, curiosity
- Cancer: Nurturing, caretaking, emotional comfort and security
- Leo: Drama, passion, creativity, romance
- Virgo: Service, health, refining, organization
- Libra: Relationships, diplomacy, balance, justice
- Scorpio: Power, sex, intrigue, taboo
- Sagittarius: Travel, adventure, higher education, expansion
- Capricorn: Diligence, structure, ambition, achievement
- Aquarius: Ingenuity, community, social justice, innovation
- Pisces: Spirituality, healing, intuition, compassion
The takeaway
The fifth house is all about play and pleasure, creativity and passion, and of course, a healthy dose of romance. If you have one or more planets in this house of your chart, don't be surprised if those themes are driving forces in your life, especially when it comes to love and creativity.