The Third House
The third house is naturally ruled by Gemini and carries with it some of the Gemini characteristics. Gemini is known for the intellect and communication, as is the third house
The third house has to do with the conscious mind and rational thinking. The sign ruling the third house cusp, planets located within this house and aspects to these planets, will play a significant role in how the mental processing is theoretically applied.
An example of this could be Capricorn ruling this house cusp, and let’s say it is squared by Saturn. This suggests a mind that is slow and methodical. This individual would weight things out before speaking their mind. If Saturn is closely squared to let’s say Mercury in this house, this individual may have difficulty making up their mind or committing themselves to verbalizing what they are thinking. This could also lead to stuttering in childhood, as this individual may feel so unsure of themselves that it could lead to stammering.
The third house also speaks of your brothers and sisters as well as your neighbours and close relatives, such as your aunts and uncles. Once again if this house is under developmental pressure from aspects then there can be issues with the siblings, or close personal relatives. In most cases it’s our brothers or sisters that seem to be the challenge.
This house has to do with your immediate environment and the day to day routine we become familiar with. It can define the nature of this environment and our ability to comprehend what is taking place within the framework of our surroundings, as well as our attitude toward it.
The third house is strongly connected to the communicational abilities and if aspects and planets suggest literary abilities, we could use this talent and publish books.
The third house along with the ninth house deals with the written material, although the ninth house has more to do with the publication of the material that comes out of the third house. They are connected to one another.
The third house also deals with early education and our learning aptitude, while the ninth house is the third house opposite, it deals with continued education. Often if there are deficiencies within the ninth house, the education is interrupted.
The third house also has to do with mental dexterity, and if well aspected in the birth chart, we are able to use mental nimbleness, and can easily flow with changing conversation. Usually an individual will have some knowledge on many subjects, especially if Mercury is in this house and well aspected.
A well aspected Mercury in this house can indicate high intellectual abilities. If Neptune is in this house and well aspected by let’s say Jupiter or Pluto, we would have strong mental focus and a wide range of understood topics at our disposal. We would also be a vibrant and forceful communicator.