Cadent Houses

Definition

The cadent houses are the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th — the four houses that "decline" away from the angles as the zodiac turns. The Greek name is apoklima ("declining"); the English word cadent comes from the Latin cadere, "to fall." When astrologers rank houses for strength, these sit at the bottom — below the angular and succedent houses. In the natural zodiac they line up with the four mutable signs.

In Tradition

In Hellenistic and traditional Western practice, a planet in a cadent house is read as having less outward visibility and less ability to produce results you can point to; the three-way ranking — angular over succedent over cadent — is a foundation of the system. Astrologers single out the 3rd and 9th as the "good declines," since they see the Ascendant by a friendly angle. The 6th and 12th are in aversion to the rising sign, unable to see it, and are rated harder.

In Practice

Astrologers note a cadent placement when weighing a planet's overall accidental condition — its circumstances, as opposed to its sign. In Lilly's tally, a cadent placement is a debility worth roughly -2 to -5 points, trimming how much a planet can effectively do. Crane preserves the stricter view found in Valens, that all four cadent places can be difficult; the more temperate modern reading rehabilitates the 3rd and 9th, giving them communication, matters with siblings, religion, and longer journeys. A peregrine planet — one with no dignity at all — sitting in a cadent house is the weakest combination of the two. A well-dignified planet in a cadent house still works, but shows up less in outward life.

Historical Origin

The three-way ranking of places appears in Hellenistic sources as the kentra (angular), epanaphorai (succedent), and apoklimata (cadent). Crane records the kentron / epanaphora / apoklima triad and the "good declines" qualification. The doctrine carried through the Arabic transmission into Lilly's Christian Astrology (1647) and was revived in the late-twentieth-century traditional movement.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading