The houses are divisions of the sky (including that part of it hidden beneath the ground) and are usually numbered from the position of the eastern horizon at the time of the observation. The first house would be the division just about to rise, the sixth house would have just set and houses 7 to 12 would be visible in the sky at the time of the horoscope. There are a range of approaches to calculating these divisions and a wide variety of opinion among astrologers over which house system to use. The houses are departments of life, described in terms of physical surroundings as well as personal life experiences, and many modern astrologers assume that they have some correspondence with their natural sign, i.e. the first house has a natural affinity with the first sign, Aries, and so on

The 12th house represents matters that are hidden, restrained, secret, incapable of action or of being fully understood. This can sometimes suggest conditions that are in a premature state of development and not yet recognised by the conscious mind . Traditionally, however, it is a wholly unfortunate house, associated with sad events, sorrow, anguish of mind, tribulation, captivity, imprisonment, persecution, hard labour, all manner of affliction and self-undoing. It represents places that are denied access to public view, particularly those concerned with seclusion or isolation, or where one is restricted from living a carefree life-style, such as institutions or prisons. Many sources attribute monasteries to the 12th house as places of isolation, but otherwise monks and nuns belong to the 9th house which represents religious concerns. It has rulership over scandals generally, personal fears and skeletons in the family closet). Its significations include secret, unknown enemies, such men as maliciously undermine their neighbours or inform secretly against them: traitors, spies; witchcraft, malicious hauntings; weakness, infirmity and bondage.