The Third House in Astrology
& what planetary placements within it mean!)
Communication, transportation, and local community are all governed by the third house. Natal planets in the Third House are motivated by expression and often help guide you to build close relationships with their peers, [including siblings, coworkers, and classmates.]
Mercury in the Third House
This is an especially curious and inquisitive position for Mercury. You are generally very interested in reading, teaching, speaking, exchanging ideas, keeping current with the daily news, and perhaps gossiping. Your interests are many and varied, sometimes to the point that you barely skim the surface of any one topic.
You are also very easily distracted and your attention span can be quite short. Quick to learn, you are swift to share what you know with others. You can be very talkative when you have the chance. You’re a list maker, and you’re likely quite involved in/with your community. Some of you can be quite nervous or fidgety.
You are verbally expressive, diplomatic, and aim to be tactful. You easily win others over with your words, whether it’s because of a likable facility with language, a beautiful voice, or a diplomatic use of words. You readily give out compliments. Some of you might use flattery to your own benefit at the risk of being ingenuine. You are generally a very good mediator, aiming to settle arguments quickly and restoring at least temporary peace.
You have a mischievous side, however, and your desire to be tactful and polite with others doesn’t always succeed. Some of you might engage in a lot of mind games, and others might eventually find out that you don’t always mean what you say or say what you mean! You value mental stimulation and frequent changes of scenery in your love relationships.
You are very responsive, communicative, and curious. You can have a talent for imitating others and/or for picking up languages. You might either intellectualize your emotions rather than truly feel them and deal with them, or you communicate with excessive emotion. Some of you may do both at different times, and as you mature and develop, you learn to find a balance.
Your opinions and ideas change often, and you might find that sometimes you adopt others’ points of view and express their ideas as if they were your own. This is not necessarily because you are a copy-cat, but because you sometimes fail to own your own thoughts, and you are so very sensitive to others’ opinions. You might be quite nervous and restless, requiring frequent changes of scenery, even if the movement or travel takes place locally.
*You often make decisions solely for emotional or personal reasons, because something “feels right” or because you’ve always done it a certain way and you are uncomfortable changing it. Even when you think you’re being rational, your prejudices, intuitions, and feelings influence your thoughts a great deal. You are comfortable talking about feelings and personal subjects, and sharing confidences, which enables others to express their own inner feelings with you as well. You have good psychological insight into others.
You speak your mind quite readily, sometimes shooting from the hip when it comes to expressing your ideas and opinions. You tend to know a lot about a variety of subjects, and like to share that knowledge with others (sometimes too forcefully!). When communicating, you are generally very direct and clear. You can easily get worked up about what others might think are trivial matters.
You love a good debate. Whether you know it or not, or no matter your intentions, you can be provocative in your communication style. You are likely gifted with manual dexterity, although you might easily become impatient with tasks. At your best, you are enthusiastic, animated, and lively in the way you express yourself, and this can inspire others. You will fervently defend your opinions and beliefs, as well as your family and childhood.
Sample from the Spirit Success report: You will have a lot to say on almost any subject, and can be really informative, or merely disruptive. You may take a difference of opinion as a personal affront because of your strong beliefs, but remember that someone else may have something important to contribute, so is worth listening to. No one is better than you at presenting your ideas. As long as you remain confident, rather than “cocky,” you’ll always find an audience to share your store of knowledge.
Jupiter in the Third House
You are forward-looking–a real planner. You are endlessly curious and enjoy making happy connections with others. Sharing ideas with others is important to you–you take great pleasure in doing so. You are able to see the big picture and thus often are turned to for advice. With your sincere interest in others, you easily put people at ease in social situations.
Saturn in the Third House
The core meaning of the third house lies in the unconscious operating of the mind in familiar surroundings. The third house indicates the natural way you act and communicate with people. People might include your siblings while growing up, co-workers, neighbors, the grocery store clerk, and so on. You can review the way your mind works in these circumstances. In that sense, it’s not unconscious.
The comedy serial, Seinfeld, explored the quirkiness in individual actions and communication in familiar surroundings — the little things that people do and say unconsciously that make them what they are! Yes, the serial about “nothing” was funny.
Saturn in the third house may make you feel ill at ease while you go about day-to-day life. You may come across as cold and reserved. You may be a “man or woman of few words”. This can turn some people off. You can use this to your advantage by listening to people. That way you don’t have to do too much talking, yet people will love you for listening!
Uranus in the Third House
You act and communicate with people around you in an offbeat, eccentric, and zany way. Naturally friendly, you very often make people smile with your wit and easy good-humor. People look upon you to ease a boring day, knowing you will perhaps have something new to say about the mundane. Your eccentricity may puzzle and sometimes annoy some. You win them over with your humility, open mind, and honesty. Creativity in communication and in all that you do sets you apart from most.
Neptune in the Third House
Dry, cold facts are hard for you to absorb, so traditional academics might not appeal. However, you are talented at visualization and whole-style learning. You are perceptive and dreamy, although you often have your head in the clouds and might miss important details. Sticking to schedules can be difficult, and so can tending to errands, communications, and other necessary daily activities. You might “tune out” when you hear specific directions, and consequently miss helpful details. You might as a result frequently be late for appointments or miss them altogether.
In your communications, you can quickly put others at ease, as you seem to intuitively understand them. You express yourself creatively, imaginatively, and with great charm. However, you might also encourage, without even knowing it, misunderstandings, as you rarely are definite in what you say. Learning, especially when young, can be challenged only because you might lack discipline or the style of learning is not creative enough to hold your interest.
You rarely accept what you hear or what you read as truths. Your mind is very analytical and you instinctively search for hidden meanings. You can be exceptionally persuasive in your self-expression, whether through the spoken or written word, simply because you communicate with authority, conviction, strength, and decisiveness.
You tend to learn through observation rather than by asking questions. In fact, you may be somewhat resistant to learning directly from others, preferring to self-teach. You might fear the loss of self through self-expression, and thus you might choose your words carefully as to avoid letting others know too much about you.
