The 7th House in Astrology: Partnership, Marriage and What You Attract

The 7th house is the house of partnership. It describes committed relationships, marriage, business partners and the qualities you are drawn to in other people. The sign on your 7th house is always the sign opposite your rising sign, so it often describes what you seek in a partner rather than what you show the world. If your Ascendant is Aries, your 7th house is Libra. If it is Scorpio, your 7th house is Taurus.

This guide covers what the 7th house means, the Descendant, how to find your own 7th house, the 7th house in each sign, every planet in the 7th, what an empty 7th means and how the 7th house works between two charts.

What does the 7th house mean in astrology?

Your birth chart has twelve houses, each describing an area of life (the 12 houses explained). The 1st house is you: your body, your presence, how you begin things. The 7th sits directly opposite it and is about everyone you meet as an equal:

• Committed partners and spouses. The traditional house of marriage.
• Business partners and close collaborators. Anyone you work with one to one.
• Open rivals. People you negotiate or compete with directly, as opposed to hidden ones.
• What you project. Qualities you find magnetic in others, often because they are less developed in you.

The 5th house covers dating, romance and fun. The 7th is where a relationship becomes a partnership: chosen, agreed and shared.

The Descendant: the sign on your 7th house

The Descendant is the point exactly opposite your Ascendant, where the Sun sets in your chart. It marks the start of the 7th house. Your Ascendant is how you come across (your rising sign). Your Descendant is what completes that picture: the traits you look for, admire and sometimes resist in other people.

A fiery Aries rising often looks for a Libra Descendant's grace and diplomacy in a partner. A private Scorpio rising is often drawn to a Taurus Descendant's steadiness. The axis between the two is a balance you learn through relationships.

How do I find my 7th house?

You need your birth time, along with your birth date and place. The houses turn once a day as the Earth rotates, so without a time there is no Ascendant and no 7th house. Enter your details in a free birth chart reading and the Love and Marriage section shows the sign on your 7th house, any planets in it and where its ruling planet sits.

If you already know your rising sign, this table gives your 7th house sign. Our engine uses whole-sign houses, where each house is one complete sign, so the 7th house is the whole sign opposite your rising sign.

The 7th house in each sign

The sign on your 7th describes the partner you are built to meet in the middle with, and the style of partnership that works for you.

7th house in Aries (Libra rising)

You are easygoing and diplomatic, and you are drawn to people who say what they want. Partners bring courage and decisiveness. The lesson is to let conflict be healthy rather than something to smooth over. More on Aries.

7th house in Taurus (Scorpio rising)

You are intense and private, and you look for calm, loyal people who feel like solid ground. Commitment tends to come slowly and then last. Physical affection and consistency matter more to you than grand promises. More on Taurus.

7th house in Gemini (Sagittarius rising)

You chase big ideas and partners bring the details, the questions and the conversation. You need someone you can talk with for hours. Variety in a long relationship keeps it alive. More on Gemini.

7th house in Cancer (Capricorn rising)

You come across as composed and capable, and you are drawn to warmth and care. Partnership is where you are allowed to be soft. Family and home are often central to what you build together. More on Cancer.

7th house in Leo (Aquarius rising)

You are independent and a little detached, and you are drawn to warmth, confidence and people who love openly. A partner may bring out your playful side. Appreciation, given and received, keeps the bond healthy. More on Leo.

7th house in Virgo (Pisces rising)

You are dreamy and intuitive, and partners bring practical care and structure. You show and receive love through everyday help. The balance is accepting care without feeling judged. More on Virgo.

7th house in Libra (Aries rising)

You are direct and self-starting, and you are drawn to grace, tact and fairness. Partnership teaches cooperation and compromise. When it works, each of you gets better at what the other does naturally. More on Libra.

7th house in Scorpio (Taurus rising)

You are steady and calm, and you are drawn to depth and intensity. Relationships tend to change you. You need complete honesty and the courage to share what you usually keep private. More on Scorpio.

7th house in Sagittarius (Gemini rising)

You are curious and quick, and partners bring meaning, humour and a bigger view of life. Relationships with people from other places or cultures are a classic theme. Freedom inside commitment matters to you. More on Sagittarius.

7th house in Capricorn (Cancer rising)

You are caring and protective, and you are drawn to maturity, ambition and reliability. Partnership may come later or be chosen with care, and it is built to last. Shared goals hold you together. More on Capricorn.

7th house in Aquarius (Leo rising)

You are warm and expressive, and partners bring independence, originality and friendship. You need a relationship that leaves both people free to be themselves. Unconventional arrangements suit this placement well. More on Aquarius.

7th house in Pisces (Virgo rising)

You are practical and precise, and you are drawn to compassion, imagination and softness. Partnership asks you to trust feeling as much as logic. Keep your discernment and your ideals together. More on Pisces.

Planets in the 7th house

A planet in your 7th house adds its own voice to how you partner. Each planet falls in the 7th in roughly one chart in twelve: in our sample of 102,272 charts, Venus was there in 8.3% and the Sun in 8.5%.

Sun in the 7th house

You come alive through other people. Partnership is a central part of your identity, and you often shine brightest as half of a team. The growth is keeping your own direction inside it.

Moon in the 7th house

You need emotional closeness to feel at home, and you are sensitive to a partner's moods. Companionship matters to your well-being. Choose people who make you feel safe.

Mercury in the 7th house

Conversation is the heart of your relationships. You want a partner who is also a thinking companion, and you may meet people through work, writing or study. Talk things through rather than assume.

Venus in the 7th house

A classic placement for partnership. You value harmony, romance and fairness. You tend to attract people easily. Read more in what your Venus sign means.

Mars in the 7th house

You are drawn to energetic, assertive partners and relationships with a spark. Disagreements can be lively. Healthy competition and honest conflict keep things moving.

Jupiter in the 7th house

Partnerships tend to expand your world: generous, optimistic people who help you grow. Relationships often bring opportunity. Keep your expectations realistic.

Saturn in the 7th house

You take commitment seriously. Partnership may come later in life once you know what you want. It may also come with someone older or more established. What you build tends to be durable. For more on Saturn's timing, see the Saturn return guide.

Uranus in the 7th house

You need freedom and originality in partnership. Relationships may start suddenly or take an unconventional shape. The best bonds give both people room.

Neptune in the 7th house

You are romantic and compassionate in love, with a gift for seeing the best in people. Keep your eyes open early on and see partners as they are, not only as you hope.

Pluto in the 7th house

Relationships are deep, intense and transforming. You are drawn to powerful connections. The work is sharing power honestly rather than holding on to control.

What if my 7th house is empty?

Nothing is missing. In our sample of 102,272 charts, 48.1% had no planet in the 7th house at all. Ten planets spread across twelve houses, so an empty house is normal. Of the rest, 31.3% had one planet in the 7th and 20.6% had two or more.

An empty 7th does not mean no partner. It means your relationships take their cue from the sign on the 7th house and from where its ruling planet sits, rather than from one loud planet. That is exactly how our reading handles it.

The ruler of your 7th house

Every sign has a ruling planet, and the ruler of your 7th house sign is a second key to partnership. Find which house it sits in and that part of life is where relationships tend to find you. If your 7th house is Gemini, Mercury rules it. If Mercury sits in your 10th house, partners may come through work.

Does the 7th house show marriage?

The 7th is the traditional house of marriage, but it does not predict whether or when you will marry. It cannot tell you whether a relationship will last either. It describes the kind of partnership that suits you and the qualities you are drawn to. Venus, the Moon and your Descendant's ruler add the rest. Read it as a description of what works for you, never a sentence.

The 7th house in synastry

Between two charts, astrologers look at whose planets fall into whose 7th house. When a partner's Sun, Moon or Venus lands in your 7th, you tend to experience them as partner material from early on. In our worked example of two fictional people in how to read a synastry chart, one partner's Moon falls in the other's 7th house. Sun signs explain only part of compatibility, as the best and worst match for every sign shows. The 7th house is one of the places the rest comes from.

Find your 7th house

Add your birth date, time and place to a free birth chart reading to see your 7th house sign, any planets in it and where its ruler sits, with no sign-up. To see how your 7th house meets a partner's chart, use the compatibility tool. New to houses? Start with how to read your birth chart and your Sun, Moon and rising sign.

The 7th house is one of five placements to check for love; the full checklist is in what your birth chart says about your love life.