The Seventh House: Lovers, Partners and The Jungian Shadow

Being opposite the first house (Ascendant) makes it one of the most important houses to look at when delineating a birth chart. The first house describes how you relate to yourself, while the seventh house shows how you relate to others. It represents the people you are attracted to in intimate ways like your lovers, partners in business, and the enemies you love to hate.

This house is also where we can project our Jungian "shadow," which C.G Jung describes as those parts of ourselves that are difficult to admit or own up to. It could be seen as a negative side, but it doesn't have to be so dark; our shadow self shows how and what areas we can improve on for our betterment.

The seventh house is where we go into relationships and long-term commitments with people who push our buttons. It's a house of attraction for either positive or negative energy related to love, personal, and business partnerships. We are drawn to people who play a part in uncovering our truths, such as the people who evoke strong emotional responses.

The seventh house also expresses our karmic responsibilities and what role we take with others in partnerships. It is how the public sees you and what you give of yourself in your relationships.

This house is not only about your romantic partnerships but also includes business partners and people involved in agreements with you. The seventh house rules open enemies since these are usually the greatest teachers of all.

The next time you meet someone who seems to be just what you want at that moment, remember that they could become a problem within a year or so. And that's fine; it may not be easy to pull away from someone who is addictive and/or destructive (like an open enemy), but if you can't escape, then use the time to learn as much as you can about them and their methods.

It will teach you so much about your own strengths and weaknesses, your own shadow side, and how to deal with people who have the same or similar traits. A stellium (three or more planets) indicates that you seek a deeper understanding of yourself, primarily through your close relationships. A person with little to no planets in this house mostly learn through their environment and other situations that they are involved in.

The Sun in the Seventh House

With the Sun in this house, you are a powerful and inspiring partner. You can light up people's lives with your creativity, intelligence, and wit. You feel very strongly about what you do, even if it isn't always socially acceptable. This is how you stand out from others. Being different is OK, as long as you don't get too crazy about it.

Deep inside, you do crave affection and love just like everyone else. But the Sun represents our ego (the way we present ourselves to the world), and this house is about relating to others. So it's not surprising that many people with the Sun in the 7th have a not-so-great relationship with their ego, which can manifest as perfectionism and controlling tendencies.

The more self-aware you are, the easier it will be to deal with this side of yourself. You have a lot of gifts and strengths that make you stand out in your partnerships. But if others don't like what they see, they may reject you.

For this reason, it's important to be around people who can tolerate your eccentricities and accept you for who you are. You don't need to constantly prove yourself to anybody. The most important relationship that will change your life is the one you have with yourself. Once you love and respect yourself unconditionally, other people will feel safe being around you.

Understandably, the people closest to you may not always behave in ways that you are proud of. It doesn't make them bad; it just means they still have work to do on themselves. Often, you might be the one who needs to change. You can't always control how others think and behave, but you can control the energy that you bring into your relationships.

The Moon in the Seventh House

With the Moon in this house, you'll be drawn to others who need your emotional support. You'll naturally take care of them on a basic level, like feeding and cleaning up after them. But there's also an instinctive responsibility for how you make people feel with what you say or don't say (the words we choose). The pinnacle of your abilities lies in the way you communicate.

The Moon is a feminine energy, so it's not surprising that many men with this placement can be more emotional than their peers. If you were born with the Moon in this house, you are often quite popular among your friends and family for providing a safe and comfy space for others to open up about their problems.

If there's something bothering someone that they don't want to talk about, chances are good that you'll be the first person they call. This can be draining and can feel like a huge burden at times, so the best thing to do is to learn how to detach from people's issues when they call. You can't be involved in everything, so focus on your own personal growth first and foremost.

Mercury in the Seventh House

With Mercury here, your mind is incredibly active, and you often think about the people in your life. You may also be prone to gossiping or spreading rumors about others, which can cause problems when what you say gets back to them. This will teach you the value of keeping things to yourself, especially if it's something negative that could hurt someone else.

More positive qualities of the Mercury placement are intelligence and communication skills. You're able to think fast on your feet, which is a definite advantage when arguing with someone or debating an issue. You can be very witty and charming - often beyond what others expect from you. The challenging thing about this house is that you can be a bit cold or secretive. It's not because you're hiding something, but more so because it's your way of protecting yourself from getting hurt.

Venus in the Seventh House

When Venus is in the 7th house, there's a strong desire to be out and about with people. You're very sociable and thrive on positive connections that you can make through various activities. But the flip side of this energy is that you may have difficulty staying grounded or connected to yourself. The more time you spend around other people, the less time you have to care for your own needs. It can be challenging for you to feel balanced or content unless you genuinely invest in yourself regularly.

You are very sensitive and intuitive toward the people around you, both a strength and a weakness. The challenge here is that sometimes others will use this against you either intentionally or not. You can overthink things and get overly concerned about what other people think of you.

If you're emotionally hurt or distressed, it's important to deal with these feelings and not take them out on others.

Venusian energy is about relating to others and building new friendships. If you were born with Venus in the 7th house, this is likely one of your strongest placements. But make sure that what you give in friendship is given with no strings attached. Trust that you can count on yourself first and foremost, so there's no need to depend on anyone else.

Mars in the Seventh House

Mars is about assertiveness and what it means to be motivated to act. This placement tends to get caught up in conflicts with others, often by accident. There can be a tendency toward overreacting or saying things you don't mean just because those are the first words that come out of your mouth. More positive aspects of Mars in this house include an intuition that allows you to size up a situation, enemies, or rivals quickly.

If someone is acting aggressively toward you, the best thing to do is take a step back and avoid resistance. Mars energy often leads to attacking others before they attack you or making the first move in any conflict. 

So the best action is to take a deep breath and calm yourself down before speaking or taking any action. This will help you from making a bad situation worse and give the other person a chance to cool off.

Conclusion

The 7th house is all about relationships, which means they are complex and ever-changing. The people who come into our lives evoking robust emotional responses are to be looked at as mirrors that reflect our inner world or direct catalysts for our evolutionary growth. Each person that enters into your life has the capacity to completely change it, for better or worse!

While the 7th house can be lopsided and unbalanced at times (something we will discuss in another article), there are many gifts and lessons to be gained through it, as it will challenge you in ways that no other house will.

I hope you have enjoyed this article on the 7th house. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them in the section below.