I know a Capricorn who went to an event she didn’t really want to go to and fell wildly in love with the first person she spoke to at the venue. He was a Virgo, it was mutual and both parties were free to date/mate.
They became ‘serious’ with dizzying velocity but seven months later there were problems in paradise because of – according to my acquaintance – “his friends, all ten thousand of them.” Knowing that her previous partner had been deemed “pathologically antisocial,” I was sceptical at first.
Surely multiple friendships/popularity is not as difficult to manage as a partner with no friends or who glowered tediously at yours? Well, apparently no.
My Capricorn acquaintance wove a story of friendships so vital they came before all else – always. Every anecdote was in reference to them, they were in constant contact and deferred to in every matter. What’s more, there was a gigantic circle of them – some interconnected – others becoming so.
They were all perfectly pleasant to her but in what the Capricorn felt was a bright, artificial manner, like they were being polite to someone’s weird visiting relative. At this point I actually thought she might have gone secretly nuts, the pressure of being in a relationship that was hurtling toward a serious life commitment having gotten to her.
I asked if he was just super-well-networked but maintained a much smaller circle of intimates but no.
He spent 100% of his leisure time with them and was apparently “bored” by being alone. He counted their time together as being “alone” and couldn’t work out why she didn’t want to join the entourage.
It came to a nasty flashpoint one Lunar Eclipse evening when she was mid-meaningful conversation with the Virgo – about whether or not they wanted children, her apprehensions/aspirations about the concept of childbirth/motherhood etc.
He (a) referenced what “Wendy said about having had twins” and then (b) broke off the dialogue for some lengthy Virgo-esque group chat marathon to do with flight booking details. It spiralled and they were very quickly no longer a couple.
I did, however, peek at his birth chart at mid-crisis and voila – the Sun, Moon and about four other planets in the 11th house. He was the embodiment of this sector as being about friends, community, the social sphere etc. And when you have a cluster of astro-factors in one place, the themes of that house are a preoccupation, like it or not.
But there is more to this…
People with 11th house emphasis don’t just gravitate toward ‘the group’ or consider friendships important – they’re socially wired to a degree that baffles those without this astrological feature.
They’re open to society at large and essentially in a relationship with the current culture. It’s easy to use metaphors like ‘pack animal’ but deep down, many 11th housers see themselves as part of some greater organism, consciously or not.
It can be brilliant for business because they’re networked to the hilt and it’s all real but they’re also able to read ‘the market’ with unerring accuracy. Style-wise, the fashion designer Nicholas Ghesquiere – his Taurus Sun, Venus + Mercury are in the 11th – is like a mood-barometer of the public zeitgeist.
And for inspiration, he’s forever listening, retuning and listening some more. Another example: Irving Berlin, the celebrated American composer and songwriter, had a whopping 69% of his birthchart in the 11th house.*
He said he always aimed to reach the heart of the people – “not the highbrow, nor the lowbrow but the vast intermediate crew.” Another composer said of Berlin that he “honestly absorbs the vibrations emanating from the people, manners and life of his time and, in turn, gives these impressions back to the world—simplified, clarified and glorified.”
Love or hate her, Kim Kardashian – Moon, Mercury and Venus in the 11th – does a similar stunt. She practically invented the whole #squadgoals meme of a few years ago.
Group therapy is an 11th house kind of ideal, as the psychiatrist/Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen (Goddesses In Everywoman) epitomizes here: “We create a ‘temenos,’ which means ‘sanctuary’ in Greek. In a women’s circle, every woman in the circle is herself and an aspect of every other woman there as well. There is no vertical hierarchy in a circle, and when a circle is a temenos, it is a safe place to tell the truth of our own feelings, perceptions, and experiences.”
A Cancerian, she has her Sun, Venus, Mars and Pluto in the 11th house. Is it possible that sort of people who get the most growth from group experiences of this nature have at least one factor in this sector? The ruling planet, btw, gets extra weighting – having it in a house is like having three things there.
You could say that the first house is “I”, the 7th house is “We” and the 11th is “Us.” Loads of people are sociable or community-oriented to some degree but 11th house people think in terms of “us.”
They also unhesitatingly fling themselves into new friendships – some with a sexual component, some not – if you’re thinking this sounds Aquarian – yes! The 11th house has a similar vibe to the 11th zodiac sign.
The avant-garde author Kathy Acker had the Moon, Venus, Mercury and Mars in the 11th: she’d unabashed ‘I’d like to know you’ letters to people she admired and said that she’d always craved fame so that “people whose work I want to find out about would talk to me.”
The author of Blood and Guts in High School also said that her greatest motivation was “to make it possible for people like me to be in society.”
Eleventh house people often retain their friends, no matter what. Yves Klein, the performance artist best known for his creation of the sublime International Klein Blue, started out with two teenage friends as creative partners – everything partners – and the trio stayed super-close until the end.
My Capricorn acquaintance eventually encountered a more seventh-house oriented person and they’re happy together: she spotted her Virgo 11th-houser ex on Linkedin recently, beaming amidst a big bunch of people at a conference.
Thoughts?
*The list with percentages of the birthchart in a particular house is here. To my surprise, Franz Kafka had 67% of his natal chart energies in the 11th house astro. I had him pegged as a recluse but a new translation of his diaries reveals that the literary icon was quite the party creature.
“How easily grenadine with seltzer goes through one’s nose when one laughs,” he wrote after one of his frequent outings.
Images:
Vassily Kandinsky – Dominant Curve
Irving Berlin with Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire
At the moment this is very illuminating as it is occurring exactly as written!
My mother is, for sure, and so is my sister. My childhood home was like Grand Central Station, all kinds of friends from both women trooping in and out, in and out, all year long. Their friends on the phone, friends at the dinner table, my mother’s theatre friends coming over to read lines and run scenes with her (she was an actress), and many of my sister’s friends became like sisters to me, because they were always there.
Despite having three Aqua planets, I’m an 8th house person … and I escaped from the constant social melee to my room to write Gothic stories! I have some friends, but they’re a tight and intensely loyal circle that is extremely high quality to me. My mother used to call me anti-social and got on my case for years about it. No squad goals for me, haha.
Brilliant post! Thanks for this. It helps me see why my eldest sister was surrounded by mid-glits (lower echelon Aussie famous peeps or glitterati! Also I don’t mean that as a pejorative, more that it was wide grouping of people of a certain ilk) and a ton of friends. And perhaps why I have never enjoyed groups in general though there are sunny social days here and there it’s typically felt a bit enervating to me if it requires a facade in place. Kataka sis and her Toro hub have stacked 11th Houses and myself and my fam not so much. Except for Kataka Boy having his Libran Moon in the 11th (sigh). He is very cautious to mind everyone’s feelings and it’s to the point you wonder who he is. But I daresay that is a better social strategy than my 6th House Moon in Scorpio offers… I can’t help picking up on glitches in people’s personal matrix which I find ends up coming out at ominous positivity at parties. Mixed messages!
This flying horse has Sun Mercury Jupiter & Chiron in 11th house. Far more sociable when younger though never in one place for more than a few months (or years), and yes certainly had my pulse on the zeitgiest re reading the room, society or the planet.
Not so much since designing a one on one business that wasn’t fo the masses.Now very much not so much since hermitting.
The Capricorn in a weird competition with Virgo’s posse? Living ‘Friends’? Having him run past all decisions with them.
A big NO. So mutable as to not be there. Not be there for her.
My absence due to catching another virus a few days after the ‘Cani Morus’ blood infection from Maremma bite IV antibiotics removed and healed. Yikes 2 life threatening virus’ in 8 weeks. Hospital a total of 24 days, weight gone down to 40.5 kilos on an average height. Scary.
But i survived not exactly thriving yet but i will.
Friends have been there for me to a degree that has me humbled, so the 11th house bits are out there doing their thing benefiting me.
Hello Pegs, I am so sorry to hear of your maremma dilemma, but I am thrilled about your packed 11th providing gorgeous supports. Many blessings for healing swift and pronto with abundance of thriving in the physical. Can I ask what transits to your 6th are happening?
Hi Sphinx, don’t know what 6th house transits Mystic looka after that area but shall look it up immediately.
Me & ‘health is wealth’ how true, but i live with a budding enormous appetite…lol.
Blessings to you & yours.x
Natal Uranus….ok fast as lightning strikes? That and Vesta transiting 6th. My hearth fire composure has been at risk?
My lovely Pegs! The unusual and unexpected illnesses caused by the Uranian influence in your 6th house is due to all of that added electricity into your body, specifically your nervous system. There you can get too trapped in your head space, which creates added pressure on your body. Add some Vestal fire on top and there is WAY too much Fire and electricity being directed to your Sagg self! To dig deeper the 6th is ruled by Virgo, so whatever sign your 6th house is would speak more to the actual virus. BUT sudden change and a discovery of a new health direction suddenly is possible too! You’re too amazing to be held down for too long! Much love to you 🔱✨
Darling a rose by any other name? 6th in Kataka. Vesta transiting 6th. Now i get it.Today feeling stronger after my GP visit said it would take months, decided it would not. Don’t have months need to fast track. Friends can recommend herbal elixers par excellence but will power-mind power is more my way, that will be my super tonic.
‘A sudden change & discovery of new health direction’………….a huge thank you for that inspiration.
11th House? ‘With a little help from my friends’. Blessings.x
This is very interesting because I have a bunch of 11th house in my coming solar return chart! My birth chart 11th is empty and I’m kind of a Sigma Cappy at heart but felt a yearning for community and finding that tribe lately. I applied for a job recently that gave me a feeling it could be a great path toward that. We shall see what the year brings!
Also, is it a Capricorn thing then because I totally wouldn’t be able to deal with all those friends! Exhausted just thinking about it.
Sun-Saturn not 1-deg apart in Virgo, I crave a lot of isolation but am a social butterfly (and doormat) and have lovely, faithful friends so always find myself surrounded by people. I’m embarrassingly notorious for scene ghosting, I binge socialize for weeks or months on end, even casually living with people, and then exhausted, just disappear. I reappear weeks, months sometimes years later. I was popular at school but a recluse in my neighborhood. I had a plain Jane mom, dad, 2 kids and a dog home life but dreamed of living a Pacino Author! Author! set up; a band of misfit characters on the brink somehow always making mortgage payments. I’m a Venus-Mars-Pluto 1st house Libra opp Vertex-Eris in the 7th, I grew up in the 80s and thought divorce was so glamorous, I couldn’t wait to get one! I’ve rarely had 1-1 romantic relationships, just charming and usually fun encounters. I said yes to a lovely man even though I absolutely didn’t want to because I was too afraid to hurt his feelings. Divorce was underwhelming. I thrive working solo but live to create and contribute in service of a better future for everyone. I am pretty solidly 11th house.
This depicts my father so well! He doesn’t just belong to dozens of clubs on paper, he is an active member. He’s a joiner and always has been. As he is a Cancer I used to attribute this trait to him wanting a clan yet his Sun, Venus, Mercury and something else I forget are all in the 11th! Thank you for this post Mystic.
I have Saturn in the 11th opposite Uranus Mars and Pluto in the 5th. It shocks me how many people recognize me anywhere and everywhere as my Saturn is disconnected from my public speaking (large groups). However my other 11th house planets (Sun, Venus) let me slap a smile on and wave 😜
All part of Saturns work in society/community. PS Saturn return in the 11th in a few months. Things could get… interesting, no?
What do you think might happen?
This is unrelated but mystic the dailies lately, thank you.. very helpful for not gaslighting myself out of recent key intuitive inklings and are also a cool way to attune constructively to the moment.
Cupido and Fortuna are the only bodies in this area for me. So passionate relationships for short periods and then, maybe, fated. Galactic centre right in the middle. Interesting! Even my family have interesting placements (daughter Mercury Mars, Son Neptune Chiron North node, Daughter 2 Fortuna Vesta Moon, Hubby Lilith Pars Fortune under Pluto at the moment) I love your writing MM I always go on a research bender, whether it is astrology, history, artefacts….. Is there a placement house for addiction to learning, knowing, curiosity?
Gemini! And 3rd house, 9th house, mercury aspects 🙂
3rd House Aries Venus and Moon, Gemini and 9th empty. Mercury in 4th Taurus
Thanks Sam
Oh yes! This is on the mark. My ex had so many planets in 11th and I am overwhelmingly 12th house. It was hard work from day 1 and a very exhausting 5 years. He seriously could hold a record on how many friends he had. Friends were involved in all decisions, invited on every holiday, romantic nights out even. If you love me, you love my friends was his motto. That was one crowded house! We had some good times but not sustainable for my soul ❤️
It’s me. I’m the 11th house person, 6 planets in the 11th house. And an introvert. But I vibe super aqua and work towards goals in groups (yes, for the good of humanity). There’s something that protects me in a group, 1-1 can be very “under fluorescent lights.” It has to be the right vibe for that. I’d also say it manifests in other lucky ways that aren’t mentioned, benefactors and being a human switchboard that can connect people.
This was hilarious. Ahh the 11th house…
It was! Hard relate for some Aquarians I know
I have Mars and Venus in Aries in my 11th, plus True Node (retrograde) in Taurus in there.
Friends: absolutely. The more the merrier. Come hang.
Cliques, squads and empire-builders: take your closeted power mongering and gatekeeping bull**** elsewhere.
That’s my Jupiter-lilith 11th house..
Yes my ex-husband has 11th house sun and really lived for his pack. I had always attributed it to his being the 3rd kid…a childhood spent following along behind his siblings. But he loved his friends so dearly, and referenced them so often: it was clear that his community was of the most-important to him. He loved being in groups, having parties, “just hanging out” with an array of his besties every day. And me? I have Saturn in the 11th LoL, I was always sneaking away to do my own thing. Actually our marriage lasted 16 years, however, and in our composite chart we have an 11th house sun… for us the community was beneficial, we had lots friends (more than I have now, when left to my own devices!), and it helped supply the meaning and fun that we perhaps couldn’t cultivate within our relationship. And now, we transitioned to a really pleasant friendship…we still hang out a lot, which I also attribute to that 11th house composite sun.
Sounds very benign, as exes go.