Whenever the topic of House Rulerships come up in my weekend workshops, often the student's eyes often quickly change to a "deer in the headlights" look. 

They've already gotten a good grasp on the Planets, the Signs, the Houses, and the Aspects -- and then "Oh, No!  Something else I have to learn?"  To which I give my frequent answer, "Well, yes and no." 

House rulership concepts allow natal interpretation to take a quantum leap beyond the normal Planets, Signs, Houses, and Aspects.  It is as if an entire new dimension of interpretive meanings come to the forefront when we expand our analysis to include these initially elusive House Rulerships.  And all this is possible without requiring us to memorize a lot more information.

The basic concept is not really all that complicated.  With the Natal Horoscope, we have 12 Houses.  Each House has one Zodiac Sign on the cusp.  Regardless of any Planets residing in a specific House, the affairs of that House are colored by the influence of the Planet that is most at home in the Sign on that House cusp.

For example, if Capricorn is the Sign on the 2nd House cusp we would expect that the affairs of that House (self-worth, things that we value, including money and material possessions, etc.) would take on a distinctive "Saturnian" feel, due to the affinity between Capricorn and Saturn, the Ruler of Capricorn.  That is, chances are these things would be thought of in a very traditional, reserved, or cautious sort of way.  So, we'd suspect that this individual would probably not be frivolous with their assets.  It's not likely that they'd be prone to gambling excesses, for example.  Make sense?

Then, as our next step, we'd find Saturn in the chart and check its condition.  If it were in Taurus we'd expect a practicality, reinforcing the conservative attitude as above.  If, however, Saturn were in Cancer we might see an emphasis on the importance of comfort in the value system or an added importance placed on emotional values.

Another example.  Consider a hypothetical chart with Pisces on the 7th House cusp.  We remember that the 7th House affairs include one-to-one relationships -- both intimate and business relationships.  We also already know that Neptune is the most "comfortable" in the Sign of Pisces so Neptune is the Ruler of Pisces, and in our example also the 7th House.  So, a distinctive "Neptunian" flavor is added to the interpretation of this House.  We'd have to explore whether there might be "something other than it seems" in a one-to-one relationship in the client's life.  Perhaps there is some conscious deception taking place or even involvement of alcohol or drugs in extreme cases.  Also possible, of course, would be the higher purpose of Neptune, the sense of spiritual connection with a partner.  Unfortunately, in many of these type charts the connection is much less positively exhibited.

If we looked further and saw that Neptune, Ruler of Pisces, was in the 5th House and was in square aspect to Mercury in the 8th, we could reasonably wonder if there might be some deceptive (Neptune) communications (Mercury) going on -- perhaps with sexual overtones (5th and 8th House connection).

You can see how techniques incorporating House Rulerships can focus our attention and give us insight that might otherwise be overlooked.  With some practice and perseverance, you may find that you routinely use House Rulerships to enhance your understanding of Natal analysis.  Especially in the case of "empty houses" this can incorporate details of the Horoscope that add  immensely to the depth of the overall interpretation.