The 7th house is the part of your birth chart that deals with all things partnership, romantic, business or otherwise. As an astrologer and author Rise and Shine: An Astrological Guide to How You Should Be in This WorldChristopher Renstrom tells mindbodygreen, you can think of it as the “marital house,” but it’s also the house that rules business partnerships and even open enemies.

This house is on the opposite side of your chart as your ascendant (aka rising sign) which starts your first house. “The 7th house is the furthest from the ascendant, so it’s called the descendant,” Renstrom says.

Also, according to AstroTwins, the 7th house “is where we connect with others and learn about ourselves through our interaction and creation of mutual giving and receiving.” As previously written for mindbodygreen, creating a balance of the two forces is the goal of this house.

And isn’t marriage the best way to combine and balance the two forces? As Renstrom explains, marriage for love was not even a concept until modern times. In the past, marriage was a contractual agreement that united two families.

“Marriages were often arranged before our time, and astrology has been around for about 2,500 years, so the 7th house described who you marry, because when you get married you’re signing a contract,” he says, adding: “You’re legally bound to one another. with one… as opposed to the fifth house which is love affairs and romance.”

Then let’s say you get a divorce, this is also a 7th house theme because not only do you have to sign the divorce papers, but your ex becomes your public enemy. Where the 12th house deals with secret enemies, Renstrom notes, the 7th house deals with your public enemies.

But more often than not, he adds, whenever you see planets in the seventh house, “it’s probably describing your partner rather than describing you.”