There comes a time in one’s life when it’s necessary to leave the familial and discover one’s unique tastes and pleasures while developing self-expression, creative joy, and risk independence. One must leave the (perceived) security of home and the familiar to learn who they are and what wants to be expressed through them.
In the realm of the Fifth House, one learns about what makes them different from others, their unique plumage, and their distinctive way of doing and being in the world.
This is the realm where one is urged to find their courage and follow the call of their hearts. This is also the realm where the planetary archetype of Venus ‘has her joy.’ The very goddess that the ancients also called the “Joy Bringer” is ‘at home’ in the Fifth House. This hints at something deeper about what on the surface looks like a mishmash of elements that are related to this realm of experience.
From the reflective and private Fourth House, where we connect to our familial and ancestral home and roots, the creative energy that ‘originates’ from those roots now is released in self-expression in the Fifth House. It’s here that anything you create from your being, be it biological (i.e., children) or through inspiration and creative expression (i.e., art, baking, cooking, writing out a business plan, etc.), blossoms here. Even how we express love through our specific romantic language is also another form of creative expression.
Creative Joy & Pleasure
In the Fifth House, we encounter that which gives us joy and pleasure. Your favorite music, food, hobbies, etc. All that gives you a sense of ‘oh yes, this is me,’ and it makes you feel alive and inspired by life, falls under this domain. This is where your passions reside – from romance and love to discovering that ‘thing’ you’ve been searching for. It’s here that you reveal what makes you – You. This isn’t where you try to fit in; quite the contrary, you’re gambling on the known to encounter something beyond the familiar.
Think back to a time when you fell in love and how that may have you take risks and do things that otherwise would have been impossible. When playing with your friends as a child, you felt buoyed by the flow of time and possibilities. Or think about when you’re doing work that gives you pleasure and aligns with your values, ticking through all the boxes that make you feel alive, losing track of time and yet feeling energetic. This is the realm of the Fifth House.
Joy, Purpose & Livelihood
“BILL MOYERS: Do you ever have the sense of… being helped by hidden hands?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time – namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.“
The popularized Joseph Campbell quote of “Follow your bliss” feels to me deeply linked to the Fifth House. The full quote (above) reveals the element of risk one takes when following that, which gives them joy. It takes courage and trust to stay on a path that isn’t all paved and clear from the get-go but unfurls as you take your steps in confidence and connection to what is your bliss.
If we look at our lives from the lens of Campbell’s heroic journey of becoming, it’s in the realm of the Fifth House that we encounter a renewed sense of life, even rebirth, while also discovering what our unique inner gold is. The reward for the courage to risk trusting ourselves is the birthing of our Self.
For many who may be wondering why they’re here, what is their purpose, or how they can find more joy in their livelihood, it’s then vital to look with curiosity towards what are their pleasure, what excites them, what type of risks are they willing to take, being as practical as looking (or remembering) the hobbies and games/play that they enjoyed as children. In the realm of the Fifth House, we not only meet the children in our lives (if one becomes a parent), but it’s also where we connect with our Inner Child.
When we’ve lost our connection to the joy of life, it’s necessary to do the inner work to reconnect with one’s Inner Child and explore (or make room) for more recreation in their lives. But not of fashionable or healthy things (leave that to the Sixth House!), but that makes one come alive and filled with endorphins and pleasure.
It’s also through that which gives us joy that we get a glimpse of our purpose and how an aspect of this may need to be implemented in the work we do in the world. The stripping of pleasure from work has had traumatic consequences for individuals and our culture and way of life.
The Fifth House – I take the risk of being me
Perhaps of all the risks, the most challenging is to be oneself. While many of our stories evangelize how important we are and express ourselves, things aren’t as clear or permissible on a practical level. Culturally we have an infantilized and narcissistic idea of what is to be oneself, where leaders are ‘older,’ but most definitely not elders in wisdom or maturity. It’s as if we’ve taken the gifts of the Fifth House and given room only to its more surface-level meaning of personal charisma, children (psychological and biological), and a reduced understanding of the power of creativity.
In reality, this is the realm where we can better understand who we are as creative souls, not in an unhealthy narcissistic manner, but in a way that honors the search for Self through reflection. In this realm, we, through risk and play, learn how the playful intelligence inherent in creativity is the path we must embrace to have a more holistic view of who we truly are.
Much like it takes a measure of risk to fall in love, engage in romance, have a child, and give our love to that which is essential to us, it does take courage and risk to put ourselves out there and express ourselves in a myriad of ways.
When we launch a business, a class, program, product, or a creative piece, these are all part of the risk-taking and the gamble towards our creative joy. Without taking the risk, we’d be confined and underdeveloped, while perhaps protected, under the wings of our family or clan. Creativity like love takes risks, but the reward can be a sense of purpose, being alive, and joy.
Photo Credits:
Main image: Girl with the Red Hat
Subsequent images: Nishant Jain, Darius Bashar, Robert Stump Via Unsplash
