Astrology - Empty houses
I have a question about interpreting empty houses in a natal chart and want to make sure I understand the correct approach.
When a house has no planets, my understanding is that we look at the ruling planet of that house to understand its influences. But I'm unclear on which ruler to prioritise:
Option A: The Cusp Ruler (personal to the chart): Look at whichever sign falls on the cusp of that empty house, find its ruling planet, and interpret the house themes through that planet's placement.
Example: If someone's 7th house is empty but has Gemini on the cusp, we'd look to Mercury (Gemini's ruler) and read 7th house themes through Mercury's sign, house, and aspects.
Option B: The Natural Ruler (universal): Look at the sign and planet that naturally rule that house, regardless of what sign is on the cusp in the person's chart.
Example: The 7th house is naturally ruled by Libra and Venus, so we'd look at where Venus falls in the person's chart.
Or is it both? Are these two layers that work together in interpretation?