Whole Sign Houses is the earliest and therefore the original system of houses. It was first used in Hellenistic Astrology about 2000 years ago and wasnexportd to India in the second or third century, where it is still the primary system of House Division. A recent poll of Westrrn Astrologers ranked it the second most popular, though some distance behid Placidus.
It's the easiest to calculate; all you need to know is the Sign ascending when you were born or some other event happened. In my case my Ascending sign is Leo. In WSH, the Whole of Leo becomes my first house, the whole sign of Virgo becomes my second, Libra my third and so on till Cancer becomes my twelfth.
The system avoids the unequal results of Placidus and other quadrant systems, which can allow three house cusps in one sign or a house that can span three signs with one of them entirely included (intercepted)in the house. It therefore makes the reading of the areas of your life (topics) much easier.
It has two drawbacks. The first is that the MC is not a house cusp and can be in any house from the eighth to the twelfth (and the Seventh is not unknown).
The second is that you really need to use the system of traditional Sign rulers as the house rulers.
