Hi there! I know this is old but I saw you never received an answer?
Actually whole sign and equal houses is not the same. With whole sign each house is exactly one sign, i. e. H1 = Capricorn (0-30 degrees), H2 = Aquarius, H3 = Pisces (and so forth). I think H1 will always start at 0 degrees of your risind sign (AC).
Equal houses are also always 30 degrees large BUT they do not (necessarily) begin at 0 degrees but at the degree number that your AC starts at (i. e. 20 degrees).
Concerning your other question, different astrologers prefer different house systems (there’s a lot more as well but Placidus, Koch equal and whole sign are most popular) and everybody needs to find their own. What’s also worth checking out is your sidereal chart (usually planets wlll be in the sign preceding sign) and your draconic chart (supposedly the chart of your true soul).
You can find more info by googeling.
Personally, I feel like transits work best with Placidus (for me) .. I haven’t done solar return charts yet.
I identify most with my draconic chart and equal houses chart (and somewhat with my Placidus) .. whole sign and sidereal don’t work too well with me but you have to find your own method that works best for you
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- DRACONIC SOUL SELF-
LEO Sun + Venus
SAG Moon + Jupiter + Psyche
ARI ASC + Neptune/Uranus
CAN - Mercury + Mars
SCO - Chiron
TAU - Saturn
AQU - Pluto