The Twelve Houses: A Quick Guide

The twelve bhavas (houses) are the stage on which the planets act. Signs describe how a planet behaves and planets describe what energy is at work, but the houses say where in life it shows up. Knowing what each governs is the first step to reading any chart.

The twelve houses

• 1st — self, body, vitality
• 2nd — wealth, family, speech
• 3rd — courage, siblings, effort
• 4th — home, mother, happiness
• 5th — children, intellect, romance
• 6th — health, debts, enemies
• 7th — marriage, partnerships
• 8th — longevity, transformation
• 9th — fortune, dharma, father
• 10th — career, status
• 11th — gains, networks
• 12th — loss, liberation, foreign

How houses are counted

In the Parashari system the sign rising at birth, the Lagna, becomes the whole 1st house, the next sign the 2nd house, and so on round the zodiac. This whole-sign method is the classical one, and it means each house is exactly one sign. In a North Indian chart the houses stay fixed in the diamond layout and the sign numbers move; in a South Indian chart the signs stay fixed and the Lagna is marked.

Groups of houses

• Kendras (angles) — 1, 4, 7, 10: the pillars of the chart. Planets here are strong and visible.
• Trikonas (trines) — 1, 5, 9: the houses of fortune and merit. Their lords are the best benefics.
• Dusthanas — 6, 8, 12: houses of struggle, hidden matters and loss.
• Upachayas — 3, 6, 10, 11: houses of growth, where even malefics such as Saturn and Mars improve with time.
• Maraka houses — 2 and 7: traditionally examined for health crises in old age.

Lords and occupants

Every house has a lord — the planet ruling its sign. A house is read from three things together: planets placed in it, aspects it receives, and the condition of its lord. The lord carries the house’s affairs to wherever it sits. If the 10th lord (career) sits in the 9th (fortune), work and luck support each other; if it sits in the 12th, career may involve foreign lands or institutions. An empty house is not a weak house — its lord tells the story.

Natural significators

Each house also has a karaka, a planet that naturally signifies its matters: the Sun for the 1st and 9th, Jupiter for the 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th, Mars for the 3rd and 6th, the Moon for the 4th, Venus for the 7th, Saturn for the 8th and 12th, and the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn together for the 10th. A good reading checks the house, its lord and its karaka before judging an area of life.

From any house

Houses can also be counted from another house — a technique called bhavat bhavam. The 9th house is the father, so the 3rd from it (your 11th) shows the father’s siblings; the 7th is the spouse, so the 2nd from it (your 8th) shows the spouse’s wealth. This is why a single placement can say something about several people in your life.

House lords and occupants colour each area — generate your Kundli to see which planets sit where, and which houses they rule for your ascendant.