The 12 Houses
The twelve houses, or bhavas, are counted from the Lagna, and each governs a part of life: the self, wealth, siblings, home, children and so on round to the twelfth. A planet's house and the house its lord stands in shape a reading.
| House | Signifies | Class | Directional strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st house | Personality & appearance | kendra, trikona | Jupiter, Mercury |
| 2nd house | Wealth & finances | — | — |
| 3rd house | Communication, courage & siblings | upachaya | — |
| 4th house | Home & property | kendra | Moon, Venus |
| 5th house | Education & children | trikona | — |
| 6th house | Health & enemies | dusthana, upachaya | — |
| 7th house | Marriage & partnerships | kendra | Saturn |
| 8th house | Longevity & transformations | dusthana | — |
| 9th house | Fortune & spirituality | trikona | — |
| 10th house | Career & profession | kendra, upachaya | Sun, Mars |
| 11th house | Gains & income | upachaya | — |
| 12th house | Expenses & foreign connections | dusthana | — |
House by house
The 1st house signifies personality & appearance. It is a kendra and a trikona. Jupiter and Mercury have directional strength here. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for the Moon and Venus.
The 2nd house signifies wealth & finances. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for Mercury, Jupiter and Venus.
The 3rd house signifies communication, courage & siblings. It is an upachaya. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.
The 4th house signifies home & property. It is a kendra. The Moon and Venus have directional strength here. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for Mercury and Venus.
The 5th house signifies education & children. It is a trikona. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for Jupiter and Venus.
The 6th house signifies health & enemies. It is a dusthana and an upachaya. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.
The 7th house signifies marriage & partnerships. It is a kendra. Saturn has directional strength here. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for the Moon and Jupiter.
The 8th house signifies longevity & transformations. It is a dusthana. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for Mercury and Venus.
The 9th house signifies fortune & spirituality. It is a trikona. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for Jupiter and Venus.
The 10th house signifies career & profession. It is a kendra and an upachaya. The Sun and Mars have directional strength here. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for the Sun, the Moon and Mercury.
The 11th house signifies gains & income. It is an upachaya. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.
The 12th house signifies expenses & foreign connections. It is a dusthana. Counted from the Moon, a transit through it is favourable for Venus.
Reading the table
The houses are counted from the Lagna, the sign rising in the east at birth, which is the 1st; the birth chart counts them whole sign by whole sign. The kendras, the angles, are the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th, the pillars of the chart. The trikonas, the trines, are the 1st, 5th and 9th, the most fortunate. The dusthanas are the 6th, 8th and 12th, the houses of difficulty, and the upachayas the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th, the houses of growth, where even a difficult planet improves with time. Directional strength, dig bala, is the house where a graha is strongest by its direction, east, north, west or south; the last column names who has it where, and the Shadbala in a birth report counts it.
Which sign falls on each of your houses, and which planets stand in them, is in a free birth chart; the horoscope counts each transit's house from your Moon sign.