Houses

The 12 houses in astrology represent the fields of action in life, with each house representing an area of life and their matters. This includes objects, people, actions that we take, feelings and other meanings. Houses work by taking a point of view (usually the Ascendant) as the 1st house, and proceeding to make the 12 houses following it. Houses from the Moon are seen to understand a person’s mentality better, how they perceive or deal with that part of life.

For instance, the 2nd house describes the family (specially the birth family, the parents). So a strong 2nd house from the ascendant could show a very joyful and helpful family. A strong 2nd house from the Moon would show that the native feels good about his family, even if things aren’t that great, or if there are problems with them.

The basic meaning of each house:

• 1st house: physical body, constitution, appearance and disposition. Personality, character, self, behavior. The head. Birth conditions.
• 2nd house: childhood, family (specially the parents), food and drinks, storage of anything. Money and finances. Knowledge. Things that you ingest. Voice, speech, teeth, nose, eyes (specially the right one). Self-worth and self esteem.
• 3rd house: Courage, strength, life force, bravery. All kinds of arts, writing and communication. Technology, computers, phones and other devices related to communication; also social media. Travels (specially short and close ones). Siblings and relationship with them, specially younger siblings. Hearing (specially the right ear), arms, hands and shoulders.
• 4th house: the mind, emotions, feelings and mentality. Sense of security and stability. Mother and relationship with her. Comforts and luxuries of all sorts. Houses, real estate and land. Cars and vehicles, including boats or planes. Clothes and other pretty objects. Chest, breast and heart.
• 5th house: The creative mind, creativity, intelligence and thinking process. Good karma received in this lifetime (purva punya). Sense of destiny and ability to see the future. Speculation, investments and risky matters. Romance and pleasure. Fun, sports, hobbies and entertainment. Arts, creative arts, films. Politicians and kings.
• 6th house: Health, disease, illness and habits. Pets and animals. Employees, servants and subordinates. Enemies and troubles. Debt, lawsuits and conflict. Medical profession or all professions dealing with trouble and conflict. Intestines and digestion.
• 7th house: Relationships, marriage, partnerships, business partnerships. The way we deal with people in our life, regardless of the type of relationship. Contracts and agreements of all sorts, arbitration and resolution. Sexual relationships, pleasure and desire. Opposition to us. Foreign lands, far away places and residency there. Kidneys.
• 8th house: Death, transformation and change. Sudden changes or sudden upsets. Investigation and research. Money through marriage/partnership, other people’s money. Secrets and hidden matters. Occult studies of all sorts. Accidents, surgery and misfortune. Chronic disease and long standing problems/ailments. Sexual organs, elimination organs and private parts.
• 9th house: Father, guru or parental figures. Wisdom, beliefs and spirituality. Dharma. Higher education institutions. Law and lawyers or other types of advisors. Luck and fortune in life. Long travels or long journeys, also dealing with foreign places. Publishing or writing. Hips and thighs.
• 10th house: Career, our public karma (how we deal and how the world sees us). Social standing or reputation. Authority figures or bosses. Knees and back.
• 11th house: Income, great gains, large sums of earned money, money earned from career. Elder siblings and your relationship with them. Friends, groups and large organizations. Attainment/fulfilment of desires, your great wishes in life. Left ear, left arm, ankles.
• 12th house: Dissolutions and endings. Loss, suffering, death and all kinds of finalizations. Expenditure and losses. Sleep. Confinement or seclusion. Prisons, hospitals, spiritual retreats. Release of everything, forgiveness, release of desires/anger/grief. Films and movies, illusions. Foreign and far away places, out of sea travel. Space travel. Hidden enemies. Feet and left eye.

House Classifications

Kendras (1, 4, 7, 10)

The main areas of life, the most important parts of a chart, denoting central matters in life. Here we have the self (1st), our sense of well being and comfort (4th), our relationships (7th) and our input into the world (10th).

Trikonas (1, 5, 9)

These houses represent the lucky areas of life. Showing gifts, talents, luck and good fortune. The 1st shows ourselves as our luck, showing our physical health and overall composition, as well as our personality traits and how they allow us to access luck and improvement. The 5th house tends to show the future, or what luck will come our way. The 9th house shows luck from the past, help we get thanks to past good deeds, help through the father, etc.

Upachayas (3, 6, 10, 11)

Upachaya means “ascension” or “growth” so these are areas that will grow, increase or improve in life. These are areas of life where things will gradually improve, and where hard work tends to compensate well. These are also areas where we face competition, and rise through it.

Dusthanas (6, 8, 12)

The prefix “dur” denotes something harsh, “sthana” is a Sanskrit term for house, so these are the harsh houses. They deal with disease, sorrow, longevity, endings, loss, accidents and other types of misery.

Purushartas: the four aims of life

In Vedic philosophy, we have the concept of four aims of life, the four main goals that humanity deals with. They are dharma, artha, kama and moksha.

• Houses 1, 5 and 9 are the Dharma houses
• Houses 2, 6 and 10 are the Artha houses
• Houses 3, 7 and 11 are the Kama houses
• Houses 4, 8 and 12 are the Moksha houses

Dharma (1, 5, 9)

Dharma deals with truth and destiny, showing one’s path or purpose in life. Dharma deals with ideas of honor and duty, in their most sacred meaning.

Artha (2, 6, 10)

Artha could be translated as “wealth” or “resources”. These houses show our resources or support sources. An Artha focused person will want to maximize their wealth.

Kama (3, 7, 11)

Kama is translated to “lust” or “desire”, and it truly deals with all kinds of pleasure and enjoyment. These houses deal with our desires, our relationships and the effort we put into gaining or maintaining those.

Moksha (4, 8, 12)

Moksha deals with liberation, with the final dissolution from life’s illusions. Moksha is the great aim of all spirituality, releasing oneself from the bondage of the world and material life.

House lords or rulers

As each house represents a certain sign of the zodiac, and as each sign is ruled by a certain planet, each of the 12 houses in a chart will have a house lord or ruler. The house lord shows “the soul” of a house, showing how the matters of that house will tend to occur in a native’s life.

For instance, the 4th lord in the 2nd might indicate that the native has a wealthy mother, or that he deeply cares about securing his finances. The 10th lord in the 8th could show a career dealing with emergencies, other people’s money, the occult or research. The 5th lord in the 8th could show a very obsessive mind, extremely focused on researching and obtaining knowledge.

Similar readings can be done on any house, as long as you understand the rulers: