3rd house meanings: Courage, strength, effort, bravery. All kinds of arts, acting, writing and communication. Technology, computers, phones and other devices related to communication; also social media. Sports or physical activities. Travels (specially short and close ones). Siblings and relationship with them, specially younger siblings. Hearing (specially the right ear), arms, hands and shoulders. Sexual desire and inclinations.

The 3rd house’s main meaning deals with courage and strength, with a lot of the other meanings deriving from this. Committing acts of bravery requires courage. Athletic feats similarly require courage and discipline. Arts and communication are all about expressing yourself. If you are not brave enough to face the public and deal with possible criticism, you can’t perform.

Siblings are seen through the 3rd house as they denote the first competition we face in life, as we navigate sharing and living among them. The 3rd house rules siblings in general, but specially the younger ones. The 11th house shows the older siblings.

For acting, arts, writing and creativity in general, the 3rd house is a very important one. Anyone working in these fields will usually have either the 3rd or the 5th house prominent in their chart, a lot of times, both.

Being a Kama house, one of the houses of desire and relationships, it deals with our sexual nature and desires.

The 3rd house also shows whether a native tends to be more timid, coy and fearful or if he tends to be brave, active and expressive. Malefic planets in the 3rd house tend to make a native brave, while the benefics tend to make for more coy personalities. If no planets are present, we should check the 3rd lord.

Planets in the 3rd House

  • Sun in the 3rd house: The Sun in the 3rd makes the native very competitive and strong. The positive side of this is a very determined personality, who will strive to achieve your desires. The negative side is a tendency towards excessive competition, which could create trouble with siblings or the people around you.
  • Moon in the 3rd house: There is a strong emotional attachment towards 3rd house matters, so the native could excel a lot in this house. A competitive personality can arise out of this, or the native could be very concerned with arts and performance, for instance. This placement will usually make for a strong and competitive native, who tends to achieve a lot. You may become a leadership figure, specially in your family.
  • Mars in the 3rd house: Mars does very well in this house, making for a very strong native. Achievement and accomplishment is usually seen with this placement, as the native will leave no stone left unturned when trying to reach a goal. A commanding and respected personality usually arises out of this placement. On the negative, excessive fighting or a domineering demeanor could cause trouble at times.
  • Mercury in the 3rd house: Communication and wit become the native’s weapon of choice. Achievement comes from expressing yourself and outsmarting others. Writing, publishing or anything related to communication tends to prosper. On the negative, harsh speech patterns could arise.
  • Jupiter in the 3rd house: Jupiter gives a sense of luck, but not much in bravery. The native tends to yield or let go in a quest for peace, rather than fighting for what he wants. The native will spend much of his time engaging in philosophy. Thinking or philosophizing about action, rather than acting makes for a procrastinator. The native could be very indecisive.
  • Venus in the 3rd house: The native is very charming and alluring, usually achieving much by his good communication skills. All arts are favored by this placement, and the native might be some kind of performer. The native could be excessively lustful. There is a peacekeeping tendency here, the native could yield or change his mind to appease others.
  • Saturn in the 3rd house: Saturn here is a double-edged sword. For one thing, it commands respect and tends to give the native good standing. On the other hand, it tends to make the native slow and not that good with words. A lot of obstacles tend to get in the way of the native’s projects, as well as conflict with others.
  • Rahu in the 3rd house: A great placement on a material level. The native will be very active and focused on achieving his goals. Generally, a very good placement. A few downsides deal with a temper, a tendency to exaggerate one’s achievements or deeds, excesses might harm the native or create losses.
  • Ketu in the 3rd house: The native has great strength and tends to rise above his competitors. Some restless tendencies tend to arise, and the native could act without thinking properly.

Generally, the malefics (Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu) tend to do better in the 3rd house. Mars tends to do the better. All the malefics will make the native brave, rather than timid or cowardly. Saturn could be somewhat hesitant, but it will stand his ground. Rahu and Ketu could be internally uncertain, but will act regardless.

The benefics Venus and Jupiter tend to make the native shy or subdued. Uncertainty, fear of standing your ground and procrastination are things that tend to happen with these placements. The native will tend to cede his ground to appease others, rather than fighting. Venus tends to do much better than Jupiter, specially as it usually ascribes some artistic skills or outlet for the native. Jupiter usually makes a person too philosophical, prone to over-analyzing rather than doing.

Moon and Mercury have variable qualities to them, depending much on the sign and aspects to them. At times, Moon could be somewhat soft, specially in signs like Libra or Pisces. Usually, it will show someone strong and willing to fight. Mercury fights on a mental, rather than a physical level. The native is willing to defend his ground, but he will do so by wit, rather than brute force.

A special quality of the 3rd house is that it imbibes any planet placed here with a martian quality. The matters of that planet will have a martian touch to them, coming stronger or more active than usual. For instance, Mercury naturally rules communication, and here an aggressive style could arise. Jupiter could become very defensive about ideas. Venus becomes extremely lustful, as it mixes Venus and Mars energies.

Ruler of the 3rd in different houses

  • Lord of the 3rd in the 1st: Strong initiative and courage, 3rd house matters are central in life. Either the native could be very into arts, sports, communication or similar subjects of this house. Or his siblings could play a key role in his life. Issues of anger could happen here.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 2nd: The native could be somewhat lazy or lethargic, a tendency towards procrastinating or not acting is present here. The native will not assert himself. Issues with siblings could arise. Materially, there could be good prosperity, specially with finances.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 3rd: Very assertive, brave and motivated natives. High skills in sports or arts, depending on which planet is the lord. Usually, a very prosperous placement both with siblings and children. Native tends to be very successful.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 4th: A very prosperous native, who might profit with the help of his siblings. The native could also deal with real-estate or agriculture. The native is very assertive and tends to find good support in his family.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 5th: Creativity and expression are very important to you. A career related to sports, arts or other form of expression ruled by the 3rd house could be indicated. Siblings could share your love for the arts. The native will assert himself through intelligence.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 6th: The native tends to run into a lot of problems when starting his projects. Whether the native perseveres or gives up depends on other placements of the chart. When the native persists, he tends to improve a lot as he ages, becoming a great problem solver. The native could also develop a liking or knack for dealing with tricky situations, or the less pleasant aspects of life. Siblings could create trouble for you at times, specially when you are younger.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 7th: The native is very assertive when dealing with others, partnerships (both romantic and professional) tend to be very important for him. Usually, a very good placement. The native might be very fond of traveling and exploring new places, specially foreign lands.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 8th: Your communication tends to be unclear. You could have a tendency to not express yourself fully or to keep secrets. You have a great knack for research or other 8th house activities. Some trouble communicating with your siblings could arise. Your assertiveness works in extremes, either not manifesting yourself at all or blowing up at people, without a middle-ground. A similar trend of obstacles, as seen in the 6th house above, could occur.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 9th: A good placement. The native’s efforts tend to prosper, and he benefits a lot from the father or gurus/teachers. A career in higher education or law could be indicated. The native is handy and skilled in many crafts.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 10th: The native will put a lot of effort into his career. The career itself will have to do a lot with some talent, skill or proficiency of the native. It could deal with arts or sports, but not necessarily. The native tends to be self-made or self-powered in life. This placement usually indicates success. There is a strong tendency towards secrecy here, with the native either working in a field that deals with secrets, or keeping his efforts hidden from others. A tendency towards procrastinating could appear, and the native has to overcome it. The natives efforts could, similarly, follow a pattern of highs and lows. At times, intense workaholic-like focus; or complete lethargy in other times.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 11th: The native tends to get great opportunities and support, specially on a financial side. Communication is the key for this native, and he will frequently be a part of groups or associations. A strong relationship with an older sibling might exist. An assertive and active personality.
  • Lord of the 3rd in the 12th: The natives efforts might suffer blockages or hindrances, or prove themselves futile in some way. The native might lack assertiveness. He might have a distant relationship with his siblings. Charity or acting for others (the collective specially) is the key for success here, the native has to let go of his individuality to properly achieve with this placement.

As mentioned above about the planets, any point placed in the 3rd house will get a martian quality into it. Similarly, any house lord placed here will suffer the same effect. People-wise, the people ruled by a certain house lord will tend to have a martian character to them. For instance, the 10th lord in the 3rd will denote martian bosses, with dynamic or active personalities. The 7th lord will show a martian spouse, with a somewhat aggressive or harsh personality. The 5th lord in the 3rd could show very energetic or athletic children.

In regards to the dusthanas, the 3rd lord tends to do very well in the 6th and 8th houses. Obstacles will certainly appear in the life of natives with these placements, but they will learn from them and become great problem solvers. These two placements have some negative connotations, but usually they will bring good rewards with effort and persistence. The 12th house placement, on the other hand, tends to show some erratic patterns in life. Success is possible, but the native will make many errors and he will find a lot of conflict in his way. Alternatively, there could simply be a lack of competitive drive with the 12th house placement.

Besides the dusthanas, we must assess the dusthanas from the 3rd house. The 2nd house is 12th from the 3rd, so the 2nd house placement could cause some lazy trends, with the native coasting around rather than doing; it however, remains a good placement. The 8th house is 6th from the 3rd, which we’ve already discussed, it deals with obstacles and the native learning from them.

The 10th house is 8th from the 3rd. The native will tend to keep many secrets in regards to his efforts, he could be inexpressive at times. The native has to overcome his procrastination with this placement, keeping routines could help achieve this. But truly, his efforts will only become constant and focused when he receives some recognition or when he feels a sense of duty towards a project. The 10th house rules public recognition, and reputation, so feeling encouraged or appreciated becomes key. Similarly, as the house deals with karma, whenever the native feels a sense of duty, he will strive and work really hard.