Astrology basics · houses
1 to 12 houses in astrology and their lords
What each of the 1 to 12 houses in astrology shows, and the lord of each house for every ascendant, from the classical texts.
In short
The 12 houses in astrology (bhavas) are the twelve parts of a birth chart, counted from the ascendant (Lagna). Each house shows areas of life: the 1st the self, the 7th marriage, the 10th profession. The lord of a house is the planet that owns the sign on it, so the house lords change with your Lagna.
What does each of the 12 houses show?
The traditional meaning of each house from BPHS chapter 11, with the verse, and the questions Astrojar answers from it.
| House | What it shows (BPHS ch. 11) | Astrojar reads it for |
|---|---|---|
| 1st house Tanu bhava | Body, appearance, intellect, complexion, vigour, happiness and sorrow, and your nature (sl. 2) | Health, mind and peace |
| 2nd house Dhana bhava | Wealth, food, family, metals and precious stones (sl. 3) | Marriage, money |
| 3rd house Sahaja bhava | Courage, brothers and sisters, helpers, instruction and journeys (sl. 4) | Foreign travel and settling abroad, siblings |
| 4th houseBandhu bhava | Mother, relatives, vehicles, comforts, land and buildings (sl. 5) | Property, education, mind and peace |
| 5th housePutra bhava | Children, learning and knowledge, mantras, and authority and its loss (sl. 6) | Love, education, children, spiritual life |
| 6th houseAri bhava | Enemies, wounds and ulcers, maternal uncle and step-mother (sl. 7) | Career, debts and loans, health, legal matters |
| 7th house Yuvati bhava | Spouse and marriage, travel and trade (sl. 8) | Marriage, love, business |
| 8th houseRandhra bhava | Longevity, battles and enemies, wealth of the dead (inheritance), past and future (sl. 9) | Debts and loans, health, legal matters |
| 9th houseDharma bhava | Fortune, religion and pilgrimage, the spouse's brother and the brother's wife (sl. 10) | Money, education, foreign travel and settling abroad, spiritual life, luck |
| 10th houseKarma bhava | Profession, authority, honour, father, living abroad and debts (sl. 11) | Career, business |
| 11th houseLabha bhava | Income, gains and prosperity, the son's wife (sl. 12) | Career, business, money, siblings, luck |
| 12th houseVyaya bhava | Expenses, the hidden doings of enemies, and the end of life (sl. 13) | Debts and loans, foreign travel and settling abroad, spiritual life |
Who is the lord of each house?
The lord of each house in astrology is the lord of its sign. Find your Lagna in the first column: the row gives the lord of the 1st to the 12th house.
| Lagna | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter |
| Taurus | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars |
| Gemini | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus |
| Cancer | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury |
| Leo | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon |
| Virgo | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun |
| Libra | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury |
| Scorpio | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus |
| Sagittarius | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars |
| Capricorn | Saturn | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter |
| Aquarius | Saturn | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn |
| Pisces | Jupiter | Mars | Venus | Mercury | Moon | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Saturn |
Whole-sign houses, as Astrojar draws its charts. Sign lords: BPHS ch. 3 sl. 51-54.
Which planet owns each sign?
| Sign | Sanskrit | Lord |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mesha | Mars |
| Taurus | Vrishabha | Venus |
| Gemini | Mithuna | Mercury |
| Cancer | Karka | Moon |
| Leo | Simha | Sun |
| Virgo | Kanya | Mercury |
| Libra | Tula | Venus |
| Scorpio | Vrishchika | Mars |
| Sagittarius | Dhanu | Jupiter |
| Capricorn | Makara | Saturn |
| Aquarius | Kumbha | Saturn |
| Pisces | Meena | Jupiter |
The seven planets from the Sun to Saturn own the twelve signs: the Sun and the Moon one each, the other five two each. Rahu and Ketu own no sign in this scheme, so they are never a house lord here; they act through the house they sit in.
How do you find the lord of a house?
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1
Find your Lagna
The sign rising at birth. It is the 1st house; your kundli marks it.
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2
Count the houses
The next sign is the 2nd house, and so on round the chart to the 12th.
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3
Name each sign's lord
Use the sign-lord table. That planet is the lord of the house.
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4
See where the lord sits
A lord in an angle or trine helps its house; in the 6th, 8th or 12th it weakens it (BPHS ch. 12 sl. 1-2, ch. 13 sl. 1-2).
Which houses are strong, and which are difficult?
Angles (kendras): 1, 4, 7, 10
The pillars of the chart. A planet here is strong; a benefic that owns an angle loses some of its good, a malefic that owns one loses some of its harm (BPHS ch. 34 sl. 2-7).
Trines (konas): 1, 5, 9
The houses of fortune. Their lords give good results; the Lagna lord is the best of all, being both an angle and a trine (BPHS ch. 34 sl. 2-7).
Dusthanas: 6, 8, 12
The difficult houses. A house lord placed in them weakens that house: the 1st, 2nd and 7th house chapters all say so (BPHS ch. 12, 13 and 18).
3, 6 and 11
BPHS says a planet owning the 3rd, 6th or 11th gives difficult results (ch. 34 sl. 2-7), though the 11th is also the house of gains.
Read each house in depth
- Lord of 1st house (Lagna lord) Body, nature and the strength of the whole chart.
- 2nd house lord in astrology Wealth, family and food.
- What the 3rd house in astrology represents Courage, siblings and journeys.
- 7th house lord name for every Lagna Marriage, partners and trade.
- How to read kundli Put the houses together with the planets and dashas.
- Learn Vedic astrology All the free lessons, step by step.
Questions about the houses
What are the 12 houses in astrology?
They are the twelve parts of the birth chart, counted from the ascendant (Lagna). The 1st house is the self, the 2nd wealth and family, the 3rd courage and siblings, the 4th mother and home, the 5th children and learning, the 6th enemies and ailments, the 7th marriage, the 8th longevity, the 9th fortune and religion, the 10th profession, the 11th gains and the 12th expenses (BPHS ch. 11).
How do I find the lord of each house in my chart?
Find the sign on the house, then the planet that owns that sign. Aries and Scorpio belong to Mars, Taurus and Libra to Venus, Gemini and Virgo to Mercury, Cancer to the Moon, Leo to the Sun, Sagittarius and Pisces to Jupiter, Capricorn and Aquarius to Saturn.
Which houses are good in astrology?
Traditionally the angles (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th) and the trines (1st, 5th, 9th) are the strong, helpful houses; the 6th, 8th and 12th are the difficult ones (dusthanas). A planet's lordship of these houses colours its results (BPHS ch. 34 sl. 2-7).
What does an empty house mean?
Nothing bad by itself. An empty house is read from its lord: where the lord sits, how strong it is and which planets aspect the house (BPHS ch. 11 sl. 14-16).
Do Rahu and Ketu rule any house?
Not in the classical scheme used here: the twelve signs are owned by the seven planets from the Sun to Saturn, so every house lord is one of those seven. Rahu and Ketu act through the house they occupy.
Which house is for marriage, career or money?
Marriage is read mainly from the 7th house (with the 2nd), career from the 10th (with the 6th and 11th), and money from the 2nd and 11th (with the 9th). The table above shows how Astrojar uses each house.
Sources
- Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS), ch. 11 sl. 2-13 (what each house shows) and sl. 14-16 (when a house prospers).
- BPHS ch. 3 sl. 51-54 (own signs of the planets).
- BPHS ch. 12 sl. 1-2, ch. 13 sl. 1-2 and ch. 18 sl. 2 (a lord in the 6th, 8th or 12th).
- BPHS ch. 34 sl. 2-7 (lords of angles, trines and the 3rd, 6th and 11th).
- Chapter and verse numbers follow R. Santhanam's English translation of BPHS (Ranjan Publications). About the text.
This is the traditional reading of the classical texts, given for learning and reflection. It is not a prediction for you, and not medical, legal or financial advice.
See the houses in your own chart
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