12 Houses of Vedic Astrology – Significance and Meaning

Houses of Vedic astrology signify a specific trait or experience in a person’s real life. They symbolize how a person functions, how he interacts with other people, his work, or his loved ones, etc.

As there are 12 zodiac signs or Rashis, there are 12 astrological houses, and each house is in analogy with one of the signs. However, contrarily to signs, which spread invariably over 30 degrees of the zodiacal circle, house sizes may greatly differ from one house to the other. House calculations are based on the exact birth time.

Due to the rotation of earth on its axis, the rashis will rise on the sky on the eastern horizon of the earth and descend on the western horizon to become invisible with respect to any specific location on earth. When someone is born, a rashi will be rising at that point corresponding to the location where the person is born. This rashi that is rising is called the Ascendant or Lagna and forms the first house.

The following rashi to rise forms the 2^nd house and so on to form the 12 houses or “Bhavas”. This is the most common form of house system used in Vedic Astrology called the “equal sign” house system. There are other house systems in Vedic astrology as well. The 12 houses represent the whole cycle of life and the experiences that the person will have during his life cycle. To understand the chart of a person, one needs to understand the inherent energies of each rashi and its correspondence to a specific house, plus the effects of the planets on these houses.

The following mentioned below are the 12 houses of vedic astrology and its meaning.

The 1st house, referred to as the Ascendant: the self, demeanor, and vitality.

It describes the personality, the natural demeanor of the person while he faces the outside world, and also his physical appearance. It is an essential component for the interpretation of the natal chart, and it is one of the four angles of the natal chart. It is located on the left hand side of the natal chart and corresponds to the place where the sun rises.

The 2nd house: money earned and material goods.

It describes material goods, how they are managed, and how money is earned. In brief, it includes all financial matters but also represents greed and all sorts of possessions.

The 3rd house: immediate surroundings, siblings, short trips, and studies.

It deals with communication, the close environment of people, primary and secondary education, apprenticeship. It also describes short trips, transportation, modern means of communication and all practical things.

The 4th house, referred to as the Imum Coeli: family, home, origins, heredity, and the father.

It represents the native’s family, ancestors, roots, and home, both the home he comes from and the one he will set up. This house also describes the real estate patrimony, childhood, and emotions. It is located at the bottom of the chart, and like the Ascendant, it is an angular house. For some authors, 4th house represents the mother instead of the father.

The 5th house: love matters, pleasure, leisure, children, and creations.

It describes the person’s creative and recreational activities, his hobbies, as well as his love affairs, his luck in gambling, his relationships with children in general, including his own. This house covers all pleasant things in the native’s life.

The 6th house: everyday life, daily work and colleagues, lower-ranking co-workers, and health.

It describes the native’s everyday life, his behavior at work, minor obligations, servitudes, lower-ranking co-workers, and pets. It also concerns health, medicines and minor illnesses.

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The 7th house, referred to as the Descendant: unions, marriage, other people, associations, and contracts.

It is opposite the 1st house and thus, represents other people, the native’s behaviour towards other people, his partner. It concerns contracts, associations and marriage and open enemies. It is through the 7th house that the native perceives other people. It is located on the right hand side of the natal chart and corresponds to the place where the sun sets.

The 8th house: passions and crises, transformations, death, financial investments, and sexuality.

It concerns the native’s birth and death. However, it does not necessarily mean actual physical death. It may be a symbolic death, and thus, it is synonymous with evolution and transformation. This house also represents inheritances, money earned by other people, but also sexuality, power, all things hidden, and interest in occultism.

The 9th house: travels, abstract and higher concepts, spirituality, and foreign matters.

It is the realm of spirituality and philosophy, higher ideals, faraway travels, both physical and inner ones. Contrarily to the 3rd house, this house represents higher education and universities, as well as the understanding of abstract topics. It is also related to law and legality, and religion.

The 10th house, referred to as the Mid-heaven: social success, professional destiny, and the mother.

It is opposite the 4th house and corresponds to the native’s professional career, as well as his social elevation as compared to his family background. It symbolises his ambitions and his achievements in the society. It is also related to the general public, potential fame, and the mother’s influence. The 10th house is in the Southern part of the natal chart and located at its top.

The 11th house: friends, collective projects, supports and protections in life.

It represents the native’s projects, his friends, and his protectors. It describes the nature of his friends, his group activities, and the place he occupies within the group, contrarily to the more individualistic 5th house. This 11th house is related to all kinds of humanitarian topics.

The 12th house: enemies, difficulties, solitude, hidden ordeals, and secrets.

It corresponds to the native’s inner self; ordeals underwent his whole life through, hidden enemies, and serious illnesses. It is related to places of confinement such as hospitals, prisons, convents, etc., and also includes solitude and major inner crises.

The Tradition classifies houses because, on the one hand, their influence on an individual is not equally important, and on the other hand, they have different specificities in terms of character sketch. There are three classifications. The first one deals with accentuation, and the other two, with quadrants and hemisphere emphasis.

Different Houses of Vedic Astrology