The twelve houses (bhavas) in Vedic astrology
A Vedic chart has twelve houses (bhavas), each tied to an area of life. With whole-sign houses, the rising sign is house 1, the next sign is house 2, and so on. Each house takes the whole of one sign.
The houses and their traditional themes
| House | Traditional themes |
|---|---|
| 1 | Self, body, character, the start of the chart |
| 2 | Family, speech, resources, early values |
| 3 | Effort, courage, siblings, skills and communication |
| 4 | Home, mother, inner peace, property |
| 5 | Creativity, children, learning, intelligence |
| 6 | Daily work, service, obstacles, routine |
| 7 | Partnerships, marriage, close one-to-one relationships |
| 8 | Change, the hidden, shared resources, inheritance |
| 9 | Higher learning, teachers, belief, long journeys |
| 10 | Career, public role, responsibility |
| 11 | Gains, friends, networks, hopes |
| 12 | Rest, retreat, endings, foreign lands, the unconscious |
Whole-sign houses
In the whole-sign system, if your rising sign is Cancer, then Cancer is the first house, Leo the second, Virgo the third, and so on around the zodiac. A planet's house is the house of the sign it is in. Other systems cut houses of unequal size from the horizon, but whole-sign is the classical Vedic method and the one Vedic Astrolab uses.
How to use the houses
The houses show where in life a planet's themes tend to play out. A planet in the 10th house, for example, brings its themes to work and public life. Read these as prompts to think about, not as predictions.
Frequently asked questions
How are houses calculated in Vedic astrology?
Most modern Vedic software uses whole-sign houses counted from the rising sign. You need your exact birth time and place to know the rising sign.
Can I get houses without my birth time?
No. Houses depend on the rising sign, which changes about every two hours.
What is a kendra or trikona?
Kendras are the angular houses (1, 4, 7, 10). Trikonas are the trine houses (1, 5, 9). Tradition treats them as especially significant.
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