Your Kundli is divided into 12 Bhavas (houses). Each one covers a set of life areas: money, siblings, home, children and so on. The planets tell you what energy is involved. The houses tell you where in your life it shows up.
This article is part of our Vedic astrology guide. Tap any house in the chart below to see its meaning.
Tap a house to see what it rules.
Get your free KundliWhat each house covers
| House | Sanskrit name | Main areas |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tanu | Body, personality, health, overall direction |
| 2nd | Dhana | Savings, family, speech, food, early education |
| 3rd | Sahaja | Effort, courage, younger siblings, short travel, skills, media |
| 4th | Sukha | Mother, home, land and vehicles, emotional peace, schooling |
| 5th | Putra | Children, intelligence, higher learning, creativity, romance, past merit |
| 6th | Ripu | Illness, debts, enemies, competition, daily work and service |
| 7th | Kalatra | Marriage, spouse, business partners, trade, travel |
| 8th | Ayu | Longevity, sudden events, inheritance, secrets, research |
| 9th | Dharma | Fortune, father, gurus, beliefs, long journeys, higher studies |
| 10th | Karma | Career, status, reputation, actions in the world |
| 11th | Labha | Income, gains, elder siblings, friends, fulfilment of desires |
| 12th | Vyaya | Expenses, losses, foreign lands, sleep, retreat, liberation |
House groups matter more than single houses
- Kendras (1, 4, 7, 10): the four pillars of the chart. Planets here are prominent and active.
- Trikonas (1, 5, 9): the houses of fortune and merit, the most favourable houses.
- Dusthanas (6, 8, 12): the difficult houses. They bring struggle, change or loss, but also healing, research and spiritual growth.
- Upachayas (3, 6, 10, 11): houses that improve over time. Natural malefics like Saturn, Mars and Rahu often do well here, because effort gets rewarded.
- Maraka (2, 7): traditionally linked with health crises in longevity calculations. Don't draw frightening conclusions from this alone.
The 1st house is both a Kendra and a Trikona, which is why the Lagna is treated as the most important house.
The house lord: the key idea
Every house is ruled by the planet that owns its sign. Where that lord goes, the house's affairs go with it. Classical texts like Phaladeepika give results for the lord of every house placed in every house: 144 combinations in total.
A few examples, as tendencies:
- 10th lord in the 2nd: career tied to earning, family business, finance or speech.
- 4th lord in the 12th: living away from the birthplace (see foreign settlement in astrology).
- 5th lord in the 9th: intelligence and merit support fortune. This is a Trikona–Trikona link, considered very favourable.
- 7th lord in the 6th, 8th or 12th: relationships need more patience and effort.
How to judge any house: the five questions
- Which sign is on the house? It sets the tone.
- Where is the house lord, and how strong is it? Exalted, own sign, debilitated, combust?
- Which planets sit in the house?
- Which planets aspect it? Every planet aspects the 7th house from itself. Mars also aspects the 4th and 8th, Jupiter the 5th and 9th, Saturn the 3rd and 10th.
- What is the natural significator (karaka) doing? Venus for marriage, Jupiter for children, the Sun for father and so on.
Then check timing: a house gives its results mainly during the Dasha of its lord or of planets connected to it.
Related: the Navagraha · career in your chart · marriage timing