First house (Tanu bhava)
The first house (Tanu bhava) is the house of the self: body, health, appearance, temperament and the overall direction of life. It begins with your ascendant and is the most important house in the chart.
Also known as: lagna bhava, 1st house, house of self, ascendant house
Tanu means body. The 1st house describes your physical constitution and vitality, your personality and first impression, and the way you approach life. Because it is both a kendra and a trikona, it links strength with fortune, and its condition affects how well the rest of the chart can deliver.
To read it, look at the ascendant sign, any planets in the 1st house, the planets aspecting it and, above all, its lord, the Lagna lord. A strong, well-placed Lagna lord is one of the best supports a chart can have. Jupiter and Mercury gain directional strength (dig bala) here, and Jupiter in the 1st is traditionally prized.
The Sun is the natural significator of the 1st house, and Aries, the first sign, mirrors it in the natural zodiac. Malefics here tend to make a person more forceful or intense rather than unlucky, especially when the Lagna lord is strong.