Houses (Bhavas)
The houses (bhavas) are the twelve divisions of a Kundli, each governing an area of life, from self and family to career, marriage and spirituality. They are counted from the ascendant, which is the first house.
Also known as: bhava, 12 houses, twelve houses
Signs describe how; houses describe where. The 1st house is the self, the 2nd wealth and family, the 3rd courage and siblings, the 4th home and mother, the 5th children and intellect, the 6th health, work and rivals, the 7th marriage and partners, the 8th longevity and transformation, the 9th fortune and dharma, the 10th career, the 11th gains, and the 12th expenses, rest and liberation.
For the Rashi chart, Parashari astrologers use whole-sign houses: the ascendant’s entire sign is the 1st house, the next sign the 2nd, and so on. The Bhava Chalit refines this by measuring the houses from the exact ascendant degree. Houses are grouped as kendras (1, 4, 7, 10), trikonas (1, 5, 9), dusthanas (6, 8, 12) and upachayas (3, 6, 10, 11).
To read a house, look at its sign, any planets in it, the planets aspecting it, the position of its lord and its natural significator (karaka). An empty house is not an unlucky one; its lord carries its story.