Foundations of Vedic Astrology

The 12 Bhavas

The houses — the stage on which planets and signs act.

Twelve areas of life

The chart has 12 bhavas (houses), each covering an area of life — the self, wealth, courage, home, children, health, partnership, and so on, all the way around.

Where a sign is a stretch of sky, a house is a department of your life.

Counted from the lagna

Houses are counted from the lagna. The lagna is the 1st house; the next sign is the 2nd, and so on around to the 12th. So your rising sign decides which sign rules each area of life.

Backdrop, stage, actors

Three layers work together:

• Rashis (signs) are the backdrop — the qualities of the sky.
• Bhavas (houses) are the stage — the areas of life.
• Grahas (planets) are the actors — the forces that perform on that stage.

Reading a chart is reading how the three combine.

A few key houses

A taste of the meanings:

• 1st — self, body, personality
• 4th — home, mother, inner peace
• 7th — partnership, marriage
• 10th — career, status, action in the world

You'll learn all twelve in depth later.

Terms introduced here

The 12 bhavas

The houses — twelve areas of life, counted from the lagna.