Vedic path · Night 2 · Vasishtha
The lagna and the bhavas: the Vedic Ascendant and its twelve houses
The lagna, the sign that was rising in the east, then the twelve bhavas counted from it in whole signs: their names, their four families, and the same count from the Moon.
The star of this night: Vasishtha
Vasishtha, which the West calls Mizar, does not shine alone: right beside it stands Arundhati (Alcor), the small star shown to newlyweds. Whoever can make it out has a true eye. Tonight you train yours: spot the lagna, then count the houses one by one.
The lagna, where it all begins
At the moment you were born, one sign of the sidereal zodiac was rising in the east, on the horizon. That sign is your lagna, the Ascendant of Jyotish. Everything starts from it: the twelve houses of the chart are counted from this sign.
The Earth turns once in twenty-four hours: the twelve signs rise in turn, one about every two hours. Two people born on the same day a few hours apart rarely share the same lagna, or the same houses. That is why the exact time of birth matters so much.
On the wheel, the lagna is always on the left: house 1 begins at the left edge and runs downward. Look at the D1 of the example sky, its birth chart in the sidereal zodiac: the sign on the left is Leo.
To remember The lagna is the sign that was rising in the east. On the wheel, it is the sign on the left.
Your turn
On the wheel of a Vedic chart, where is the sign of the lagna?
- A At the very top of the wheel
- B On the right of the wheel
- C Wherever the Moon is
- D On the left: it is the sign of house 1
See the answer
Answer D: On the left: it is the sign of house 1. The wheel is drawn from the lagna: its sign is placed on the left and holds house 1. All the other houses are counted from it.
One sign, one house
Jyotish counts in whole signs: the sign of the lagna is the whole of house 1, from 0° to 30°, whatever the exact degree that was rising. The next sign is house 2, the one after it house 3, and so on up to the twelfth.
To find a house, count the signs from the lagna, itself included. Leo lagna: Leo counts as 1, Virgo is house 2, Libra house 3… and Aries, the ninth sign counted, is house 9. The other way round, house 4 is the fourth sign counted: Scorpio.
On the wheel, start from the sign on the left and turn counterclockwise, downward first. Do it here, where the houses are numbered: tonight’s test hides the numbers, so you will have to count.
To remember The sign of the lagna is house 1. Count from it, itself included, counterclockwise.
Your turn
Leo lagna. In the example D1, Jupiter is in Gemini: which house is it in?
- A House 11
- B House 3
- C House 10
- D House 12
See the answer
Answer A: House 11. Leo 1, Virgo 2, Libra 3, Scorpio 4, Sagittarius 5, Capricorn 6, Aquarius 7, Pisces 8, Aries 9, Taurus 10, Gemini 11. Counting Leo as 1 is what keeps you from landing on house 10.
Bhavas 1 to 6
In Sanskrit a house is called a bhava: an area of life. Each bhava has a name, and that name already says what it holds. The first six start from you and from what surrounds you most closely.
House 1, tanu (the body), is you: the body and the person. House 2, dhana (wealth): wealth, speech and family. House 3, sahaja (born with you): siblings, and courage.
House 4, sukha (happiness): the mother, home and happiness. House 5, putra (the child): children, intelligence and merit. House 6, ari (the rival): debts, rivals and effort, the kind that makes you stronger.
To remember Tanu, dhana, sahaja, sukha, putra, ari: the first six bhavas, in order.
Your turn
Which house is the bhava of wealth, speech and family (dhana)?
- A House 2
- B House 4
- C House 5
- D House 11
See the answer
Answer A: House 2. Dhana means wealth: house 2 holds what you own, what you say and the family you come from. House 4, sukha, is the house of the mother and the home.
Bhavas 7 to 12
The next six open onto other people and onto the world. House 7, kalatra (the spouse), faces house 1: the spouse and partners. House 8, randhra (the breach): transformations and the hidden. House 9, bhagya (fortune): fortune, the father and dharma, the right path.
House 10, karma (action): action and career, what you do in full view. House 11, labha (gain): gains and networks. House 12, vyaya (expense): expenses, retreat and liberation.
So a graha is read in three steps: who it is, in which sign, in which bhava. In the example D1, the Sun is in Aries, house 9 from Leo: it lights up fortune, the father and dharma.
To remember Kalatra, randhra, bhagya, karma, labha, vyaya: from house 7 to house 12.
Your turn
In the example D1, Mars is in Aquarius, house 7 from Leo. What does this bhava speak of?
- A Action and career (karma)
- B The spouse and partners (kalatra)
- C The mother, home and happiness (sukha)
- D Gains and networks (labha)
See the answer
Answer B: The spouse and partners (kalatra). House 7 faces house 1: after the self, the other. Kalatra holds the spouse and partners; Mars puts its energy into the bond there.
Kendras and trikonas
The twelve houses fall into families. The kendras, houses 1, 4, 7 and 10, are the angular houses, the pillars of the chart: the person, the home, the couple, the career. A graha placed there acts with strength. On the wheel they draw a cross: house 1 starts from the left, house 4 from the bottom, house 7 from the right, house 10 from the top. Four landmarks for counting fast.
The trikonas, houses 1, 5 and 9, are the houses of fortune: merit, intelligence, dharma, what carries you. Trikona means triangle: they are always three signs of the same element. For a Leo lagna, Leo, Sagittarius and Aries: fire.
House 1 belongs to both families, pillar and fortune at once: hence the weight of the lagna in every reading.
To remember Kendras 1, 4, 7, 10: the pillars. Trikonas 1, 5, 9: the houses of fortune.
Your turn
Which family does house 9 belong to?
- A The kendras, the pillars of the chart
- B Both families at once
- C The trikonas, the houses of fortune
See the answer
Answer C: The trikonas, the houses of fortune. The trikonas are houses 1, 5 and 9: house 9, bhagya, is the house of fortune above all others. The kendras are houses 1, 4, 7 and 10; only house 1 is in both.
Dusthanas and upachayas
The dusthanas, houses 6, 8 and 12, are the grounds of effort: debts and rivals, transformations, expenses and retreat. Never a verdict: levers. What you work on there turns into endurance, depth, detachment.
The upachayas, houses 3, 6, 10 and 11, are the houses of growth: what you sow there grows with time and effort. House 10 is both a kendra and an upachaya: a career is built, year after year.
House 6 belongs to both families: an effort that pays off in the long run. In the example D1, Saturn stands there in Capricorn, its own sign: perseverance is at home there.
To remember Dusthanas 6, 8, 12: the effort that forges. Upachayas 3, 6, 10, 11: what grows with time.
Your turn
Which house is both a dusthana and an upachaya?
- A House 6
- B House 10
- C House 12
- D House 8
See the answer
Answer A: House 6. Dusthanas: 6, 8, 12. Upachayas: 3, 6, 10, 11. Only house 6 is on both lists: it asks for effort, and that effort pays off with time.
Counting from the Moon
Jyotish also reads the chart from the Moon: this is the Chandra lagna, the lagna of the Moon. The method is the same: the sign where the Moon stands becomes house 1, and you count from it, itself included.
In the example D1, the Moon is in Scorpio. From it, Scorpio is house 1, Sagittarius house 2, Capricorn house 3. The lagna tells the person and their road; the Moon tells how they live it from the inside. What both counts confirm is solid.
You can now lay out the twelve houses of a Vedic chart and say what each one holds. Next night, you will learn who rules them and who aspects them: the rulers and their aspects.
To remember Chandra lagna: the sign of the Moon becomes house 1, and you count in the same way.
Your turn
The natal Moon is in Scorpio. Counting from it, Pisces is house…
- A House 6
- B House 9
- C House 4
- D House 5
See the answer
Answer D: House 5. Scorpio 1, Sagittarius 2, Capricorn 3, Aquarius 4, Pisces 5. The starting sign always counts as one, whether you start from the lagna or from the Moon.