The Spirituality Associated With Houses

In delineating the effects of each house, the start should again be made with the spiritual promise of each house. By each house from the Lagna which is always the first house. Thus, for a person born with Meena lagna the first house is Meena, the second house Mesha and the twelfth house Kumbha etc.

Since spiritual astrology is generally kept a secret and astrologers do not pay attention to it, emphasis should be laid on this aspect both for the spiritual guidance of the person concerned and for preparation for a fine spiritual era into which mankind will enter after 2002 A.D.

The First House

The first house representing oneself, shows the beginning of awareness of spiritual side of human life. If three or more planets are in the first house, such persons, inspite of all distractions, can practice self-control with determination, and successfully.

From the first house springs the desire to enjoy peace generally and the tendency to renounce because the first stage of renunciation is physical. To understand it, the Four Purusharthas of classical Indian tradition should be understood. The first one is Dharma (religious conduct), the second is Artha (the desire to earn money), the third is the karma to enjoy life physically and the last is Moksha to make efforts to get salvation.

In Hindu astrology therefore starting from the lagna there are four trines for each the purusharthas which are:

Dharma	Artha	Kaama	Moksha
Lagna	Second house	Third house	Fourth house
Fifth house	Sixth house	Seventh house	Eighth house
Ninth house	Tenth house	Eleventh hosue	Twelfth house

There is anther set of four trines which depends on the division of human life into four parts, Brahmacharya (life of celibacy) Grihastha (the life of a householder) Vanaprastha (detaching oneself) from house-holder’s duties) and Sanyas (life of renunciation). The scheme of division is the same as in the earlier trines.

Brahmacharya	Grihastha	Vanaprastha	Sanyas
The first house	Second house	Third house	Fourth house
Fifthe house	Sixth house	Seventh house	Eighth house
Ninth house	Tenth house	Eleventh house	Twelfth house

In judging the spiritual importance of each of these houses, these trines should be kept in the mind.

It is always important to remember that the lagna and lord must not be ill-placed (in the eighth house, the sixth house or the twelfth house) and must not be afflicted by Saturn, Mars, Rahu, Ketu particularly through conjunction or aspect. In such a case the health may be bad. It is sound health that alone ensures any type of achievement in anyone’s life, including spiritual achievements. It is in rare cases that a person with ill health but strong sense of renunciation can be spiritually exalted. But we must proceed on the premise that it is sound health that is the foundation of even good spiritual life.

The Second House

The family environment gives to one some spiritual tendencies, which is what the second house represents, being the house of Kutumba (or the family one is brought up in). Faith in religious and spiritual traditions are inherited and also acquired generally from parents. The second house represents it, besides, also being the house of speech. See the planets (particularly Jupiter, Venus, Mercury) without affliction to examine whether one has the tendency to speak truth or falsehood. The second also being the house of earnings, monetary gains etc., the charity one does with money and gifts are also to be seen from the second house.

Note – In this respect the role of the twelfth house is more important.

The Third House

The third house known as the house of valour and courage becomes favorable if there is a malefic like Rahu, Saturn, Mars, Ketu in it. It shows a determination to apply oneself to spiritual practices with strong will.

Note – The third house, according to Maharshi Parashara, is the house of upadesha or religious preaching.

The third house also is to be seen for short and quick pilgrimages.

According to the Uttrta-kalamrita, the third house represents the part of the palm which is between the thumb and the index finger with which many rituals are performed.

The Fourth House

The fourth house representing buildings, represents the religious-philanthropic institutions one builds and also the trusts one creates or religious, philanthropic and other good trusts with the money one has.

In the life of an individual the fourth house represents his desire to pursue his spiritual life in the quiet surroundings of a place, house or ashram with rhythmic regularity. In the case of a yogi it can represent pranayama or breath-control. But if such a house is disturbed, such persons find that by moving from one place to another only they can follow their spiritual pursuits.

The Fifth House

An important principle of Hindu astrology is that if a planet aspects its own house, that house gets strengthened. This should be seen very closely in the case of the fifth house around which revolves the realization of the potency of mantra, yantra, because this house is important in two ways: in the case of the individual whose horoscope is being examined, it represents the spiritual merit of his past life and in the case of his father, it is the house of his spiritual merit of his present life.

It is a good fifth house that bestows viveka or a sense of discrimination and deep spiritual wisdom born both of the reading of scriptures and spirituals practices.

The Sixth House

In the life of a spiritual practitioner fifteen types of distractions are normal. More often than not these take a person away from the desired spiritual path. To overcome such distractions, a malefic in the sixth house is always good. As it is, a malefic in the sixth house is good for ensuring sound health and the tenacity to overcome obstacles. In spiritual life this house helps in developing one pointed concentration.

The Seventh House

This house of sex is also the house of sex-sublimination. It is when the kundalini power rises high that sexual lust gets transformed into love and a sadhak feel the spiritual vibrations of the rising kundalini.

The Eighth House

It should be noticed that the fourth house is the house of spirituality and salvation in the trines given before. The eighth house is the second of such house, but being a secret house (eighth house is a hidden house) one practices one’s sadhana in secluded and cloistered places. It is true that this house also represents agonies which must include spiritual disappointments in the act attaining a blissful state of samadhi.

The Ninth House

Next to the fifth house, the house on which all astrologers lay greatest stress for spiritual development is the ninth house. Yet, there is a controversy among astrologers whether it is the ninth house or the fifth house that is to be seen for the spiritual merit of the past life. While majority of astrologers see the fifth house for the merit of the past life, it is also logical to see that after the eighth house of samadhi that the spiritual merit of this life blossoms out. The ninth house therefore is to be examined for all acts of penance, pilgrimage, worship of gods.

It is the house which represented the last stage of full spiritual development, after which one can become a guru or a spiritual guide. This house also is for father, who is one of the early gurus of a child.

Note – The fourth house which is the first house of the moksha triangle represents mother which is why serving one’s mother is the service to adi-guru (the first guru).

The ninth house, the last of the dharma triangle, shows the importance of service to one’s father, as the key-note of religious progress.

It is for this reason that the Sanskrit saying, "Matri devo bhava" (let mother be the goddess) and "Pitro devo bhava" (let father be the god) is the eternal lesson children are taught to lay poper foundation of their spiritual life.Inferentially, those who are cruel to their parents cannot hope to be spiritually successful in their practices. This is a harsh spiritual reality which will not be palatable to many modern young people. Yet an astrologer cannot afford to overlook this.

The Tenth House

The tenth house is the house of those deeds which are noticed. A person who has potentised a mantra and has become a guru, wins social recognition through his deeds (even misdeeds). It is for this reason that Jupiter, the greatest benefic is preferred most in this house for holy deeds because the tenth house is the house of religious, spiritual and ritualistic deeds.

Note – In the case of a guru the tenth house shows the quality of his deeds, along with the lord of the tenth house.

The Eleventh House

In a spiritual sense, the eleventh house is a very enigmatic house. Benefics in it will attract one to worship of many gods and great scriptural scholarship and authorship. Many planets in it will bring, as donations to a guru, lot of money as the eleventh house is the last of the kama triangle or desires. Such desires can be good and evil. The eleventh house is thus the house of the last of the temptations a religious person has to face, which must be overcome to reach the final destination, salvation.

The Twelfth House

The twelfth house, the condition of the twelfth lord and Ketu are the salvation giving factors. A bad twelfth house can ruin all the spiritual promises of an otherwise good horoscope.

Note – What has been given so far here is only a bare outline of the spiritual promise inherent in a horoscope. These very promises are to be examined in greater details through many other finer analysis. The use of Vimshamsha (one-twentieth division horoscope) will have to be brought into use.

Jaimini astrology should be used before any predictions about anyone’s spiritual life is given otherwise, spiritual astrology more often than not becomes a wild goose chase.

Note – A safe and sound method which an astrologer can adopt is to make a proper use of the navamsha (one ninth) division of a horoscope and examine the fifth and the ninth lords and houses of navamsha and then the twelfth lord. Together with all this, the most important factor in the spiritual evolution of a person is to see what (dasha in Vimshottari ) sequence one has got in life. The most favourable periods are the periods of the fifth and the ninth lords.