Bhav

Houses

In Astrology, a house is made up of 30 degrees and there are twelve of them. They are calculated by dividing the observation circle into 12 equal sections. An astrological house is defined as one-twelfth of the circle of observation. It is the vertical of the birthplace's latitude in astronomy. The location of birth is indicated by the stars on the earth's surface.

The ascending house is the highest, while the angular, succedent, and cadent houses are the lowest. In the horoscope, the angles are four cardipoints. The planets in the horoscopic chart are subordinate to the lagna, and their initial character is influenced by the lagna.

1. The Kendra’s (or Quadrants): Houses 1,4,7 and 10. These are highly significant houses.
2. The anaphora’s (or Successant Houses): Houses 2,5, 8 and 11.
3. The Apoklimas(or Cadent Houses) : Houses 3,6,9 and 12.
4. The Trikons (or Trines): Houses 1,5 and 9. These are highly favorable and, along with the kendras, determine the health, status, wealth, dignity, rise and virtue or a native. The lagna being both a kendra and a trikona, is the most important of all the houses.
5. The Upachayas: Houses 3,6, 10 and 11. These houses indicate struggle, competition and material achievement.
6. The Trika Houses: houses 6,8 and 12. These are considered bad houses (Duhsthanas). They indicate debt, disease, loss and misery.
7. The Ayu-sthanas (or houses of longevity): Houses 8 and 3(8th from the 8th). They indicate the length of life and therefore, also the death.
8. The maraka-sthanas(or killer houses): houses 2 and 7.
9. The two halves of a horoscope.
   1. Houses 1 to 7 indicate the invisible half and houses 7 to 1 indicate the visible half of the horoscope.
   2. Houses 10 to 4 indicate the eastern half and houses 4 to 10 indicate the western half of the horoscope.

THE ASTERISMS or NAKSHTRA

It was observed by the ancient Astronomers that many changes occurred within the 30-degree zones mapped out by the Zodiac. It was therefore, found necessary to subdivide each of the twelve sections or Signs of the Zodiac. Using the belt of Fixed Stars which encircle the Earth at the Equator as markers, they divided the Zodiacal Background into 27 sections, the boundary of each being marked by a particular Fixed Star, located close to the Zodiacal belt. The Asterisms or Nakshatras are the names for these portions. They all start at the same location in the constellation Aries, which marks the beginning of the Zodiac, and because each one spans an arc of 13 deg-20', there are twenty-seven of them in the entire 360-degree circle.

PLANETS

All of the variables or moving points employed in Astrology are linked to the Zodiac and Asterisms as a fixed background. A kind of stage set against which the drama of our solar system unfolds.