What Are the 12 Houses?

In Vedic astrology, the birth chart (Kundli) is divided into 12 houses — each representing a unique area of human experience. These houses act like "departments of life" and show where planetary energies manifest most strongly.

The houses begin from the Ascendant (Lagna) — the 1st house — and move counterclockwise, covering everything from your personality to your deepest spiritual purpose.

Ancient astrologers called them “watches” of the day — from sunrise (1st house) to noon (10th house), sunset (7th), and midnight (4th). They form the complete landscape of your life journey.

Ancient astrologers assigned aspects of life to each house by observing categories of life through the hours in a day. These 24 hours split into 12 houses represent the “landscape of life,” a term offered by psychological astrologer Howard Sasportas. They are categories of reality, both inner and outer. A snapshot of the cosmos at the moment of your birth is depicted in what is called a natal chart or a birth chart. Within your natal chart, you will find a circular map split into 12 slices. These slices are the houses. As we start to bring the houses into the picture, our inner astrology starts to make sense in the context of our actual lives. From this perspective, the houses can be seen as celestial instructions to unfold one’s dharma, or purpose, showing the roadmap of our higher Self. Are you here to communicate (third house) and teach (ninth house)? Or do you have an innate calling to build communities (eleventh house)? The placements of signs and planets within the houses upon the moment of your birth show us.