How to Read a Birth Chart in Vedic Astrology

Houses

Identify the 12 houses in the Vedic birth chart. A Vedic birth chart is a rectangle divided into 12 houses. The boundary lines for the areas that represent each house consist of an "X" drawn from each corner to the diagonally opposite corner and intersecting in the center. An additional parallelogram is drawn with the corners of the parallelogram bisecting each side of the chart. The house in the top center of the chart is the 1st house. The 2nd house is to the left of the first and the 12th house is to its right along the top of the chart. Directly below the 1st house is the 7th house. The 6th house is to the left of the 7th house and the 8th house is to its right along the bottom of the chart. The 4th house is the central house on the left side of the chart. The 3rd house is above it and the 5th house is below. The 10th house is the central house on the right side of the chart. The 11th house is above it and the 9th house is below.

Distinguish between good, bad, and neutral houses. Good houses bring good or positive things into your life. While bad houses don't necessarily cause bad things to happen to you, they are responsible for any hurdles or opposition you might have to overcome in life. Neutral houses don't bring anything good or bad to the table—their effect depends solely on the planets and constellations that happen to be located there when you're born. The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th houses are good houses. This includes the 4 houses in the center of the chart, which are also called the Cardinal houses. The 6th, 8th, and 12th houses are bad houses. The 3rd and 11th houses are neutral houses.

Divide the houses into their 3 general classifications. These classifications help you better understand the power and importance of the planets found in the houses. There's a hierarchy for the houses, too—power and importance start in the center and decrease as you move outward. Cardinal or Kendra houses: 1st, 10th, 7th, and 4th. These houses are often considered the most important in any Vedic birth chart. Planets in these houses are strong and fully express their energy. If you're only going to do a partial reading, go with these houses. Fixed or Panapara houses: 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th. These houses all relate to money and material things. Planets in these houses have moderate strength. Cadent or Apoklima houses: 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th. Planets in these houses are seen to be weakened and have little power.

The 4 Trinities

Use the Dharma trinity to determine your purpose in life. This trinity includes the 1st, 5th, and 9th houses and deals with spiritual action. If you've ever wondered why you're here or what you're meant to do, this trinity might show you some answers. The houses in this trinity are all associated with fire signs. The 1st house (Aries) represents your body and your self, or ego, as well as your appearance. The 5th house (Leo) represents your heart, romance and sexuality, and children. The 9th house (Sagittarius) represents your higher mind, including your higher learning and level of intelligence as well as your religious beliefs or spirituality.

Reveal your financial prospects through the Artha trinity. If you're curious about whether you'll end up rich, pay attention to the 2nd, 6th, and 10th houses. These 3 houses are associated with earth signs. You might also hear them referred to as the "wealth" trinity because they all deal with your livelihood and financial wellbeing. The 2nd house (Taurus) represents your possessions, inheritance, and financial comfort. The 6th house (Virgo) represents your food, nutrition, and health. The 10th house (Capricorn) represents your social standing, reputation, and fame.

Examine your relationships through the Kama trinity. Look to the 3rd, 7th, and 11th houses if you're curious about your romantic future. These houses, all related to air signs, deal with other types of relationships as well, including family and business. The 3rd house (Gemini) represents your siblings and your relationship with them, as well as your communication skills and how well you share information. The 7th house (Libra) represents your partnerships and business relationships, as well as your marriage. The 11th house (Aquarius) represents your income, as well as your relationships with your friends and other close associates.

Find your higher calling through the Moksha trinity. The Sanskrit word "moksha" means "enlightenment," and the houses in this trinity concern your soul and spirituality, as well as what will happen to you in old age and in death. The 4th, 8th, and 12th houses are in this trinity and are associated with water signs. The 4th house (Cancer) represents your home and any property you own, the level of luxury you live in, and your comfort in old age. The 8th house (Scorpio) represents obstacles in your life, including suffering or imprisonment. It also relates to sex and death. The 12th house (Pisces) represents expenses and losses, as well as suffering and instances of self-sabotage. Remember—the 8th and 12th houses are considered bad houses! When you look at the areas of your life they represent, it's easy to understand why.

The Planets

Locate the favorable planets to find your strengths. Vedic astrology identifies 4 favorable planets—the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury—which generally have a positive effect on the house they're in. Each favorable planet represents a specific part of your life as well, so the planet's placement indicates an interaction between what the house represents and what the planet represents. The Moon represents the female and mother. It affects your sense of nurturing and connection to other people. For example, the Moon in your 5th house (children) might indicate that you'll have a large family. Venus affects sexual and sensual desire, including happiness, love, sex, vitality, and respect. For example, Venus in your 10th house (fame and social standing) might mean a lot of people will fall in love with you. Jupiter affects your knowledge and optimism, as well as teaching or mentoring. For example, Jupiter in your 9th house (higher mind) might indicate you're meant to be a spiritual teacher or guru. Mercury affects your speech and communication skills, dexterity, intelligence, curiosity, and playfulness. For example, Mercury in your 3rd house (siblings, communication skills) might represent a fun and playful relationship with your siblings or a career as a speaker or counselor.

Find challenges or weaknesses where unfavorable planets are placed. The Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu (the northern lunar node), and Ketu (the southern lunar node) are unfavorable planets. Rahu and Ketu are the 2 points in space where the orbital paths of the sun and the moon intersect (causing an eclipse on Earth). These planets have the potential to affect your life in negative ways. A Vedic astrologer could recommend specific actions, chants, or rituals designed to counter that negative energy. The Sun represents the male or father. It affects your confidence, power, and self-growth. For example, if you see the Sun in your 12th house (expenses, losses), it could be a signal that you have problems with money or going into debt. Mars represents male friends and brothers. It affects your physical strength, discipline, aggression, and logic. For example, Mars in your 6th house (food, health) might mean that you have a hard time sticking to a healthy diet and like to eat junk food. Saturn represents old age. It affects your ambitions, fears, responsibility, and capacity for hard work, stress, or isolation. For example, if Saturn shows up in your 4th house (comfort in old age), it might be telling you that you'll work hard into your old age rather than have a relaxing retirement. Rahu (the northern lunar node) affects your attachment, distorted perception, obsession, and psychic ability. For example, Rahu in your 11th house (relationships with friends) could mean that you have difficulty trusting people or believing them. Ketu (the southern lunar node) affects your dissatisfaction, detachment, discrimination, and temper. It's not considered as bad as Rahu. For example, if you saw Ketu in your 7th house (marriage), you might want to watch out for fights with your spouse.

Use the zodiac signs to determine how much power a planet has. The zodiac sign where a planet appears tells you how strong that planet's energy will be. A planet's energy is most effective if it's in the sign that it rules. If it's "exalted," this means it gives off more idealized, positive energy. If it's "debilitated," it gives off weaker, negative energy. The Sun rules Leo. It is exalted in Aries and debilitated in Libra. The Moon rules Cancer. It is exalted in Taurus and debilitated in Scorpio. Mars rules Aries and Scorpio. It is exalted in Capricorn and debilitated in Cancer. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo. It is exalted in Virgo and debilitated in Pisces. Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces. It is exalted in Cancer and debilitated in Capricorn. Venus rules Taurus and Libra. It is exalted in Pisces and debilitated in Virgo. Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius. It is exalted in Libra and debilitated in Aries. Rahu (the northern lunar node) is exalted in Taurus and debilitated in Scorpio. Ketu (the southern lunar node) is exalted in Scorpio and debilitated in Taurus. Note that neither Rahu nor Ketu rules any zodiac sign.

Planet and Sign Placement

Note the location of the zodiac signs in each house. Vedic astrology shares the same 12 zodiac signs with Western astrology. Each sign is associated with a corresponding constellation. While the houses remain fixed, the constellations move through them. Their location at the time of birth is documented on the birth chart. In Vedic astrology, the zodiac signs are typically represented by a number from 1-12: Aries (1), Taurus (2), Gemini (3), Cancer (4), Leo (5), Virgo (6), Libra (7), Scorpio (8), Sagittarius (9), Capricorn (10), Aquarius (11), Pisces (12). Each of the zodiac numbers corresponds with the house that sign is associated with. But be careful! The signs move while the houses remain fixed, so a sign won't necessarily be in the house it's associated with at the time of someone's birth. When you're looking at a Vedic birth chart, the numbers tell you where the zodiac signs are located.

Use the planets and signs in the Cardinal houses for a core reading. The Cardinal houses are considered the most important, so if you only read part of the chart, make sure you look at these. Find the planets located in each house, then the zodiac signs. Check for relationships between the planets and the signs, then make your reading based on what each planet represents. For example, suppose you're looking at a birth chart with the Sun in the 1st house. You know that the 1st house represents the person's self, ego, and appearance. The Sun is a planet with a negative influence on confidence, power, and self-growth. So you could say that the person has low self-confidence and doesn't put pride in their appearance. Although this is a gross over-simplification, knowing what the planet controls and what house it's in gives you a starting point to analyze how it affects the person. Those effects are then stronger or weaker depending on the location of the zodiac signs and the relative placement of other planets. For example, if Libra was also in the 1st house with the Sun, it would debilitate the Sun and weaken its effects. So while the person might have low self-esteem as a result of the Sun in the 1st house, it wouldn't necessarily mean that they hated themselves.

Delve deeper into money matters with the Fixed houses. Since the Fixed houses all relate to your financial security and material possessions, the planets located in these houses affect those parts of your life. The zodiac signs located in the house determine how strong or weak the influence of the planets are. For example, what if a chart shows Rahu (the northern lunar node) in the 2nd house? Since the 2nd house represents material possessions, luxuries, and finances, and Rahu deals with attachment and obsession, you might conclude that this person is obsessed with spending money and being surrounded by luxury and material possessions.

Analyze the planets and signs in the Cadent houses for a complete reading. When it comes to the overall picture, the Cadent houses are the weakest. There's a lot of flexibility in how you interpret planets and signs that fall in these houses, but be careful! That flexibility brings instability along with it. For example, suppose a birth chart shows Jupiter in the 9th house. The 9th house is associated with Sagittarius, and Jupiter rules Sagittarius. You can infer from this that Jupiter would be particularly strong and effective in the 9th house. To continue the example, you know that Jupiter influences knowledge and teaching, while the 9th house deals with higher mind and spirituality. From that, you might infer that the chart belongs to someone who is a spiritual teacher or guru.

Apply the PACE method for a deeper understanding of the chart. The PACE method analyzes the Position, Aspect, Conjunction, and Exchange of all the planets in the chart to determine how the planets interact with one another. This ultimately determines the strength or weakness of each of the planets on your life. Position: This relates to the zodiac sign where the planet is located. A planet in the sign it rules is most effective. It can also be exalted or diminished. Aspect: Each planet aspects, or watches, the 7th house from its location. Count these out for each planet to determine which house it aspects, then you can make a determination for how that affects the house based on the aspecting planet's energy. Conjunction: You have a conjunction when there are 2 or more planets in the same house. The effect of the conjunction varies depending on how the planets get along with each other. If they're in conflict, they weaken the house. Exchange: This happens when the ruling planets of 2 signs swap positions. For example, you could have the Sun, which rules Leo, in Cancer, and the Moon, which rules Cancer, in Leo. The effect of the exchange depends on the houses where each planet is located as well as the other planets on the chart.