Astro Vedica on the Houses
Another
horoscopic building block are the houses of the horoscope. The first house is
considered from the ascendent in Vedic astrology- it is where the rising sign
sits. In Sanskrit, this house is called the lagna, which means " starting
point." It is also called the " Tanu Bhava," meaning the house of
the body in general. Dr. B.V. Raman has referred to the ascendent on several
occaisions as the " foundation of the horoscope." One's basic nature,
personality and character traits are indicated by the ascendent.
Indeed
it is the foundation. Other houses acquire their significance according to their
relationship to the ascendent. For example, the fourth house is so because it is
the fourth from the ascendent. Its fourth house significations such as relations,
education, mother, ect., manifest as such because of this relationship with the
ascendent.
It
is basically the ascendent which pegs the horoscope on a higher or lower level
and dictates the results which other houses give. The following example
illustrates this: let's suppose that two different charts both have equally
strong indications for education, such as a strong fourth house and a strong
karaka Jupiter. But in one case, the ascendent is quite robust and umblemished,
while in the other it is decidedly weak. Well, although both charts would give
good results in terms of education, the chart with the strong ascendent would
give results on a higher level. The native of that chart might graduate from a
well-known university with a valued degree. On the other hand, the native of the
chart with a weak ascendent would also graduate, but maybe the school would have
less prestige, or be known only regionally, or have less-valued accreditation,
or something of that nature.
The
beginning of life is represented by the ascendent, as well as its duration. For
example, in one chart known to the author, the Sun occupies the ascendent in
Cancer, a watery sign. The Sun, among other things, represents hospitals and the
government. How interesting that the native was born, in other words, began his
life, in a naval hospital on the banks of a river, in keeping with the
indications of the ascendent.
And
just as the different signs of the
Zodiac are representative of the different anatomical parts of the body, so too
are the different houses of the individual horoscope. In the case of the
ascendent, it represents the brain, head and even one's hair.
