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 |
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.
