The 12 Houses of the Birth Chart Explained

A birth chart is a map of the sky at the exact moment and place you were born. It is divided into twelve sections called houses. If the planets show what is happening and the signs show how, the houses show where in your life it plays out.

What you need to draw a chart

Three details: your date of birth, your time of birth and your place of birth. The time matters most for the houses, because the rising sign, which sets the first house, changes roughly every two hours.

The twelve houses

The four angles

The 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses are called the angular houses, or kendras in Vedic astrology. They are the pillars of the chart: self, home, partnership and career. Planets placed here tend to act strongly and visibly.

Empty houses are normal

There are twelve houses and far fewer planets, so everyone has empty houses. An empty house does not mean that part of life is missing. To read it, look at the sign on that house and at the planet that rules the sign.

How to start reading your own chart

1. Find your rising sign. That is your first house.
2. Note which houses hold the Sun and the Moon. Those areas of life will always matter to you.
3. Look for any house holding three or more planets. That is a main theme of your life.
4. Check the 10th house for career direction and the 7th for relationships.

A chart is best read as a whole, and it takes practice to weigh one factor against another. But knowing the houses is the single biggest step towards understanding what an astrologer sees when they look at your chart.