Houses of the horoscope · The first house

House 1

For astrologers

Lagna: the point where life begins

About the book. “House 1” — Lagna: the point where life begins. A book for astrologers on Vedic astrology (jyotish). Author — Andrey Drobotin, teacher at Atma School. Preview excerpt free; full book and PDF after purchase, from $10.

Andrey Drobotin

What this book will give you

This book is about the first house of the horoscope, the lagna. I wrote it for those who already know the houses, signs and planets and want to learn to see the first house deeply: as the point from which the whole chart begins, and as a tool you can use every day — in consultations, in working with your body, in relationships, in choosing your occupations.

On the course I spend longer on the first house than on any other. The reason is simple: the whole chart revolves around the lagna. If you have understood the lagna and its lord correctly, you will read the other eleven houses the same way, by the same scheme. That is why many tools in this book are shown on the first house, and later you can transfer them to any other.

What you will get in practice:

• you will understand how to distinguish the lagna, the lagnesh and the Moon, and stop mixing them up when analysing a chart;
• you will learn to break the lagna sign into five components and get, in ten minutes, a living portrait of how a person expresses themselves every day;
• you will master the derived meanings of the first house: eleven “hidden” sides of the lagna that open up when you look at it from other houses;
• you will get a five-step scheme for assessing the placement of a house lord: direction, curator, Brahma's step, remedy and result;
• you will learn to weigh the influence of a house's tenant, its lord and aspects;
• you will see how the first house is checked through ashtakavarga, the face, the bright and dark halves of the chart, the Janma chakras and the divisional charts.

I take the examples from my own horoscope. I have Scorpio rising, Ketu in the first house, and the lagna lord Mars has gone together with Saturn into the twelfth house. I do not put other people's charts into the book: about myself I can speak honestly, about other people — only with their consent.

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The hidden geometry of the first house

What derived meanings are

Any house can be considered not only from the lagna but also from other houses. The first house is the second from the twelfth, the third from the eleventh, the fourth from the tenth and so on, up to the twelfth from the second. Each such position opens one more side of the lagna. Twelve houses, and each has twelve positions: a hundred and forty-four combinations in total. This is the hidden geometry of the horoscope.

Derived meanings are often called a “temporary lagna”: we mentally put the lagna in another house and see what our first house becomes for it. At first it seems like a lot. But in practice it is enough to learn the eleven meanings of the first house and start saying them out loud on your chart. Learn not for counting but for understanding: when the meanings become alive, you will stop counting them on your fingers.

Second from the twelfth: everything starts from within

The twelfth house is the subconscious, the inner world, what is hidden. The second house from any house is what feeds and expresses it. So the first house is the expression of my subconscious. The body is born from the subconscious, everything starts from within. What we carry inside for years later manifests in the body, in the face, in health.

In my chart Mars and Saturn are in the twelfth house. My tension is held inside, it is not visible outside, but it accumulates. That is why I definitely need yoga and movement: this way inner tension comes out rather than turning into illness.

Third from the eleventh: the younger before the elders

The eleventh house is elder brothers and sisters, older friends, the community. The third house is the younger ones. So in relation to the elders I am the younger. Hence humility, the position of a student. One who knows how to be the younger receives the support of the elders.

The third house is also effort, development. So the first house as the third from the eleventh is a stimulus for income, for teamwork, for social networks. My own efforts, my body and my activity develop the eleventh house: income comes through how I act.

Fourth from the tenth: happiness in work

The fourth house is happiness, peace. So the first house is the happiness from my work. Satisfaction from the profession is seen not only by the tenth house but also by the lagna and its lord. There is a plus and a minus in this: while I am healthy, noticeable, strong, there is happiness from work. But it depends entirely on the state of the body. See how everything is connected? By taking care of the body, a person also takes care of joy in work.

Fifth from the ninth: the fruit of piety

The ninth house is piety, dharma, the merits of past lives. The fifth house is fruit, result. So my very body, my life is the fruit of my piety. Birth in a human body in which one can reflect on the soul is already the result of past merits. This fills one with gratitude: the body is not given by chance.

Sixth from the eighth: health as an obstacle to death

The eighth house is death, crises, longevity. The sixth house is obstacles, enemies. The first house is an obstacle for the eighth, that is, for death. The stronger the body, the longer the life. The practical conclusions are simple: go to bed on time, do practices, watch the expenditure of energy and money. Everything that strengthens the first house pushes back the crises of the eighth.

Seventh from the seventh: me as my partner's partner

The seventh house is the partner. The seventh from it is the partner's partner, that is, me. The first house shows what kind of partner I am for my husband or wife, for a business partner. It is a mirror. What irritates me in another is often in myself: remember the speck in your brother's eye and the log in your own. When a person works on their first house, the seventh changes too.

Eighth from the sixth: death for diseases and enemies

The sixth house is diseases, enemies, debts. The eighth from it is their death, their ending. A strong first house is death for diseases and for enemies. A strong body copes with illness by itself, a strong lagna extinguishes conflicts. That is why with any problems of the sixth house the first remedy is to strengthen the lagna.

Ninth from the fifth: me as teacher and parent

The fifth house is children and students. The ninth from it is their teacher, father, mentor. So the first house shows what kind of teacher and parent I am. My lagna lord is in the twelfth house, together with Saturn. I am a detached, unusual teacher. Saturn gives strictness, but this strictness helps students let go of illusions.

Tenth from the fourth: my mother's glory

The fourth house is the mother. The tenth from it is her status, her glory. So I am my mother's glory. Remember how in childhood people say: “And who is your mother?” The mother is judged by the child. When a person lives worthily, people say: “She gave birth to a good son”, “She raised a good daughter”.

Eleventh from the third: the elder for the younger

The third house is younger brothers and sisters, junior colleagues. The eleventh is the elders. So for the younger I am the elder. The first house shows how I care for the younger, what example I give them. And the eleventh house from any house is its result: I myself am the result of the efforts of the third house, my courage and initiative.

Twelfth from the second: consumer of food and resources

The second house is food, money, family resources. The twelfth from it is their expenditure. The first house absorbs food and resources: the body eats, spends, consumes. I have Ketu in the first, and I can forget to eat, so I stay thin. If a pleasure-loving planet is in the first house, the body can “eat up” a lot of resources.

How to work with derived meanings

The motivation for study should be love, not fear. Don't learn derived meanings in order to fear for your health or your relationships. Learn them to see where you can help yourself and others. Every time you look at the lagnesh, say out loud: “My subconscious is expressed like this; my growth beside the elders is like this; my happiness in work is like this…” — and so on through all eleven points.