The Spirituality Associated With Houses - Part 1

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.

The Second House :

The family environment gives to one some spiritual tendencies, which is what the second house represents, being the house of Kutumba (or the family one is brought up in). Faith in religious and spiritual traditions are inherited and also acquired generally from parents. The second house represents it, besides, also being the house of speech. See the planets (particularly Jupiter, Venus, Mercury) without affliction to examine whether one has the tendency to speak truth or falsehood. The second also being the house of earnings, monetary gains etc., the charity one does with money and gifts are also to be seen from the second house.

Note – In this respect the role of the twelfth house is more important.

The Third House :

The third house known as the house of valour and courage becomes favorable if there is a malefic like Rahu, Saturn, Mars, Ketu in it. It shows a determination to apply oneself to spiritual practices with strong will.
Note – The third house, according to Maharshi Parashara, is the house of upadesha or religious preaching.

The third house also is to be seen for short and quick pilgrimages.
According to the Uttrta-kalamrita, the third house represents the part of the palm which is between the thumb and the index finger with which many rituals are performed.

The Fourth House :

The fourth house representing buildings, represents the religious-philanthropic institutions one builds and also the trusts one creates or religious, philanthropic and other good trusts with the money one has.

In the life of an individual the fourth house represents his desire to pursue his spiritual life in the quiet surroundings of a place, house or ashram with rhythmic regularity. In the case of a yogi it can represent pranayama or breath-control. But if such a house is disturbed, such persons find that by moving from one place to another only they can follow their spiritual pursuits.

The Fifth House :

An important principle of Hindu astrology is that if a planet aspects its own house, that house gets strengthened. This should be seen very closely in the case of the fifth house around which revolves the realization of the potency of mantra, yantra, because this house is important in two ways: in the case of the individual whose horoscope is being examined, it represents the spiritual merit of his past life and in the case of his father, it is the house of his spiritual merit of his present life.

It is a good fifth house that bestows viveka or a sense of discrimination and deep spiritual wisdom born both of the reading of scriptures and spirituals practices.

The Sixth House :

In the life of a spiritual practitioner fifteen types of distractions are normal. More often than not these take a person away from the desired spiritual path. To overcome such distractions, a malefic in the sixth house is always good. As it is, a malefic in the sixth house is good for ensuring sound health and the tenacity to overcome obstacles. In spiritual life this house helps in developing one pointed concentration.