In previous posts, I presented core meanings of the first, second, third houses, as well as the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Now let’s take a look at the next three houses.
Seventh House
The seventh house signifies marriage. A strong malefic influence on the seventh house may cause trouble in the marriage, or deny marriage altogether, or may result in multiple marriages if there are benefic influences as well.
Another signification of the seventh house is business. A strong seventh house may signify a business-minded individual, who works independently.
The seventh house signifies open enemies (as opposed to competitors, which is signified by the sixth house) and enmity. Malefics in the seventh house may make a person combative and prone to creating enemies or fighting them.
Another lesser-known signification is residence in foreign lands. A strong seventh house (especially if there is also a fourth house-twelfth house connection) tends to make a person emigrate to a foreign land. The fourth house signification of home, and the twelfth house meaning of remote places (we will see core meanings of the twelfth house in a later post) could suggest that if the fourth house ruler is ,in the twelfth for instance, then the person could establish residence in a place other than the birth country, especially if the significator of land and real estate, Mars, is also connected to the twelfth house.
The seventh house also denotes career position, and public life.
Venus is the natural significator or karaka of the 7th house.
Following is the horoscope of actor George Clooney:
Clooney was first married in 1989 when he was 28. This marriage didn’t last long, fizzling out in under 3 years. Later he had a 3-year live-in relationship with a French model that was terminated in 1999 by her because of his lack of commitment. In 2014, Clooney married Amal Alamuddin, and by all accounts they have a happy married life with 2 kids.
The 7th house has Rahu in it. (We will stick with traditional Jyotish, and ignore Pluto.) Rahu signifies foreigners, and in the 7th house, it often manifests as marriage to a person from a different culture. Clooney is American, but his wife is from the Middle East. Also, his 3-year live-in relationship was with a French woman.
The ruler of the 7th house, Sun, is exalted in Aries. Also, the karaka Venus is exalted in Pisces. This makes for a very strong 7th house, and therefore multiple relationships. Venus is aspected by the malefic Saturn, which is also strong because it is in its own sign of Capricorn. The failure of his first marriage, and a second relationship that didn’t go anywhere is to a large extent explained by the Saturn aspect to Venus, especially because Saturn rules the 12th house, which tends to end things. Eventually however, the power of the exalted Sun and Venus won out and delivered a stable marriage. (As an aside, the Moon-Saturn conjunction can make the person emotionally self-sufficient and distance themselves from emotional commitment, so for a long time Clooney had no interest in marrying or having kids, not to mention his second relationship that ended because of his lack of commitment.)
Clooney and his wife live in several locations at different times of the year, so you could say that he has established residence in multiple foreign countries, thereby delivering on the 7th house promise of foreign residence. Note the prescribed 4th-12th connection that strengthens the case: Venus, ruler of the 4th house of Taurus, is aspected by Saturn, ruler of the 12th house of Capricorn.
Eighth House
The eighth house signifies all things hidden. This could range from intrigue and secret dealings to research and excavation.
It signifies the metaphysical, so a strong eighth house makes a person question the meaning of things, and search for a metaphysical basis for life. This can make for difficulty with the practical matters of everyday life unless Saturn is strong.
The eighth house signifies the longevity of the individual – a strong eighth house, especially if it has a strong Jupiter or Saturn in it, signifies a long life.
The eighth house also signifies chronic ailments of the kind that gradually erode an individual’s health, ones that are not curable or are not easy to diagnose. This is in keeping with the secretive nature of the eighth house, which keeps things hidden from view.
Inheritance is another well-known signification. So, for example, Mars aspecting Jupiter in the eighth house may signify the inheritance of property. The presence of benefic Jupiter in the eighth house promotes inheritance, and the aspect of Mars, as the natural significator of property particularizes this. In addition, if Mars is connected to the fourth house, the chances are even higher, since the fourth house rules the home.
Sex (signifying procreation and life) is another well-known signification of the eighth house. Jupiter, being a righteous/idealistic planet may temper the sex drive or make the person sanctify sex; Saturn may debase it; Mars may lend an aggressive quality to it.
The eighth house signifies obstruction. Thus, if a planet that is connected with the eighth house is playing an important role in some period of a person’s life, that period might be marked by obstructions of various kinds to the person’s advancement.
Another lesser-known signification of the eighth house is surprise. Happenings that appear out of the blue are associated with the eighth house. Sudden twists and turns, and uncertainty are eighth house significations. I feel there is a strong quality of contrariness to the eighth house.
Being a moksha house, it plays a significant role in seeking liberation and enlightenment, if other factors (especially the twelfth house and Ketu) concur.
Saturn is the karaka of the eighth house.
The 8th house is often highlighted in the charts of psychologists, and astrologers who practice a psychological, or humanistic approach that emphasizes self-realization.
Here’s the horoscope of psychologist Philip McGraw who made it big on TV as host of the Dr. Phil show:
Note the loaded 8th house. Staying with the classic Jyotish tradition, we ignore Neptune. Mercury is very closely conjunct Ketu. Mercury is in its own sign of Virgo, which is in fact also its sign of exaltation. Mercury in the 8th house, especially one as powerful as this one, enables communication of one’s work to the masses. Ketu is very much an inward focused sign, and Mercury in combination with Ketu is very well set up to analyze the inner life. Saturn, the karaka of the 8th house, is in Leo in the 7th, aspected by Jupiter from the 1st and conjunct the Sun which is in its own sign. This makes for a very powerful and active Saturn, and consequently a powerful 8th house.
Dr. Phil has a Ph.D in psychology but shot to fame when he started his own TV show, strongly backed by Oprah Winfrey. His larger-than-life presence combined with a folksy approach to say-it-like-it-is made him an instant hit with the public.
Ninth House
As in Western astrology, the ninth house signifies religion, philosophy, perspective, and long-distance travel. The common theme in these significations is the development and expansion of the self, especially of the mind, through synthesis of disparate parts into a whole. So, pilgrimage is also a signification since it is travel undertaken for a religious purpose.
The ninth house plays a vital role in Jyotish – it is the primary house of fortune and luck, what’s called bhagya in Sanskrit. It is regarded as the most auspicious and powerful of all the kona houses, and is a source of protection and beneficence to the person. The association of any planet with the ninth house or its ruler is a tremendous boost to that planet’s energies in that the planet will serve as an agent of good fortune in the person’s life.
Divinity is also connected to the ninth house, and is traditionally associated with gurus and wise people in the Hindu culture.
The ninth house represents the father, in his aspect of a spiritual or philosophical guide. This is the view of the South Indian tradition. In the North Indian culture, which has historically been associated with business and entrepreneurship, the father is represented by the tenth house, mostly since sons used to follow in their father’s line of work, continuing the family business, for instance. We will take the ninth house to represent the father in the broad philosophical sense.
Jupiter and the Sun are the karakas of the 9th house.
This is the horoscope of Albert Einstein:
What can we gather on the 9th house of this horoscope? Jupiter is in the 9th in Aquarius. Saturn is the ruler of the 9th, in the 10th in Pisces. Jupiter and Saturn are exchanging signs in a partivartana yoga. In previous posts on the first to sixth houses of the Jyotish chart, we have seen several examples of horoscopes that were rendered extraordinarily strong by the presence of a parivartana yoga. This exchange gains even more strength by the fact that the 10th ruler is in the 9th, and the 9th ruler is in the 10th. Any connection between the 9th and 10th houses gives rise to what is a highly auspicious raja yoga, a combination of dharma and karma houses that usually brings fame and renown to the individual. (There are other raja yogas that we will see in later posts.)
Back to the 9th ruler, Saturn. It is with a host of other planets: the all important Sun, as well as Mercury and Venus. (As an aside, the Saturn-Mercury combination is another raja yoga. And of all the pairs in the 10th house, the Saturn-Mercury conjunction is closest, with just over a degree of separation.)
This astoundingly powerful 9th house allowed Einstein to harness its signification of perspective to the extreme, and open up a portal into our understanding of the universe that was unprecedented and informed all the advances in cosmology that followed. Einstein even guide the 9th house signification of travel to distant places in a most unorthodox direction, by imagining traveling on a beam of light in outer space. All of Einstein’s theories and speculations originated from deep thought and boundless imagination, very much in keeping with the conjunction of Mercury, planet of the mind, with Saturn, the ruler of the 9th.