Vedic astrology · Glossary

Bhava

भाव

A house in the Vedic birth chart — there are 12 bhavas, each governing a specific domain of life.

Bhava (Sanskrit: 'state' or 'being') is the Vedic astrology term for a house in the birth chart. The 12 bhavas divide the birth chart into 12 equal (or unequal, depending on the house system) segments, each associated with a specific domain of life. The bhava system is the primary organisational framework for chart interpretation: 1st bhava (self, body, personality), 2nd (family, wealth, speech), 3rd (siblings, effort, courage, short journeys), 4th (mother, home, land, happiness), 5th (children, creativity, education, past-life merit), 6th (enemies, disease, debt, competition, service), 7th (marriage, partnership, business allies), 8th (longevity, inheritance, transformation, occult), 9th (father, teacher, dharma, foreign travel, philosophy), 10th (career, status, authority, public life), 11th (gains, income, elder siblings, networks, fulfillment of desires), 12th (loss, isolation, foreign countries, spiritual liberation, the unconscious). In Vedic astrology, the most commonly used house system is the Whole Sign system, where each zodiac sign occupies one complete house.