Systems of house determination — and Frawley's position

Prāṇa relevance

Sources

• txt-frawley-astrology-seersDifferent Systems of House Determination … House and Sign Charts … Houses from the Moon … Secondary Usage (book p.137–142)Modern✓ verifiedcusp = middle vs start; Midheaven, Equal House, Equal Sign (Rashi) systems; Rashi & Bhava Chakras; houses from the Moon/Sun and from any house; Frawley's Rashi-first, Bhava-secondary, Midheaven-still-noted position

Other attributes

Rule Class

doctrine

Statement

Several house systems exist; the central Vedic–Western difference is the CUSP: Western astrology makes the cusp the BEGINNING of the house, the Vedic system makes it the MIDDLE — so the Vedic 1st house contains half the Western 12th, etc. (Frawley argues the practical gap is only ~5–10°, not 15°, given Western cusp orbs.) Systems: (a) Midheaven-based — divide Ascendant→Midheaven equally (the method "most often used in Vedic astrology" for the Bhava Chakra), or Placidus etc.; (b) EQUAL HOUSE — Ascendant = 1st cusp, every cusp 30° apart; (c) EQUAL SIGN (the Rashi Chakra / "Sign Chart") — the whole sign of the Ascendant IS the 1st house, the next sign the 2nd, etc. (whole-sign houses), giving primacy to signs over houses. Vedic astrology uses TWO charts: the Rashi Chakra (Equal Sign — "more commonly used") and the Bhava Chakra (House Chart — Midheaven or Equal). Houses are also read from the MOON (Chandra-lagna) and sometimes the Sun as alternate Ascendants, and from any house/planet as a coordinate origin. FRAWLEY'S POSITION: learn the Rashi Chakra Equal-Sign system first (from Ascendant AND Moon), then consult the Bhava Chakra for finer detail; the Midheaven should at least be considered a point of power even in the Rashi chart; the Bhava Chakra, though "the least important of the three," is still worth doing.

Tag

MODERN

School Positions

[{"school":"Western (cusp = start of house; Placidus etc.)","position":"cusp begins the house; quadrant/Placidian division","source":"Frawley book p.137–138","tag":"MODERN"},{"school":"Vedic Bhava Chakra (cusp = middle; Midheaven or Equal)","position":"cusp is the middle of the house; Ascendant→Midheaven divided (often equally)","source":"Frawley book p.138–140","tag":"MODERN"},{"school":"Vedic Rashi Chakra (Equal Sign / whole-sign)","position":"the Ascendant's whole sign = 1st house; most commonly used; primacy to signs","source":"Frawley book p.140","tag":"MODERN"}]

Conditions

Equal-house/sign systems become important at extreme latitudes where unequal division puts several houses in one sign; harmonic (varga) charts always determine houses by sign; in the Rashi system planets can move 'backwards' up to half a house relative to the Western placement