Reading a graha in a house
Reading a graha in a house means combining the graha's nature with the house's themes. A graha in the seventh house, for example, is read for partnership themes.
What it is
The reading uses the graha's sign and dignity, its lordship of other houses, and the house where it sits. The classical texts give a description for each combination, which differ between schools.
How it is worked out or read
The site shows the house of every graha in the birth chart. It does not produce a combined reading, because the rules for combining them are school-dependent.
Where it appears on this site
The birth chart shows each graha's house. The how to read a chart article gives the method.
Combining sign, house and graha
Reading a graha in a house means combining three things: the graha's nature, the sign it occupies and the house in which it sits. The graha gives the kind of energy, the sign shapes the manner of its expression, and the house names the area of life where it works. A Venus in Kanya in the seventh house, for example, is read through Venus's partnership themes, the caution of Kanya and the seventh's concern with others, and the three together give the reading.
A beginner often reads one of these three alone. The fuller reading brings them together, and the reader checks that they point in a consistent direction.
The house lord and the placement
A graha in a house is also read through the lord of that house. If the lord of the house is well placed, the graha's theme is more likely to be supported; if the lord is weak or in a difficult house, the theme may need more effort. The reader therefore checks the lord of the house as part of reading the graha there.
The lordship of the graha itself matters too. A graha that rules other houses brings those themes into the house where it sits, and the reader can note how the lordships interact with the house's own themes.
Aspects and company
A graha in a house is influenced by the grahas that aspect it and by the grahas that share its house or sign. Benefic company is generally read as softening, and malefic company as intensifying, though the classical texts give more detail. The reader should note who is in the house and who aspects it before drawing a conclusion.
Keeping the reading in proportion
Each graha in a house is one factor among many. A reading that rests on a single placement risks overstating its meaning. The best practice is to build the reading from several features, to state which features are used and to indicate where the evidence is weaker. The site's birth chart gives the signs and houses directly, so the reader can check each placement.
A reading from two placements
A helpful exercise is to read two grahas in the same house together, and to see whether they support or contradict each other. Two grahas of similar nature in one house strengthen the theme of that house, while two of opposing nature create a tension the reader should describe plainly.