The Importance of the Third House in Vedic Astrology

The third house is the place of individual efforts and desires. After the person has learned certain values, indicated in the second house, he has to put these values into practice growing as an individual. According to the system for evaluating natal charts known as “Systems Approach” it is a good house. For Classical Vedic Astrology, the 3rd house belongs to the so-called Upachaya Houses that are houses of growth and that get better with time.

The third house represents courage, servants or assistants, brothers and sisters, path of initiatory instruction, deprivation and death of parents. The learned astrologer must consider this of this house.

Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Chapter 13, verse 4.

The third house is one of the kama houses: those related to enjoyment and pleasure. The 7th and 11th houses also are kama houses.

The third house is related to communications. It represents communications that are made through the internet, television, radio. It is also the house related to writing, writers and musicians. A strong third house along with other factors on a person’s natal chart could point to someone who works in the entertainment industry, as an artist, actor, or actress. It also could indicate what their hobbies are, like reading, music, dance. All things considered, the third house represents what a person likes to do the most.

The third house is the home of initiatives and projects. It also is the house of relatives or younger siblings.

If a person’s ascendant sign is a moolatrikona, the result of their third houses concerning projects, initiatives, and younger siblings become evident when the subperiod of the planets that are rulers of this house is lived. The table below shows the corresponding third house for the various moolatrikona signs.

Mooltrikona Sign	Third House
Taurus	Cancer
Gemini	Leo
Cancer	Virgo
Leo	Libra
Libra	Sagittarius
Sagittarius	Aquarius
Aquarius	Aries

The impacts of the Bhuktis

The lives of people are divided into planetary periods (called Bhuktis in Sanskrit) that last from 6 to 20 years each. The periods are further divided into sub-periods, which can last from a few months to a few years.

The impact of Bhuktis on the third house can be very relevant in a person’s life, especially during the sub-periods of the ruler of the house, and should not be underestimated. For example, if you are interested in starting a job or task that requires your constant initiative and if the third house or its ruler is, very debilitated and afflicted in your natal chart, then you could experience losses or delays, obstructions, problems or arguments related to it.

Obviously, postponing the project until the time is more favorable would be ideal. However, in today’s production-oriented workplace, you typically do not have the luxury of waiting until your third house is in a better period or subperiod before you launch a project. This does not mean that you are “doomed to fail” if you decide to forge ahead with a project when your third house or its ruler is debilitated or afflicted. It does mean that you likely will face unexpected challenges along the way. Being aware of this, your professional astrologer can recommend things that you can do to potentially make these times easier to endure.

The converse also is true. If the third house is strong in your natal chart, then your initiatives likely will proceed without major problems and can be very successful, especially if you are living during the sub-period when the ruling planet also is strong.

The Courage of the 3rd House

In a previous article, I mentioned that the second house is related to values. These values determine a person’s desires and motivations. A person who does not have strong values will initiate projects that lack morality. And a person who has very high values will become involved in endeavors that bear many fruits at different levels, both personally and for others.

The third house is the house that is related to courage. Before initiating a project, we show courage in asking ourselves if what we are going to do will be valuable, if it will be worth the time and effort that we will invest in it. We measure this from our perception of knowing who we are and from our self-esteem. Our value system also helps us to measure all situations in life. This is in stark contrast to the person who impulsively embarks on whatever makes him feel good at the moment. Sometimes it works out and for others, it does not.

The courage of the 3rd House can also lead to a competitive mindset. Remember that the second house is related to power and wealth. If a person values material possessions, then that person will also be someone who competes with others for power or wealth.

Finding Truth, in this sense finding Duty or Dharma, is the highest level of evolution and expression of the third house. Finding yourself, your true self, and knowing more about the Creator takes courage. The path of spiritual elevation can be difficult, but its fruits are bountiful. For most people, neither is it a path that is carried out in a single reincarnation, nor are the levels manifested in a pure way. This means that someone could be a person who competes with others and who also likes the stimuli of starting different projects without them necessarily being successful.

In the natural zodiac, the 3rd house is represented by the sign of Gemini. For this reason, it has many characteristics of this zodiac sign.

The 3rd House in Stephen King’s birth chart

Stephen King is one of the most successful writers in the horror thriller genre. Below is his birth chart.

Stephen King was born under the Cancer ascendant. For the sign of Cancer, the planet of Mars is valued as the ruler of the 10th house, which is related to professions. Mars is in Cancer ascendant for Stephen King, which in this case is debilitated. For a person with this configuration, this can indicate that their profession will be one in which physical activity is not important. This means a profession related to the intellect. This certainly was true for Stephen King. According to his book On Writing, he began his career as a middle-school mathematics teacher.

A debilitated Mars in the 10th house also can indicate that the person will experience difficult challenges establishing themselves in their chosen career. This also is true for Stephen King. Following long days in the classroom with students, he went home each night and spent about four more hours of work writing. He faced numerous rejections from publishers before finally finding success with his first published novel Carrie, which later was made into a motion picture.

Frustrated by a criticism that he couldn’t write female characters that were believable, Stephen King discarded the initial pages of the novel Carrie in the trash. He considered the work a total failure. His wife Tabitha retrieved the pages and offered to help him. He acknowledges her in the book’s dedication.

This is for Tabby, who got me into it – and then bailed me out of it.

Stephen King (dedication in the novel Carrie)

The novel Carrie was published on April 5, 1974. It eventually sold over one million copies and established Stephen King’s writing career. On that date, he was living in the period of Venus-Jupiter. The planet Venus in his birth chart is in the 3rd house. It is related to starting projects and writing. Additionally, Venus is in conjunction with Mercury and gives rise to yoga or a special combination of planets known as Neecha Bhamga that changes the meaning of a weakened Venus to one that works well.

Jupiter is a planet that is exalted in Cancer on his profession-related divisional chart, known as Dashamsha. This also caused this sub-period to be very beneficial for Stephen King.

What is Dashamsha?

It is unfortunate that most people view their natal chart as an endpoint. They learn a few new things about themselves and then they file the chart away and forget about it. However, this is not the intended use of the natal chart. Rather than an endpoint, it is a starting point to better understand ourselves and the world around us. To assist in this endeavor, each person’s natal chart can be sub-divided into cards that delve deeper into specific areas of life. The Dashamsha card is the one that is related to the professional aspects of your life.

The Dashamsha for Stephen King is presented below, showing Jupiter in an exalted position in Cancer.

The second house is another factor that can be evaluated in a person’s natal chart to learn more about their profession. In Stephen King’s natal chart, there are no planets in the second house. However, this is the house of Leo, which is ruled by the Sun. In King’s chart, the ruler of the second house is in the third house. This is quite favorable for him.

Why?

We know that the second house is associated with material gain and status. We also know that the second house is ruled by the Sun, the most powerful of all of the planets. The Sun is located in the third house in King’s chart, which is the house that is associated with communication and writing. This means that the Sun would use its ruling power in the second house to influence the third house. In Stephen King’s case, he has earned material wealth and status through his writing.

The third house is very important in Stephen King’s birth chart for another reason. This house is one of the strongest in his chart because it contains one of the determinants of his profession. The third house corresponds to the sign of Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury. Virgo is the mulatrikona sign of Mercury and its sign of exaltation. Mercury is the planet that represents writing.

The planet Saturn is located in the ascendant (1st) house in Stephen King’s chart. It aspects closely to Mercury. Saturn for the Cancer ascendant is the ruler of the 8th house. The 8th house is related to mystery. Horror novels, thrillers, and mystery stories have the energy of the 8th house. This is the genre in which Stephen King writes. Additionally, Saturn aspecting Mercury means that he is inclined to write more complex stories, such as those in novels since Saturn is a planet that indicates hard work and patience.

As you can see, Stephen King’s career choice in being an author, the genre in which he writes, and his success in the profession are all present in his natal chart, particularly in the many influences of his third house.

Acknowledgements

Headline photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash