The Study of Jyotisha · Chapter 27 of 54 · Part Six · Judging the houses

#The second house: wealth, family and speech

#What the second house means

Varahamihira's word for the second house is family (kutumba); its technical name is Sva, "one's own" (Brihat Jataka I.15–16). Aiyar's note lists family, wealth, the eyes, speech and truthfulness. The later books add: food and what one eats, the face and mouth, early education and the voice, accumulated savings and possessions, and the immediate family one lives with.

The thread joining these is what one has and holds: the things, people and words that are one's own. Wealth in the second house is wealth kept and accumulated — savings, family property — as distinct from income and gains, which are the 11th house.

#Significators

• Jupiter is the natural significator of the second house (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra 32.31–34): wealth, wisdom in speech, the family's dharma.
• The 2nd from the Moon is a second view of the same matters (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra 7.39–43 counts the 2nd from the Moon as well).
• The hora chart (D2, Chapter 12) is read for wealth.

#How to judge the second house

1. The house itself. Its sign, occupants and aspects. Benefics in or aspecting the 2nd help; malefics there are said to harm wealth and speech, unless strong in their own signs.
2. Its lord. Where it is and how strong. A strong 2nd lord in a kendra or trikona, or linked to the 11th lord, is a classic sign of wealth. A 2nd lord in the 6th, 8th or 12th makes the Phaladeepika's "Nisswa" (Chapter 21) — wealth that comes and goes — to be judged with care.
3. Jupiter, the significator.
4. The 2nd and 11th together. The 11th house is gains; the 2nd is what is kept. The two lords linked (joined, in exchange, or in each other's houses) is a well-known wealth combination.
5. The ashtakavarga points of the 2nd and 11th (Chapter 16).
6. The wealth yogas of Chapters 18 and 19, which often say more about wealth than the 2nd house alone.

#Planets in the second house

Varahamihira's rules (Brihat Jataka XX):

The pattern is clear: benefics in the 2nd give wealth and good speech; malefics give wealth that is lost, or poorer food, or trouble with the face and speech. All scaled, as always, by dignity (XX.10–11).

The later books add character readings: Mars in the 2nd gives sharp or blunt speech; Saturn, slow or sparing speech and wealth gathered slowly; Rahu, unusual food or speech that misleads; Ketu, speech that cuts.

#The lord of the second house

A short guide:

#The example chart: Scorpio in the 2nd

#The house itself

• Sign: Scorpio, a fixed, watery sign of Mars (Chapter 7): depth, intensity, secrecy, endurance.
• Occupants: none.
• Aspects: three planets aspect Scorpio:
  • Jupiter, from Cancer, by its special 5th-house aspect. Jupiter is the significator of the 2nd, and it is exalted. This is the best aspect the house could receive.
  • The Moon, from Taurus, by the 7th aspect. The Moon is waning, so mildly malefic by Varahamihira's rule, but it is in its exaltation sign.
  • Mars, from Aries, by its special 8th-house aspect. Mars is the lord of Scorpio: a lord aspecting its own house protects it.
• Ashtakavarga: only 21 points — one of the two weakest houses in the chart (Chapter 16).

#Its lord: Mars

Mars is in Aries, its own sign, in the 7th house — strong, the strongest planet in shadbala (Chapter 14), forming Ruchaka yoga (Chapter 18). The 2nd lord in the 7th: wealth through partners, the spouse and dealing with the public.

#Its significator: Jupiter

Exalted in the 10th, aspecting the 2nd. Strong.

#The 2nd and 11th together

The 11th house is Leo, with Mercury in it; its lord, the Sun, is in the 10th. The 2nd lord (Mars) and the 11th lord (Sun) are not directly linked. But the 11th lord is in the 10th (career), joined with Jupiter and Venus.

#The hora chart

In the hora chart, the ascendant, the Sun and the Moon are in the Sun's hora; Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are in the Moon's hora (Chapter 12).

#The reading

The second house itself is empty and low in ashtakavarga points — not a chart of inherited family wealth or easily accumulated savings. But it is protected: by its own strong lord's aspect, and by exalted Jupiter's. And the wealth yogas elsewhere in the chart are strong: all three benefics in upachayas (Chapter 18), three planets in exaltation or moolatrikona (Chapter 19), the ascendant lord in the 10th with exalted Jupiter.

So the reading is: wealth earned through work and partnership, rather than inherited or saved by temperament. Money comes in well (the 10th and 11th are strong) but may not stay as easily (the 2nd is weak). Mars ruling the 2nd and aspecting it suggests direct, even blunt speech; Jupiter's aspect, speech that is principled and carries authority. Scorpio on the 2nd: privacy about money and family matters.

This is a good example of a principle: never judge wealth from the 2nd house alone. A weak 2nd in a chart full of wealth yogas is a different thing from a weak 2nd in a chart without them.

#Summary

• The second house is family, wealth kept, speech, food, the face and eyes (Brihat Jataka I.15).
• Its significator is Jupiter; the 2nd from the Moon and the hora chart are further views.
• Judge it by the house, its lord, Jupiter, its link with the 11th, its ashtakavarga points, and the wealth yogas.
• Benefics in the 2nd give wealth and good speech; malefics, wealth lost or harsh speech (Brihat Jataka XX), all scaled by dignity.
• The example chart: an empty Scorpio 2nd with 21 points, protected by the aspects of its own strong lord Mars and exalted Jupiter; wealth comes through work and partnership.

#Exercises

1. In a chart with a Leo ascendant, which planet rules the 2nd house? Which rules the 11th?
2. Venus is in the 2nd house in Pisces. What does Varahamihira say about Venus in the 2nd? What does his special rule for Venus in Pisces add?
3. Why is it a mistake to judge wealth from the 2nd house alone?
4. A chart's 2nd lord is in the 11th and its 11th lord in the 2nd. What is this called, and what does it suggest?
5. In the example chart, which planet's aspect most helps the 2nd house, and why?

Answers: 1. Virgo is the 2nd: Mercury. Gemini is the 11th: Mercury again. 2. As Jupiter in the 2nd: good speech (XX.8). And Venus in Pisces (its exaltation) makes the person rich, wherever it is (XX.8). 3. Because wealth also depends on the 11th house, the 10th, the lords of the trikonas, the wealth yogas and the dashas; a weak 2nd can be outweighed. 4. An exchange (parivartana) between the 2nd and 11th lords — a Maha yoga in the Phaladeepika's scheme, and a classic link between earning and keeping wealth. 5. Jupiter's: it is the significator of the 2nd, a natural benefic, and exalted.