Importance of 9th House in Astrology

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya - ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय

भाग्यं श्यालं च धर्मं च भ्रातृपत्न्यादिकांस्तथा। 
तीर्थयात्रादिकं सर्वं धर्मस्थानान्निरीक्षयेत्‌॥ १०॥ 
bhāgyam śyālam ca dharmam ca bhrātrpatnyādikāmstathā 
tīrthayātrādikam sarvam dharmasthānānnirīkshayet ..10.. 

bhāgyam- fortune; śyālam ca- and; dharmam - path of righteousness, duties and obligations; ca- also; bhrātrpatnyādikāmstathā - also the wife of the brother; tīrthayātrādikam - pilgrimages etc.; sarvam - everything; dharmasthānānnirīkshayet - judge from the dharma sthana (9th house) 

The 9th bhava signifies father, dharma, guru, past karma, bhagya, long journeys, thighs, sister-in-law (brother's wife), journeys to holy places etc.


Why is the 9th house the significator of father and dharma?

From the principle of trines, we know that Lord Brahma resides in the 1st bhava, while Lord Shiva resides in the 5th and Lord Vishnu in the 9th bhava. While the 1st bhava signifies 'ayu' (birth) and the 5th signifies prosperity, the 9th indicates 'dharma' since Lord Vishnu resides in it. It is he who fixes the dharma of the person and gives according to what he deserves.

The 9th house of the naisargik rasi chakra is Dhanur (Sagittarius) which is a fiery sign and its lord is Devaguru Brihaspati (Jupiter). The fiery nature of Dhanur is because of its agni tatwa, which means energy in the form of light. This agni is called the 'Brihat Agni' or the light of enlightenment and it acts on the dhi shakti (head) without with one will never be able to attain enlightenment/knowledge. This energy is represented by Brihaspati as we know that he is the significator of dhi shakti.

It is because of the reason that Lord Vishnu's will in determining the creation of the person, his dharma, his bhagya etc., is seen from this house of Brihaspati, that Jupiter is seen as representing God (Bhagavate/Bhagam) in the horoscope. Brihaspati is said to represent God in the horoscope because he possesses all the qualities like shantam (peace), shubhalakshanam (good looks/disposition), daya (mercy) etc., that God possesses.


But how is Brihaspati connected with the birth of the individual? Jupiter represents God and he is the sustainer of life (jeeva) while Surya is the giver of life. Therefore, there should be some graha representing and acting as God to create life. It is Surya, in the form of father who acts as God to create life. God fixes our birth on the basis of our past karma but he cannot take birth on earth to create every individual being. The job of creation is thus the responsibility of the father when he, at that moment of creation, acts as God. The representation of God in physical form by the father is the reason why the 9th house is associated with father.


How is father responsible for birth? 

The atma that is to take birth resides in the body of the father in a place called "Mooladharachakra". The Mooladharachakra is actually the end of the spinal chord in our body. In the fetal stage, the baby in the womb of the mother develops with a tail, which is actually the extension of the spinal chord, which gradually recedes, with the growth of the fetus. In the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna has explained how the atma comes to reside in this chakra of the father. It is in the form of rain that the atma comes down on the earth and through the soil, it enters the trees and gets into the fruits through the sap of the tree. The atma, then finds its way to the father when such a fruit which bears the atma to be born is consumed by him. Through the blood stream it reaches the mooladharachakra where it resides till such time fixed by God for its birth.

The deity of Mooladharachakra is Lord Maha Ganapthi as he is the deity of Ketu. We know that Ketu rules the tail. It is the initial tail that gradually recedes to become the end of the spine and is known as Mooladharachakra. Thus, Ketu becomes the important graha to be studied to see the procreative aspects of the father. Therefore, Ketu is known to expand the family in terms of numbers and is also symbolically represented by a yellow square, which is the symbol of Ketu (procreation). Since Surya is the giver of life and is the naisargik atmakarak (who also represents father), it is exalted in Aries in the Ashwin nakshatra, which is a nakshatra of Ketu. Thus, we see the connection of how and why Sun is exalted in Aries.


Thus, we come to see the relationship between father and God. Therefore, the physical presence/form of father is seen from the 9th house. Besides, the other important of role of father in a person's life is to teach the child the ideals/principles of life. The first ideology/principle, otherwise known as dharma, is learnt from the house i.e., from the father. Then comes the role of the teacher - Guru. A good guru teaches good things to the child. Good knowledge is very important for the proper upbringing of the child. It is good knowledge and good principles imbibed by the child both in the family and from the Guru, that stand good in the life of a person. It keeps him principled in life. And good principles inculcate good and strong discipline. Therefore, the 9th house becomes a very important chart in the life of a person.

Any deviation from/desertion of dharma leads to the destruction of the self finally. When dharma (principle) is affected, the 11th house (labhasthana) therefrom, which is the 7th house indicating wife, is first affected. Subsequently leading to affect the 5th (the house of children - because the wife's principles (7th) is affected) and the 3rd is affected as the prakrambal of the native is used to shield the family (wife and children). And when the 3rd is affected, the Lagna too is affected because it is the individual who is adding on to his sins (paapa). Now, when is the dharma affected? It gets affected in a bid to earn more (labha - 11th house). Bad principles adopted to increase the income in labhasthan (11th) no doubt increases the income, but it also increases the sins to that extent affecting the 9th house, which sets of a chain reaction to the other houses (11th therefrom). This is derived from the "Mandooka Dasha" (Mandooka dasha means frog jumps on every third house. This is seen in the Rudramsa chart and is seen for devining wars, victories, defeats etc.).


Thus, the 9th bhava is also for discipline. It indicates 'Japa' which disciplines the person's life. Strong 9th house will indicate a strong sense of discipline and, hence, strong principles. This will reflect the extent to which the person will observe discipline in life and obedience towards his father and Guru. (A strong 9th and the Sun placed in 4th or 8th from Lagna indicates the person to be very obedient to father.)

The 9th house also reflects the past karma of the person. It is the good deeds in one's life that determine the quality of life one would lead in the next birth. The physical body of a person perishes with time, but the atma carries with it the karma accumulated by the person. It is according to this karma that one gets the share (Bhagya - derived from bhaga or bhagam, meaning the share from father/God) of the material things in the world. Hence, the 9th house is also called the house of 'Bhagya' - meaning, what one would enjoy as his/her share of things in the world as decided by God.


Since the 9th signifies the thighs of the person, it also indicates long distance journeys. While studying long distance journeys, it is very important to study the "Jalapatha saham" (Jala - meaning water; patham - meaning crossing; and saham - meaning point) to reckon whether the person will cross large bodies of water (oceans etc.,) and also "Paradesa saham" (Paradesa - meaning foreign; and saham - meaning point) to reckon whether the person will have residence in foreign land. However, the sambandha of Shukra is also to be reckoned as he is the significator of vehicles (means of conveyance), while Ketu, the mokshakaraka, will indicate astral travels (travel of the atma by detachment from the physical self - which is normally attained only by Sadhus after strong tapasya. Ketu helps attain this by way of detaching the mind from the physical self.).

9th bhava being the house of the Lord, it also indicates temples and other places of worship (strong influence of Surya on 9th will indicate construction of temples, while affliction from Rahu will indicate destruction/desecration of religious places).

9th bhava also indicates the wife of the younger brother and also the wife's younger sister.

Another aspect that could be seen from the 9th house is 'renunciation' and its timing is to be derived from its 'Drig Dasha' (Drig - is the power to see).


The spiritual guru of the person is to be seen from the 'Vimsamsa' (D-20) chart of the person. It is the spiritual guru who can help and guide the person during trying times and put him/her on the right path.

Thus, we may see that the 9th house is a very important house of the horoscope of a person. It reflects the principles and ideals of the person and to what extent will he/she follow it in life. Thus, a good and strong 9th house would mean a strongly principled life and opposite would hold true in case of afflictions of the 9th. Connection between the lords of the 9th and 10th bhavas will indicate "Dharmakarmadipati Yoga" which will mean that the person will use the principles (whatever acquired from family and from guru) in performing karma (job).

Hence, it may safely be assumed that prescribing a stone/gem of the 9th lord would be immensely beneficial to the person at all times with the exception being the case where the 9th lord is also the lord of the 6th house (the house of enemies). Also, Jupiter being the lord of the 9th of the natural zodiac, chanting the mantra "Om Gurave Namaha" will strengthen the 9th house, while chanting the mantra "Om Sat Gurave Namaha" will pacify him/her and also strengthen the person spiritually.