Signs and houses: what is the difference?
A sign names a section of the zodiac; in the whole-sign examples here, its house number comes from counting from the rising sign.
STEP 1
Keep the sign order fixed
The twelve signs run in the same order, from Aries (Mesha) through Pisces (Meena), with 30 degrees in each. A point at 14 degrees of Taurus (Vrishabha) keeps that sign-and-degree address regardless of which sign you use to start counting houses.
STEP 2
Choose how to count houses
For this example, use whole-sign counting: the rising sign, or lagna, is house 1. Each following whole sign is the next house. This lets you label the signs with house numbers from 1 to 12. Other house systems can have different boundaries, so check which method a report uses.
STEP 3
Give one sign different house numbers
The starting point can change between charts. A sign that is house 1 when it rises becomes house 7 when the opposite sign rises. The sign name and the house number therefore answer different questions: which zodiac section, and which place in the count from the rising sign?
STEP 4
Work an example
With Capricorn (Makara) rising, Capricorn is house 1, Aquarius (Kumbha) 2, Pisces 3, Aries 4, and Cancer (Kataka) 7. With Cancer rising instead, Cancer becomes house 1 and Capricorn house 7. Write both complete lists side by side, keeping the zodiac order the same, and compare the numbers.
Astro Aunty’s free Gun Milan calculates a basic Moon-based score out of 36; it does not calculate houses.