What should I do about my financial situation? When am I going to get more money? What does my chart say about prosperity in my life? Such questions are among the most frequently asked of the astrologer.

In ancient times each family produced the commodities needed for their own consumption. If you wanted something you didn’t yourself produce, there was barter. Somewhere along the line the ‘medium of exchange’ was invented, so that now the struggle for survival comes down to the struggle for money. Classical works on astrology are full of formulas and combinations of planets and positions indicating the potential for riches as well as for poverty. Through astrology we seek guidance on what the financial attainment in this lifetime will be, and when, and how we can improve the outcome.

Where in the natal chart do we find clues regarding income? Each sector (house) of the astrology chart makes its own particular contribution to the overall scheme of prosperity. The 2nd house is the most specific regarding the resources that the soul has at its disposal for this particular journey on Earth. Thus we first evaluate the ‘health’ of the 2nd house to determine general prosperity. Conditions for a healthy 2nd house include having ‘good’ planets, especially Jupiter or Venus, either in or influencing the 2nd house, and having the lord of the house (the planet that rules the zodiacal sign located in the 2nd house) in a strong and beneficial placement, such as being placed in one of the power houses (the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th), in a favorable sign, and/or associated with one of the benefic planets.

The 11th house gets analyzed in a similar manner. The 11th house is distinguished from the 2nd house by being the house of Profit and Gain, and thus more associated with ‘chunks’ of money rather than the regular income and stored up prosperity of the 2nd. A connection between the 11th house and another house in the chart shows in what part of life you can seek profits. For instance, if the lord of the 11th house is found in the 4th (Home), profits can come from real estate.

We live in a job-based society, so obviously the parts of the chart related to employment and career have a major bearing on prosperity for most of us. The 6th house is the house of service, servitude, and therefore employment. An involvement of the 6th and the 2nd houses indicates income from employment. Such would be the case if the lord of the 2nd house were to be placed in the 6th house. This relationship, if it exists, has to be analyzed for favorable or unfavorable influences: if favorable conditions exist, the person gets good employment that contributes to their prosperity, if unfavorable, then the person works at a low-paying job, or has difficulty sustaining employment.

The 10th house of the chart is the sector called ‘status and position’ and ‘action in society’. This comes down to Career and Profession in our modern world. The connections made by planetary placements in the 10th house, and the location of the lord of the 10th house in the chart, tell a lot about what sort of a career a person has. For instance, a favorable connection between the 10th house of career and the 11th house of profits indicates one who makes money through commissions, sales, deals, etc. Involvement of the 1st house, the house of ‘Self’ with the 10th house indicates a Self-employed person, an Entrepreneur. Involvement of the 7th house of Partnership with the 10th house of Career shows success through Business Partnership. As with all analysis that the astrologer makes, an assessment of the benefic or malefic influences on the 10th house and its lord must be made in order to determine the degree of success.

But what if the chart doesn’t indicate favorable placements and influences connected to the financial houses? There are still other potential sources of prosperity. One that I like to look at is the 8th house. Usually thought of as the House of Obstruction and Death, the 8th has another meaning: Unearned Wealth. This is because the 8th is the 2nd house (prosperity) from the 7th (partner), so it indicates the partner’s wealth, and by extension, any unearned wealth. Thus, a strong planet and favorable conditions in the 8th house indicates benefiting from another person’s wealth; i.e., being supported by another, an inheritance, alimony or insurance payments, etc.

There are two houses in the chart that generally indicate Good Fortune. The 9th house and its lord are primary significators for Luck in the chart, and if connected with the income houses, especially when strong and under benefic influence, give excellent potential for good financial karma in one’s life. Likewise, the 5th house, indicating ‘Good Past Life Karma Dividend’, when connected with the 2nd or 11th house, will pay out as favorable finances in your life, due to the meritorious actions from the past life.

After examining the potentials shown by the birth chart, the next question is “When does it happen?” For the answer the astrologer goes to the various techniques of prediction that give the timetable for activation of the latent potentials. The first of these is the dasha system, the so-called planetary periods. During the years of the major period, or sub-period, of the planet ruling the 2nd house or the 11th house, the karmas associated with money are ‘turned on’. But the dashas cannot give more than the potential shown in the natal chart. So if the strength of the lord of the 2nd house is only medium, we can expect only medium results. If we are wondering when the might be an inheritance, the astrologer looks for activation of the 8th house. But even if the promise of unearned wealth is there, the payoff can only be as large as the house and its lord’s strength indicates.

Outside of the dasha system, the ongoing planetary transits to the natal chart help to determine times of increased prosperity. Most notable of these is the transit of Jupiter, since it is the general indicator of prosperity and expansion. Thus, if Jupiter by its transit moves through or influences a money house in your chart, and if that house is strong and favorable and especially if the house is already ‘turned on’ through the dasha system, then you can anticipate an up-tick in income. For instance, when Jupiter transits through your 6th house, there are increased opportunities for employment, usually accompanied by an increase in salary, because Jupiter influences by its trinal (120 degree) aspect, the 2nd house (income) when it transits the 6th.

These are just some of the possibilities that the astrologer looks for when analyzing your chart for answers to the money question. There are more levels to investigate for more details, such as the divisional charts (called vargas) or the functional nature of the moon signs (the nakshatras), which, like the houses in the chart, each demonstrate potentials which have their opportunity for expression during the life. It is through a careful reading of the planetary patterns that the astrologer can point out what potentials you are not making use of, as well as when activation within the chart creates the most favorable time to make your efforts most productive. And, if you are so blessed, the astrology chart shows that there are times when circumstances arise having nothing to do with your conscious efforts, that are hidden in the workings of the lords of karma and grace, when your financial needs are taken care of in any case.