6th House
Definition
The 6th house is a cadent house — cadent meaning it falls away from one of the chart's four "corner" houses — sitting below the horizon. It makes no Ptolemaic aspect to the Ascendant, so the two share no recognised geometric link. In whole sign houses, where each house is a whole zodiac sign, it is the sixth sign counted on from your rising sign. It lies between the 5th house and the Descendant (the 7th-house cusp), in the lower part of the chart as it climbs toward the western horizon.
In Tradition
Astrologers read the 6th house as the house of health and illness, daily work, service, and the people who work for you. Hellenistic astrologers called it Bad Fortune (kake tyche), and it was the joy of Mars — the place where Mars is said to be most at home.
In Practice
In a birth chart, astrologers look to the 6th house for your relationship with daily work, the upkeep of your health, and service. The state of the 6th-house ruler and any planets sitting there describe what your working conditions are like and where your health may be vulnerable. In horary astrology — which answers a question from the chart of the moment it was asked — the 6th house stands for illness, its cause and how long it lasts, as well as employees and small animals. In decumbiture, the branch of horary that reads the chart for the moment someone falls ill, the 6th-house ruler stands for the disease while the 1st-house ruler shows the patient's vitality. In mundane astrology, which reads charts for nations, it governs the working classes, public employees, the armed forces, and the nation's food supply. Its lack of aspect to the Ascendant adds to its traditionally unfavourable reputation.
Historical Origin
In Hellenistic astrology the 6th place was called Bad Fortune (kake tyche). Mars has its joy there, fitting for Mars as a malefic — a planet counted as harmful — tied to injury and cutting. Firmicus called it Mala Fortuna. The 6th place is in aversion to the Ascendant, which classically made it one of the less favourable houses.
Further Reading
- Howard Sasportas, The Twelve Houses
- Deborah Houlding, The Houses: Temples of the Sky
- Robert Hand, Horoscope Symbols