Your Sixth House In Astrology Determines How You Live Your Daily Life

Before modern-day medical doctors, ancient physicians consulted heavily with the stars to diagnose and treat various ailments. So where does the world of medicine meet up with astrology? Matters of a person’s illness and wellbeing reside in the realm of the sixth house, aka the “house of health.” A person’s wellness is closely tied to their routines, which are the broad ruler of this house: the things you do every day. Is your morning ritual set in stone with no exceptions? Or do you struggle to stick with a consistent schedule? The explanation can be found in the sixth house of astrology.

First, a recap on the houses. In astrology, you have the zodiac signs dousing the planets with some flavor, which together tell you how the energy in your life may be shifting. To zoom in on where the energy of, say, Jupiter in Aries will affect you, you look to a third component: the house. Houses “dictate your entire life,” Camila R. Quintero, LCSW, a licensed psychotherapist and professional Vedic astrologer, previously told Elite Daily. “They tell you your life trajectory, [and] are really where everything is happening.” If expansive and lucky Jupiter is in fiery, initiator Aries, all within the sixth house, you can bet that a cocktail of go-getter energy is shaking up your day-to-day happenings.

There are a total of 12 houses in astrology, each describing a plane of life. The first six houses are said to denote the personal “you” areas, while the last six rule areas regarding “the other.” As the last of the “you” houses, the sixth is a marker of transition between these two categories and is known to rule over the service of others, but also of yourself. How do you take care of your body? Your mind? Your spirit? What do you do on a daily basis to maintain health and wellness in these areas? What does your work day look like?

Exploring your sixth house can guide you to create a daily routine that works for you, and in turn, improve your overall wellbeing. Here’s everything to know about the sixth house in astrology, according to the professionals.

How Do You Know Your Sixth House In Astrology?

While knowing your zodiac sign is as easy as knowing your birthday, there’s a little more to when it comes to learning your houses. And to be clear — everyone has a first house, a second house, and so on. Just like everyone has a sun sign, a moon sign, and a whole map of each planet through the signs, everyone has each of the 12 houses paired with a sign within their chart. In order to get this detailed cosmic blueprint, you’ll need to know not only the day and place you were born, but also the exact time. Sadly, a ballpark timestamp is not close enough, as the houses move positions every couple of hours.

With your birth deets in hand, you can now take them to an online birth chart calculator and plug them in. The site will provide you with a natal chart, revealing the stack up of your signs, planets, houses, and aspects. Pay attention to what’s going on in that sixth house. What sign is it? Are there any planets there? Take note.

But, there’s a catch. A slight nuance, if you will. Not all chart calculators are created equal, and in the name of cutting down on confusion, you’ll want to pay attention to which housing system your site uses. Just as there’s modern astrology versus traditional, and Western versus Eastern, there are varying formulas when it comes to plotting the houses across the sky. Depending on which is used, the lineup of houses that the calculator spits out will be different. You can see where things might get a little scrambled if you’re not paying attention.

For simplicity’s sake, there are two housing systems most often used among astrologers, apps, and chart calculators alike: Whole Sign and Placidus. The former divides the circle chart into 12 even 30-degree wedges, each denoting one whole sign per one whole house. Things are clean and simple, and every sign is represented. You also can easily map out a person’s houses by only knowing their rising sign (first house), because each house that comes after pairs with the next zodiac sign. So a Libra rising would have a Scorpio second house, and a Sag third house, etc. Most often when you see astrologers discussing the houses on TikTok, they’re using the Whole Sign system.

Placidus isn’t quite as beginner-friendly, as this method uses the sun’s apparent movement across the sky to map out the houses. What does this look like? A circle chart of 12 uneven pie slices, where one can cover multiple signs and some signs can be totally skipped. This method is often the default on birth chart calculators and astrology apps, but many allow you to choose your preferred system in a drop-down menu.

Neither is right or wrong, but it is important to know the difference and be aware of which you’re using. Keep in mind if you were born at an extreme latitude, you might want to skip Placidus as the calculations here can result in a big ol’ mess of a chart.

What Is The Sixth House In Astrology?

The keywords linked to this house are health, work, and routines. It’s your daily responsibilities, which means it’s heavily indicative of your job, how you get your work done, and your ideal work environment. “The sixth house deals with your everyday life, your coworkers, as well as how you take care of your health, how you take care of your wellness, your mental health and diseases as well as enemies — especially enemies at work,” Quintero tells Elite Daily. The sixth house also rules over aunts, uncles, and pets, so looking here could also hint at your ideal furry friend or some familial relationships. Needless to say, your daily routines cover a lot, which is why there’s so much happening under this roof.

“The sixth house is very important and also deals with your immune system and with injury,” Quintero says. While it’s called the “house of health,” it’s also been known as the “house of sickness.” In ancient Hellenistic astrology, the planet Mars has its joy here, which sounds nice, except Mars is a “malefic” planet. These can bring a little more friction and discomfort. As such, some astrologers link planets in the sixth house as indicators of illness or injury. More specifically, the sixth house is tied to the digestive system, so food sensitivities or allergies can be found here.

As it’s your daily routine, anything to do with hygiene, self-care rituals, cleanliness, exercise, and diet are sixth house topics. As work, schedules, duty, and responsibility also live here, the sixth house is a lesson in work-life balance. When your routine is catering too much toward the work side and less on the self-care habits, your health suffers. Again, as it’s related to the stomach and digestion, an imbalanced sixth house can correlate to issues like a knotted stomach or anxiety, possibly related to having too much work on your plate.

As far as compatibility goes, having good sixth house synastry is a huge indicator that you get along with another person. “Having a strong sixth house synastry binds you together to your everyday life; they become part of it,” Quintero notes. “If you're not able to integrate someone in your everyday life and see them in your everyday life, then the relationship doesn't sustain ... they're not part of your routine.” This is key for coworkers, but also for relationships.

When it comes to having planets in the sixth house, the slower-moving ones can prove to be nice placements, according to Quintero. “In Vedic astrology, we call it a upachaya house, which means [it gets] stronger with time,” she says. She notes that malefic, slow-mover Saturn does really well in the sixth house, as opposed to the quickly-changing moon. “If you have the moon in your sixth house,” she explains, “you're going to struggle a lot with your health because the moon changes every two days, so that means that your health is changing, [and] it's always up and down.” This placement may also indicate an inconsistent schedule or a struggle to maintain new habits in the long run.

Similarly, having a steady earth sign in the sixth house will make for someone with a more stable, grounded routine. But of course, it all depends on the rest of your chart — no one placement is the be-all and end-all.

Which Sign Rules The Sixth House?

There’s even more to be said of this house when you consider its associated zodiac sign. Many types of astrology subscribe to this practice of associating the houses with the signs, but note that there are also those that do not. It’s really a matter of which kind of astrology you prefer to practice.

For example, traditional Hellenistic astrology is not going to suggest that the sixth house is in any way linked to the sixth sign, Virgo. “We have all these resources from Hellenistic astrologers and beyond who have significations of these houses that are not solely linked to the signs,” Hellenistic astrologer Dalanah of the Moon Matters astrology podcast previously told Elite Daily.

But if you ask Miami-based astrologer Valerie Mesa, there is a correlation. “There are 12 signs in the zodiac, all 12 signs have a different energy, and all 12 houses have the same different energy matching the sign,” she explains. “If you’re familiar with the 12 signs, you’ll be able to instantly familiarize yourself with the houses because it’s the same order, but you want to look at [the houses] more so as an atmosphere.”

When you consider it this way, the sixth house belongs to Virgo. “Virgo energy is a little more grounded, methodical, [and] meticulous. It’s really about acts of service as well, whether it be at the workplace or for an elder, or somebody you care about,” Mesa explains, alluding to corresponding energy to the sixth house. “This is the area of health as well,” she continues. “So really tuning into your health habits, your health routine, your mind, body, and soul.”

Another astrological point of view is Vedic, an ancient Hindu system that’s part of a larger spiritual practice. Vedic astrology also ties the signs to houses, but takes it to an even deeper level. Quintero says that each sign and house is not only related to each other, but also to one of the four Hindu paths of life: the fire houses (first, fifth, and ninth) are Dharma houses; earth houses (second, sixth, and 10th) are Artha; air (third, seventh, and 11th) is Kama; and water (fourth, eighth, and 12th) belongs to Moksha.

In this practice, the sixth house takes on the energy of not only the sign Virgo, but also of the Artha goal of life, which is all about the life direction. “The six house deals with the earth signs, which means it's Artha, which means it deals with work, karma, your legacy, your career, [and] your everyday life,” Quintero explains. “The sixth house, believe it or not, is a very important house for change and transformation, as well as for fame,” she continues. “You need to have a strong six house in order to attain those things in life, because it deals with your everyday life.”

The sixth house will teach you a lot about yourself, so it’s an extremely important one to understand. “It shows you your injuries, your immune system, obstacles in life, your difficulties, your enemies, your work, your mental health, [and] your physical health,” Quintero says.

Transits To The Sixth House

Transits are kind of a big deal in astrology. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it can sound like an intimidating piece of jargon to understand, but it’s really astro-speak for “there’s a planet currently in the sign that I have in my X house.” For example, if you have Aquarius in your sixth house, a sixth house transit means there is a planet currently in Aquarius.

“Every time a planet passes through the houses in general, it’s almost like a pocket of opportunity to work,” Mesa tells Elite Daily. “Every planet brings a different energy to the table: The moon is sensitive, emotional, and intuitive; Venus is abundant, prosperous, seductive, [and] charming; Jupiter is expansive, lucky, [and] could also be over-indulgent.” So when a planet passes through your sixth house, it’s high time to assess your routines and note where you can make improvements.

“If you aren’t necessarily a fan of getting down to business, this could be a challenging time for you,” Mesa says, “just because it’s monotonous and it’s all about routine.” Having planets pass through the sixth house can be just as beneficial as they can detrimental, she adds, “depending on how you work with the energies and how willing you are to do the work.”

For example, a Jupiter transit to the sixth house will put you in a “grind” period where you possibly have a lot of things going on at once. “[You might] become more expansive about your work. Maybe it helps you get a promotion or become more expansive about your everyday life,” Quintero says. “Let's say Venus is transiting your sixth house. This can make you more inclined toward working out and getting a healthy routine in check. The sun there also will do that, [and] Mars there will also do that,” Quintero explains.

The happenings of your sixth house can be some of the most noticeable placements or transits you have. It’s what’s going down every single day. It’s your lifestyle. Nurture this part of your chart, and you’ll see the most drastic improvements to your overall wellbeing.

Experts:

Valerie Mesa, professional astrologer, soul coach, and writer

Camila R. Quintero, LCSW, licensed psychotherapist and professional Vedic astrologer