Sixth House in the Complete Horoscope

Your Work in Classical Astrology

The work done, skill expressed,
one's profession and daily strife,
what is being done, and how.

The 6th House governs your work, what you do for a living. It doesn't exactly deal with the social situation at work or your career, because these things belong to the 10th House.

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The 6th is about what you work with, what it is you do, and how that works out for you.

In traditional astrology this was (and still is, to many astrologers) the House of health, revealing illnesses and other ailments. The reason for this is simple: few things influence your health more than what you work with, day in and day out. This was particularly true up until the 19th century, since medicine was quite undeveloped until then. So was ergonomics, et cetera.

Even today, your work is sure to affect your health and well-being, so keep this in mind when examining your horoscope. Below, though, I focus on the work itself. Health issues related to different professions are easy enough to foresee.

Zodiac sign and Planet

If the House changes Zodiac sign somewhere in its span, that means your work changes significantly sometime in your life. Both your profession and your whole work situation. If you have the same Zodiac sign through most of the House, you are likely to remain in the same profession throughout.

Planets in the 6th House indicate that a lot happens in your work and that it's an important part of your life. That's not true for everyone. Some of us spend our days at the job without caring much about it. even if the House is void of planets, it's not sure you don't care about your work — but not as much as if you had planets there, for sure.

Here are simple keywords describing your work, depending on what Zodiac sign you have in the 6th House:

Aries intense
Taurus steady
Gemini amusing
Cancer committed
Leo individual
Virgo meticulous
Libra controlling
Scorpio unsettling
Sagittarius free
Capricorn constructive
Aquarius thoughtful
Pisces devoted

Here are keywords for how your work is affected if you have a planet in your 6th House:

Sun dominant
Moon dependent
Mercury communicative
Venus creative
Mars struggling
Jupiter successful
Saturn responsible
Uranus exploring
Neptune improvising
Pluto drastic

The keywords are just simple clues to understand the 6th House. You need to consider the whole before deciding on the meaning of one single ingredient.

Aspects

The 6th House has the following aspect relations to other Houses:

Opposition 180° 12th House
Trine 120° 10th House, 2nd House
Square 90° 9th House, 3rd House
Sextile 60°8th House, 4th House

These relations between the Houses are quite important when analyzing their influence. The opposition aspect to the 12th House, that of personal sacrifice, is obvious when you consider the need for health and ability in your work. The 12th House shows what you lack. Also, when you're ill or weakened in some other way, your work will suffer.

The trine to the 10th House, that of your career, is even more evident. Your work helps you in your career, and vice versa. The trine with the 2nd House, your resources, is clear when it comes to money: work brings the bread. Also, your personal capacity is your main resource at any job you might have.

The square to the 9th House, travel and change, just states that usually these things are hindrances in your work. The square to the 3rd House, friends, says that your work keeps you away from them. But with squares there are always possibilities to get around the obstacles.

The sextile to the 8th House, what is out of your control, is not that evident, but things of this House can be helpful in your work, and not only if you inherit it, like everybody did in the old days. The sextile to the 4th House, home and family, is clear: your work supports your home and your family supports your work (hopefully).

The Houses

Here are the twelve Houses of the horoscope, with links to the webpage of each:

Astrological Houses

1st House

5th House

9th House

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