Vedic Astrology: Sixth House – Creative Sacrifice

Seed Principle: The drudgery of life and what we must do to maintain the things we want is the main principle of the sixth house. Managing our daily routines and sacrificing our momentary happiness for something more worthwhile is the deeper lesson. As the 2nd Artha house, it shows the work and effort we must expend if we are to manifest the things we want.

The body part associated with the sixth house is the intestines. The busy work of extracting and distributing the proper nutrients from our food to the different cells in our body comes from the intestines. It takes a lot of the body’s energy and is known in Ayurveda to be key in our overall health and illness.

Sixth house people: Competitors, those who want some of what we have or who have some of what we want. The bill collector. Distant relatives. Our employees. Those beings we control, including pets.

Activities: Paying bills. Performing menial, unrewarding tasks (whatever that means to the individual). Spending money (non investments). Dieting. Sacrificing happiness in the moment for something bigger (service). Fighting and arguing.

Environment: Accountants’ office, on your knees in the bathroom cleaning the toilet, bathtub and sink. The doctor’s office. Veterinarian office. Service oriented jobs.

Objects: Vacuum cleaner. Cleaning supplies and disinfectant. Soiled diapers. Broom. Medicine.

Planetary Indicators:  Saturn and Mars are the main indicators of the sixth house. Saturn indicates menial tasks we must perform. Mars indicates competitors and unpleasantness we must overcome.

Guna / Lesson: Relational Values
General Explanation:
The love and creativity of the fifth house produces many things that we want. Yet, those things require our attention and maintenance day to day. The child we produce in the fifth house brings a lot of work that we must do in the sixth house. Difficulties happen in the sixth house once we start to resent the work we must do in order to maintain the things we have. Those resentments will produce strong opinions, likes and dislikes, etc. It is then we start to make enemies, accumulate debts, health problems, etc. Surmounting the drudgery of and the willingness to do what it takes without the expectation of enjoyment is the highest aim of the sixth house. The things we love the most create the most work. We must be willing to serve the thing we want to grow, rather than resent all the work it takes.

In this way, when the thing we love the most is liberation in truth, the sixth house becomes a great house of service and Karma Yoga.

But there is a lot of ego attachment with sixth house activities because they protect us, especially our physical health. Problems occur with sixth house matters because we want to enjoy everything in life and there is no enjoyment of 6th house matters. It is best to see these tasks as adding value (artha) to the things we love (5th house), then simply perform those duties in service to those aims with no expectation of happiness.

The power of love to expand us beyond our own personal fulfillment or likes and dislikes gets tested in the sixth house, the realm of unpleasantness and servitude. We love that child, but we don’t love changing diapers. We love creating art, but it takes work, money and sacrifice. We would all love to make a living pursuing our hearts desire, but there’s a lot of competition, sacrifice and training involved. When we handle these things with grace, we flourish. When we don’t, we fail ourselves, lose to our enemies, and may bring about disease and health problems as a result. .

Evolutionary Process: “From the neglect of or attachment to our daily physical routines to struggling and battling against others and the hard work we must do to a dignified resignation to serve the higher causes in our life is the Evolutionary process of the sixth house.”

The effects of planets in the sixth house:
The Sun in the sixth house often brings sluggish digestion and may show power struggles with authority figures. In a higher sense, it can show a strong capacity for sacrifice, service and the willingness to face unpleasantness without being overwhelmed.

The Moon in the sixth house shows a difficult mental and emotional outlook. There may be an emotional expectation that life is difficult. This can lead to a lack of enthusiasm, which brings neglect and the tendency to avoid people and situations. However, once understood there may be a high capacity for selfless service here.

Mars in the sixth house is good for surmounting difficulties and defeating enemies. But it may make one very competitive, creating a lot of conflict, with high levels of attachment each victory. Once transformed, a person may work tirelessly to overcome their own personal setbacks and weaknesses, and help others do the same.

Mercury in the sixth house can be very good for organizational skills and keeping all the many details straight. The sixth house has to do with unpleasantness, Mercury is one of the best planets for facing difficulties, as he is neutral and adjustable.

Jupiter in the sixth house often brings high levels of grace that allows us to learn from our mistakes and enemies, and even guide them to higher principles. However, Jupiter is the planet of higher teachings is often bogged down in unpleasantness, unable to expand in the sixth house, unable to rise up.

Venus in the sixth house shows a person will do their best to handle unpleasant situations with grace and care. This includes the enemies produced by such unpleasant circumstances. However, one may be overwhelmed by difficulty, and avoid situations, people and areas of life where they need to compete. They may compensate through indulgence, leading to poor health, etc.

Saturn in the sixth house shows a person will be determined to surmount difficulties and will not give up until the lessons are learned. There may be sluggish digestion, especially gas or lower intestinal problems. Health problems in general may lead to great healing and transformation.

Rahu in the sixth house shows a person will be very engaged in the world of struggles and take it upon themselves to improve through their own efforts. There may be a lot of battles fought and many enemies accumulated. Eventually this may lead to high levels of self-healing and service, but not without many fights and difficulties along the way.

Ketu in the sixth house shows one who would rather avoid the unpleasant circumstances in life, preferring to relax and surrender into the larger, universal themes. There’s likely conditioning around unpleasant circumstances. Although there is skill in managing them, there is little reward.