Astrological houses

Sixth House

Direct answer

Sixth House is the house of work, service, illness symbolism, routines, labor, maintenance, skill, employees, small animals, and daily repair.

HousesThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

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At a glance

In astrology: The Sixth House is cadent and was traditionally considered a difficult house, but modern readings often emphasize craft, service, and maintenance.
Found in: Houses
Related: Birth Chart, Zodiac, Transit

An engraved chart wheel of twelve divisions, ruled aspect lines drawn across it — Chart geometry · visual guide **Sixth House**
Sixth House describes work, service, routines, health symbolism, labor, and maintenance.
A structural orientation; exact placements depend on the chart or technique being discussed.

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What sets Sixth House apart

The sixth house is Bad Fortune: Firmicus Maternus gives the Latin mala fortuna, from the Greek kake tyche, and says the name comes from its being Mars's place. It is in aversion to the Ascendant, so it does not see the life, and Firmicus counts it among the lazy places. Dorotheus calls it the sign of slaves and joins it with the twelfth as the worst of the worst. Al-Qabisi calls the sixth and twelfth hidden, where the third and ninth are public.

Aspect to the first: none: it is in aversion, five signs away
Latin name: mala fortuna, from the Greek kake tyche, in Firmicus
Joy: Mars, in the lists of al-Qabisi and the Abbreviation
Dorotheus: the sign of slaves; sixth and twelfth together the worst of the worst
Al-Andarzaghar: reads its lords as infirmities and recovery, domestics and slaves, usefulness

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Bad Fortune, the place of illness

He assigns it illness and the cause of faults and health, and he counts it among the lazy places because it makes no aspect to the Ascendant. Dorotheus calls it the sign of slaves and names the sixth and twelfth together the worst of the worst.

Al-Qabisi lists illness, slaves, beasts and flocks, and prison, and gives it what comes before old age. He colors the sixth house black, the same as the eighth.

Slave or free, and who the master is

Dorotheus Book I, chapters 10 and 11, uses the sixth and twelfth houses to decide whether a person is a slave or free. The Moon in the sixth or twelfth points to servitude. He counts the number of masters from the planets standing between the luminary and its triplicity lord. Jupiter or Venus angular frees a slave, with Jupiter in Capricorn the exception.

Mars rejoices in the sixth, and Dykes says the night planets rejoice below the horizon. Dorotheus also lists the sixth among his evil places and as a bad position for the lord of the father's lot.

A hidden, cadent house

The sixth is a cadent house, and al-Qabisi calls the sixth and twelfth hidden, where the third and ninth are public. Firmicus ranks Bad Fortune above Bad Spirit in his order, which puts the sixth ahead of the twelfth. Al-Andarzaghar reads the three lords of the sixth as infirmities and recovery, domestics and slaves, and their usefulness.

The sixth is in the quarter al-Qabisi calls western, masculine and advancing, which he links to late life.

The story behind Sixth House

Traditional astrology linked the Sixth House with illness, servants, labor, and small animals.

The spiritual meaning of Sixth House

Engraved emblem: a woman healer seated at a small table grinding herbs in a stone mortar, bundles of dried plants hanging from a rail above — The sixth house · The healer

Spiritually, Sixth House asks what humble routine would make life more whole.

Why Sixth House matters

Sixth House matters because the condition of daily life determines how much any inspiration can actually be lived.

How to read Sixth House

Sixth House speaks to work habits, health routines, service, chores, systems, burnout, practical skill, and the body in daily use.

Sixth House in practice: an example

Mars in the Sixth House may bring intense work ethic, inflammation themes, conflict at work, or the need for active routines.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source: The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category: Houses
Last updated: 2026-09-26

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Birth ChartA Birth Chart is a personal astrology map built from birth date, time, and place. ZodiacThe Zodiac is the twelve-sign wheel used as astrology's core sign language. TransitTransit means current planetary movement activating a chart.

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