Horoscope Houses in Astrology
In this continuing series about the Horoscopes Houses of Astrology, I’ll look at the meaning of the Fifth House and Sixth House, in your birth chart. If you are a Premium Member, check your chart now. Factors in Leo will be in your Fifth House. Factors in Virgo will be in your Sixth House.
If you don’t have your personal birth chart, you can still make more sense of my daily, weekly and monthly predictions for you, just by knowing which house of your Solar Sign chart (Zodiac sign/Sun sign chart) the travelling planets are passing through. This will show you the headlines of your life.
The in-depth story, behind the headlines, comes from a natal chart or personal horoscope set up for your time, place and date of birth. It can be interesting to compare both, and see how there is a public story at the same time as a private story too. The houses show you the main news. As you’ll see in this third instalment of my Horoscope Houses series, the Fifth House is about children and your relationship with younger people. The Sixth House is about your work-life balance and your body.
Horoscope Houses in Astrology – The Sixth House
The Sixth House of the horoscope is ruled by Virgo and Mercury. Astrology is based on the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, and is very simple to understand when you realise that Virgo the Virgin was a young maiden, many centuries ago, who because she was unmarried, had to stay at home with her parents and do housework. Her physical condition (the intact virgin) dictated her entire life. Her identity, the work she did, the sense of duty she had to her parents, the service she performed cleaning, cooking and looking after the animals – all came about because of the shape she was in.
I’ll go further into this idea of Virgo as body/workload with you, if you were born with Uranus or Pluto in Virgo in the 1960’s then you bore witness to the production of The Pill and its impact on women. It affected their bodies, but also their work. I should mention that we very rarely in history see Uranus and Pluto making the patterns they did in the 1960’s and so astrologers had long been predicting some revolution in medicine, health or surgery that would transform life for a generation. Well, The Pill was that revolution. It liberated women to skip pregnancy and stay in the workforce.
The Sixth House is revealing if you are trying to find a psychological or spiritual explanation for a particular illness or chronic condition. The planets, asteroids, angles or Nodes in the Sixth House, and the patterns (aspects) they make with the rest of your personal birth chart can show you what needs attention – and why it might need attention. Commonly it is related to the work you do, and how your unconscious mind, or your very soul, feels about doing that work.
The Sixth House is very much about daily rituals and the method and order of your regular routine. I sometimes read that ‘Virgo is healthy’ or planets in the Sixth House mean you are some macrobiotic-munching yoga guru. Actually, some very famous people with the Sun in Virgo in the Sixth House have been long-standing heroin addicts. The daily ritual of getting a fix is an extreme, terrible example of how this house operates sometimes. In the case of drug addiction, the physical state and physical condition (doped up, if you are a daily cannabis user) directly affects your work ethic – and you may not work at all.
Most people with Sixth House placements, in my experience, have some kind of daily routine and find it hard to depart from that. They may wake at 6.00am and start working from home, with a coffee, before they ever think about going to the office. They may get into other habits, like smoking while on the computer – or, impressively, sticking to a vegan diet and a daily Pilates session.
In all cases, right across the board, it is the body you own, the shape you are in, and the state your doctor says you are in – which dictates what you do. I am sure you are so used to your body and also your work that you have probably forgotten just how important that is. I know rapid speed typists, for example, whose jobs (as court and political reporters) have come about purely from their flying fingers.
People with particular eyesight issues may find their career options are closed off, and in fact severely long-sighted and short-sighted people alike may have forgotten how their youthful work choices had to be made on this basis. I have known some actors who come to this website – anonymously of course! – who are overweight, taller than average – and so end up with very particular kinds of parts in films.
I hope you are getting a feeling for Virgo and the Sixth House that makes sense to you. The ‘condition your condition is in’ dictates your workload.
Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo in astrology, but in his rulership of the Sixth House, he is about the mind that organises, plans and makes lists. There is method and order with the Sixth House. Think of the youngest daughter in the house, still to lose her virginity, trying to help run her family home in the 17th century. There is a lot to manage. A lot of trivial but crucial detail to sort out. Thus, the Sixth House is about the minutiae of daily existence and how to structure that.
40 Responses
Hi jessica, I have three planets (unsure of the word!) Mars, Fortuna and Pluto. Pluto is a heavy going planet of transformation isn’t it. I have clinical depression and been working with a therapist from 2006 to today. Does this show the impact of Pluto? And also what do you count as a stellium: 3 or 4 planets in a house?
I am very sorry you have depression. Without a chart it is hard to say very much, but if you have Mars, Fortuna and Pluto in Virgo in the Sixth House, you need to look at what happened around age two – toddler tantrum time. What happened with your anger and boundaries then? You also need to look at how you feel about serving other people. Virgo is about duty and service – and if you are digging for clues that might be useful for you.
Ring the bells, ( ring the bells) that still can ring)
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything)
That’s how the light gets in…
Words from Leonard Cohen’s Anthem ( a Virgo) these words sum up for me the message of Virgo, we are human always wanting to do the ‘ right ‘ thing, but to be truly human we need to acknowledge the cracks in ourselves and others.
I am a Virgo 26 and I have Moon at 13 Aquarius in the 6th house, I have been a nurse/homeopath for many years…
I have many Virgo friends the thread that seems to run through us is an inherent need to be Independent in our thoughts, words and deeds, actually here I think Virginia Wolf had it spot on when she said ‘ every woman should have money and a room of her own’ that is Virgo.
Many thanks Jessica.
I love that – ‘Forget your perfect offering’ – is such an antidote to too much Virgo. And the light getting in, is definitely Pisces. I bet you’re a great healer! Thank you.
Thank you Jessica, I also have Vesta conjunct my Moon and Ceres conjunct my ascendant so I have always felt that in some way I was always an ‘ Offering ‘ to something or someone…
Thanks for your insight Jessica. I have a number of factors in my 6th house and have reached a turning point in my life. Any advice would be appreciated.
You actually have a Taurus stellium in your Second House of money which is just as important. Stop juggling. Money coming in – and money going out – is affected strongly by what’s going on nationally and globally. So in the background, Brexit and Bitcoin are both having an impact. Call it a ripple effect. Can you stop juggling long enough to take a deep breath and figure out a new budget? A new approach? Could a good accountant help you? The finances are deeply under just about all the most important questions at the moment.
Thanks Jessica. I also have Cancer, Aries and Aquarius stelliums. Aside from juggling money (you were very accurate about that), how do they influence this new stage of my life? And I feel more interested than usual in astrology….perhaps a way to gain some insight about the future when I am taking a leap into the unknown! Thanks again x
There is that great line from the song ‘money changes everything’ and actually, everything comes back down to money for you at the moment. If you can sort that out, you will have time and energy for so many other aspects of life. The budget has to balance first.
Thanks Jessica!
Thank you Jessica. I have exactly the same query as ST.!
Body/mind issues have been a long standing problem with me. I am feeling there is a change in the air though: Your sun sign forecasts are giving me hope. Would much appreciate if you could look at my chart.
You need to let me know what your body issues are, please. Then I can look at what to do, when to do it and how to do it!
Of course-sorry for being vague. A life time ( since childhood ) of being overweight coupled with adult hypothyroid and very high inflammation. Recently diagnosed with rheumatoid auto-immune disorder.
struggled with depression all my adult life and a couple of years ago I was hospitalised for a stress induced heart attack (Known as Takutsubo’s cardiomyopathy AKA heartbreak disease- brought about from long struggle with my daughter’s anorexia.
Now you know why I didn’t go into details 🙂
You are the second person in a few minutes to have mentioned auto-immune disorder on this forum. I am very sorry you are also struggling with being overweight – and the rest. I am going to take a punt and bet that you also have Pisces/Twelfth House stories going on in your chart, like the last reader. So let’s have a look. Yes, you have a stellium there. You also have a stellium in Virgo, so you are going through classic Pisces-Virgo conflicts within. In plain English, you are unconsciously programming yourself to have particular body issues, so you get some kind of result in your life. Pisces and the Twelfth House describe your ‘dreaming’ self or buried self, which you have no awareness of, but which has a huge impact on your physical body. Pisces is always opposite Virgo in astrology. You could gain a lot by looking at each and every factor in Virgo and Pisces in turn and reading more about them (hit Search for this). You would also gain from dream work. My friend Jane Teresa Anderson is very good at this and she has an excellent website online if you want to look further. Please have a look at money. Why money? Because Taurus/Second House is tied into this too. Have a look at your father, if he gave you pocket money, or helped you financially, and if that ever tallied with the way your body was behaving at the time. For example, dads often help their daughters if they can’t work, or have to get medical help. Have a look at your husband or boyfriend too (or ex – you don’t say if your daughter’s father is still in the picture). Again, look at the way money is being lent or given in relation to your medical situation. Health insurance too. If financial help has always been given conditionally – you have to show up as sick to get it – or if male financial power has always been behind so much in your life – then get conscious about it. Houses and apartments too. This whole chart pattern is locked up with Taurus, you see, which is why I raise it. And I do understand if your unconscious mind is going to go ‘What?’ at this point – because by the very nature of things, none of this has ever been wilful or known to you! I hope this helps. I am very sorry about your daughter’s anorexia, which must be so very hard for both of you – though without her chart I can’t see what is going on. For you, though, you do need to look at how you may be setting things up without realising that you are doing it. And this would be a lifelong pattern because your issues have been lifelong. Even have a look at your father/grandfather/uncle (any male authority) in the family giving you lollipops or sweets. The clue would be in that person’s job (business, economics, banking, property) or in the fact that he held the purse strings. I’m going to make you dig deep for this!
A thousand thanks Jessica. BTW, I listened to your Pisces podcast yesterday ( It felt like meditation! ) and I was amazed to see how very Piscean I am! I have always claimed I am very typical Taurean but I do have many Piscean traits as well. And bloody hell-now that you have brought this up-I have just made a connection with my father’s milkbar and me “buying” friends by promising little white paper bags with mixed lollies!! I owe you a gift. If I ever do make it to London, I would love to visit. Like you, I am split between Australia and Europe. Persephone issues.
Thank you very much. I am so glad you remembered about your father’s Milk Bar. That is the entire answer to your question. Someone in spirit is here too. It may be him – has he passed over? – if not, it is another family member who remembers and is urging you to look at that.
Hi Jess,
I only have Merc in Virgo. I have absolutely come to realise over the years, I am SUCH a creature of habit! I do have mild OCD with certain aspects of my life and this has greatly helped me when it comes to work schedules and routines. But, I am also realising that I do need to let go with some of my routines to help me be less stressed when some small things do not go to my plan.
Your chart is a good example of what aspects with a one degree orb can produce in the birth horoscope. In fact, this reminds me to create a new post on aspects. You can have just one horoscope factor in a zodiac sign (as you do, with Mercury at 29 Virgo) and still feel the impact really strongly, as you do with your mild O.C.D. Your Mercury is semi-sextile Vulcano at 0 Libra in your Seventh House, which rules former, current and potential partners. And also enemies, rivals and opponents. So I suspect that every time you feel stress about these people, it manifests as O.C.D. One way through this is to get to know yourself better in love or war. Vulcano is also worth looking up.
Hello Jessica,
In my 6th house I have Moon, ASC, Jupiter, Saturn, and Minerva! Any insight/advice?
As a heavily Taurus, I am wondering if it is normal to have stallium in 6 different houses (Virgo Aries Leo Aquarius and Gemini) And 7 planets/asteroids are retrograde in my chart and the Nodes too!. Is it normal or is there something I have to pay attention to.
Many thanks
You’re strongly Virgo and have a stellium in the Sixth House. Putting it all together with the rest of your chart, your life purpose is healing. I don’t know if you work in medicine or health. These chart patterns are very common in the charts of people who take up Reiki, for example. Or dentistry!
Hi Jessica
Thanks for this interesting article and series. I don’t have anything in Virgo (11th house) but have a stellium in my sixth house. This year on my solar return I have by far the majority and asteroids of planets in my 6th house! I have a few in other houses.
How might this impact on autoimmune disease?
Thanks
Thank you. So you suffer from autoimmune disease – where the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells. You don’t say how this manifests, and there are obviously a variety of different kinds of autoimmune disease. I need to spin your chart to use the Natural House system so I can see what is going on. The Twelfth House is always useful (Pisces) because so many illnesses or medical conditions originate in the unconscious. Then, when there are transits through the Sixth House (Virgo) – even something as regular as the Moon in the Sixth House, every single month – there are oppositions set up. So looking at your chart for Pisces factors in the Twelfth House, we find Ceres at 21 Pisces and Aesculapia at 17 Pisces. This last one is important because he was the Roman god of healing and this asteroid is associated with resurrection, revival and rescue. In fact, the god himself was imported to Rome during a plague. He is the mythological figure you often see holding a snake in art and sculpture – and today in modern medicine we see that same snake symbol on the side of ambulances. Ceres is about dividing control and power and in Pisces in the Twelfth House this is quite unconscious – you are striking deals with yourself about how powerful you want to be. The really important factor is Aesculapius though. Have you had experience working with your own dreams? That would be a gateway. Watch the transits of anything, including the Moon, through Virgo and your Sixth House too. There will be repeated oppositions with natal Aesculapius (also known as Aesculapia) and those oppositions may be showing up as days when you have specific issues. As well as the unconscious, the Twelfth House/Pisces also rules what you cover up and hide. So if there is an internal struggle going on about coming back from the brink/resurrecting/reviving each time it would be something nobody else ever saw, nor knew about. I wonder what would happen if you looked at some paintings or statues online of this old Roman god? Snakes often accompany him as synchronicity. In fact, today on the beach in Perth, Western Australia, I saw a sign saying ‘Beware – Snakes’ and I wondered when I was going to find this asteroid coming up! So here he is. Really explore this, there may be some ‘Aha!’ moments here once you understand how buried the asteroid/archetype is.
Wow. Interesting. I definitely feel an internal struggle and an ongoing sense of being on the verge of coming back from the edge both health and work wise! I have psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (mostly in my toes and balls of my feet) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I feel the psoriasis is me trying to become less ‘thin skinned’
Hi Jessica,
There seems to be quite an interplay between Virgo and Pisces factors in people’s charts here. Along with a Pisces stellium, I have Pluto, Mars, Uranus, Vulcano and Prosperina in Virgo. I’m not too fond of Virgo (mother/father/sister issues!) but appreciate that it does influence my interest in health/well-being matters and the clear relationship between mind, body and spirit. If I may, I would recommend the work of Dr. Christiane Northrup (Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom) to anyone with health issues. She is an orthodox medical doctor, but takes a holistic approach and sees a connection between our emotions, state of mind, history etc. and the manifestation of illness. She also believes in astrology and past lives. She’s really refreshing to read and it all makes so much sense!
Thank you very much, I am sure the people here with the Virgo-Pisces tug-of-war will appreciate that tip!
Hi Jessica,
Pretty much perfect timing on this article for me as I have been experiencing health issues the past few months that I feel are from ongoing issues with work and a general feeling of being at a crossroads in my life. I’ve been a single mom for 10 years and was perfectly fine with being alone through those years but after some soul searching realize I want a partner. Virgo is pretty crowded for me, Bacchus, Pluto, Diana, Jupiter and S Node…any info about this group would be greatly appreciated!!
Jen
Jen, you want a partner but you are asking me about your Virgo stellium in the Sixth House which has nothing to do with love or sex (unless it’s sexual health issues). I’ll just tell you the most important thing I can see about 2018 for you. You will have a relationship this year, or perhaps you already have one (with the father of the child?) This relationship is not conventional, not regular, not like anybody else’s relationship! You may find you are confused by it and don’t know what to do with it. All this is down to the Leo placements in your birth chart in the Fifth House, which rules sexual relationships and children. You are having a rare cycle. The North Node crossing Leo and hitting those placements in your horoscope. This takes you back to your child (or children – you don’t say how many you have) and the need to face and deal with all aspects of being a mother, going way back to infancy or toddler years. You need to own that and realise how much it is behind your current situation now in 2018 – which is rather confused. Once you turn to face your own history as a parent, and the way things were in the first 1-3 years, you can get more grounded, more settled, more fully back to earth. That is key because the issue is not the unconventional or unusual nature of the relationship – it is actually your own head space. You can do something with this peculiar but precious connection. You can find a place for it in your real life. Not the world of imagination, astrology, intuition, books, films, television and everything else which isn’t real – but you can most certainly take a deep breath and export what you have, to a place which might be a little more ordinary and empty, perhaps, than the world of your considerable inner vision – but it will be somewhere, with a bit of luck, that you can find a home for this intriguing emotional trophy. I suspect it is the father of your child or children but I am going to allow for the fact that it may be a new person too. I hope this works out.
I am hoping all of this leads to someone other then my children’s father. That relationship was not good for myself or my kids and even though the past 10 years has been a struggle, the kids and I are better off.
Hi Jessica, last year you said I was being Neptuned in my chart and I seem to have a lot going on in my sixth house. I definitely fit the description you have given above. Am I still being Neptuned or are things meant to be moving along now? (Life does still feel a bit stuck or rather slow) .
You are still being Neptuned – so both your ‘fish’ are swimming in opposite directions. Einstein was stuck for years like this because he could not decide if he wanted to be German or not. In the end the war made him decide he wasn’t! Your situation is different but you are still being pulled in two directions so going nowhere particularly fast which is a common Neptune/Pisces issue. One way through it is to write your dreams down. Before you hit the sack, remind yourself to remember your dreams. Keep a diary like this and go see my friend Jane Teresa Anderson at her website online. Your other fish shows itself in your dreams and your other fish may have a few answers for you!
How do you know you are “Neptuned”? I too have felt stuck for quite a few years. I sound like the character in your article…trying to take care of things and everyone.
Hard to say without a birth chart, but you actually sound very Cancer or Virgo.
Dear Jessica,
I was kind of surprised to find out how many Virgo factors I had in my chart..lots of powerful male planets it seems, as I had always thought of Virgo as a bit OCD. But I think that this article was particularly useful as an explanation. My work requires skillful hands, and I heal bodies. I have chosen the most physical form of my profession, and I love sport and physical exertion, but I have been sitting writing my thesis and am probably at my least fit ever, so 2018 looks like where i need to fix that. It is kind of useful to have this prompt. The yoga mat comes out tomorrow! I am really looking forward to it..and then walking my dogs at the river, in the sun to appease my surprise Pisces stellium and my Diana….Fine prompt indeed!
Thank you. You are using your skilful hands to heal bodies and thus ‘doing’ your Virgo/Sixth House perfectly. This will serve you all your life, just as you will serve other people all your life. Enjoy the yoga, the river and the dogs – lovely!
Dear Jessica,
I really enjoy using premium services and need help with following:
“I have been planning to buy a property in US where i currently live but not sure if my timing and thought process are correct. The prices have appreciated a lot here and i plan to stay here for next 2-3 years.. Also, i had lot of streesfull last few months and also lost in speculation”
Please provide your guidance.
3-Oct-1977, 05:27 (30.3397809,76.3868797)
Thanks a lot,
Thank you. So buying property is Fourth House/Cancer but also money so it’s Second House/Taurus and Eighth House/Scorpio if family or partners are involved (you do not say if you are single or not). As you are not American this is also Ninth House – foreign/migrant/traveller. Let’s see what is going on at the moment. Okay – get the best advice you can afford. Do the most research/homework you can online and then pay someone who is tried, tested and trusted to give you immediate financial, business, taxation and property advice. We are moving into a radically changing world from May 2018 forward and you will be affected for some years. There is a way through this but it’s not going to be the idea you had last year. You need to talk to someone who is an expert in your specific situation.
Please could I ask how a Jupiter Scorpio return at 1 degree will impact on me and is it different for those who are retrograde in their natal chart?
I answered this for you – sorry, I have been on the boat, so no internet for a while.
Hi Jessica, I have Mercury, Vesta and Psyche in Virgo. Do I tend to over analyse? How can I make this habit into a mental strength and use it to my advantage? Despite my thyroid condition improving and stabilizing since 9 months ago, I had gained lots of weight (not losing much of it) and developed many food sensitivities. Many foods that I eat or try eating, or been eating, even after some time, don’t feel right anymore. Many things that I do, don’t feel right to me. Many supplements and diets don’t seem to work for me. Can you shed my light on my ailments, the spiritual cause and perhaps the best way forward?
Use your Astrology Oracle cards for this. Ask the cards to describe your present situation. Correct? Now ask the cards for some answers.