The Sixth house, Place of the Sacred Flame |
| The houses refer to place or setting for life on Earth. In this series, I will share some real insider stuff about each house. The science and the geography of the houses is less important than the poetry of them. I hope to fill your need for a lightening fast comprehension of your own inner thoughts of the past, when you had questions about the reality you live in. Perhaps you will be inspired to observe the stage we all play on, that fiction we call the houses of the horoscope. |
I hope to inject some "brain Aerobics" into my topic of the sixth house by surprising you with some unusual interpretations. This part of our chart tells important information about how we will live and work, how we might feel about our employers, or employees, servants and helpers. It reflects how we take care of ourselves. It is a mundane laboratory of the mind where we organize or plan for the day, week and month. But it has another, hidden meaning, which is spirituality. Most people have a drawer in the kitchen to put things that don't go anywhere else, like rubber bands, pencils, jar tops, matches, etc. The sixth house is like this drawer, a catch all of the things we forgot to do and forgot to finish, like that project to fix the laundry room or the time you were going to give your health a boost with vitamins. You lost momentum and put them in your old file drawer. Aspects and planets here, by natal and by transit, can show if you are organized or not. Some people have a more active sixth house than others. These are the lucky people who have organizational skills. These are also the people who may obsess about their health or the health of others. When you have many planets placed in the sixth house you will focus on life's details. You see the trees and not the forest. There is a balancing factor of Jupiter or Sun energy in your chart to help you see the "forest," but it may be submerged in anxiety or nervousness that keeps bliss at bay. The person with a strong sixth house may catch himself performing mindless rituals when under stress, such as repeating tasks or attitudes compulsively. Our sector of health tells of our attitude towards doctors, medicine and healing in general. It also give us a place to start organizing and bringing a more healthy perspective in our lives, if we can understand ourselves. For me, the discovery of the true meaning of the sixth house was a long and layered process. I first learned that those with a strong sixth house are inclined towards practical service. I could relate to "practical" service, but I still wondered how anyone is motivated to do service, practical or impractical. Service is required, but where do we find the heart to perform it? Service is motivated by spiritual values! Understanding eluded me until I discovered the sacred spiritual dimension of the Virgo sign which is associated with the sixth house. Now I comprehended the true motivation for service: a sense of spiritual values. Such values include doing something to actually help others. The sixth house describes love in action. The implied part of the meaning of the sixth house is sacred service. This is how I see the sector of work and health: as a sacred office. The Vestal Virgins of Rome had the important job of protecting the sacred flame by living as virgins full time for the society as a whole. That is a special form of employment, rare in that it connects work and spirituality in a direct way. You are the priestess/priest of the flame of your own hearth. It is the place where we perform sacred rituals relating to our health, survival, service to humanity and to God. And you thought I just meant your mundane old office or workroom! Each person has their own idea of what constitutes the sacred. Sacredness brings up images of cleanliness, purity and separation to insure these qualities. To be kept pure and clear of worldly pressures is the whole purpose of calling someone to sacred service, whether it be through convent, monastery or in your own neighborhood. We are willing to serve what we consider the higher purpose in our lives. How we cover the sacred in our own life is in every house, not just the sixth. My clients urgently need information about connecting spirituality with everyday life. Knowing what your sixth house is about will help you understand your mission. I wonder, did anyone remember how much of daily life is about sacred protection? We have in large part forgotten in the West what every reverent Asian knows. A portion of the house needs to be dedicated to the ancestors. The sacred earth,air, fire and water are in the kitchen! Your sixth house is a mental "kitchen" where you work, heal and cook up your creativity. Your sixth house represents how you approach living in terms of hygiene, health practices, and habits. Your attitude toward work environments, including the emotional climate on the job are listed in your drawer of unfinished spirituality. A reading can help you figure out what type of jobs or employees you are drawing to yourself, based on your actions and your vibrational signature. A reading can help you sort out the big picture about how you want your day to go, and about what will motivate you in service to others and help you get a better job. A reading can help you empty the junk out of the file drawer of your mind. Finally, there is a pattern of pure spirituality implied in the sixth house, much like a figure-ground brain teaser image. It invites you to gaze at the pattern of your own life and figure out how you view the sacred and how you view unselfish love for others. Your secret desire to serve the higher goals in your life and to pursue service to others needs to be fulfilled. That road map to happiness is simple, modest love and recognition of what is precious to you in terms of everyday life. Namaste |