As the title implies, the sixth House holds the unique distinction of ruling chiefly over matters of health, hygiene, and difficulties, with Virgo and Mercury holding it in complete dominion. But why does Vedic astrology see all of these as belonging in the same House? The answer is relatively simple; because life is never easy.
This is the House that recognizes the chief difficulty of life and humanity’s primal need to defend its sanctity. When you have a problem, it is this House that determines exactly how resilient you are and can be.
It is also the House that governs how well you should care for yourself and all living things both mentally and physically, from how thoroughly you take a bath to how far your mind is able to take you throughout the day. In other words, this is the House that governs discipline, self-maintenance and fortitude. The succeeding sections shall present each of these in even greater detail.
Why “Sixth” and “Health” Rhyme
In Vedic thought, the key to a fulfilling life involves more than just the creative power of the spirit or even humanity’s quest for beauty. After all, without your well-being, none of these would ever be possible. A writer cannot write properly if their primary faculties are taken from them, nor can you perform anything meaningful if you are laid low by the flu.
Particular concern and attention should be given with the sixth House, even among all the other houses, because it is one that demands much from you personally. It is the House that tells you to get on your feet, brush your teeth, and considering recent events, wear a face mask when going out.
Of course, the House isn’t just limited to your own personal well-being. Vedic astrology is multi-faceted, and as such, to properly understand it means to look at all of the things that could be affected by your health.
Naturally, this means managing things that constantly need maintenance: your work-life balance, relationships and even the puppies and cats you keep in your homes. In this regard, health is power. Power is the ability to care for and tend to others, and as the often-quoted saying goes: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
But wait, there’s more: it’s also about knowing how to deal with adversity. See, Vedic astrology also believes in self-healing and its psychosomatic property. This means that your ability to deal with stress actively determines whether or not you’ll be well physically. Similarly, you’ll also notice that people with more positive outlooks in life and a keen sense of self-discipline tend to get sick a lot less.
This is because these people have realized how this House actively affects them: just as the cosmos thrives in a beautiful sense of order, so does your body thrive in fortitude, hygiene and proper diet and exercise. If you think you’re doing things wrong though, don’t worry, there’s plenty of room for improvement!
What Can I Do?
There are two steps you can take to get yourself closer to this House. As always, you need to look out for your astrological sign and study its weaknesses and strengths well, but there’s another, even more important aspect to remember– something that transcends the signs.
What is it, you ask? It’s simple: you need to learn self-discipline. I understand that it’s hard to let go of any habit that could be harmful to your own sense of comfort, but I can’t stress this enough: only you can mitigate your sign’s weaknesses, especially since some signs have it harder than others. Only you can do something to ensure that when you go to your office or school, you’re at your best possible form.
Virgos tend to thrive on this House because they tend to always prioritize having structure and serious discipline in their lives. By sheer contrast, signs that tend to relax a little too much without caring for their own self-benefit naturally suffer on this department.
But why should you go through all the trouble of maintaining our health, aside from its positive effects? What does this have to do with your place in the cosmos? This is where the true beauty of Vedic astrology resides.
See, it knows perfectly that order is always accompanied by chaos, and that good is always accompanied by the bad. The great thing about being human is that most of the time, you can actively pursue finding a healthy balance between both cosmic forces by simply doing things moderately.
For example, you know that if you do too many reps while exercising, you’ll end up burning through all your energy for the day or even damage your muscles. If you do too little, then you’ll get no improvement whatsoever.
Therefore, the complexity of the 6th House of Astrology lies in the fact that it’s the Vedic tradition’s challenge to you– to always pursue a life of dedicated self-discipline and maintenance. This is because your body much likes the cosmos, thrives not simply in prioritizing one thing, but in finding a healthy balance between all the other things currently governing your life.
Now that you’ve been persuaded, get to work, improve yourself, and live your life well!
