A deep analysis of the 6th house of the horoscope

The 6th house of the horoscope — Shatru bhava, the «hostile» sphere of life — shows how a person deals with the difficulties of material life. Conflicts, service to others, illnesses, work, hunger, debts, the struggle for property: all of these are unavoidable in this world, and everyone meets them in one way or another…

A presentation by Alexey Sanin (part 1 — 06.11.2021)

A presentation by Alexey Sanin (part 2 — 12.11.2021)

The classical description of the 6th house of the horoscope

«Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra»
13:7 — the 6th house represents doubts about death (the fear of death), the maternal uncle, enemies, injuries (wounds, boils, ulcers and the like) and the stepmother.
19:1—19:28 — Illnesses, ulcers on the body and the like. Danger from fire and from water. Leprosy. The duration of an illness. Danger from animals, from dogs, from birds. Hostility on the part of relatives. Damage to the health of relatives. Losses through enemies.

«Jataka Bharanam»
15:73-74. THE MATTERS JUDGED FROM THE 6th BHAVA:
Those who study the Science of Astrology should judge from the 6th Bhava enemies, cruel deeds, illnesses, cares, troubles, doubts, suspicions and the maternal uncle. If there is a conjunction or an aspect of malefic Grahas on the 6th Bhava, this will bring the destruction of illnesses and of enemies. But if there is a conjunction or an aspect of benefic Grahas in it, there will be illnesses and enemies.

Comments: besides the objects and people named above, the following are judged from the 6th Bhava [house]:

• obstacles;
• quarrels and struggle;
• a tumour in the body; eruptions on the body; ulcers; mental anxieties; acute pain (colic); dysentery;
• miserliness; labour; debt; slaves;
• theft; calamities; the back; cattle; the stepmother; imprisonment and the like.

The lord of the 6th house in the houses of the horoscope

What will an analysis of the strength of the 6th house show?

An analysis of the strength of the 6th house helps to answer the question of HOW a person deals with:

— material difficulties (solves them / does not solve them)
— conflicts (takes part in them / refuses them)
— working under someone (works / does not work)
— subordinates and servants (hires them / works under others himself)
— tenants (lets out his own property / rents the property of others)
— acute illnesses (is not afraid of falling ill and treats it / is afraid of falling ill and does not treat it)
— the seizing of resources (takes them / makes no claim on them)
— the defence of resources (defends them / gives them up)
— hunger (keeps working / loses the ability to work)
— the digestion of food (consumes a great deal / avoids heavy eating)

The strength can be judged first of all by the native's motivation to solve material difficulties.
The weakness of the 6th house is judged by how much attention a person gives it.
The 6th house of the horoscope is weak if:

• the person is slow and reluctant to treat himself, or does not treat those who depend on him;
• avoids conflicts and makes no effort to stand up for his rights;
• is not inclined to bargain in the market, sells his own goods cheaply and buys the goods of others dearly;
• does not want to work or to hire other people, and does not want to serve others either;
• pays no attention to his diet, allows indigestion, and lets himself go hungry;
• makes no effort to acquire and to keep property and money;
• has large debts and is himself unable to recover what he has lent out, or else repays too quickly and in excess.
• hides his «head in the sand» from material difficulties and practises false renunciation (wishing to receive material fruits while refusing to carry out his duties — «let us have everything and answer for nothing»);
  The 6th house of the horoscope is strong if:
• the person is quick and willing to be treated, and treats other people and animals;
• enters conflict boldly and stands up for his rights;
• bargains in the market, can raise the value of his own goods and beat down the price of the goods of others;
• wants to work or to serve other people, hires others, and at the very least subdues others by force of will;
• eats properly, digests the food he has eaten, fasts, and can go on «hunger strike»;
• acquires and owns property, accumulates it and defends it; at the very least he conquers property;
• has no debts, takes and repays them quickly and without overpaying, lends to others and recovers what he has lent, and endures the attacks of creditors;
• fights material difficulties, and goes into renunciation only knowingly (renouncing material desires, but not duties).

What if the 6th house of the horoscope is weak?
Then the person will:

• suffer defeat in conflicts, in courts, in fights and in battles;
• work ineffectively in medicine, in service, in detailed work, in the military and in state service; avoid subordinate work in principle, or work only in low positions;
• suffer from acute and rapid illnesses of the inflammatory kind;
• manage subordinates, tenants and servants poorly;
• avoid domestic animals.

What if the 6th house of the horoscope is strong?
Then the person will:

• win in conflicts, in courts, in disputes, in fights and in battles;
• work effectively in medicine, in service, in detailed work, in the military and in state service; enjoy working under others, or else strive to manage other people;
• cure acute illnesses of the inflammatory kind quickly;
• manage subordinates, tenants and servants well;
• be fond of domestic animals.

How does life turn out for a person who has no planets in the 6th house of the horoscope?
On the whole one has to «love» difficulties in order to come into contact with the affairs of the 6th house.
And for that, some planet has to fall into the 6th house. Then, through the placement of that planet in the 6th house, both the 6th house itself and the spheres ruled by the planet standing there are activated. The strength or the weakness of the planet will then show how well or how badly the person copes with difficulties.
On the other hand, the life of such a person passes in struggle, in labour and in treatment, and it cannot be called an «auspicious» one.

This is precisely why the 6th house is called a «Dusthana» — a «bad standing» or a «bad place». It is better not to linger in the affairs of the 6th house, but to settle them quickly and promptly. As the instructions of the Indian sage Durvasa Muni say: «Hunger, Enemies and Illnesses only grow stronger with time.» It is also said that «Fires, Hunger and Debts must be put out at once.» The matters of the 6th house have to be settled quickly, without delay, so that they do not turn into a «snowball»:

• If the interest on a loan or on a private debt is not paid on time, it will only grow.
• Enmity between two people likewise tends to grow if no decision has been taken to settle the conflict.
• Court decisions, too, must be taken in good time.
• Food should likewise be taken in such a way that the fire of hunger does not burn the body.
• Illnesses must be treated in good time, so as not to let them take hold.
  Therefore, if a person's 6th house is not engaged, this is relatively favourable, because the person creates no extra trouble either for himself or for others — he attains material well-being through the activation of other spheres of life.
  This situation may be seen when there are no planets in the 6th house of the horoscope and no aspects on the 6th house (a rare case).

How does the presence of planets in the 6th house of the horoscope affect a person's life?
If some planet is placed in the 6th house, in a strong or in a weak position, it influences the 6th house actively, and the native will have to fight difficulties.
When there is a planet (or planets) in the 6th house:

• either the person fights, works, is treated, digests his food and becomes a winner;
• or the person capitulates, is lazy, falls ill, rejects food and becomes a loser.
  There is no third way for the 6th house.
  If a person wants to avoid all these problems, he goes into the 12th house of the horoscope — into Renunciation of material activity, having first spent or given away everything; but that is another story.

How do the planets feel in the 6th house of the horoscope?

Strong and effective

• Mars — Mars shows where a person's aggression and strength are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, such a person fights enemies, cures illnesses, satisfies hunger, is constructive in work and repays debts quickly.
• The Sun — the Sun shows where a person's responsibility and leadership are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, such a person defends himself against enemies, takes a responsible approach to health, removes hunger, manages subordinates and is honest in repaying what he owes.
• Saturn — Saturn shows where a person's patience and endurance are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, the person endures enemies, guards himself against illnesses, bears hunger, is enduring in work and steady in repaying debts.

Of middling strength

• Mercury — Mercury shows where a person's intellect and advantage are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, the person becomes cunning in conflicts, quick-witted at work, enlightened in matters of health, calculating about loans, and sensitive to food and to the lack of it.
• Jupiter — Jupiter shows where a person's reason and outlook are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, the person becomes kind but just in conflicts, optimistic at work, generous towards debtors, careful about food and skilful in curing illnesses.

Weak and ineffective:

• The Moon — the Moon shows where a person's emotions and mind are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, the person becomes emotionally unrestrained in conflicts, changeable at work, worried by debts, afraid of illnesses and prone to suffer from hunger.
• Venus — Venus shows where a person's feelings and creativity are directed, and if it stands in the 6th house, the person becomes soft in conflicts, relaxed at work, strained by debts (losing his rest), depressed by illnesses and powerless from hunger.

A recording of Alexey Sanin's webinar at Vasily Tushkin's «Surya-Siddhanta» school, 06.11.2021

■ There is a common table of resources in this life, and everyone may take from it as much as he is able to.

■ One person needs everything, another needs nothing at all. One will settle for nothing less than full wealth, another agrees to live in poverty.

■ But besides our wishes we also need the means to «bite off» and to «hold on to» a piece of the pie.

■ Our refrigerator, purse, storehouse and stomach, our cash flow and our shop will not fill themselves with food, money and goods.

■ All of it calls for our own or someone else's investment of labour and attention to these problems.

■ Every person will have to face this in life. And everyone has the means to solve this problem one way or another.

If your refrigerator/purse/storehouse (the 2nd house) or your stomach/debit/shop (the 6th house) is empty, you have three ways out:

■- to endure hunger or poverty (not to carry out your own duties)

■- to take food or money from another, both literally and figuratively (to carry out someone else's duties)

■- to arrange your dealings with people so that you work and serve others, or they work for you and serve you (to carry out your own duties)

The scriptures say that whoever makes even the slightest effort to carry out his own duties will certainly receive something, and that such effort (in carrying out one's own duties) must be made at the very least to maintain one's own body.

Conflicts and wars arise in society because someone is not carrying out his own duties, or is carrying out duties that are not his.

The link between the 2nd and the 6th house of the horoscope

■ But even if your table, purse, storehouse or home is full of food, money and goods, you will still have to prove your right to own all these resources — in a struggle without rules or in court; that is a detail. And each person decides for himself how necessary and how right his choice is in that situation, and how far he takes part in that struggle.

■ But if a person refuses to fight for his Rights, all that is left to him is to go into Renunciation, which is the 12th house of the horoscope. Truly renounced people live on alms and take no part in the struggle for the material resources of this world.

■ In every other case a person will have to fight for his place in the sun — with his fists, with his money or with his intellect. And that is the 6th house of the horoscope: the sphere of material struggle and of overcoming material difficulties.

The link between the houses of Artha — the 2nd, 6th and 10th houses of the horoscope

■ When a person has something, those who need it come to him.

■ The triads of houses work at the same time in a single cycle: if something appears in one of the houses of Artha, the other two houses are activated as well. If you have Savings or Standing in society, there will inevitably be people who want to control you, or people whom you will control. Domestic animals, employees and enemies belong only to those who have Resources and Power.

■ The principle of control is this: he who feeds, supplies and shares is the one who controls.

• Domestic animals come and stay with the one who has food and who can share it.
• Workers come to the person who has money.
• The sick come to the person who can cure illnesses.
• The defenceless come to the one who can protect them from Enemies.

What Quality can the 6th house of the horoscope have?

Again, from the 6th house of the horoscope we see with what intention the person came into this world:

1. Will the person rule — will he fight.

2. Will he submit to someone — will he work.

3. Will he co-operate with other living beings — will he serve someone.

What place does the 6th house hold among the other «Dusthanas»?

If:

— the problems of the 3rd house (risk, initiative, courage, effort, the need for helpers) depend on the person himself, since they are bound up with the attainment of his own desires,

— the problems of the 8th house (chronic illnesses, death, the unavoidable misfortunes that follow sinful deeds) depend on the course of time, since they will inevitably show themselves as time passes,

— the problems of the 12th house (the spending of energy, of money and of the time of one's life, the expenses one allows oneself, charity, donations) depend on our intentions but concern our future,

— then the problems of the 6th house (acute illnesses, hostility from other people, debts, the orders of superiors) depend on other people and exist already now.

The problems of the 6th house therefore call for immediate solution, and the 6th house is responsible for urgent problems. Since the problems of the 6th house arise from outside, they are solved through the struggle with outside challenges.

Is it possible to reduce how much the 6th house affects one's life?

The 6th house is a harmful house, a «dusthana», and any needless contact with its affairs causes discomfort in itself. Every person therefore tries to avoid the affairs of the 6th house, in the sense that nobody wants to be ill, to work, to be in conflict, to be in debt or to go hungry.

If the 6th house is not engaged in a person's life by destiny (which is seen precisely in the absence of planets in the 6th house and of aspects on it), then as a rule the person will avoid initiating the affairs of the 6th house, which takes the native even further from contact with it — and that is in principle favourable. If a person does not go out of his way to land in situations where he will be ill, in conflict, hungry, working or borrowing, there is nothing bad in that.

This does not mean that the problems of the 6th house will not arise, but in that case we look at how the person reacts to the affairs of the 6th house as they arise (by the position, the quality and the strength of its lord), while not seeking to increase their number.

In that case we shall judge the strength or weakness of the 6th house by the position of its lord in the houses of the horoscope and by the influence of the other planets on that lord.

If there are no planets in the 6th house and none aspect it, and if no planets are joined to or aspect the lord of the 6th house, then we have the reference position of the lord of the 6th house in the other houses of the horoscope, and that is what we shall consider next.

A recording of Alexey Sanin's webinar at Vasily Tushkin's «Surya-Siddhanta» school, 12.11.2021