The 6th House governs the routine daily work that helps us earn our bread and butter, as well as everything that is directly connected with that work: tools, labor paraphernalia, and, in particular, the health of our physical body. Additionally, servants in the old sense of the word (people who are intimately connected with the owner and carry out his personal will as their own) are also governed by the Sixth House.

The concept of the Sixth House itself seems to contradict one of the fundamental principles of the ethical teachings of Immanuel Kant, according to which the other person should always be considered as an end but never as a means. Agreeing with the philosopher in general, astrology nevertheless makes necessary adjustments and maintains that synastry partners’ planets in our 6th House often put us (at least seemingly) in a master-servant relationship which, if voluntarily and properly worked out, can be beneficial for both. However, the division of the roles is not explicit, which is the primary source of trouble and misunderstanding when the synastric planets of the Sixth House turn on.

Remember: synastry partners’ planets are in completely different Houses than your own ones, making it difficult for the partners to grasp things that you take for granted, as well as the shades of your attitude caused by the activation of the synastric planets of the Sixth House.

Most importantly, the 6th House symbolizes work that does not imply free choice (which is the prerogative of the Tenth House), that is, there is a place of definite labor, and all doubts and choices, including those of a partner, are assumed to have already been taken care of, which the synastry partner may not suspect.

Also, the Sixth House has a very definite value accentuation which you are not inclined to talk or even think about, but it is essential. This is where your personal self-expression takes place in the labor process, and this process itself (and often the tools of that labor), are much more valuable to you in and of themselves than can be judged, for example, by the actual market value of the product you produce. This fact is aggravated by the skeptical attitude of the public subconscious to almost all other types of self-affirmation: for example, a great actor (5th House) or a spiritual teacher (8th House) may have claims to greatness, but the public will be unwilling to agree unless the claimants prove that they also work hard.

Therefore, self-affirmation in the Sixth House is likely more important than you imagine — and this is unequivocally expressed during the activation of the synastric planets of the 6th House when a partner is involved in your work and, naturally, evaluates it in his or her own way: both the process and the results. At the same time, this aspect will clarify how ready you are for teamwork in its simplest kind: that of having the role of the master or, conversely, the servant.