The sixth house, like the sixth sign Virgo, represents the last personal stage in development, and is thus a critical one. The self-adjustment we undergo here determines our ability to relate to others on an equal footing (seventh house), and, by its success or failure, unites us with or separates us from others. This is the house of work and health or the lack of either, hygiene and nutrition, service, servants and servitude, daily routine, employment by others, and small animals and pets. Whereas fifth house activities are done for their own sake, sixth house work is done out of necessity or in support of other, more self-expressive activities. When our work becomes an end in itself, however, or we lose track of its purpose, it becomes pointless, and the result can be physical or psychological illness. The issue with planets in the sixth house is to remember what the purpose of our work is, where is it’s joy? Without this knowledge, life isn’t worth living.

Astronomically speaking, the sixth house is that one-twelfth sector of the local sky just below the western horizon (see above picture) occupied by planets in the two hours after they set.

With Mars in your sixth house you have a good mechanical aptitude, and put a great amount of energy into your work. This orientation is all the more reason you may need to work on cooperating with your fellow workers, as well as to respect for their ways of doing things—otherwise you could cause a lot of trouble by being too irritable or impatient. You are very motivated when it comes to matters of health, service, and taking care of details.

You may have a tendency to fevers or issues with your blood if ill, and issues with your blood are also possible. In fact, since the sixth house is the house of health, Mars in this position is more susceptible to ailments than in other houses. If a sixth house Mars is afflicted (Mars in Libra, Taurus or Cancer, or in hard aspect to Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto), its sign can indicate the part of the body that may be adversely affected. The following is meant to assist you in diagnosing ailments that you may already have; or, if your Mars is afflicted (see above), that you are more prone to; and not to suggest that any of these ailments are things you necessarily will get. An afflicted  Mars in the sixth

in Aries indicates potential problems with the head, face, skull or brain;
in Taurus with the neck, throat, tonsils, gums, middle ear, or thyroid;
in Gemini with the hands, shoulders, arms, lungs or nerves;
in Cancer with the stomach, breasts, uterus or mucous membranes;
in Leo with the heart, back or spine;
in Virgo with the small intestine, the pancreas, duodenum, digestive tract;
in Libra with the kidneys and, cosmetically speaking, the skin;
in Scorpio with the generative and reproductive system
in Sagittarius with the hips, thighs, liver, and hepatic system;
in Capricorn with the skin, hair, nails, teeth, cell walls, knees or bones;
in Aquarius with the ankles, shins, or circulation of the blood; and
in Pisces with hard to diagnose or cure diseases, or the feet, toes, immune

system, the lymphatic system (including the spleen in that regard), or the pineal gland.

If Mars is within 10° of the descendant (seventh house cusp), then it is conjunct the descendant and much of the foregoing interpretation starts to become weaker. If Mars is in the sixth house AND within 4° or 5° of the descendant, then it is said to be on the "dark side" of the seventh house, and its influence will be felt in the seventh as well as in the sixth house. The closer a sixth house Mars is to the descendant, the more it will be interpreted as though it were in the seventh house; when less than 3° from the descendant, a sixth house Mars expresses itself primarily—and eventually entirely—in the seventh house.