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Empty 6th House in Astrology: Meaning & How to Read Yours

Having an empty 6th House in your natal chart means that you didn’t require planets there in order to find meaningful work. It does not mean that you are destined for mediocrity, lack skills, or that work or health won’t be important to you. You simply don’t need planets in your 6th to accomplish it.


Want to deep dive further into your 6th House? Keep reading to learn more about what an empty 6th House could mean for you!

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • You can still have successful work habits with no planets here.
  • The sign on your 6th House cusp and its ruling planet can offer insight.
  • Transiting planets will still occupy your empty 6th House.
a photo of an abandonded home with words that say "your empty 6th house"

What does an empty 6th House in my chart mean?

Everyone has some empty houses in their chart.

With only 10 planets often considered in an astrology reading and 12 houses, empty houses are inevitable.

So, if you find an empty 6th house in your chart, what could you expect, and how can you still learn about how you may experience your 6th?

What does the Sixth House mean?

One name for the 6th House is the House of Servants, but I like to think of the 6th House as the house of adulting.

This house describes the tasks that you do in order to perfect a skill, take care of your health, and be of service to others.

Your 6th House covers the activities you do to hone your skills at work or any other task or craft that you find meaningful.

This house describes what you produce, time management, organizing your tasks, and attention to detail.

Still under the theme of adulting is how well you care for your own body. Activities done in the name of your health also fall under the 6th House.

  • Perfecting a skill
  • Finding a mentor
  • Work ethic
  • Being of service
  • Health
  • Taking care of yourself
  • Priorities and time management

What are empty houses in astrology?

Simply put, an empty house in astrology is just a house with no planets in it.

Each astrology may interpret empty houses a bit differently, but in Evolutionary Astrology, the branch of astrology I study, an empty house means you didn’t require planets there in order to live your fullest life.

I see natal charts as maps that can lead us to the best version of life for us, so from that standpoint, you shouldn’t automatically expect to struggle just because a house sits empty.

But, don’t think that an empty house gives you a free pass to breeze through a house, either.

Sometimes empty houses can play a vital role in your life.

What if my Sixth House is empty?

If you notice your Sixth House sitting vacant, in order to exhibit a great work ethic, master a skill, and be healthy and productive it wasn’t necessary to have planets in this house.

example chart showing an empty 6th House
This chart was made using Solar Fire astrology software. Learn more here, including how you can get 15% off!

From the perspective of Evolutionary Astrology, you were always born with the “right” chart, no matter how many empty houses are present.

With an empty Sixth House, your planetary energy was needed elsewhere in your chart.

Your empty 6th doesn’t mean you will never be challenged in these territories of life, of course, but it does mean that it is still absolutely possible to exhibit a great work ethic, perfect a skill, and take care of your health with the natal chart you have.

And just because you have no planets present in your Sixth House, don’t think that your chart is leaving you in the dark about how you may experience it. Your natal chart still offers many clues about your empty 6th House!

How do I read my empty 6th House?

Not finding any planets in your House of Servants doesn’t leave you clueless about your empty 6th House.

Here are ways you can still read your 6th, even if it sits empty.

1. Your Sixth House sign

Determine which sign of the Zodiac the cusp of your Sixth House falls into.

Looking at our example chart, you can see that their 6th House cusp sits in the sign of Pisces.

example natal chart showing their empty sixth house cusp in pisces
Made with Solar Fire software. Learn how to get your discount here!

This sign will fill in details about the way you may experience this house. Its characteristics, tools, and predispositions may offer insight into how you may behave in the workplace, what kind of work you may enjoy, or how you may view your health.

2. Look up the ruling planet of your Sixth House sign

A second way to get more information from your empty Sixth House is from the planetary ruler of your 6th House sign.

Each Zodiac sign has a planet that rules it. Actually, some have more than one!

Look in the table below to find out which planet rules your Sixth House sign.

Zodiac Sign of Your Sixth HouseZodiac Sign’s Ruling Planet or Planets
AriesMars
TaurusVenus
GeminiMercury
CancerThe Moon
LeoThe Sun
VirgoChiron (modern), Mercury (traditional)
LibraVenus
ScorpioPluto (modern), Mars (traditional)
SagittariusJupiter
CapricornSaturn
AquariusUranus (modern), Saturn (traditional)
PiscesNeptune (modern), Jupiter (traditional)

3. Locate the planetary ruler of your Sixth House sign

Next, track down the location of that ruling planet in your natal chart.

The qualities of whatever sign that ruling planet is in can be mixed in with the characteristics of your Sixth House sign, offering more detail and dimension to the reading of your empty Sixth House

The house that this ruling planet occupies will also be linked to your Sixth House, as well.

Going back to our example natal chart, their 6th House cusp is in Pisces. Pisces has two planetary rulers, Neptune and Jupiter, which are highlighted below.

an example natal chart showing the rulers, neptuen and jupiter, of their 6th house sign, pisces
Made with Solar Fire software. Learn how to get your discount here!

Their Neptune sits in Cancer in their 10th House and Jupiter in Aquarius in the 5th. The characteristics and traits of Cancer and Aquarius, along with the life experiences described by the 10th and 5th Houses will all help to shape and be linked to how this person experiences their empty Sixth House.

4. Find Mercury in your chart

One other way to pull more information from your empty 6th Hosue is to find Mercury, the ruler of the Sixth House, in your natal chart.

Wherever Mercury is located can help provide additional details as to how you may experience your empty Sixth House.

mercury sitting in gemini in their 9th house, mercury rules their 6th house
Made with Solar Fire software. Learn how to get your discount here!

Look back to our example chart above, the 6th House ruler, Mercury, sits in Gemini and is barely still in their 9th House. Details from Mercury’s placement will help influence their empty 6th House as well.

Will my empty Sixth House always be empty?

While it is true that your natal chart placements are frozen in time at the moment you were born, your empty 6th House will host transiting planets from time to time.

“Transiting planets” is a phrase that describes the current and moving planets, not the fixed ones in natal charts.

The planets in transit move continuously and circle around your natal chart, introducing their energy to each house of your chart as they go. Find out more about transiting planets in this article from AstroButterfly found here.

an example natal chart showing transiting neptune in their empty 6th house
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We will visit our example natal chart one more time, but this time I have added some transiting planets. You can see that transiting Neptune is situated in their otherwise empty 6th House, bringing its planetary energy with it.

Neptune is not a fast-mover and could remain in their 6th House for years.

So, even though you have no natal planets occupying it, your empty Sixth House can still be full of activity when you consider the transiting planets.

Other articles you may enjoy:
Empty 5th House
Empty 7th House

pinterest pin about an empty Sixth House