Astral Writing Cave
Medical Astrology: Intro to the Houses of Health
Introduction to the houses in Medical Astrology. Exploring the significance of the 1st house, 6th house, 8th house, 12th house.
I am going to attempt to keep this fairly simple and to the point. But before I do so, I want to be clear that this is in no way a holistic overview of these houses from a Holistic Medical Astrology perspective which would include emotional and psychological factors that exist within the houses of health as well. This is just a sampling for people to take a peek into what the houses mean in Medical Astrology.
1st House
In Medical Astrology the 1st house represents the person's (natives) physical constitution, which can also be called the body type. It can also indicate the facial features and the ways in which the person is likely to express, this is called physiognomy. Be mindful that any planet in the 1st house will also have a say in the person's constitution as well. The closer it is to the rising sign, the more influential it will be.
6th House
In Medical Astrology, the 6th house has often been a point of tension among different practitioners, and I want to unpack it just briefly. Focus on HOW you think about it rather than WHAT you think about it, because you will choose for yourself through your experience as you go further with this art and science. We have two camps on what the 6th house means primarily. Some say it is about your daily habits, diet, and the routines that you practice to keep yourself healthy. Others say the 6th house represents illness itself. If we look back to the older texts, it is always about illness and when we come to more modern perspectives it becomes about habits in order to keep yourself healthy. Please understand that this is saying the same thing but using different languaging. In modern times, telling someone the 6th house is about illness could alarm them in a way that seems subjectively negative or could be anxiety provoking, whereas the ancient astrologers emphasized concrete accuracy over consulting skills. Neither approach is right or wrong in my opinion, but what I will say is, if you think it is illness, then be sure to build a tool kit of remedies and if you think it is diet, habits, etc. then please learn to be able to tell when it will likely manifest as illness.
8th House
The 8th house in Medical Astrology also has been given a variety of meaning through time. It is a house that can represent surgery, death, but for myself, I like to primarily think of it as an illness that is inherited. The 8th house outside of Medical Astrology already is the house of inheritance and I’ve seen time and time again it comes up with charts. Do note that oftentimes I can see how the illness is manifesting because of how the native relates to personal feelings of vulnerabilities and how that influences the body. I say that to say, it is not always so apparent. We can also say that the 8th house is a place where things can easily become stagnant and/or constipated.
12th house
The 12th house in Medical Astrology often has to do with chronic illness, mental health issues, and a place where self sacrificing behaviors show up as manifestations of illness. The 12th house is opposite of the 6th house so note the connective nature of the 6th and 12th and how they are always in relationship with one another because often in astrology we can compartmentalize excessively. The 12th house also represents hospitals as well as retreats. The 12th can also show up as spiritual isolation. Note how taking a retreat, going into genuine spiritual isolation, and hospitals could be helpful for chronic illness and mental health issues.
Again, this is just a tasting of the houses in Medical Astrology.
If you liked this and want to see more, follow me on IG @cadream6 or @holistichealthastrology, subscribe to my email list, and if you want to book a session you can do so on my services page.
If you would like to see how I perceive the 6th house in a more robust way, you can check out a conversation I had with Amanda over at Astrology Hub about the 6th house in the video below.