In Sickness and In Health: Virgo and Pisces

Virgo, Pisces, and their corresponding astrological houses, the 6^th & 12^th have been the central protagonists in my life’s story as of late. Upon discovering and cohabiting with my own health issues and concerns, I began to wonder if my maladies could be explained astrologically. I had a basic understanding of the 6^th and 12^th houses, which was essentially that they were problematic and ambiguous (again with the oversights, astrology!), having several convoluted versions of their true meanings. So delving into my chart, and the chart of my friend Katie, brought to light the connection between sickness and the houses. You see, she and I both struggle with conditions with symptoms that are sometimes debilitating, and other times just a pain in the ass. And Katie and I also share a prominent 6^th/12^th house planet placement. Curious, very curious indeed…

The anxieties, phobias, and problems of Pisces and Virgo can drive you to tears

When you encounter planets in these 2 houses the communication of the planets will be warped by infirmaries of either mind, body, or soul. 6^th house planets are almost always going to give way to some form of digestive problem or condition, because that house and Virgo rule the nervous system and guts. But usually you can work through them, because Virgo is a laboring sign – what I mean is that Virgo likes work, and doesn’t allow anything to impede its dedication to service. Now the potency of planets is diluted in the 12^th house, so expression isn’t as direct or easily dealt with, and this usually attributes to some kind of condition or weakness that pressures the person into surrender. But staying true to Neptune’s form, the condition isn’t pronounced or distinctive, it’s hidden. Mars in the 12th, for example, doesn’t have the endurance and stamina normally associated with the aggressive planet; the energy level is weak, and initiative is present, but can only be accessed during certain times, so vim & vigor vacillate, without a clear explanation as to why. And 12^th house planets despair at the inability for full expression, so unlike Virgo, who works through their disease, Pisces succumbs to it.

The 6^th house requires a focused awareness of the body, so planets develop a heightened cognizance typically through health concerns. Because what better way to pay attention to the direct needs of the body than through illness or maladies? The more planets in this house, the more crucial it is for you to take care of your body. Or curiously, someone else’s. I have noticed that Virgos and 6^th housers are inherent caretakers, usually forced into this role by a sickness that their siblings, parents, children, or they themselves have. Planets placed here are waiting for you to commit to some type of service (either to yourself or selflessly to others) in order for you to allow their full expression. I, for instance, have Saturn, the planet of limitations & reality awareness, in the 6^th house; so my reality comes in the hard-to-swallow form of physical limits that I am forced to face through, you guessed it, sickness.  Which makes me ask the question, Is the 6^th house the sick house?

I think to a certain degree, it is.  Virgo and the 6^th house demand attention to the body and physical health, and are allied with hypochondriacs, usually ridden with worries about health and wellness. Both signs can develop their fair share of phobias, though. Pisces requires the same type of attention and care for mental and spiritual health and the 12^th house can make you sick in the soul; the 12^th house is linked to madness. Anxiety is a condition that torments both signs, however, though in different ways. Virgo and the sixth house stresses a sense of order, and a system for the person to adhere to; so when routine is disregarded, anxiety manifests in the body via rashes, hives, digestion issues, etc. The 12^th house and Pisces, is completely opposite, always resisting order and routines, favoring the feeling of floating in a blissful lake of disarray; so enforced routine cause Pisces, and any planets in the 12^th to go limp and panic. Virgo gets wound up; Pisces winds down. But the Piscean anxiety is more complex than Virgo’s, because it can involve depressive states, paranoia, and panic attacks, in addition to hysteria, but the preferred outcome for the signs is the same: to gain attention and sympathy.

So it’s difficult to clearly assign sickness to a specific house, seeing as the astrological houses are fields of experience that the planets operate in. And astrology can, at times, be laden with nebulous details of the meanings of the signs and houses, causing interpretations to be loose. But elucidating the veiled characteristics of the houses, and blurring the edges that separate signs and planets from the houses, and their direct effect on you, can help tailor interpretations to fit the circumstances of your life, instead of predicting them.

Do any of you have 6th/12th house phobia, anxiety, or sickness experience?