Daily maintenance
This house is about daily maintenance: chores, routines, day-to-day work, pets, and how you look after your body. Traditional astrology also ties it to health. That’s a reason for thinking about your habits, and nothing more: a chart can’t tell you anything about your health, and any concern belongs with a doctor.
Planets here describe how you relate to the small jobs of life. Virgo-like precision, or a cheerful chaos that somehow still gets the rent paid. Someone with Venus here may show love through small services. Someone with Neptune here may lose their keys with real talent.
The house that long couples know about
Couples rarely split up over a square between Venus and Mars. They do wear each other down over a stack of laundry. This house is where a difference in standards turns into resentment, usually because one person has been quietly doing more and keeping score.
In synastry, someone’s planet in your 6th house may change your habits. You start running because they run. You start sleeping properly. It can also feel a bit like being managed, so check how you feel about it.
Practical help
Make the invisible work visible. Write down everything it takes to keep your shared life going, including remembering birthdays and noticing that the milk is low, and decide who owns what. It may be the least romantic thing you ever do together, and many couples say it’s one of the most useful.
Doing a job for someone also counts as affection in this part of the chart. If your partner fixed the shelf without being asked, they may have been saying something. Try saying thank you as if they had.