I fostered a dog from a shelter recently. His name is Barkley, a Jack Russell Terrier. It’s the first dog ever in my life.
I was pretty excited on the day Barkley was scheduled to come to our apartment (yes, you read that right. Potential pet owners: keep a JRT in an apartment at your own risk. It’s doable but not something that I would recommend). Memories of movies and telly flooded my consciousness, igniting in my mind the scenes of joyful interactions between the dogs and their owners. The owners’ lives are forever changed. Their lives become wondrous and magical with the entrance of their dog into their lives.
Mine changed too. Just not the way I imagined it to be.
Daily dog routine:
- Morning: breakfast + bring the dog for a walk for his potty
- Afternoon: lunch + bring the dog for a walk for his potty/long walk for the day
- Evening: dinner + bring the dog for a walk for his potty/long walk for the day
- Night: final potty. However, we have been recently combining the evening and night potty walk so that he goes for 3 walks for a “busy” day. Otherwise, he goes for more than that. We have brought him out for up to six walks a day.
The above is a daily routine that must be done day in day out. This ties to a meaning for the sixth house – daily (work) routine. Pets are commonly assigned to the sixth house, the house of small animals (conversely, large animal like elephants fall under 12th) despite pet owners’ vehement protests that their beloved are their best friend and/or their life partner (I might be stretching this just a wee bit). As such, they argued that their beloved dog/cat/pet doesn’t fall within the remits of the sixth house, the house of service (or erhemm try slavery or servants).
And surprise surprise - with all the daily walks you get from owning a dog, one surely must get healthier. And this ties in the other meaning of the sixth house – health (or more specifically, the house of sickness in traditional astrology).
I have talked to a friend of mine, Pep to express my guilt in my reluctance to become a dog owner given all the work. She stated realistically that keeping a dog is a huge commitment. Commitment – that sounds what the best craftsman do – being committed and devoted to their craft and working daily to perfect it. That may provide an explanation why Virgo is the natural sign associated with the sixth house.
Here are some of my other musings from my time with Barkley so far:
1. Perhaps to deduce a person’s inclination towards pets, it may be wise to:
- Examine any planets in the sixth house – I have Uranus there, suggesting that I like freedom when it comes to pets. So cats might suit me better…
- Look at the cusp of the sixth house – mine is Scorpio, suggesting that I have a compulsive desire to control my pets (I admit that I must consciously allow my dog to sniff whatever he wants when we are going for walks) and some deep emotions, possibly dark ones are involved (I can fly into 5% rage and 95% despair when I have to clean up the mess left behind by Barkley).
- Look at the house, sign and aspects of the sixth house ruler – Mars, the co-ruler of my sixth house squares Saturn conjunct Jupiter, where Saturn is exalted. This suggests that I might have certain reservations when it comes to pets, although that should diminish over time. All is not loss with me however. Pluto, the other co-ruler of my sixth house, is in the fifth house, suggesting that I might derive pleasure from Barkley or all future dogs. But only if it’s nice and harmonious (Pluto in Libra). In other words, no poo or wee wee on the floor (thankfully, he doesn’t do that nowadays). No digging out of the flower pots and trash bags containing soil, etc.
2. Keeping pets to compensate or sublimate a low emphasis/lack of earth in your natal chart. Are you loco? Why would you do that? Unless … you can take a zen like approaching to keeping a pet. Observe your beloved without judgement and see what you can learn from him/her. I actually learnt quite a few things! Earth is concerned about the material world isn’t it. As a dog, Barkley is primarily concerned with having food and water to meet his physical needs and wants, doing the thing he loves most – going for walks, runs and sniffing everything around him, and perhaps showing his owners/fosters affection (when he wants food). It’s a simple and straight forward life isn’t it. Life is reduced into these three aspects. Which makes me think of diagonal structure crystals. The late Michael Gienger who was an expert in crystal healing said the following section about the “trigonal lifestyle” (an extract from his book, Crystal Power, Crystal Healing): “You will lead a simple, uncomplicated life, very constant and tranquil. Your principles in life are very pragmatic and realistic. You are usually completely practical. Complicated theories are not your cup of tea.”
The truth is Barkley taught me some very essential lessons about life. I value and appreciate him even though we have a love-hate relationship!
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