Malefic Houses in Traditional & Medical Astrology

Did you know that certain houses are considered “malefic” in traditional Hellenistic astrology?” 🤯

That’s right! Traditionally, the 6th, 8th, and 12th houses are connected to difficult topics and are believed to be “bad places.”

And in medical astrology, these three houses are among the most important to pay attention to.

The 6th house, for example, is tied to illness and servitude. 

The 8th is the house of fear, death and psychological trauma.

And the 12th house is tied to hospitalizations, forced solitude, and exile. 

Don’t get me wrong, these houses aren’t all bad…

…but they do carry a stronger potential for difficulty than other areas in the chart.

In the video below, I walk you through everything you need to know about the “malefic” houses in both traditional and medical astrology. 👇 

So… let’s dive a little bit deeper into “why” these houses are considered “malefic.”

Beyond their difficult themes are the 6th, 8th, and 12th houses, along with the 2nd house, considered a “mildly malefic” house and often not included in the list at all—are all in what’s called an “aversion” with the ascendant in the birth chart.

In the birth chart, the first house is the house of “self,” and it always represents YOU. Everything else in the chart shows up in a relationship with you—meaning, in a relationship with the 1st house.

So what type of “relationship” does each house have with the ascendant? Is it positive, negative, prominent, or more subtle? How do we determine this?

The answer is that we look at each house's sign-based aspect to the ascendant sign in the birth chart. 

For example, the 9th house from the ascendant sign makes a sign-based TRINE with the 1st house and ascendant. Therefore, this is considered to be a “good” or lucky house.

The 10th house from the ascendant sign is making a sign-based SQUARE with the 1st house and ascendant, which makes this house more powerful, important, and objectively physical in its manifestation.

On the other hand, the 8th house from the ascendant makes no major Ptolemaic aspects to the 1st house and ascendant. In traditional Hellenistic astrology, this is called an “aversion” and is considered to be a bad thing, worse than even a square aspect. 

In modern, Western astrology, the “aversion” is a similar energy to the inconjunction, also known as the quincunx, or semi-sextile aspect, which could be viewed as a more exact degree-based alignment of a sign-based “aversion.”

The inconjunction brings difficulty primarily because the two Zodiac signs involved have nothing at all in common. They are of a different gender, element, and modality.

Whereas trines, sextiles, conjunctions, oppositions and squares, on the other hand, all represent a shared commonality between all signs involved. 

Now that we’ve gone through the “why” behind the more difficult energies of the so-called “malefic houses,” let’s get into what these houses actually represent. 

The 6th House

The House of Health & Illness

Cadent House, Malefic House

• Illness and disease (typically inherited, chronic, or recurring)
• Ruling planet of this house is important to consider
• Illnesses that respond to changes in diet and exercise habits
• Stress-induced conditions
• Health routines—including diet & exercise
• The way one maintains or doesn't maintain their health
• Nutrition and eating habits (yes this falls mostly in the 6th, not the 2nd).
• Conditions and routines surrounding meals.
• Can show nursing habits in infants/babies.
• The house of service, servitude and caregiving
• Employees and service workers
• The house of hard work and day-to-day operations (can make someone a “workaholic”
• House of daily habits and routines (not just health)
• On a happier note, house of animals and pets! :)

The 8th House

The House of Death

Succedent House, Malefic House

• Psychological health
• Obsessions, addictions, trauma, transformation 
• One of the deepest "healing" houses
• Certain planets here can indicate a gifted healer or diagnostician.
• Can show circumstances surrounding death (especially in combination with 8th house ruler)
• Illness due to circumstances beyond our control
• Illness (or prospective illness) that forces us to think about our own mortality
• According to Judith Hill, "all struggles to overcome the threat of death."
• Surgical procedures and biopsies often show up here.
• Also the house of power struggles and control issues
• Occult & witchcraft
• Astrology is sometimes considered an 8th house topic
• Debt, taxes, other people’s money
• Inheritance
• Your partner’s resources

The 12th House

The House of Solitude & Self-Undoing

Cadent House, Malefic House

• SOLITUDE (often forced) is the biggest theme here 
• Exile
• Problems and difficulties with foreign countries
• Hospitals & rehabilitation centers
• 2nd biggest house for illness 
• Tied to addiction and mental illness.
• Spiritual health
• Sleep quality, dreams and sleep disorders show up here. 
• Planets here are often considered to be physically "weakened" and psychologically "repressed" due to early childhood experiences
• 12th house ruler is important to consider, especially in cases of hospitalization, psychiatric illness, and sleep disturbances or disorders. 
• Ruler of 12th may also "weaken" any planet it conjuncts or aspects in the birth chart (especially by challenging aspect).
• Creativity and imagination
• “Self-Undoing” often we unconsciously suppress the energies of the planets placed in this house OR actively work against our well-being