Decisions, decisions! Kitchens reveal so much about choice and lifestyle. Options for outfitting your oh-so-important cooking quarters can be overwhelming. Whether you are equipping your first kitchen or getting ready to change your antiquated kitchen into a state-of-the-art beauty, you'll benefit from insight that highlights the tools you need to enjoy meal preparation.

In astrology the Fourth House represents your home in general, and the Sixth House covers all aspects of the food industry, beginning with the designated cooking area. Your kitchen is the laboratory where you turn out delicious meals or nuke the hot water for your instant coffee. Everything you use to prepare a meal—the countertop, food, dishes, menus, utensils, pots, pans, oven or range, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, sink, and the pantry where you store your goods—reflect attributes of the Sixth House of work and health. Mercury, as natural ruler of the Sixth House, governs systems that keep your kitchen humming and the tools of the trade that assist you in creating your dietary preferences. Below is some astrological information related to planets that fall in your Sixth House and how they influence the way you equip your kitchen.

Managing the Kitchen with Planets in Your Sixth House
Sun in the Sixth
When the Sun dominates the food preparation center in your home, you prefer to direct the culinary operation. You plan the menus, shop for the food, prepare the feast, and delegate cleanup to willing participants. Guests feel pampered because you enjoy setting the table with appetizing results—including fine linen, an elegant centerpiece, scalloped dinnerware accented with etched glassware, and soft candles.

Moon in the Sixth
If the Moon is in your Sixth House, you like comfort and warmth, and feel at home with a favorite theme. Choices might be a Tuscan or a country-French kitchen that is fully accessorized, with the motif carried out in dishtowels, tea kettles, spoon rests, and clocks. A Provençal canister set adorns your granite countertop, while a hand-crafted ceramic wall clock occupies wall space above a cozy nook.

Mercury in the Sixth
You collect recipes and prefer not to duplicate meals for a least a month. The kitchen has an impressive cookbook library on display, which includes the classics and the works of favorite authors from the Food Network. Stainless steel appliances and sparkling cookware are "must have" items. It only gets more charming when you place an assortment of wildflowers in a graceful crystal vase on your countertop.

Venus in the Sixth
You want matching cookware in decorator colors and accent pieces that create ambiance in your kitchen. You also buy mini sets of specialty dinnerware to show your enthusiasm for celebrating the seasons in style. Your motto is: A gracious host keeps the guests returning.

Mars in the Sixth
You like a variety of sharp knives and gadgets to make cooking chores a breeze. You also want easy clean-up and you'll invest in silicone bakeware and casseroles that allow the baked-on foods to slide right into the dishwater without a lot of scrubbing.

Jupiter in the Sixth
Your kitchen sports an impressive (and filled) wine rack or chiller. You will splurge on stocking the finest ingredients, keep every known spice in the pantry, and invest in copper cookware and bronze chargers or serving pieces.

Saturn in the Sixth
You want durable, high-quality cookware and dishes, and you rarely save the dirty dishes for the morning. You invest time in organizing the pantry and arrange the spices in alphabetical order. The perfect gift for you is a fancy chestnut-colored French oven that allows you to transfer your cooking masterpiece from the oven to your table.

Uranus in the Sixth
With your preference for modern amenities, you'll make frequent trips to the kitchen arcade and look for extraordinary additions to your culinary equipment. Leave it to you to find the red lacquer salt and pepper mills with brushed stainless steel tops and a high volume ceramic milling mechanism. You may truly be called the kitchen enthusiast.

Neptune in the Sixth
You'll buy the ice cream maker, the SmartStick© Cuisinart Hand Blender for mixing exotic drinks, the seafood deveiner for your shrimp and lobster feasts, and a genuine Fiesta collection in peacock blue, heather, and tangerine shades. For you, happiness is bright hues.

Pluto in the Sixth
You add drama to the kitchen with a high-end espresso machine, black or red appliances or accent pieces, a hidden built-in trash receptacle and recycle bin, and a cast-iron meat grinder to make your own sausage, turkey burgers, or meat loaf mix. Known for your penchant for mystery, you're the one to buy the Zen teapot with a glass body and removable stainless steel micromesh infuser, bamboo handle, tea scoop, and stand.

More than one planet in residence intensifies the interest in cooking and nutrition. I have observed that Moon/Jupiter combos turn out chefs, cookbook authors, recipe improvisers, and people who love to entertain or feed the masses. Mercury/Saturn combos have the organization and discipline to offer nutritious meals from the basic food groups, have a knack for knowing what tools are de rigueur, and have pristine kitchens. Venus/Mars types like to eat out as much as they eat in and want to help in kitchen cleanup. If they cook professionally they could corner the market on luscious desserts.

Excerpted Llewellyn's 2008 Sun Sign Book. Click here for current-year calendars and almanacs.