The Tenth House in Astrology

Do you want to know more about what career choice you should be making? The tenth house is the place to go to in the natal chart. It describes your life goals, ambitions and the highest you get in life. The tenth house in astrology governs all life areas related to career, public image.

Career is one of the most important life areas. No matter what you do for a living, you don’t want to end up doing a job you don’t enjoy doing. There are some lucky people who know at the age of 5 that when they grow up, they will be a doctor. Or a mathematician. Or a writer.

But there are more of us who have absolutely no idea what is the right choice for them. It’s devastating to see all the years passing by without finding your vocation.

Finding the right career can be tricky and it often requires a lot of trial and error until you find your path. Fortunately, astrology can help us.

What Is the Tenth House In Astrology?

Keywords of the tenth house in astrology include:

• career
• ambition
• status
• reputation
• one of the parents
• fame
• achievements
• authorities
• purpose
• your employer.

Let the Sea Goat Guide You

The tenth house in the natal chart is associated with Capricorn. This zodiac sign is known as capricious, kidding (no, why do you think these words stem from the same origin) , hardworking, goal oriented and ambitious. Well, this sounds like the perfect person to climb the corporate ladder, right? Capricorn is a high achiever by nature. It’s no surprise that this sign is associated with the tenth house in astrology.

The money houses are connected to earth signs: the 2nd house is the natural house of Taurus, the 6th house is the house of Virgo, and the 10th house is the house of Capricorn. These houses govern the life areas related to making a living and getting tangible results in the world.

Every sign of the Zodiac has a ruling planet. The planetary ruler of Capricorn is Saturn.

Have you heard about Saturn in astrology?

This planet has a really bad reputation. For sure, Saturn is not a cheerful planet. It represents restriction and limitations. Saturn is the strict teacher testing you. If you fail the test, it will make you retake it in a worse form. On the other hand, should you have been evaluated and not found lacking, Saturn will reward you. The gifts of Saturn don’t fade away. Just like they come slow and steady, The results stay with you for a long time.

The tenth house in the natal chart is an angular house. Angular houses are very important, as planets here manifest in the physical world. The cusp of the angular houses are the angles, hence the name (then angles are the ascendant, Immum coeli, the descendant and the Midheaven—which leads us to the next point).

Midheaven, the Cusp of the Tenth House in the Natal Chart

The tenth house is very important in the birth chart, and so is the cusp of this house, also known as the Midheaven. Sometimes it is abbreviated as MC, which stand for Medium Coeli, the top of the sky in Latin. This is the point of the sky that was the highest as seen from the place of your birth at the time of your birth.

To calculate your Midheaven, you need your exact birth time. Here’s what to do if you don’t know your time of birth. The houses change one degree every four minutes, so you see why it’s essential to know the minute when you arrived into this world.

The area around the Midheaven in the chart is even one of the Gauquelin sectors.

You might be wondering why is the Midheaven so important in astrology. Here’s why.

The tenth house shows your life goals and ambition. It shows what you want to do with your life. It is a powerful career indicator, but it’s more than that.

The Midheaven represents your life path, what you aspire to be. It shows the highest you get in life. Pay attention to the sign on the cusp, the planetary ruler of this sign (its position both by house and sign) and see if there are any planets in the tenth house.

What’s important to understand about the Midheaven and the tenth house is that they take time to develop. When you are born and in young age, the ascendant has the most influence over you. Over time, you grow into your Sun sign, and you embody its traits more and more. The Midheaven is the last in this row, you have to work hard through your whole life to get to it. The Midheaven is achieved when you are an established person who has a career path behind him and had time to contribute a lot.

How To Analyze the Midheaven in the Birth Chart

Analyzing the Midheaven will give you an idea about the career that can make you happy and fulfilled in life.

Find the sign on the cusp of the tenth house. I( The cusp is the bold line where it writes MC.) What does this sign stand for? What are its stengths and weaknesses? How can it work together with your Sun sign and ascendant?

Now, find the ruling planet of the sign on the cusp. Where is it located? The house of the ruler shows what life areas your career serves. For example, if the ruler is in the twelfth house, your ideal profession might include work in a hospital or jail, a place where you can work on making the world a better place and soothing the pain of those who are suffering. The ruler in the fifth house suggests work in a creative field or with children.

The sign of the ruler is also important, especially if we are talking about a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus or Mars). Pay attention to the element and modality of the sign and if the planet enjoys dignity there. It’s also important to take into account the aspects of the ruler with the rest of the chart.

Planets in the tenth house are powerful career indicators. If there is any planet conjunct the Midheaven from the ninth house, this planet has a great influence over your career choice.

Social Standing and Reputation

The tenth house in the natal chart isn’t only about career.

This house your public image, how you are known in the world. It’s the polar opposite of the fourth house, which is the house of home and family—of your private life, to put it short.

An emphasized tenth house suggests that you’ll be well-known in your community. How broad this community is, depends on the rest of your chart. This house can also make you famous worldwide, but this doesn’t have to be the case. There are people in every community who are well-known. Think about a hairdresser or a cashier in a small place who knows all the people.Or a mayor who is one of the most important people in their community.

The tenth house in astrology is also about social status. A successful career and an important position in society increases your status, while an unsuccessfully integrated tenth house leads to a decrease in status.

Authority Persons

The tenth house is the house of Saturn and Capricorn. Saturn is a strict planet who strives to create and sustain stability and structure. Without structure, our civilization couldn’t function as it does. With so many different people with different world views, you need to have a set of rules. This is when Saturn comes in.

The tenth house shows all authority persons in your life, and most importantly, your approach towards them. Do you know people who have trouble with authorities? This can manifest in problems in the workplace or even criminal activities. All these problems stem from the same place: it begins early in childhood.

One of your parents is described by the tenth house in the natal chart (the other one is in your fourth house). There is no clear rule which house belongs to which parent, the safest choice is to compare your chart with the charts of your parents and see who is represented where. Your parents are the first persons who tell you what you are allowed to do and what is forbidden. We experience this in a different way, according to our tenth house.

The next stage is when you go to school. Teachers take over the role of the authority, and they set the rules on how to behave and fulfill your obligations. (Teachers are also represented by Saturn in astrology).

As an adult, you must respect the government. If there are multiple signs in the birth chart, a person with an emphasized tenth house might be involved with the government.

Your employer is also an important person in your life who tells you what to do.

Job vs. Career: The Difference Between the Sixth and the Tenth House in Astrology

The sixth house and the tenth house are both about work, but you need to understand the basic difference between them.

The sixth house is your daily job. It shows how you make a living. This house describes your workplace, coworkers and employees, if you have any. It’s you here who does the work.

The tenth house, on the other hand, is about you overall career. It describes what approach will lead you to success in the professional field. The tenth house suggests you a general direction, while the sixth house is the here and now, the steps that lead you to the tenth house.