The House 10 is the “House of Career”, also known as the “House of Ambition”. It represents the public image and shows what weakens and enhances the professional reputation. People with positive aspects in this House tend to be successful in areas where they can express their true vocation. This House is naturally associated with the planet Saturn and the sign Capricorn. Tenth Astrological House projects the characteristics we want others to see in us. The qualities for which we want to be recognized, praised, appreciated and respected. It is through the signs, planets and Aspects present in this House that we hope to achieve our dreams and ambitions, earn honor and gain recognition.
Index
The Tenth Astrological House
- Sphere - External envelope
- Planet - Saturn
- Sign - Capricorn
- Quality - Cardinal
- Polarity - Female
- Position - Angular
- Physiology - Knees and bones
- Places - Courts, government offices, workplaces
- Color - Red, white
- Keywords - Public life, outside, social status, business, profession, professional ambition, recognition, authority figures, parents, vocation, career
The Midheaven And The House 10
House 10 is the area where we can realize everything we dream of at House 9. In the quadrant system of division of houses, the Midheaven (MC) - the degree of the ecliptic that lies at the highest point of the meridian - marks the cusp of the 10th house.
Midheaven represents all that is visible, the outer “I”, ambition, recognition, extroversion. It symbolizes what one wants to achieve, dreams, vocations and projects. The personality is ready to launch itself into the world, to put its energy into “making it in life”. It is time to get down to business and work towards fulfilling the purpose of life.
Midheaven is the highest point of the astral map and therefore, symbolically, the planets and the signs positioned in the 10th house seem to dominate all other stars and signs present in the Zodiac wheel.
The characteristics of any sign or planet positioned in the 10th house correspond to what we externalize. It is the public facade of our personality. It reflects how we present ourselves, what we show others.
Whereas the Bottom of the Sky and House 4 (the opposite House) represent what we are in our private life and how we behave indoors, Midheaven and the 10th House indicate how we behave publicly, the image we want to convey to the world.
Represents the way we want to be seen by others and how we present ourselves to them. They are the way we “dress” when we leave the house to go to friends, family, have fun or work.
Tenth Astrological House - “House of Ambition”
The placements in House 10 show the mark we would like to leave in the world. It is our legacy, our contribution to humanity. How we would like to be remembered by our peers and future generations. It represents our willingness to continue, to be remembered for all eternity.
Apart from recognition, being admired means staying in people's memory forever. For our ego (which now knows it is finite), this notion of immortality (in memory) is a reassuring idea. Everything you do has a purpose and will echo others.
Professional Vocation and Career at House 10
The planets and signs of the 10th house also give clues about the vocation and professional career. Saturn, for example, suggests a career in teaching, a judge or a scientist. Jupiter, a career in acting, a philosopher or a travel agent. Pisces, a profession where creativity is the dominant focus.
House 10 also suggests how a person will gain their position in the world of work.
- Saturn and Capricorn, suggest a long and patient path to conquer the desired position.
- Mars and Aries, great ambition and fighting ability, but lack of patience to persist when goals take longer than desirable to achieve.
- Neptune and Pisces, some indecision and confusion about the role they might play in society.
House 10 is What We Symbolize for Others
The 10th house also describes what we represent or symbolize to others.
- The influence of the planet Mars can lead others to see you as a brave and insolent person, moved by ambition and by the desire to conquer.
- Neptune, like a saint or a martyr, a personality always ready to defend the disadvantaged or as a victim of itself.
- The presence of Venus, as a person of class, appreciating beauty, quality and of good taste. The placement of many planets in the 10th House generally suggests a person who is ambitious and desirous of recognition, social status and prestige.
The Tenth Astrological House and the Maternal Influence
While the 4th House (the opposite house) is associated with the “father”, the 10th house is related to the “mother”. At the beginning of life, the mother figure represents our continuity. Babies do not recognize themselves as a separate entity from their mothers. She is your livelihood and your greatest security.
The type of relationship we establish with our mother throughout childhood (emotionally close or distant, quiet or aggressive, for example) will be reflected later in our adult life and in the way we relate to others. Human development theories speak of the close relationship between attachment (or lack thereof) and its influence on the formation and expression of the personality of children, adolescents, and adults.
A difficult aspect of Pluto in Tenth Astrological House, for example, denotes the existence of an austere and repressive mother figure which, later, one will reflect on a view of the world as insecure and cruel. Our attitude towards the relationship with the outside will be one of defense and fear.
Well-aspected placements reflect a caring, loving and understanding mother and that we've grown to believe that the world is and will treat us the same. We will see the world as a safe, positive place filled with well-meaning people.
- Mars denotes a controlling and formal mother figure. Personality grows with the desire to be independent and autonomous. It will look for a profession where it can stand out, where it has authority and decision-making power.
- Mercury suggests an intelligent and significant mother figure. The personality grows with the desire to live up to the mother's expectations and you can choose a career with great intellectual demand that will make your mother proud.
- Venus may indicate a competition with the mother figure. The personality grows with the desire to develop the qualities it recognizes in the mother, and to overcome her.
The “I” has come a long way from the 1st to the 10th Houses. The First House was not yet aware of its own existence as an individual and unique entity. By the time you reach the 10th House, we have gone through enough experiences to gain awareness of who we are.
The 12 Houses in Astrology
- First House - Our Cosmic First Impression (House of "Self")
- Second House - Material Goods, Money, Personal Resources
- Third House - Mind, Communication, Brothers
- Fourth House - Home, Roots, Family Life
- Fifth House - Creativity, Joy, Pleasure, Children
- Sixth House - Work, Health, Exercise
- Seventh House - Love, Romance, Marriage, Social Activities
- Eighth House - Birth, Death, Sex, Transformation, Mysteries
- Ninth House - Travel, Education, Religion, Philosophy
- Tenth House - Ideal Purpose, Career and Destiny (House of Midheaven)
- Eleventh House - Friendship, Electronics, Technology
- Twelfth House - Imagination, Subconscious Mind, Secrets, Mysteries
