How To Identify Your Career Path In The Natal Chart
The 10th House is the place most people look to first for vocation, and that's totally correct. But the career you're best suited for is about so much more than the 10th. Here, a quick primer:
The 10th House
Describes your career, future goals and relationship to authority. This house's ruler (planet that rules the sign the MC is in) and its location plus any planets/asteroids/Nodes in the 10th will give you a starting point.
Don't stick with the typical associations- Pisces on the MC and/or Neptune in the 10th may seem like a creative or spiritual career (and often is), but this sign/planet is also associated with medicine (especially narcotics), bodies of water and aquatic life. Ceres in the 10th can indicate someone who mothers but I've seen her frequently in the charts of farmers or anyone who works the land. Mars in the 10th/Aries MC includes activities such as athletics and war but also metalworkers, carpenters, hunters and anyone who works with fire (including cooks). MC ruler in the 5th is often associated with entertainment but beyond this, it indicates someone who must receive public appreciation for their work no matter what field it's in.
The 6th House
If the 10th is big-picture career, the 6th is what you do on the ground to make that career happen. It's about daily routine, co-workers, health and how you serve others. Uranus in this house can indicate work with technology but also a desire to work independently. The South Node here suggests ingrained work habits and a need to move beyond them (but also, techniques that come naturally). This house will tell you what type of work environment is best suited to you. A heavily emphasized 6th House (3 or more planets) can indicate work in the field of health/care for others/pets.
The 12th House
Often overlooked, planets/Nodes/asteroids here indicate where you have the potential to connect with the masses. Any 12th House planet will be transpersonal - its energy is best shared by many. Artists and healers often have pronounced 12th Houses, but so do leaders (their lives are not their own because much of what they do is about the people). If you have 12th House planets, it can be helpful to ask yourself "what do I have that I can share with others?"
The Nodes
The North Node is your path to reach your full potential and the South Node is what you're naturally good at/comfortable with. Ideally, you want to progress from the South to the North Node but many people fall into careers that are defined by their South Node and it's not always something that should be left behind. If you're naturally good at something, your North Node path may simply be about taking it further. If you're looking to change career, the North Node can tell you more.
The 2nd House
This house (and anything in it) tells you how you can earn your money. Neptune suggests income through creative or unstructured sources. Mars means you'll hustle for your money. Saturn points to traditional or defined sources.
Really, the whole chart should be analyzed for vocation but these are the starting points. Obviously, you need to know the associations of the planets but the number one starting point is you - what are you drawn to? Everyone has an idea, even if they say they don't. Everyone feels a tug in a certain direction and often it's squashed by messages from childhood or lack or confidence or worries about money. But that tug should not be ignored and it will always, always be confirmed by the natal chart.
