Career Differences between the 10th, 2nd, and 6th House

© 7-18-11 by Donna Cunningham, MSW 

This is an excerpt from my ebook, The Outer Planets and Inner Life, Volume 1: The Outer Planets as Vocational Indicators, available at moonmavenpublications.com.

People with the 10^th House Dominant:The 10^th house represents the career, long-term goals, lifetime achievements, and one’s ultimate status in the world.  People with a strong 10^th house emphasis are very career-oriented, rather than necessarily focused on money (2^nd) or on work for its own sake (6^th). If money is important to them, it’s more for the status it confers.  

These individuals are intensely motivated by long-range goals and by accomplishing something meaningful in the world. They yearn to make an impact on their world and often seek recognition.  

The career track would seldom be traditional when the 10th house features Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto or the signs those planets rule—Aquarius, Pisces, or Scorpio. Typically, it takes people with these chart placements longer to find their true vocation, since they are challenged to integrate the energy of that outer planet into the workplace, merging the transpersonal with the vocational.  

For instance, people with Uranus near the Midheaven might gain recognition by shocking us and shaking up the status quo. People with Neptune near the Midheaven—say within 10°of it—might yearn for a career that is artistic and creative. 

 The 2^nd house is similar in nature to the sign Taurus. Those with a strong emphasis on the 2^nd are often motivated more by desire for money and what money can do for them than by long-term goals (the 10^th) or by work for its own sake (the 6^th). 

Many people with the outer planets strong in the 2^nd would object vehemently to such an interpretation, insisting that they are not materialistic at all. (Pisces, for instance, can be otherworldly, as can its ruling planet Neptune.) No matter how much they may dislike the emphasis on greed and possessions in today’s world, however, these people are confronted with the necessity to earn money for basic needs, so earning a living takes up more of their energy than they might like.  

The question of Right Livelihood becomes very complex when the special issues and concerns the outer planets represent are balanced with realities like paying the rent and making sure the children are fed. 

Uranian types who are strongly motivated by a need for freedom and autonomy may earn a good living for the freedom that money buys—and not so much for the worldly possessions money allows them to have. Uranus-in-the-2^nd natives can take or leave the attention, so long as it gives them the money—and thus the freedom—to do what they want.   

People with Pluto or Scorpio planets in the 2^nd often get hooked into destructive games where money is concerned. Money is fraught with hidden agendas for them and often represents power and control in their relationships. We’ll go into the distinctions between these three planets and their signs in the chapters devoted to each of them.  

The more planets that fall into the 2^nd, the more complex the financial picture—and yet the more potentials for earning a living. If the Sun is in the 2^nd along with these outer planets or their signs, self-worth issues are intricately woven into how much these individuals make—or don’t make. If the Sun were in Pisces or Virgo or making difficult aspects to Neptune, low self-esteem might contribute to not charging as much as they should for their services, but then the low income reinforces a sense of not being worthy. 

6th house types are interesting, in that—like natives of the associated sign, Virgo—they can be intensely involved in work for its own sake. Much of their energy is bound up in work and the workplace, whether that is a happy and fulfilling venue or the source of frustration. The particular 6^th house planets, signs, and aspects tell us about their work and how they seek satisfaction in this area.

When the Sun is in the 6^th house, self-esteem is bound up in the quantity and quality of their work. When the 6^th house is stronger than the 10^th, the person usually has a Virgo-like reluctance to be in the spotlight. 

 These folks are often indispensable employees who do much of the important work in a firm yet get little of the credit. People with several planets in the 6^th are sometimes workaholic, for work comes to serve many basic drives and needs.  

This has been an excerpt from my ebook, The Outer Planets and Inner Life, Volume 1: Outer Planets as Vocational Indicators, available at moonmavenpublications.com..  

Readers, which of your vocational houses is strongest, and do you fit the pattern? Share your experiences in the comment section. 

More Excerpts from Donna’s Books:

• Uranus In The Career Houses—“You’re Not The Boss Of Me!”
• Full Houses vs. Empty Houses in your Chart—What to Expect
• Four Kinds of Smart–Which One Are You?
• Donna Cunningham Introduces The Stellium Tool Kit
• English for Astrologers–No Astrobabble Please
• Hyperactive Jupiter Syndrome—The Down Side of an Upbeat Planet
• Getting a Grip on Saturn-Neptune Aspects
• Mars Mission 2: Anger—the Guard Dog of Denial

More Career Related Articles:

• Readers Ask: Q & A about the 2nd House
• Astrologers’  Hang-ups about Money—How they Hurt our Clients
• Readers Ask: Q & A about the 6th House
• The Sixth House and Working Relationships
• Readers Ask—Q & A about the 10th House
• Readers Ask—Q & A about the Midheaven
• Chiron and Vocation: Do What You Love and Wholeness Will Follow
• Career Challenges for the Pluto-Uranus in Virgo Generation