In my intro episode about the 10th house, I briefly touched on Vocational Astrology, as often people look to the Midheaven to give them a career that is clearcut.
In the words of Beatrix Braukmüller: “True vocation is always connected with the urge to realise one’s potential, and with the true goals in life which (should) transcend the material level. It matches our predispositions and talents. Vocation therefore needs more than a degree or an apprenticeship. It has to express special abilities which spring from the deepest needs of our soul.“
Astrologers like Luke Stacey suggest that you can find insights over core self & meaning, interpersonal orientation, innate skills & talents, work style & environment, career path indicators, and even specific job options.
He, too, admits that, rather than the definitive answers many seek, this opens imaginative possibilities. The sign and placements bring you more open-ended archetypes, and that was something I had a hard time with when creating the Edge because how do you give general guidelines that are powerful and enough information while also working with things that are very individual and don’t exist in isolation?
It was a very thoughtful process of finding the lowest common denominator. Anyway, when it comes to the 10h from this perspective, you will find a signification of skills or ‘technical abilities’. For example the astrologer Austin Coppock has Mercury in the 10th, and he makes a living through communication as this is what astrology is, boiled down.
In my case, aside from my South Node and possible multiple lifetimes as a military commander, you will find my Lilith in the 10th house, and I make a living doing boudoir photoshoots and personal branding photoshoots of edgy and rebellious people, and my podcast is all about personal power. Mine and yours both.
It kinda goes back to ideas of purpose and how we treat it as a singular thing and especially try to box it into one neat package of here I am doing this thing that was fated, which I don’t diss as an approach but for the nodes…kind of, since there are so many ways in which a Pisces north node can play out and me having a spiritual podcast after having a religious blog is only a small part of it since technically it’s in my 4th house (or 5th in Whole Sign) so it’s not even about what I do in public.
The point is, you get to say what your chart says. It’s not cheating, whatever Virgo-chan thinks about it when I point out she’s a textbook definition of every placement she has. And you have to take all of the chart in full to read any one part of it even if you wanted to let it define you, and ignore your intuitive knowledge of your inclinations (when you have them and aren’t entirely disconnected from them buried deep down because you have existed for everyone else for 50 years).
One main aspect you’d be looking at in Vocational Astrology from a traditional perspective is what the ruler of the Midheaven is up to. And I think this is a good technique even if you take the modern approach to astrology, there’s a lot of info you can get from the rulerships and how they play out on the stage of your chart.
However, if you want to go down this rabbit hole to check for whether your life path is aligned, then here you can find a full exploration of what to look for in a chart.
