Which House Rules Work in Astrology? House 6 or House 10?
—How about defining what “work” mean?
“Work” as employment is not the same as “work” as effort, toil or hardship, yet the same word is often used for both. It’s easy to miss that distinction without undergoing the analysis necessary to keep concepts and thought coherent in the traditional astrological body of knowledge. It gets worse if we blend Alan Leo’s or Liz Greene’s astrological concoctions with traditional thought.
The Essence of Symbols
The belief that House 6 signifies employment or a job likely stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the essence of the houses. This misconception is not exclusive to House 6; it is evident that the essence of other houses has also been misinterpreted. For example, there is an article on this website addressing reputation and House 2. Importantly, this confusion is not only a feature of modern astrology—where, for instance, death was conveniently replaced with sex—but is also found among many traditional astrologers.
The meanings of the houses stem from their underlying symbolic essence. Once we grasp a house’s essence, we can apply it to any subject related to that core, essential meaning.
Authority
The essence of house 10 is authority—namely, that which exerts power over us.
—How does authority relate to work or employment?
House 10 is about our role and position within society. Society has needs and demands, and it is our function and performance within this larger context—our contribution—that establishes our value. As we fulfill these roles, we are rewarded accordingly. We operate according to the requirements of our communities and society at large. In this way, our jobs or societal participation signify the influence of authority over us, and naturally, house 11 signifies the rewards for submitting to that authority.
Consider the fact that securing a job is not a matter of personal choice alone; we apply and await acceptance. The “job” decides if we are hired or not—demonstrating, rather clearly and simply, that authority and employment are fundamentally linked by essence.
By the way, a mother is house 10 for the same reason a job is house 10—in a normal, healthy family, it is the mother who dictates the family’s needs, growth, sustenance and continuation. Perform well in your own family and you will be rewarded with a love only a mother is capable of offering.
Effort…
But let’s continue our analysis of “work” by looking into house 6 to see if there is anything in it that could sway our understanding in a different direction.
For contrast, consider that activities carried out with ease or for pleasure relate to Venus and house 5. House 6, on the other hand, signifies “work” as hardship or the effort we must exert, typically in tasks that are obligatory, unenjoyable or unavoidable. It is connected to the essence of Mars—struggles, difficulties, unpleasantness. It is that which “must be done.” In the Buddhist tradition it is referred to as “right action”, in Tarot it is represented by “La Force” or Strength, in the traditional astrological tradition it is expressed in the Arabic Part of Courage (besides house 6)—all Mars stuff.
This house 6 “work” has no relation at all to the house 10 “work”—it is of an altogether different essence. We appear to have a semantics issue contributing to the misunderstanding of a house essence—a confusion arising from the use of a word with two entirely different meanings.
Additionally, the slavery or servitude indicated by house 6 refer to those who are slaves to or serve us. With house 10, we are the ones under somebody else’s power. They are completely different relationships.
House 6 is not your job or employment. House 10 is. House 6 is the house of those who YOU employ to work for YOU.
Can we read charts using house 6 as job or employment?
Of course, we can. We can also have sex instead of dying—a much wiser choice, no doubt.
