What You Work For: Money, Service or Status?

Work forms such a huge part of our lives; too often years go by as we suddenly realise we’ve gotten some place (or in some cases, no place) in our careers. Then again, you find that the definition of ‘getting some place’ is different for each person. I have found that the personal definition of ‘career fulfilment’ for each person is guided by a mix of three principles: 1) How much you make 2) Whether your work is truly productive and valuable 3) How much recognition and status you get out of your work.

For some, status and job satisfaction is secondary, they’ll do whatever work pays the bills. Others feel that it’s ok if the salary isn’t great; as long as ‘Director’ is fancily enbossed on their namecards, or if they get their names on Wikipedia. What’s fulfillment for you?

The three areas are represented in our birth charts as follows:

Second House: Planets here indicate a sense of practicality – jobs are valued based on how much it pays. While this may sound superficial at first glance, this practicality is essential to ensuring that one doesn’t end up as a sidewalk violinist who lives on music and not quite enough dollars. 

Sixth House: Planets here show someone who cares about the quality of the work itself, ‘am I providing a genuine service to others, am I helping?’. The danger here is that a strong 6th house breeds workaholics who can lose their handle on the big picture of their career paths.

Tenth House: Persons with a strong 10th house (many planets located here) need recognition on the job. Working for years with no promotion is not acceptable – they want to lead teams, their capabilities must be highlighted. While success comes easy to these natives, they risk over-ambition, or can easily lose interest in jobs that don’t offer much in the way of recognition.

Chart Example: Albert Einstein

You might find it tricky to identify the houses in this chart, because his houses are skewed to one side, but his placements are as follows: 

Second house is empty (it’s a tiny house), he’s got the Moon in the 6th house, and FOUR planets in the 10th house.

If you refer to my descriptions above, Einstein would then be someone who prized career recognition and status above all, cared a bit about being of service in his work, but with not much emphasis on how much he was actually paid. Does that gel with your understanding of who Einstein was?

Note: Just because 2nd house is empty doesn’t mean someone’s going to be poor(!) What it means is that salary isn’t a priority, but a good income would still be a by-product of doing work that’s valuable to society.

The planets in Einstein’s 10th house are (from right to left): Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Venus. The Sun’s placement here tells me that success and recognition for his work is very much a part of his identity. Mercury and Saturn very close together indicates someone who built a career on something related to logical and mental processes and which requires long periods of study or work on a serious subject. Venus indicates a smooth-running career, and because Venus is in Aries, suggests that he might be known for being a pioneer, front-runner of some sort.

Moon in the 6th house suggests that Einstein could have been rather emotional or sentimental about his work, and its placement in Sagittarius tells me that ethics / beliefs / judgements related to his work might be the basis of emotional unrest. If you recall, besides being known for the Theory of Relativity, Einstein was also the inventor of the atomic bomb, which wiped out Nagasaki and Hiroshima, effectively ending World War II. He had not agreed with the idea of using nuclear fission as a weapon, and the eventual use of the atomic bomb and loss of lives was possibly emotionally upsetting for him.

Which house is a higher priority for you? As I will show in the example of Albert Einstein above, being aware of your inclinations can guide you towards careers that give you the satisfaction you seek in this lifetime. 

How to Obtain A Copy of Your Birthchart 

1. Email me at may@maysim.com to obtain a free PDF copy of your birthchart like the one I posted of Albert Einstein above. Do remember to provide me with your:

• Full Name
• Birth Date
• Birth Time
• Birth Place

For an in depth understanding of your chart, do book an consultation appointment with me via may@maysim.com. 

What does your chart reveal? Leave comments and tell us if an examination of your Career Houses (2nd, 6th and 10th houses) accurately describe your career inclinations.