The House of Legacy

The tenth house sits at the top of the chart, the Midheaven or MC — the most visible, public point. If the fourth house is where you come from, the tenth house is where you are going. This is the house of career, achievement, public reputation, and the mark you leave on the world.

Career is the most obvious tenth house signification, but it is important to distinguish career from job (sixth house). The tenth house career is not just what you do for money — it is what you build, what you are known for, the contribution that outlasts your daily labor. The sign on the MC and planets in the tenth house describe the nature of your public contribution and how the world perceives your professional identity.

Authority and social status belong here. Your relationship with authority figures (bosses, government, institutions) and your own capacity for leadership are tenth house matters. A strong tenth house often produces people who rise to positions of authority, whether they seek it or not. An afflicted tenth house can indicate struggles with authority or a public reputation that does not match private reality.

In some traditional systems, the tenth house signifies the mother (others assign the mother to the fourth). Regardless, the tenth house represents the parent who shaped your relationship with the public world — who modeled (or failed to model) how to achieve, lead, and build a life of consequence.