Turning the Career Wheel

Gain Insights Into Your Career or Business by Deriving Your Astrological Chart

by Joelle Steele

In astrology, the natal chart is a highly flexible tool. You can use it “as is” and get an abundance of information with which to fully interpret even the most minute details of your life. You can also get specific insight into certain parts of your life, such as your career or life purpose, by turning the chart wheel — a practice called derivation or “deriving” the chart.

Normally, when you’re trying to find your best or ideal career and life purpose, one of the first things to look at in your natal chart is the Midheaven and the 10th house. And if you want to look at your career or business, you can examine a natal chart erected specifically for that career or business, its founding time, date, and place. But when you don’t have a specific career or business starting point and you want some insight into your existing career or vocation as it relates to you and your life, you can turn or derive your natal chart.

Deriving a chart is actually quite simple. Turn the paper on which your chart is printed until the 10th house is in the position of the 1st house:

Now you can interpret your natal chart in the derived position for insight into your career or business.

INTERPRETING A DERIVED CHART

When interpreting a derived chart, you should also be looking at your natal chart to see how each individual house and planet works together in your natal chart and in the derived chart. The two charts are inseparable, always intimately related, and the derived chart is only a part of the natal chart and not an individual entity. Deriving your own natal chart to look at your career does not take the place of interpreting your career based on a separate natal chart erected for the founding of your business or for the day your took a particular job. Interpreting a derived chart can give you insight into your career, but it is mainly used to get insight into your career in relation to you; in other words, how you interact with your career, how it affects you, and how you are manage it.

House-by-House Delineation

For the purposes of this short article we can’t do a highly accurate or detailed interpretation of the above derived chart and its impact on your natal chart. There are so many things that a chart can represent, and with a derived chart, only you can really understand what it all means based on your first-hand knowledge of your own natal chart and your life as it has played out thus far. But, we can look at the above derived chart briefly (excluding the aspects as that requires more space than available for this article) as if it were your career to see how delineating a derived chart for your career might work.

You interpret a derived chart in much the same way that you do a natal chart. Start by looking for the chart ruler (ruler of the Ascendant) to see where the emphasis of the career lies. In this case, it’s Neptune in Scorpio in the 8th, indicating a career field or occupation that may involve spiritual transformation, actual death or dying, or perhaps estate planning, among other things. Neptune is opposite the Sun, so your personality might be somewhat at odds with your career, you may not always see it clearly, or you may be unrealistic about how you manage money from your investors.

Pisces rising would make your career appear to you as a creative outlet, or one that requires good instincts, or possibly a career that deals with large corporations or institutions. Saturn in Aries in the 1st house might indicate short, highly-organized and focused projects or connections with people. The Sun and Venus in Taurus in the 2nd would be lucky for financial success, and Mars in Gemini in the 2nd would mean some mental work, possibly writing and teaching, or transportation and short-distance travel. These are further supported by Mercury in Gemini in the 3rd.

The 4th is empty with its ruler, the Moon, in the 11th, for offices or headquarters that provide a friendly and nurturing environment to you and your staff. It might also indicate a home-based business or a home-like office, one in which your peers are likely to feel welcome, possibly a storefront or a meeting place of some kind. The 5th is a Leo house with Jupiter in Leo posited in it, making the career one in which a lot of product or services are created in what may be a rather flashy manner — or at least one that is easily noticed. The 6th is employees and health, with Pluto and Uranus in Virgo in a Leo-ruled house. You may be the employee in your career, or you might be self-employed with employees, or you might be looking at the kinds of workers in your career field. The health of the business is also in this house, Pluto and Uranus could make for some inspired analysis, possibly in a research field. And the 7th, a Virgo house and empty, with the ruler, Mercury, in the 3rd, could provide the good communications necessary to maintain a partnership or to handle legal matters.

We already talked about the 8th since it is home to the chart ruler, Neptune. The 9th is a Sagittarius house and empty, with the ruler, Jupiter, in the 5th, which could mean a career that requires some long distance travel or work abroad, or university level instruction or advanced degrees. With Jupiter in the 5th, the travel could even be for pleasure or could be part of the business, as in the case of a travel agency.

The 10th house is the condition or status of the career. The 10th is a Capricorn house with its ruler, Saturn, in the 1st. This is a good placement since the career’s image (as indicated by the 1st) will probably reflect exactly what the career really is or does. It is very likely to be a stable career, well-organized, with solid goals and a plan in place to achieve them, and the potential for longevity.

The 11th indicates the vision of the career and its peer groups, either clients or customers, or associates. The 11th is an Aquarius house with the Moon in Aquarius living there. This humanitarian house has a real heart behind it, as indicated by the Moon’s presence. This is a career that may attract a lot of volunteers, donations, or non-profit assistance, or it may provide these things to others in need. This is supported by the 12th, also an Aquarian house with its ruler, the Moon, in the 11th. Your career is very strong as a humanitarian institution or one that is funded by such organizations. And don’t forget, the 12th also represents the competition.

As you can probably see, there are many other possible interpretations of these houses and planets — and don’t forget the aspects — but this is just a quick overview to give you an idea of how a derived chart can be interpreted.

Forecasting with a Derived Chart

You can also do a bit of forecasting with a derived chart using transits, the current planetary activity that is affecting your life and, therefore, your career. As with interpreting the derived chart, looking at transits to the derived chart should be examined along with how those same transits impact your natal chart, because the derived and your natal chart will always be fully intertwined, and the derived chart can never be a separate entity. It is always just one part of you and your life.

This article last updated: 09/22/2015.