10th house as our place in society

I’ve danced around how to explain 10H to people. I remember my mentor explaining to me, it’s not quite work - it’s how you are seen on the public stage. Which, for a lot of people, our more public facing endeavors end up being our career.

So yes, 10H is kind of about work, but not quite. It’s about our more public endeavors, our reputation, and, recently, Daniel L Quick said it is: how you are placed in society. For me, this phrasing clicked, so I wanted to share and expand on it.

10H: how you place yourself in society

(nb - this is only one read/one facet of 10H)

I love this particular phrasing of “how you place yourself in society,” because, whether it's true or not - and honestly, I don't think it completely is - it feels like it restores our agency to choose for ourselves how we are placed and where we place ourselves.

Regarding our agency to choose, we might also think about the roles, responsibilities, and placements that feel like they are assigned to us, and how culture or society influences our placement, vs. choosing of our own accord.

Reflecting on my 10H placements: I’ve got Chiron in the 10th.

With Chiron in the 10th, I’ve seen it look very much like a placement or displacement wound in society. I’m a child of immigrants, so very literally placed in a culture where I didn’t belong. Another 10H Chiron placement I know was born into a Mormon family, and then extricated/voluntarily exiled themselves - so removing oneself from a placement that felt wrong.

Our 10H placements can absolutely influence how we feel about society and our place in it. They can speak to how we want to contribute, or what we feel we have available to offer to the whole world.

I think of 4H as a tiny circle - it’s just your inner circle, your tightest clan. 10H is leaving the bubble, and joining the larger society - a much bigger circle that encloses the 4H circle. 4H is growing up, 10H is what you do when you’re all grown up. And in a way, we are able to leave 4H and enter 10H because of a career - it funds it.

I love the phrasing “how you place yourself” because it really describes an ideal relationship of the individual and society. It gives the image of a puzzle piece - the puzzle piece looks like no other piece - it is unique and it is itself - yet there is a perfect place for it, where it seamlessly fits and helps complete the picture.

In reality, the individual is trying to fit in somehow but it may not be as simple as putting a puzzle together. It could be hard and uncomfortable, if the individual feels the social collective container is alienating or restrictive in some way. The individual may really want to fit in, or may really resist fitting in.

The individual may want to contribute, or may seek to extract something, or both. In this sense, an element of relationality is added: how do we relate to our society and our culture? What is the relational contract, spoken or unspoken?

How do we see society? Is it there to provide us with something? Do we feel called to contribute or give back - or no? And if so, how? Are our efforts recognized and appreciated? Or rebuffed or shut down? Do we see our social container as a vertical hierarchy or as a more horizontal network?

Where do we fit in best? Where do we feel like we’ll never fit in?

How do we find our place???? How do we “place ourselves” skillfully, working within the confines, norms, and etiquettes, but still stay true to our individuality, personal values, and unique beliefs?

10H is fitting into society and culture as it is now, while 11H is wishing and visioning what our ideal culture, society and community would look like.

That’s why 10H feels restrictive, challenging, rewarding, and realistic while 11H feels liberating, possibly isolating, hopeful, hopeless, and possibly too futuristic to be realistic.

If you’re curious about your 10H placements, an easy place to start is with a 1/2 hr or full hour chart analysis. See all my offerings here.